Should vs. Am

I've noticed that there is always a big difference between what I should be doing and what I am actually doing. For example, right now I should be working on my book review for Eating an Artichoke, cleaning my apartment, eating healthy and exercising. The Nutella obsession persists. What I'm actually doing: sitting on the couch, blogging, eating a cookie. Do you see my point?

The good news is that I made it back to the gym once this week so far, and I may even "play tennis" this weekend. I probably won't cut back on Nutella anytime soon. My paper will end up a last minute ordeal, like it always does, with me being all stressed and to'ed and cursing myself for sitting around eating cookies when I should be typing. And I've convinced myself that the clutter in my apartment adds "character."

Whether you're a fan of heavy metal or not--I'm definitely not--I highly recommend seeing The Story of Anvil. It's a documentary that almost seems like a mockumentary, but no. This is real life, my friends, and it is hilarious. It's not just ha-ha funny. Not even close. It's laughing-so-hard-you're-hunched-over-in-your-seat-with-tears-running-down-your-face funny. You just can't write the stuff that comes up in this movie about a heavy metal band who had 15 minutes of fame in the 80s and, 30 years later, is still working on making a name for themselves. There are some seriously great lines and song lyrics (Thumb Hang!), and stuff like, "family is important shit, man." The brilliance of director Sacha Gervasi is that, by the end of the movie, you are wholeheartedly rooting for Anvil. I got completely emotionally involved, even though part of me wanted to shout at them to live in the now! I even shed a few tears at one point. After the fact, I was bummed to learn that Anvil was just here at El Corazon, and I missed it. Boo.

In my all things autism world right now, I think Em and I are going to see the Stories of Autism exhibit at Wallingford Center this Friday. Please feel free to join us! I'm sure we'll be making a stop at Trophy Cupcakes too, but I'm eating carrots right now. I swear! I also signed up for the Best in the Northwest Autism Conference at the end of May. I'm particularly excited about this conference, because the speakers are geared toward adults who have autism spectrum disorders. This is cool to me, because it seems like there is a lot of information and programs out there for kids, which is great, but my interest is in working with adults, particularly at pivotal times like transitioning from high school to college and from college to careers. I'm looking forward to a whole day focused on the experiences, issues, and successes of adults with ASD.

Last week was tutor appreciation at the center, and they gave us these really cute magnets that have our names, our students' names, and adjectives they use to describe us on it. So cool! Today is one of my student's birthdays, and it was fun to give her a little gift and talk about her plans. The girls continue to be great.

My erotic party turned out not erotic at all, which was a relief. It was still an experience, and I had to explain to my host what a menage a tois is, so that was awkward. He was all, "Is that French? I don't know what it means." Hmph!

And now I must get back to my paper before it gets too late, and I decide to shut down. Times a tickin.