Interesting Autism Study

Scientists continue to learn more about Autism, which has always been a subject that interests me. I just recently found this NPR story, which describes some of the latest research. Click on the link for the full article from NPR:

New Autism Study Shows Discrepancy in Brains
A new study by scientists at UC San Diego and the MIND Institute at UC Davis shows that men and boys with autism have fewer neurons in a part of the brain involved in memory and emotion. It's the latest evidence that this area of the brain, called the amygdala, may be one of the keys to understanding autism.
Wed, 19 Jul 2006 17:24:00 EDT

Wild Weather

Last night I had an experience like no other. This is one of those water cooler stories. The camp that I work for in the summer puts on a one-night carnival every year; this summer's was last night.

Every summer, when there is a threat of bad weather, we usually are prepared to hold the carnival the following night. When bad weather has come in past years, it has usually always come during the day, in the hours before the carnival actually began. However, this year, the carnival had already started...we were a little over an hour into it, and had another hour-and-a-half to go. The carnival is set in a local park under trees, surrounding a picnic pavilion. We always have games set up as well as a dunk tank, a food tent, a prize tent, and a ticket sale tent. I was manning the ticket tent at the start of a path leading to the game area. All went well for the first hour...people came by mentioning they heard we may get some rain...but there wasn't even a cloud in the sky. So, we figured we'd get through the night without any problems. Well, we were very wrong.

A storm came in and hit so fast that it literally sent people running madly to their cars. Just as the sky was beginning to get dark, the wind immediately picked up and began throwing debris into the air. The long (and heavy) table that I was sitting at lifted up and just about toppled onto me in my chair...my boss just happened to be coming over to tell me to be prepared just as this was happening...he saved me from the table crushing me as well as from the tent (poles and all) collapsing on me.

At that point, most of the patrons had gotten to their cars. However, all of us camp staff, as well as park staff, were still there hurrying to get all of our equipment under the pavilion. As we did this, the wind continued to whip up even stronger--throwing food, paper, napkins, tickets, etc. everywhere and lifting up our tents and tables! We got all of the important stuff under the pavilion just as sheets of rain began driving down and lightning was striking throughout the sky. It was so bad by this time that we were safer staying underneath the pavilion rather than trying to run through the trees out to our cars. It was not long before we began to see trees falling around us, almost landing on someone's car. Fire whistles were blowing, sirens were sounding, hail was falling...basically, it was chaos. Although we had a roof above our heads, we were still soaked as rain was driving sideways with the wind. So, we were wet, we were freezing, and yes, some people started freaking out. It took a little bit of humor and group leadership to get everyone to stay calm. And, yes, there was also a little bit of Milli Vanilli to help out. Some of the counselors were just waiting for the perfect time this summer to start singing "Blame It On the Rain" and actually mean it...who knew we'd have such an apropos chance?

I am happy to say that after about 45 minutes to an hour of being stuck under the pavilion during the worst of the storm, we were able to then get all of our equipment put away, and everyone did get home safely. However, driving was treacherous. All of us saw the majority of traffic lights in the area completely out, and trees down in the road, as we drove home. It was the talk of today as many people in the area had power outages (which were still out throughout the day)...trees are still down, some roads are closed, awnings were blown off, and small branches are all over our streets and yards. We also spotted a news helicopter hovering overhead this afternoon, surveying the damage. There was some talk and speculation of whether or not a tornado had touched down anywhere, but this has not been confirmed.

It definitely was a night to remember--not one that I want to experience again anytime in the near future.

Some Pics

I still have many Disney pics to put online, but here are a few other recent ones in the meantime.

The following two are from a night out in Philly at Fado's Irish Pub:

It was *almost* like a high school dance...girls at one table,
guys at the other...
except for Adele and Nancy messing it all up!

Also, you can see pictures from my friend Lauren's wedding here.

Disney pics coming soon!

I'm Still Here

It's been quite a while since my last post...I've been sooooo busy with work that I haven't had a chance to do any updates here. Let me just prepare you, this will not be anything special either!!

Just wanted to say that I just got back from Disney World this week. I should have some pictures up pretty soon, when I get the chance! I had a really great time, but honestly it was just too hot!

Since I really don't have much to say at this particular time...I will just leave you with a song that is currently stuck in my head...

Fix You
By: Coldplay

When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse.

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream, down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face
And I..

Tears stream, down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face
And I..

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you.

Congrats to My Sis

My sister, Kelli, graduated from high school this past Friday. It was a very nice ceremony and a beautiful day. Something very funny happened when one student's name was called out to receive his diploma...someone in his family blew an air horn in the church! Fortunately, it wasn't a mass, just a ceremony, so most people laughed.

Anyway, below are just a few of the pics taken after the ceremony.

Kelli, the Graduate

3 Sisters - Colleen, Kelli, Erin

Kelli with her friends, Mari & Meghan

With our Mom, Dad, & Mom-Mom

Peace, Air

The Twins

New Pics

I've added new pictures online from Pearl Jam's June 3rd concert in East Rutherford, NJ. I went to this concert with my friend Patrick...we had an awesome view from our floor seats! One of the funniest things we saw that night was crazed fans running from one merch stand to the next, looking for posters that were selling out all too quickly. We decided not to join the poster people, though...we bought a few cool stickers instead.

You can view my concert pics here.

My Eventful Week

I just got back today from visiting my sister, Erin, who lives outside Baltimore, Maryland. She's been bugging me for quite some time to come down and stay for a few days, so we finally made it work for the both of us. While I was there, I went to the community college where she works as an Athletic Trainer. She even put me to work on the computer for a little bit...well, actually, I volunteered. It was very impressive to see her in her element. She's very good at what she does (which I already knew), which has earned her the nickname, "Dr. Erin."


She, of course, apologized for dragging me to work with her, but it wasn't all day long...really only a few hours on each day, Tuesday and Wednesday. With all the new things to look at, and the overall quiet in the training room, it gave me plenty to learn about while I was there. And well, I somehow always manage to keep myself busy.

I met some of her co-workers and colleagues, and saw some of the facilities. Her friend & co-worker, Kate, stopped in a few times to say hello, and we visited her as well. Overall, I didn't mind being there because I received some much-needed therapy on my lower back. So, I can't complain.


Going to Erin's training room wasn't the only thing we did...far from it, actually. On Tuesday night, we went to see Pearl Jam at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. I had bought a pair of Fanclub tickets and decided to take Erin as an early birthday present. She hasn't seen them since 1998 (yikes)...and so, it was about time! This also worked out perfectly in planning my visit. We took the Metro down to DC a little ahead of rush hour, and made it down there around 5:15. After picking up my tickets at the Will-Call window, we had to wait until just about 6:40 for them to open the doors...people outside were hot and tired of waiting. Upon getting in, we rushed to the merchandise stand so I could get my poster and a t-shirt.

We then went to get some food to bring to our seats, in hopes of catching an acoustic pre-set by Eddie Vedder. When we got down to the floor, I was happy to find out exactly where my seats were (as I had not looked at a seating chart since I picked up my tickets)...we landed 10 rows back from the stage, dead-center! I was flying high (on life only!). While we waited, I pointed out some of Pearl Jam's road crew and security to my sister, who looked at me with a mix of marvel and fright. Not more than 20 minutes after we sat down, sure enough Eddie came out and performed a cover of Cat Stevens' "Don't Be Shy." Many seats around were still empty, so we were happy to catch the pre-set with a great view and without being bothered.

They played a very good mix of songs...hitting every album from their first, Ten, to their current self-titled one. The setlist was as follows:

Set 1: Release, World Wide Suicide, Severed Hand, Corduroy, Animal, Do The Evolution, Given To Fly, Low Light, Unemployable, Grievance, Even Flow, I Got Id, Present Tense, BetterMan, Inside Job, Wasted Reprise, Life Wasted, Why Go, Rearviewmirror

Encore 1: Man Of The Hour, Masters Of War (by Bob Dylan), Small Town, Come Back, Alive

Encore 2: Comatose, Leash, F***in' Up (by Neil Young), Yellow Ledbetter/Star Spangled Banner

A note about "Betterman"...it was a beautiful, re-worked version, starting out slower with a piano intro by Boom Gaspar. Because I can't comment on all the songs, I'll say the highlights for me were: the overall mix of songs, calling the opener ("Release"), hearing the intro music to Ten as the band walked on stage, the re-worked Betterman, Matt Cameron throwing drumsticks out to the crowd and them landing not even 5 feet from our seats, hearing "Leash" live for my first time, hearing "Inside Job" live (amazing!!) and, of course, seeing the concert with my sister. Even though the guy behind me spilled beer on my chair and the back of my leg, I had a great time...Pearl Jam never disappoints.

Wednesday was my last full day in Maryland. In the morning, I had an opportunity to meet some people at an educational writing/editing company that I've done some freelance writing for. Erin's friend, Jocelyn, works there...she's the one that got me started on the freelancing, so she invited me to come in and see around her office. Then, the three of us spent the late afternoon and evening walking around the Inner Harbor. It was a beautiful night considering we had sweltering hot days this week. We had hoped to make it into the Baltimore Aquarium, but we ran out of time. That will be the plan for the next time I visit my sis...Thanks again, Air!!

You can see the above pictures and many others from the concert in my online photo album.