I think my letter posts are starting to sound like those "Real American Heroes/Real Men of Genius" Bud Light ads, so I should probably give it a rest.

Are there real things to say?

In the land of me, Me, ME!...

- I'm going to head to Portland for a small dose of nephew time this weekend. Yay! My mom and aunt are going to be in town, so I'll get to see them, Trav, and both my sisters. I'm feeling the need for some family time, so I think this will be good.

- I really want some chocolate.

- The Blue Angels are in town! I so like watching them practice. People can say what they want, but I think they're amazing. I love the sound of the planes.

- Marie Claire magazine rated Seattle #1 as the best place to meet men. All I can say about that is...Hahahaha!

HA.

Not to be a total Neg Nancy about this, because I've gone out with some very nice men (and a fair share of poozers!) here in Seattle, but as Erika Hobart's Fuck You, Marie Claire and WTF! points out, the survey criteria and findings are ridic. And, I smell vaguely like an Aveda salon most of the time! Actually, I should just come clean and say that I don't think the ladies have it easy in finding a good match here, especially if you're looking for a relationship. When discussing this article with Seattle women--single or formerly single--I haven't found one yet who agrees that we're #1. In fact, many expressed the same thoughts as in this King 5 article. There's a collective "Pshaw!" echoing throughout Seattle. One of my friends even said, "Did they actually talk to any of the women in these cities?" I'm thinking no.

So, I guess I am a bit of an NN, even though I remain hopeful and optimistic to the core. I'm not alone, though! Google this topic, and you'll see much more hmphyness about our ranking. It's all so, I guess.

BUT, there is one redeeming quality about the article. A friend gave me a copy of the actual issue of MC, and the Seattle section starts with the line: "Hunting guys here isn't easy, thanks to persistently dank weather and the Vulcan-like standoffishness typical of Emerald City's comp-sci hordes." Vulcan-like standoffishness typical of comp-sci hordes! This is hilarious to me for many reasons. Heh.

- I'm loving my monthly massages. I got a prescription from my doc to help in the treatment of my migraines, and my therapist and clinic are great. The jetted whirlpool tub before the massage is the best. Overall, I'm seeing good results so far with the things I'm doing to better my mental and physical health, and stave off the MMM. This is making me very happy.

- Yesterday I visited a local day camp for kids who have AS (primarily). I had a fantastic time and wasn't ready to leave at the end! I spent half of my time observing the teenagers, and the other half with a younger group (my guess is in the 8-12 year old range) who I interacted with a bit more. Neither seemed fazed by my presence. In fact, the teenagers didn't acknowledge me at all, which allowed me to just sit back and watch them interact with each other and the camp leaders while they were hanging out. I'm fascinated by human behavior, and it was interesting to me to see the kids, at different times, behave in ways that might be expected given the characteristics of AS, but I have never seen. I saw "typical" teen behavior, of course, and I observed quirkiness. The thing about me is that I'm most at home in quirkiness. I like the quirky vibe.

The younger kids engaged in a team-building activity. Before attempting their task, we all sat in an area covered with wood chips on logs arranged in a campfire-like circle. The director talked through the instructions, and then went around the circle asking each person to say one quality that will make them a good team member. Most of the kids said things like, listen, cooperate, help each other, I don't know...but then one of the last boys to go said, "Don't throw wood chips." That made me smile, and I wondered if sailing wood chips had been an issue before.

While sitting on a log waiting as the second group of kids came over to the activity area, a blond-haired boy with light blue eyes, who was probably about 10, plopped down next to me. He was very still, seeming lost in thought. I looked at him in his dark red shorts and deep blue t-shirt, but he didn't look my way. We sat in silence for a few moments before he slightly turned his body toward me to say, "I've noticed that kids who are autistic all look very different. They're all different." He made a motion with his arm to indicate the group. I was taken aback for a couple of beats, but then we had a brief but interesting conversation about how people look different. That is, until a scrawny kid with brown hair and silver wire-rimmed classes ran up and wedged himself between me and blondie on the log. And there he remained pressed up to my side. Lucky for me, my personal bubble is a lot smaller with kids.

The funny thing about the how people look conversation is that I had been thinking about a blog post by John Elder Robison on the "look of autism". It was a new concept that I hadn't considered before.

I enjoyed talking with the director, and although I'm no closer to determining what graduate program will be right for me (aaaaahhhhhhhhhh!), I hope to volunteer during the school year for their program on social skills for young adults ages 18-22. I'm excited!

- And, finally, I have a two and a half foot Eiffel Tower in my office now. It's truly beautiful and so well made. My friend Lindsay found it for me in Port Townsend. She's been on the watch for one since our first trip to Paris in 2004, because I was so in love with the tower and wanted one. None that we saw were ever quite right, though. But this one is absolute perfection. Lindsay is awesome!

My plan is to find lights for the tower (serious internet research is happening here, folks), and then I'm going to get someone at work to rig up a timer so they go off on the hour for 10 minutes. It's gonna be authentic. Once it's ready to go, I'm going to have a special Eiff lighting celebration in my office with champagne, baguette, and french cheeses. It will be an Event that my coworkers will be forced to share in with me. If nothing else, I think the champagne will lure them in, but everyone will be forced to clap and ooooo and aaaaah over its beauty.

Prepare yourselves for the pics.