GJ Willis' Art Notes

Today, I’m very excited because I found a message board about Asperger’s Syndrome that has a section on it for adults with the disorder. I never knew that such a site existed! The majority of the sites and message boards I find about Asperger’s Syndrome are primarily geared towards parents coping with autistic children. It was a nice change of pace to find something geared towards adults like me with the disorder. The official name of the board is The Asperger’s Community Board.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a brown crew neck sweater. Under the sweater I have in white turtleneck. The pants I have on are blue jeans. The shoes on my feet are brown leather lace ups.

Today, it’s cold outside. This morning there was a light dusting of snow on the ground. The dusting of snow was enough to delay the arrival of the light rail shuttle bus. I got in to work at 6:40 instead of 6:30. Alas....

NEW & SEMI-NEW CD’s
So far this year I bought a lot of cd’s on eBay. I thought it would be fun to post quick reviews of them.

The Postal Service Give Up cd. I really like this one a lot. I can listen to the whole thing from start to finish without fast forwarding through a song. My favorite tracks are: The District Sleeps Alone Tonight, Such Great Heights, and Natural Anthem.

This Is Cult Fiction. This is a compilation cd that consists of tv and movie theme music. I always feel cool when I listen to this cd. As you can probably tell, this is another cd that I like a lot. The only track I’m not into is the theme from Twin Peaks. My favorite tracks on the cd are the James Bond theme, Hawaii Five-O theme, Mission Impossible Theme, Theme from Shaft, Theme from Batman by the Marketts, and Iggy Pop’s Lust For Life. This cd really rocks!! I even have Theme to Miami Vice, The Hill Street Blues Theme and the Theme to Taxi. This cd makes me feel so cool yet grounded.

Totally Dance. This is a cd I bought solely because I wanted a copy of Darude’s Sandstorm. Since I really like late 90’s dance music I ended up enjoying the entire cd. Ok, not the entire cd. I can’t stand one song on the cd, Toni Braxton’s Maybe.

Now, That’s What I Call Music #1 I got this cd out of curiosity. It is the very first in the Now that’s What I Call Music series of cd’s. Ahh! Who am I kidding? I got the cd because I wanted to have a copy of Aqua’s Barbie Girl and Hanson’s Mmmm Bop. Yes, I occasionally listen to pop music. Besides, 1998, was a particularly good year for me.

The Libertines. I got this cd because I wanted to know what they sound like. There lead singer is like the UK’s version of Scott Weiland. In the since that he’s very talented yet constantly messed up on drugs. The cd is brilliant it has a punk edge to it. It was produced by Mick Jones. Jones was a former member of The Clash. Favorite Tracks are: The Man Who Would Be King, Last Post on the Bugle, What Became of The Likely Lads, and What Katie Did, and Campaign of Hate.

Handsome Boy Modeling School White People. I got this cd because I like the song that Jack Johnson does on it called Breakdown. Also I was interested in what Prince Paul was up to these days. Prince Paul formerly of De La Soul is one of the masterminds behind Handsome Boy Modeling School. Overall the cd is ok. It’s format reminds me of a De la Soul Record. The format is kind of like a fake commercial advertisement for a modeling school interlaced with songs. To me the concept seems dated. The songs are ok.

The Fiery Furnaces Blueberry Boat. I got this one because several months ago a lot of bloggers were listing this cd as being the one they were currently listening to. Since I’m constantly behind trends I thought right about now would be the time to give it a listen. All I can say after my experiences with it is that it’s definitely not the cd to take to work to get energized. It’s more a think piece than a “Let’s get down and party!”, piece. Yep, you guessed it, I like to listen to up tempo music when I’m at work.

On the Charts: IRS Records 1979-1994. I got this cd solely for nostalgia purposes. The cd happens to contain one of my all time favorite songs, Save It For Later by The English Beat. You want to make me instantly happy? Just play, Save It For Later. The cd also has another of my all time favorites, General Public’s, Tenderness. Yes, I know both songs have the same two guys singing lead. This of course makes me wonder what ever happened to Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger? They used to sound great together.

The Go-Go’s Greatest Hits. This is another cd I got for nostalgia. I used to really like The Go-Go’s. I still have a 45 vinyl picture disc of their single, We Got The Beat. The 20 year old disc has all five members of the group on it. Favorite Tracks on the Greatest Hits are, Our Lips Are Sealed, We Got The Beat, Head Over Heels, Vacation, and Turn to You.

Fat Boy Slim Palookaville So far this is my absolute favorite cd to listen to. The cd is just my style. It was an absolute joy to listen to from start to finish. Favorite Tracks would be the entire cd!! The one track I can’t get out of my head right now is Wonderful Night.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a wedgewood blue (ahem, stone washed denim blue colour) cowl neck sweater, blue jeans, and blue suede shoes.

Everything was running on time this morning. I even got to work at 6:25 instead of 6:30!

NEW WORK STORAGE SYSTEMS:
I was saddened to find that my cubicle had not changed when I got in to work this morning. You see we have these new storage systems for our cubicles to put our work in. The first two rows of people in our group have their’s installed. I thought for sure they would install mine since they did Jai Li’s after she left for the day. She leaves an hour before I do. So naturally I thought they’d go down the line and install everyone else’s after they left for the day. I even cleaned off my shelf and unhooked the fluorescent light to make the installation easier.

Cassandra got her’s installed this morning as soon as she saw Dave (our supervisor’s supervisor). Then of course Arvada’s had to be installed as well. I’ve noticed that Arvada tends to follow after whatever Cassandra does.

I didn’t ask Dave to put up the new storage unit for me because I didn’t feel right about asking him to do that. Besides he probably would have snapped and yelled at me or something... I know that this is probably unlikely because Dave is normally laid back and easy going. Then again you never can tell what can set a person off.

Who knows, maybe, I’m about to be fired and that’s why it was never installed, or maybe I’m hated more than I thought I was. I used to feel kind of invisible at work neither hated nor liked. Maybe it turns out I’m really the most hated person in the department and never knew it...

The only ones left whose units aren’t installed are me, Lisa, Arnold, and Tyra. The quiet people in the group. It makes me wonder if this was a purposeful slight of the quiet people?

Since they’re all kind of quiet, I have always wondered if any of them has Asperger’s Syndrome like I do. One thing I can say is that one of them I’m constantly on the fence about and another I feel probably most likely has it. Then again what do I know I’m not a doctor...

All I know for sure is that I want my new storage unit up!!! Me Like New Things! :)

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a gray and blue fair isle knit sweater. Under the sweater I have on a dark blue mock turtleneck pullover. The pants I’m sporting today are blue jeans. Rounding out my lack off a fashion statement are blue suede shoes.

The light rail shuttle bus was again 10 minutes late!!! I haven't been taking the shuttle bus in the morning as long as other folks have. For all I know the last few weeks of arriving at work at 6:30 could have been a fluke. Maybe this is the time that the bus actually is supposed to arrive.

You really can't tell from the MTA site because the time table for the shuttle buses are ambiguous. It just says something to the effect that they are supposed to arrive every 15 minutes during rush hour. I suppose the non-listing of scheduled arrival and departure times is their way of covering their asses. You can't really say the bus was late or early because no time was given, just the generic every 15 minutes during rush hour.

CONCERN OF THE DAY:
I’m still worried that I have trouble leaving out of work on time. No one has yelled at me about it....yet. Then again I’ve been doing it ever since I started working at the company back in 1999. However, it would be nice to leave out on time like the majority of folks do. Who knows, maybe, I’m a workaholic and don’t realize it. I come in early and leave out late. Ok, the coming in early thing is a recent phenomena.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today I have on an olive green sweater that has purple designs on it, underneath it, I have on an olive green turtleneck. I also have on blue jeans and blue suede shoes.

The light rail shuttle bus was late this morning. I got in to work as 6:40. I was still early for work but not in at my usual 6:30.

I am beginning to notice that all the shuttle bus drivers seem to be on average, older than the drivers of regular buses. I suppose they gave the old guys the shuttle bus route because it's easier and not as demanding.

OUT TO LUNCH SHOW
Right now I feel that Big O and Dukes are likely to get the spot. I’m not terribly fond of them because they sound like immature frat boy and they give me an ice cream headache.

The only person on the show I can tolerate is news guy, Josh Spiegle. At first I hated him but now I’ve grown to like him. He's become the one constant bright spot on the show.

I hate to say this but after what I just I wrote I'm sure with time I will also grow to like Big O and Dukes as well. But as far as I'm concerned Josh is #1!

WHAT I’M WEARING:
I have on a baby pink crocheted v-neck Henley sweater. Underneath the sweater I have on a cream colored long sleeve crew neck pull over. The pants I have on are blue jeans. The shoes I have on my feet are blue suede shoes.

This morning all the buses were on time. The only fly in the ointment was the bus on the way home. This makes the second Monday in a row it was late. I thought I was being smart by taking the #8 bus instead of the shuttle bus. As you can recall the shuttle bus last Monday was well over an hour late. The #8 bus this afternoon was an hour late. I wonder what is going on that makes them run late on Mondays?

DOCTOR WHO TO SCI-FI CHANNEL:
I haven’t watched TV on a regular basis since the cancellation of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Therefore, I’m looking forward to the return of Doctor Who with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper. The only problem that US fans have is what station will be picking up the new show.

Recently, I heard rumblings that the show has been picked up by the Sci-Fi Channel which is owned by Universal Studios and NBC. They allegedly have a package deal where they will have the rights to air all the old episodes in addition to the new ones. If this is true Doctor Who will no longer be running on our local PBS station. It has been running there every Saturday night for well over 20 years.

My main probem with the new Who is that I don’t have cable. I haven’t had cable since I moved out of my parent’s house. It’s just too darn expensive. If it’s a lock that Sci-Fi has it I guess I’ll have to either get cable or sponge off of someone who has it and doesn’t mind me orchestrating there tv viewing habits. I've heard something about bit torrent but I'm not quiet sure what it is or how to get to it.....

All I know for sure is that I want to see the new Doctor Who when it comes out.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a royal blue crew neck sweater along with a rainbow striped turtleneck pullover. The pants I have on are blue jeans. The shoes I have on are blue suede shoes.

Yesterday, I took the #8 bus to Walmart. The bus driver I had seemed to be stoned out of her mind. She wore dread locks and had very long fingernails. She was maniacally whistling throughout the ride. She even called out the names of each stop and crazily waved to everyone she knew. A couple of times she seemed to be nodding off during her stops.

When I got off the bus I noticed that her eyes were rimmed red like you see on a drug addict. She was just a little too cheery and manic. It was the kind of cheery that could only be obtained by artificial means. I hope this woman does not get in a major accident and seeks help for her problem before it’s too late...

THE ALARM
I am beginning to notice that my downstairs neighbors seems to have what I at first thought was a smoke detector gone haywire by old batteries may in fact be a security alarm. Their alarm seems to go off every weekend around 12:30 in the afternoon. I wonder if they are aware of this.

The presence of an alarm makes me wonder if the reason they have one is to ward off frequent break ins or to prevent future break ins from ever occurring...

All in all the presence of this alarm makes me want to really get to work at setting up the one I bought at Radio Shack when I first moved in 6-7 years ago. The reason I haven't set it up was that involved stuff like using something called a Phillips screwdriver. I have no idea what that is or if I own one. I guess I could call my brother and see if he could help me install it.

WHAT I’M WEARING: Right now, I have on a nightshirt with a cartoon cat on it. The caption on the shirt reads, “I Hate Mondays!” On my feet I have on big, fuzzy, purple slippers.