Bah Humbug

I'm having a very hard time getting into the holiday spirit this year. It seems, as every year passes, that it gets harder and harder.

And honestly, it shouldn't be this hard. Christmas music is pumped at us in stores and on the radio via 24/7 stations. Merchants have trees, ornaments and other decorations out for sale -- in fact, these sales have been going on since before Halloween! It seems the "season" is getting longer and longer (or is the correct term 'earlier and earlier'?)

Another reason it shouldn't be so hard is my son. He's 8 years old, and very much believes in the Man in the Big Red Suit. This should be a time of wonder and joy for me, experiencing it all for the second time around through his eyes.

But... WHY is it so hard?

Is it just the fact that I'm getting older, wiser, and more cynical? More jaded against the commercialism that is shoved at us?

Honestly, I think the reason could be my son. Not him personally, but the autism. Now, I know it's a scapegoat. Blame the A word. It's the easy out. But I don't think that way. Really I don't. There is a big difference between using the autism as a reason to escape every responsibility in life, and tweaking situations just a little so there's still the experience, but better managed in a way that my son can still participate.

(That's probably a another post for another time... so I'll just stick with the holiday theme here.)

(Either that, or I'm using the autism excuse because this is supposed to be a blog about parenting a child with autism, which I haven't blogged about much at all... so I better start now and this is a good way to fit it in? Nah.....)

Where was I? Ah yes.. bah humbug. My son's behavior has been on a downward spiral since Thanksgiving.

First off, there was the 5 day break from school over the Tgiving holiday. Breaks from school are NEVER a good thing for a child who depends so heavily on routine. Then, once he does return to school, the established routine is upset again - this time by decorations. All the fall decorations are gone and new winter/holiday decorations are up. And any change is not necessarily good.

But... one of the special education rooms has - I kid you not - a bulletin board of a tree, with actual blinking lights on it.

What. were. they. thinking?

Blinking lights?

His own special ed room has christmas lights snaking all over the ceiling. I've not seen them blink.... yet.

My child OBSESSES over lights. Cannot concentrate when there's one burned out, or humming, or otherwise doing something it's not supposed to do.

The lights have been up for a few weeks now and he's adjusted. So we finally decided to go ahead and put the tree up at home. After a few days of obsessing over the tree and the lights that are on that, we're finally back to "normal" routine.

It's just... hard.

Hard because the things that excite all the other kids, excite my kid too. But, it excites him to a level that pushes him over the edge. Making it hard for him to cope and move on - things that other kids can do without even thinking about it.

The overstimulation of this time of year is REALLY huge. I think most of us don't even realize that because we don't have to conciously try. Sure, we're stressed. But when we walk into a store (or the school, or at home) and see all the decorations and lights, etc... we just either tune it out or move on. We don't get 'stuck' like my son will, unable to pry himself away from the blinking lights on a display at the store.

Even though it's hard... he's still my son. And I love him with all my heart. More than I can describe. So, I'll keep on keeping on, doing what I know best... patiently biding my time, standing next to my son in the holiday section at Walmart, staring at the blinking lights! :)

The power of advertising

As I was making breakfast this morning, my son runs in from the living room, where the tv was on, and says to me:

"Did you know that you can spend less at Walmart, so you can buy more? Save money, live better. Walmart!!"

Then, he runs back to the tv.

Yes, thank you. I feel much better now that I know Walmart is definitely looking out for my best interest...

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday and took a little time to appreciate the things we are thankful for. And if you don't celebrate the turkey holiday... well then, hope your Thursday was ok!

I found this on a friend's blog and it just struck me as interesting.

What part of Thanksgiving are you?

Take the test and see:

http://www.blogthings.com/whatpartofthanksgivingareyouquiz/

I am.... the stuffing!

You Are The Stuffing

You're complicated and complex, yet all your pieces fit together. People miss you if you're gone - but they're not sure why.

Hmmmm. Not sure I get it, but it's ok.

I think I'm skipping the Black Friday shopping this year.... just not in the mood.

The British Are Coming

No... actually, the British are HERE. You probably just don't know it.

Then again, maybe you do.

The British invasion may have started back in 1964 with the Beatles. But they have been "invading" ever since then, and still do - through your television.

You see, there are a ton (and I mean a TON!) of televisions shows currently airing on the 3 major networks that have been (to put it mildly) ripped off from the good ol' BBC. Some of them you may be aware of. Some of them probably not. But, I think it's safe to say that you should turn towards the east and bow to the Queen and thank her for quality programming.

Let's discuss a few current shows with origins in the UK:

(Not saying that I'm fond of them, or even watch them. But they are being aired.)

Hell's Kitchen - Foul-mouthed Gordon Ramsey is obviously not from the South. The show originated in Britain, and then brought stateside.

The Office - funny, funny show. But do you know what's funnier? The original British version. Try it sometime. I give props to Steve Carrell. But Ricky Gervais is better.

American Idol - Of course you knew this. This show started (and continues as) Pop Idol in the UK.

Dancing With the Stars - airs in the UK as Strictly Come Dancing. And the kicker of it is, 2 of the judges, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli, judge the shows both here in the US and in the UK. And yes, the shows air concurrently, so they are traveling quite a bit.

And here are a list of shows that are not my favorites at all.... but deserve mention: The Eleventh Hour, Supernanny, Weakest Link, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Wife Swap, Trading Spouses, Trading Spaces, What Not to Wear, etc. Heck, half the stuff on TLC is a british rip-off, really.

And, while not currently airing or in production, another show worthy of mention is Whose Line is it Anyway? - Specifically the British version with Clive Anderson. Then again, it really doesn't matter because most of the comedians/improv artists on this show were on both the UK and US versions. This show ROCKS. I love it. I don't care if I've seen the show in repeats 20 times, I'll watch it again anyway. Soooo funny.

What you may not know is that this "borrowing" of ideas is nothing new. It's been going on for years, with many well known titles like Three's Company, All in the Family, Too Close for Comfort, Welcome Back Kotter, and Sanford and Son, etc.

What I want to know is...

Why?

Why do our big 3 networks feel the need to remake all of these programs? Why not air the originals? After all, they were "good enough" or successful enough in the UK to warrant bringing the idea to the US. Then, why can't you just bring the whole damn show? Why do we have to Americanize it? And in the "americanization" process.. the show usually loses some of that something that made it originally successful. Some of the remakes have been downright dreadful.

What's funny is that I've seen recent commercials on BBC America that address this "problem" at it's heart. BBC America... the birthplace of American television.

Ouch.

Currently, ABC is doing a version of Life on Mars, which was originally produced by the BBC with actor John Simm. Honestly, if you haven't seen the original, please make time to do so. For the love of Pete, please.

But I do have a message to the big 3 (and I don't mean the auto makers...)

I hear you have plans to Americanize Top Gear. Just... don't. Don't go there.

And don't go there with Primeval either.

And whatever you do....

Hands off of Doctor Who.

Wednesday Rewind

Did ya miss the rewinds? Huh? Did ya? I did!

Ok... lets share in one of my true loves...

Sesame Street.

Because let's face it, if you're from my generation, SS was a BIG part of your life. And if you care to admit it, you still love the show.

I was going to pick something more mainstream, but ran across this video. I chuckled for a good 5 minutes and ran around going yip yip yip yip for awhile. Got my son involved too!



Enjoy!

Part update / part book review

Did ya miss me?!

Oh, who am I kidding. I don't think anyone reads this thing anyway! LOL

Anyway, I think my life has calmed down enough for me to add another "commitment" of sorts, and get back to blogging. It's amazing to me when just one aspect of your life goes through change, how much it sends *everything* out of whack.

To give you the Reader's Digest version:

Old job closed down.
A few of the old employees were retained to carry on for a new company.
I was not asked to stay.
I found another job.
While serving out my remaining time for old company, a co-worker (who was hired to stay for new company), who probably has a mental problem (not kidding) and went all ape sh*t on me.
I decided to leave early.
Started new job.
New job ROCKS beyond belief.
After being at new job for one month, I'm asking myself why I didn't leave old job sooner.
(And from what I hear from remaining employees - mental problem is still a problem.)

Really. No kidding. New job is awesome. I love it. I was concerned at the start because it was definitely a change in job responsibility compared to the previous job. But... no problem!

Which brings me to the book review part of my post...

I'm in a book club who meets every other month. We've been going for about 7 (?) years now. And because of this book club, I've read many, many books that I would have never picked up otherwise. Most books have been great. A few became instant classics (to me, anyway). And some.. well, some I didn't like. But that's to be expected. You're not going to love every single book you read, anyway.

The last book club selection was Life's Golden Ticket by Brendon Burchard. From the official website:

An enchanted amusement park is the magical setting for personal transformation in this inspirational parable in the tradition of The Alchemist and The Five People that You Meet in Heaven.

(taken from http://www.lifesgoldenticket.com/)

Let me first say that I loathe inspirational/self-help/motivational novels. Really. Don't care to read them AT ALL. In book club, we previously read The Alchemist and The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Hated The Alchemist. Was ok with Five People... But other book club picks like Conversations with God I couldn't even finish. So, when this book was picked I immediately groaned and thought "no way". Not really the best attitude to go into a book with.

To be honest, the book, from a motivational standpoint, was kind of preachy, and epitomizes exactly why I don't like motivational books. But from a fiction standpoint - this book was pretty good.

But the MAIN reason I mention all this in the first place, is that one of the "rules for admission" in getting into the amusement park in the book is... "I agree to give up my belief that change equals pain."

I just thought how timely that is. That is me, in a nutshell. Change = pain. The last 2 times I've had to switch jobs, I've fought them both tooth and claw. And they both ended up being what was best for me at the time. But I fought nevertheless. Wasted time and effort on my part.

Hopefully since I've done it TWICE, I will remember the lesson I've learned and not fight so hard in the future. Think that's possible?

Anyway - if you have some time, give the book a shot. Most everyone in my book club liked the book and thought it worthwhile.

Hiatus

Just dropping a note to say that I’m taking a small hiatus from blogging. I know, it seems like I just got started blogging again!! But, my life seems to be in a blender on frappe. What is frappe anyway??

So, once I finish out my old job and start my new job, get my out-of-control son back under control, get my house and laundry back in some sort of order… you know, just generally get my $#!+ together again, I will blog more. Promise.

Until then, stay tuned.

Thanks.