Happy New Year!

Wishing all of you a very Happy New Year! Do you have your resolutions for 2009 ready to go? Yeah, yeah. Me neither. Well, ok, I have a few, but frankly I'm exhausted from trying to meet all my resolutions of 2008, so it's hard to even think about 09. Some of them I'm going to keep to myself this year, but I also have goals of the get-your-a**-to-the-gym-on-a-regular-basis variety. We'll see. Also, I'm going to look for a meditation class/workshop to help me learn better techniques. I mean, I have a room I call the Meditation Room in my apartment, and I use it (not just for storage!), but I don't really know what I'm doing. My breathing is all wonky. My mind is a lazy river of constant thought. Stillness? What stillness? I have no mantra. I focus best using the flame method or guided, but, I mean, that's my default since I don't know other methods.

Huh. Looks like I should be spending time on the Meditation Station site (where I just found info on concentrating on a flame), as it looks like they have a big list of different methods. Anyway, I want to make better use of the lovely space I have set up for practicing meditation, and I think I could use it for stress management so I no longer have the urge to run people off the road in my Scion and such. Trav is a fan of the Meditation Room. He sleeps there when he visits, and he's even created one in a small cardboard box for his little stuffed pig named Frenchie (after our friend Frenchie at Hood River).

And...more classes! This winter and spring I'm going to take classes in the Special Education department, as I've developed a strong interest in working with kids and adults on the autism spectrum--autism, Asperger's Syndrome, and other PDDs. I won't go into great detail about why I'd like to do this, but both professional and personal experiences have drawn me to the field. I'm fascinated by it, finding myself reading books, blogs, and articles on spectrum disorders, and I'd like to find ways to create more positive and inclusive environments to support differences in how people think and behave. At this point, my focus is on behavior analysis rather than teaching, but, in particular, I'd like to contribute to/create programs that support young adults and families post-high school and beyond. We'll see how it goes once I get into it a bit more, but I'm really excited to start taking classes again.

Well, I'm off shortly for a New Year's Eve dinner outing with friends. Oh, I forgot to say that I'm home! After what felt like a harrowing flight back to Portland in what I call That Metal Doohickey (or just, That Death Trap), which sounds like an extremely loud lawnmower the entire time, I spent a couple of days there to celebrate the holiday with my dad and sisters, and then I drove home yesterday. I'm super tired from all my travels, though. At the stroke of midnight, I'll probably be curled up in bed with a good book, nearly asleep, rather than partying it up on the town. That's fine by me. Call me old! I don't care! I don't know if I've shared stories of my New Year's Eve debacles/duds over the years, but at this point, I've learned that low-key is the right way to celebrate for me. :-)

Have lots of fun, everyone! More soon!