This has been one of the longest, hottest summers I can remember, and it is only just New Year now! The Boxing Day earthquake was an unkind blow to this city, just when remedial work was really getting under way. Some buildings that had made it through the "big one" crumbled under this extra pressure- we had almost 30 quakes in the following 24 hours! Jan claims credit for the big one at 1 am the following morning; being really fed up and sure another quake was imminent, she banged her wall and shouted at the Universe to stop faffing around, she was sick of waiting- and Bam!! the universe replied!
All this shaking around certainly takes its toll on one's emotional stamina. When the big one hit on Boxing Day, I was playing the organ at my Church (pictured on this site). All were singing lustily and we all faltered for a moment. Then I thought "I'm not going to let a litle earthquake stop us" and carried on. (So did the singing). Later, I was told that the church roof moved alarmingly above us (wish I'd seen that). The Minister was on the verge of calling for us to hit the floor and get under the pews but the quake only lasted 4 1/2 seconds. (5 is the magic number). Only later did I discover that this quake was almost as bad as the September 4th one. I was a bit quick to dismiss it as "just another earthquake!
We had a great attendance at our local peer support group tonight. It is great to see the group developing into a group of friends who all find so much to talk about. The 2 1/2 hours we have go past really quickly. It's amazing how our stories and reminisinces contain such a strong resemblance to those of other Aspies. It's sad, but there is also an innate strength in the fact that we have all come through these hellish times and are still alive.
A bit more tolerance and understanding from the neuro-typical community would go a long way to reduce the human misery I see reflected in Aspie stories from all over the world! That's something I hope to see improving as the years go by and the knowledge about Asperger Syndrome is more fully understood.
All this shaking around certainly takes its toll on one's emotional stamina. When the big one hit on Boxing Day, I was playing the organ at my Church (pictured on this site). All were singing lustily and we all faltered for a moment. Then I thought "I'm not going to let a litle earthquake stop us" and carried on. (So did the singing). Later, I was told that the church roof moved alarmingly above us (wish I'd seen that). The Minister was on the verge of calling for us to hit the floor and get under the pews but the quake only lasted 4 1/2 seconds. (5 is the magic number). Only later did I discover that this quake was almost as bad as the September 4th one. I was a bit quick to dismiss it as "just another earthquake!
We had a great attendance at our local peer support group tonight. It is great to see the group developing into a group of friends who all find so much to talk about. The 2 1/2 hours we have go past really quickly. It's amazing how our stories and reminisinces contain such a strong resemblance to those of other Aspies. It's sad, but there is also an innate strength in the fact that we have all come through these hellish times and are still alive.
A bit more tolerance and understanding from the neuro-typical community would go a long way to reduce the human misery I see reflected in Aspie stories from all over the world! That's something I hope to see improving as the years go by and the knowledge about Asperger Syndrome is more fully understood.