Things didn't work out for me when I pursued both radio and
television as a career after graduation from Emerson College in 1986. I'll
admit that for years I was hurt and angry about it, but just before I
got my diagnosis in 2002 I did decide to move on to a writing career.
In fact it was during an assignment for a writing class when I
learned that I really have Asperger's Syndrome and Non-Verbal Learning
Disorder (the Sleep Apnea diagnosis came later in 2005).
When I
now think about the years I pursued a career in both those two
broadcasting fields, tears do come. At least I am glad that
I don't get angry anymore because that can be very destructive,
energy draining and erode your soul.
That's another reason I want to write my memoir, Uncommon Bostonian. Anger is the wrong way to react.
I'm happy I got my freedom from the anger.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Saturday, July 30, 2005
iPod Killed The Radio Star?
I recently read the Kill The DJ article in the latest Weekly Dig.
The story is about Mike FM (formerly Star 93.7 in Boston, MA) which is
just an iPod playing on shuffle 24/7 with no disc jockeys. So does
that mean the disc jockey is going the way of the Dodo? When I was a
disc jockey, I usually kept my talking to a minimum because the music
was the star of the radio.
Most people have come up to me over the years and complained about what was going on the radio: Endless contests, ridiculous polls, and mindless banter. I lost count on the many times people told me that they couldn't stand Charles Laquidara, Joe Martelle, or any other disc jockey for saying or doing something on the air during their shows.
One interesting thing I should mention is that nobody ever complained about Dude Walker (the disc jockey I listed first in my favorite DJ category).
So does that mean the Disc Jockey is going to become an extinct job position in the future? Only Time Will Tell. That 's a song I heard on Mike FM recently. Asia was the name of the band who did that song.
[Edited on 7/31/ to add]
I forgot to mention that the article had a photo and comment from one of my teachers from Emerson College, Jack Casey, who is currently the General Manager at WERS, the FM Emerson radio station. Looking good, Jack! :-)
Most people have come up to me over the years and complained about what was going on the radio: Endless contests, ridiculous polls, and mindless banter. I lost count on the many times people told me that they couldn't stand Charles Laquidara, Joe Martelle, or any other disc jockey for saying or doing something on the air during their shows.
One interesting thing I should mention is that nobody ever complained about Dude Walker (the disc jockey I listed first in my favorite DJ category).
So does that mean the Disc Jockey is going to become an extinct job position in the future? Only Time Will Tell. That 's a song I heard on Mike FM recently. Asia was the name of the band who did that song.
[Edited on 7/31/ to add]
I forgot to mention that the article had a photo and comment from one of my teachers from Emerson College, Jack Casey, who is currently the General Manager at WERS, the FM Emerson radio station. Looking good, Jack! :-)
Thursday, July 28, 2005
To Raise Awareness, I Must Invite Others
In addition to showcasing my writing on this blog, I am also raising
awareness of Asperger's Syndrome and Non-Verbal Learning
Disorder. In order to do that I have to send out more e-mail
invitations to people, including the media (one of my interests).
In fact, just about everybody has an e-mail address now.
So for the people seeing my blog for the first time after getting an e-mail invite,
HELLO!
So for the people seeing my blog for the first time after getting an e-mail invite,
HELLO!
But Is He Already In An Institution On Maui?
This is an essay I wrote for a writing class in 2000, a few weeks before Charles Laquidara announced his retirement.
A BOSTON INSTITUTION, OR SHOULD HE BE INSTITUTIONALIZED?
A veteran of Boston radio since 1969, Charles Laquidara is outspoken and outrageous. The first time I saw him in public was in 1994 when he was the morning disc jockey at WBCN-FM. The New England Broadcast Association (NEBA) was holding a workshop that featured guest speakers from the broadcasting industry who would talking about their careers. Although NEBA didn’t advertise who the guest speakers were ahead of time, I attended and was surprised to see Charles walking around.
How did I recognize him? Easily? The year before he was on the cover of the Improper Bostonian magazine wearing nothing but a pair of multi-colored boxer shorts over his hairy body.
On the day of the workshop he was fully clothed, of course. He was dressed in black from head to toe, although his shirt had thin white vertical stripes. He wore no tie. I’ve never seen him wear one. He’s a bit under 6 feet tall, but I’m taller. He was in his mid-50’s at the time when his dark hair and beard were graying. Years later, it would go completely gray. Recently, though, he dyed it blond. He did it to embarrass his daughter at her high school graduation by making himself look like a “Surfer Dude.” He’s married and also has a son.
Charles comes from a large Italian family in Milford, Massachusetts, where his father was a barber like Charlie Brown’s Dad. At the NEBA workshop, he talked about his original career choice: acting. He lived in Hollywood back in the early 1960’s. When he got the chance to play the lead in the movie The Boston Strangler, the director got a call from Tony Curtis and fired him from the role. That’s how Charles ended up in radio.
Charles’ voice makes him sound like a wise guy, especially when he disagrees about something, and it has gotten him in trouble over the years. When he boycotted Shell Oil on the air and burned his Shell credit card back in 1988, he refused to play any of their commercials because of their ties to Apartheid. It almost cost him his job.
A few years back, he got in trouble with me once when he picked on Three Dog Night, a famous1970s Rock’n’Roll band, because the band didn’t write their own songs. I was incensed because I gave him a copy of my college radio documentary that I made about them about a year before he moved to WZLX. I wrote a couple of letters to him telling him that he was wrong to say that. I doubted that I would change his mind because he’s not the first stubborn disc jockey I’ve met. But he was kind enough to read one of my letters on the air.
I called him up and thanked him. He asked me not to tell anyone that I love Three Dog Night as a favor to him. Of course, I refused. Although I called his remarks stupid, I think he’s a little crazy.
A BOSTON INSTITUTION, OR SHOULD HE BE INSTITUTIONALIZED?
A veteran of Boston radio since 1969, Charles Laquidara is outspoken and outrageous. The first time I saw him in public was in 1994 when he was the morning disc jockey at WBCN-FM. The New England Broadcast Association (NEBA) was holding a workshop that featured guest speakers from the broadcasting industry who would talking about their careers. Although NEBA didn’t advertise who the guest speakers were ahead of time, I attended and was surprised to see Charles walking around.
How did I recognize him? Easily? The year before he was on the cover of the Improper Bostonian magazine wearing nothing but a pair of multi-colored boxer shorts over his hairy body.
On the day of the workshop he was fully clothed, of course. He was dressed in black from head to toe, although his shirt had thin white vertical stripes. He wore no tie. I’ve never seen him wear one. He’s a bit under 6 feet tall, but I’m taller. He was in his mid-50’s at the time when his dark hair and beard were graying. Years later, it would go completely gray. Recently, though, he dyed it blond. He did it to embarrass his daughter at her high school graduation by making himself look like a “Surfer Dude.” He’s married and also has a son.
Charles comes from a large Italian family in Milford, Massachusetts, where his father was a barber like Charlie Brown’s Dad. At the NEBA workshop, he talked about his original career choice: acting. He lived in Hollywood back in the early 1960’s. When he got the chance to play the lead in the movie The Boston Strangler, the director got a call from Tony Curtis and fired him from the role. That’s how Charles ended up in radio.
Charles’ voice makes him sound like a wise guy, especially when he disagrees about something, and it has gotten him in trouble over the years. When he boycotted Shell Oil on the air and burned his Shell credit card back in 1988, he refused to play any of their commercials because of their ties to Apartheid. It almost cost him his job.
A few years back, he got in trouble with me once when he picked on Three Dog Night, a famous1970s Rock’n’Roll band, because the band didn’t write their own songs. I was incensed because I gave him a copy of my college radio documentary that I made about them about a year before he moved to WZLX. I wrote a couple of letters to him telling him that he was wrong to say that. I doubted that I would change his mind because he’s not the first stubborn disc jockey I’ve met. But he was kind enough to read one of my letters on the air.
I called him up and thanked him. He asked me not to tell anyone that I love Three Dog Night as a favor to him. Of course, I refused. Although I called his remarks stupid, I think he’s a little crazy.
RADIO DAZE
This is an essay I read to the
audience at the 2004 Boston Beanstalks Miss Tall Boston Pageant.
I was a contestant, but I didn't win. Oh, well!
Radio Daze
By
Yvonne E. Christian
One night in February 1994 my friends and I went to a seminar about wanting to break into broadcasting.
The first speaker, Charles Laquidara of WBCN-FM, talked about how he got into radio, and that speech got me interested in pursuing radio again. I had been a disc jockey back in the mid-1980s at Emerson College’s two radio stations: WECB-AM and WERS-FM. After graduation in 1986, I worked briefly at a very tiny radio station that went financially bankrupt soon afterwards.
In the following years, I couldn’t get another radio job. In the meantime, I started hanging out with Joe and Andy at WROR for a few years. They were a lot of fun, but my days of hanging out with them ended in the early 1990s because their radio station changed music formats, and their call letters became WBMX.
With the help of my fellow Emerson alumni Shred who works at WBCN, I had the opportunity to go to WBCN one morning and fill out an application for Listener Line Volunteer. I was very familiar with WBCN, the Rock of Boston, because I had listened to that station many times while I was an Emerson student back in the 1980s. I remember listening to Ken Shelton, Mark Parenteau, Carter Alan, Carla Razwyck, Albert O and, last but not least, Charles Laquidara.
Weeks later I became a volunteer on the weekends helping out Melissa, a weekend disc jockey and one of Charles Laquidara’s Big Mattress producers. So here I was an ex-DJ helping out another DJ with song requests and contest giveaways. Our callers were mainly teenagers. The boys were asking me out for a date while Melissa talked to the girls.
One day, Melissa invited a 13-year old girl named Christine to the station. When I opened the front door to let Christine and her family in, I was surprised to see how tall she was. She was taller than her own mother and almost as tall as me.
After I introduced myself, Christine asked me about how tall Melissa was and I said, “They call her ‘Little Melissa’ around here. Don’t accidentally trip over her.”
By the way, the only disc jockey taller than me was Mark Parenteau.
I was with WBCN from October 1994 to April 2000. Nearly six years. I had a lot of fun with Melissa, Charles and the others. I left because I was tired of answering phone calls and not having much to do there. I finally realized that the radio business was the wrong career path and now I am a writer.
What do I write about? Well I have six years of being with WBCN to write about. Just check out my website that’s listed in your programs (http://www.yvonnechristian.unimstores.com). Soon I’ll be writing my tell all book, “Laquidara Dearest.”
Radio Daze
By
Yvonne E. Christian
One night in February 1994 my friends and I went to a seminar about wanting to break into broadcasting.
The first speaker, Charles Laquidara of WBCN-FM, talked about how he got into radio, and that speech got me interested in pursuing radio again. I had been a disc jockey back in the mid-1980s at Emerson College’s two radio stations: WECB-AM and WERS-FM. After graduation in 1986, I worked briefly at a very tiny radio station that went financially bankrupt soon afterwards.
In the following years, I couldn’t get another radio job. In the meantime, I started hanging out with Joe and Andy at WROR for a few years. They were a lot of fun, but my days of hanging out with them ended in the early 1990s because their radio station changed music formats, and their call letters became WBMX.
With the help of my fellow Emerson alumni Shred who works at WBCN, I had the opportunity to go to WBCN one morning and fill out an application for Listener Line Volunteer. I was very familiar with WBCN, the Rock of Boston, because I had listened to that station many times while I was an Emerson student back in the 1980s. I remember listening to Ken Shelton, Mark Parenteau, Carter Alan, Carla Razwyck, Albert O and, last but not least, Charles Laquidara.
Weeks later I became a volunteer on the weekends helping out Melissa, a weekend disc jockey and one of Charles Laquidara’s Big Mattress producers. So here I was an ex-DJ helping out another DJ with song requests and contest giveaways. Our callers were mainly teenagers. The boys were asking me out for a date while Melissa talked to the girls.
One day, Melissa invited a 13-year old girl named Christine to the station. When I opened the front door to let Christine and her family in, I was surprised to see how tall she was. She was taller than her own mother and almost as tall as me.
After I introduced myself, Christine asked me about how tall Melissa was and I said, “They call her ‘Little Melissa’ around here. Don’t accidentally trip over her.”
By the way, the only disc jockey taller than me was Mark Parenteau.
I was with WBCN from October 1994 to April 2000. Nearly six years. I had a lot of fun with Melissa, Charles and the others. I left because I was tired of answering phone calls and not having much to do there. I finally realized that the radio business was the wrong career path and now I am a writer.
What do I write about? Well I have six years of being with WBCN to write about. Just check out my website that’s listed in your programs (http://www.yvonnechristian.unimstores.com). Soon I’ll be writing my tell all book, “Laquidara Dearest.”
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
My Strong Interest Inventory Results
I also took the Strong Interest Inventory. These are my results.
General Occupation Themes: describe interests in six broad areas, including interest in work and leisure activities, kinds of people, and work settings.
These are my six broad areas from top to bottom:
A – Artistic: Creating or enjoying art
C – Conventional: Accounting, processing data
E – Enterprising: Selling, managing
R – Realistic: Building, repairing
I – Investigative: Researching, analyzing
S – Social: Helping, instructing
My Theme Code: ACE (The top three Interests)
Basic Interest Scales: measure my interests in 25 specific areas or activities. Here is my Top 5 List:
Computer Activities – Working with computers
Writing – Reading or writing
Art – Appreciating or creating art
Music/Dramatics – Performing or enjoying music
Applied Arts – Producing or enjoying visual art
Occupational Scales: measure how similar my interests are to the interests of people who are satisfied working in those occupations. Here is my Top 10 List:
Technical Writer
Paralegal
Musician
Translator
Advertising Executive
Broadcaster
Librarian
Artist, Fine
Photographer
Banker
General Occupation Themes: describe interests in six broad areas, including interest in work and leisure activities, kinds of people, and work settings.
These are my six broad areas from top to bottom:
A – Artistic: Creating or enjoying art
C – Conventional: Accounting, processing data
E – Enterprising: Selling, managing
R – Realistic: Building, repairing
I – Investigative: Researching, analyzing
S – Social: Helping, instructing
My Theme Code: ACE (The top three Interests)
Basic Interest Scales: measure my interests in 25 specific areas or activities. Here is my Top 5 List:
Computer Activities – Working with computers
Writing – Reading or writing
Art – Appreciating or creating art
Music/Dramatics – Performing or enjoying music
Applied Arts – Producing or enjoying visual art
Occupational Scales: measure how similar my interests are to the interests of people who are satisfied working in those occupations. Here is my Top 10 List:
Technical Writer
Paralegal
Musician
Translator
Advertising Executive
Broadcaster
Librarian
Artist, Fine
Photographer
Banker
I Wish I Took These Tests When I Was A Kid
Recently I took a few tests for a researcher who’s done a study about
Adults with Asperger’s Syndrome. These are two of the results.
From the Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Scale (generally used to assess children between the ages of 5 through 18, but was used for the purpose of the researcher’s study to assess adult subjects).
The Scale of ASQ
>110 – Very Likely
90-110 – Likely
80-89 – Possibly
70-79 – Unlikely
≤69 – Very Unlikely
My Asperger Syndrome Quotient is 124
The probability of Asperger Syndrome is Very Likely.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
Description of a person’s personality type. There are four dichotomies:
Extraversion-Introversion: describes where people prefer to focus their attention and get their energy – from the outer world of people and activity or their inner world of ideas and impressions.
Sensing-Intuition: describes how people prefer to take in information – focused on what is real and concrete information gained from their senses or focus on the future and on patterns and meanings in data.
Thinking-Feeling: describes how people prefer to make decisions – based on logical analysis or guided by concern for their impact on others.
Judging-Perceiving: describes how people prefer to deal with the outer world – in a planned and organized way or in a flexible spontaneous way.
My personality type is INTP (I = Introversion, N= Intuition, T=Thinking, P=Perceiving)
Seek to develop logical explanations for everything that interests them. Theoretical and abstract, interested more in ideas than in social interaction. Quiet, contained, flexible, and adaptable. Have unusual ability to focus in depth to solve problems in their area of interest. Skeptical, sometimes critical, always analytical.
I first took the Myers-Brigg test back in 1995 and it came back as INTP. The tester at the career counselor office had no idea that I had Asperger's Syndrome.
From the Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Scale (generally used to assess children between the ages of 5 through 18, but was used for the purpose of the researcher’s study to assess adult subjects).
The Scale of ASQ
>110 – Very Likely
90-110 – Likely
80-89 – Possibly
70-79 – Unlikely
≤69 – Very Unlikely
My Asperger Syndrome Quotient is 124
The probability of Asperger Syndrome is Very Likely.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
Description of a person’s personality type. There are four dichotomies:
Extraversion-Introversion: describes where people prefer to focus their attention and get their energy – from the outer world of people and activity or their inner world of ideas and impressions.
Sensing-Intuition: describes how people prefer to take in information – focused on what is real and concrete information gained from their senses or focus on the future and on patterns and meanings in data.
Thinking-Feeling: describes how people prefer to make decisions – based on logical analysis or guided by concern for their impact on others.
Judging-Perceiving: describes how people prefer to deal with the outer world – in a planned and organized way or in a flexible spontaneous way.
My personality type is INTP (I = Introversion, N= Intuition, T=Thinking, P=Perceiving)
Seek to develop logical explanations for everything that interests them. Theoretical and abstract, interested more in ideas than in social interaction. Quiet, contained, flexible, and adaptable. Have unusual ability to focus in depth to solve problems in their area of interest. Skeptical, sometimes critical, always analytical.
I first took the Myers-Brigg test back in 1995 and it came back as INTP. The tester at the career counselor office had no idea that I had Asperger's Syndrome.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
My Poor Knees!
I went to see my Physical Therapist, Barbara, today. She's
helping me regain strength in my right leg because I hurt my knee in
the car accident. She said the right knee is doing better.
Unfortunately, she noticed that my left knee was swollen. I told her what happened last Thursday night. My left knee popped loudly while I was busy getting my cats and myself ready for bed. This happened after I came home from meeting Temple Grandin at the Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge.
I told Barbara that I put an ice pack on my left knee shortly after it popped that night. However there was a lot of swelling on the knee that had Barbara worried. So she put an ice pack on my left knee and wrapped it up while she helped me exercize my right knee with some weights.
Now I have to spend the rest of the week putting my ice pack on my left knee. Lucky me.
Unfortunately, she noticed that my left knee was swollen. I told her what happened last Thursday night. My left knee popped loudly while I was busy getting my cats and myself ready for bed. This happened after I came home from meeting Temple Grandin at the Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge.
I told Barbara that I put an ice pack on my left knee shortly after it popped that night. However there was a lot of swelling on the knee that had Barbara worried. So she put an ice pack on my left knee and wrapped it up while she helped me exercize my right knee with some weights.
Now I have to spend the rest of the week putting my ice pack on my left knee. Lucky me.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
70s Soul Jam Concert
Last night was an AANE social group event: The Oldies 103 70s Jam concert. I had a good time there.
The groups were Harold Melvin's Blue Notes, Cuba Gooding Sr.'s the Main Ingredient, the Chi-Lites and the Stylistics. We were all gathered together on the right side in the middle section of the Hatch Shell.
I'm glad I brought along my Beach Chair. It was comfortable to sit in that chair. The next concert isn't until August 20 with KC and the Sunshine Band. I love KC. He had everybody up and dancing towards the end of his concert back in 2003 (that was the last time he did a concert for Oldies 103).
The groups were Harold Melvin's Blue Notes, Cuba Gooding Sr.'s the Main Ingredient, the Chi-Lites and the Stylistics. We were all gathered together on the right side in the middle section of the Hatch Shell.
I'm glad I brought along my Beach Chair. It was comfortable to sit in that chair. The next concert isn't until August 20 with KC and the Sunshine Band. I love KC. He had everybody up and dancing towards the end of his concert back in 2003 (that was the last time he did a concert for Oldies 103).
Friday, July 22, 2005
I Met Temple Grandin Who Is Also on The Spectrum Like Me
Last Thursday night, July 21, I went over to the Harvard Book Store on
Mass Avenue in Cambridge and saw Temple Grandin talk about herself, her
career, her autism and her latest book, Animal Translations. I was lucky enough to be in the line for autographs, even though I was unable to afford to buy her book at the moment.
I told her that I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome only three years ago and currently working on my own memoir. She was interested to hear me out about my desire to be a published writer like herself. She invited to stay around after the booksigning to talk more. Stephen Shore, the President of the Asperger Association of New England, was there also to see Temple.
A woman approached me after I had told a reporter from the Weekly Dig that my mother was from Texas and raised me to eat meat. She told me that she suspected that her brother who is 60 years old has Asperger's Syndrome but refuses to be diagnosed. I told her that it is up to him whether or not he wants a diagnosis. She told me that he has all the signs of AS.
I enjoyed the event very much, despite how hot it was in there. It was a big crowd and Temple's book sold out very quickly. It was almost 9 O'Clock when I left the bookstore. Temple was still talking to a few people about animal rights.
I told her that I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome only three years ago and currently working on my own memoir. She was interested to hear me out about my desire to be a published writer like herself. She invited to stay around after the booksigning to talk more. Stephen Shore, the President of the Asperger Association of New England, was there also to see Temple.
A woman approached me after I had told a reporter from the Weekly Dig that my mother was from Texas and raised me to eat meat. She told me that she suspected that her brother who is 60 years old has Asperger's Syndrome but refuses to be diagnosed. I told her that it is up to him whether or not he wants a diagnosis. She told me that he has all the signs of AS.
I enjoyed the event very much, despite how hot it was in there. It was a big crowd and Temple's book sold out very quickly. It was almost 9 O'Clock when I left the bookstore. Temple was still talking to a few people about animal rights.
Another Career Counselor, Another Search For the Right Path
Wednesday evening in Cambridge, I met a career counselor who works for
Career Source at the Fresh Pond Mall. I left work early in Quincy
and drove directly over there in rush hour traffic. It took me
more than 90 minutes to get there and I was five minutes late.
I met with David, the career counselor that a friend of mine recommended. We talked for over an hour. I told him about my long search for the right career path. I was almost stunned when he suggested the seven stories exercises from the Bolles book, What Color is My Parachute? Then I surprised him when I told him that I've done that before 12 years ago. That only led me to volunteering at WBCN a year later in 1994. I spent almost six years of volunteering there and that didn't lead me to any new career path.
Then I told him about other things I did over that 12 year period while searching for the right career: networking, cold calls, meet and greet parties, informational interviews, volunteering, joining professional organizations, being part of a committee, etc.
The worst part of that meeting was that he didn't bother to read the application I had filled out three weeks ago at Career Source that explained my situation. He had never heard of Asperger's Syndrome and Non-Verbal Learning Disorder. Then he told me that I should put my writing career on hold in order for me to do a job search. My current daytime job is not financially rewarding.
I had to maintain calm when he suggested that I put my writing on hold. That made me keep quiet about my blog and websites. I did tell him about my planned memoir and how I am re-working the query letter.
He gave me some papers about doing the seven stories and an infomercial excersize. He told me to come back for a few more appointments with him. I told him that I had to think about it.
I met with David, the career counselor that a friend of mine recommended. We talked for over an hour. I told him about my long search for the right career path. I was almost stunned when he suggested the seven stories exercises from the Bolles book, What Color is My Parachute? Then I surprised him when I told him that I've done that before 12 years ago. That only led me to volunteering at WBCN a year later in 1994. I spent almost six years of volunteering there and that didn't lead me to any new career path.
Then I told him about other things I did over that 12 year period while searching for the right career: networking, cold calls, meet and greet parties, informational interviews, volunteering, joining professional organizations, being part of a committee, etc.
The worst part of that meeting was that he didn't bother to read the application I had filled out three weeks ago at Career Source that explained my situation. He had never heard of Asperger's Syndrome and Non-Verbal Learning Disorder. Then he told me that I should put my writing career on hold in order for me to do a job search. My current daytime job is not financially rewarding.
I had to maintain calm when he suggested that I put my writing on hold. That made me keep quiet about my blog and websites. I did tell him about my planned memoir and how I am re-working the query letter.
He gave me some papers about doing the seven stories and an infomercial excersize. He told me to come back for a few more appointments with him. I told him that I had to think about it.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Good News! I Got A New Suitcase!
Last month I flew down for my niece's wedding in Washington, DC.
When I finally got my suitcase back at the baggage claim area at BWI, a
big long slash was across the outer pocket of my suitcase.
Fortunately, I didn't have anything in that part of the suitcase.
A man in the baggage claim office taped it back together while I filed
my complaint.
When I told him that I live in Boston, he told me to fill out a form when I get back to Logan Airport. He promptly took the form I had just filled out and threw it in the trash. I took his name and phone number, just in case of any problems.
As soon as I got back to Boston and got off the plane, I went over to the ticket counter people and told them what happened in detail. They told me I shouldn't have let the man at the BWI baggage claim tear up the form I filled out because damage complaints are supposed to be done in 24 hours of the incident. I told them that the man I spoke to said to file it at Logan not at BWI. After speaking to their supervisor, they let me file a complaint and instructed me that I had ten days to give them my damaged suitcase so that they send it away to be repaired.
Last week, a rep from Air Tran called me and told me the news that my old suitcase was damaged beyond repair. Then she told me that they were sending a new suitcase which is similar to my old one. I just got the new one tonight and it looks great! Even better than the old one.
Thanks Air Tran! :-)
When I told him that I live in Boston, he told me to fill out a form when I get back to Logan Airport. He promptly took the form I had just filled out and threw it in the trash. I took his name and phone number, just in case of any problems.
As soon as I got back to Boston and got off the plane, I went over to the ticket counter people and told them what happened in detail. They told me I shouldn't have let the man at the BWI baggage claim tear up the form I filled out because damage complaints are supposed to be done in 24 hours of the incident. I told them that the man I spoke to said to file it at Logan not at BWI. After speaking to their supervisor, they let me file a complaint and instructed me that I had ten days to give them my damaged suitcase so that they send it away to be repaired.
Last week, a rep from Air Tran called me and told me the news that my old suitcase was damaged beyond repair. Then she told me that they were sending a new suitcase which is similar to my old one. I just got the new one tonight and it looks great! Even better than the old one.
Thanks Air Tran! :-)
More Sad News! James Doohan, "Scotty" of Star Trek Passes Away
Another person who made my childhood special has died this week.
I've watched Star Trek since I was little, even before I started
Kindergarten in 1969. I grew up watching James Doohan play Mr. Montgomery Scott (a.k.a. "Scotty") on TV. Today he passed away.
It was in 1983 when I attended my very first Star Trek convention right here in Boston. James Doohan was the special guest. I was a freshman at Emerson College. I was overwhelmed because it was my first time. I enjoyed his lecture to us and the Q&A session that followed. He was very nice.
I saw him at several more conventions over the years and finally met him in 1992. I shook his hand, took his picture and received his autograph. A true gentleman.
He'll be greatly missed everywhere.
It was in 1983 when I attended my very first Star Trek convention right here in Boston. James Doohan was the special guest. I was a freshman at Emerson College. I was overwhelmed because it was my first time. I enjoyed his lecture to us and the Q&A session that followed. He was very nice.
I saw him at several more conventions over the years and finally met him in 1992. I shook his hand, took his picture and received his autograph. A true gentleman.
He'll be greatly missed everywhere.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Sad News! Jim Aparo Has Died!
Tonight I went to the John Byrne Forum and learned that DC Comics
artist, Jim Aparo, has died of complications from a recent
illness. It's all in the Jim Aparo R.I.P. thread.
I grew up reading Brave & The Bold and other books he drew. He was great at drawing Batman, The Spectre and Phantom Stranger. He'll be missed.
Thank you Jim! Rest In Peace!
I grew up reading Brave & The Bold and other books he drew. He was great at drawing Batman, The Spectre and Phantom Stranger. He'll be missed.
Thank you Jim! Rest In Peace!
Monday, July 18, 2005
What? Me Sensitive To Criticism?
Back in October 1995 I met Kurt Vonnegut, one of my writing idols, who
gave a great lecture about writing at The Arlington Street Church for
the Boston Center for Adult Learning's 1st Annual Writers
Festival. He said that a writer should have a good proofreader to
look at his/her work before sending out to an editor or a literary
agent.
Getting feedback was always hard for me, especially after a job interview. For some reason the interviewer didn't want to talk to me ever again or even send a rejection letter. So it was hard to me to know what I was saying was appropriate or not. It's the same feeling I have with my writing. Sometimes I'm not certain I'm writing something that's going to be misunderstood as offensive or whatever.
When I sometimes received criticism, it usually didn't make any sense. For example, the person would say "You should know...." or "You already know..." but the truth was that I didn't know or just didn't understand why I should know that point that person was criticizing me about. Sometimes I wondered if they were talking about me or someone else because what they were criticizing didn't sound like something I said, did or wrote.
I'm not sensitive to criticism because I have joined writers workshops and writers groups and had a good time being part of it. I am even with a few writers forums on the Internet. I haven't had any problems with receiving criticism.
Before I was diagnosed, I was sensitive to things people said to me because I couldn't tell whether or not they were being verbally abusive. That's my only guess why a few people would think I was sensitive to criticism. The truth was that I was emotionally abused a lot and it wrecked my self-esteem. I've spent most of my adult life improving it.
Getting feedback was always hard for me, especially after a job interview. For some reason the interviewer didn't want to talk to me ever again or even send a rejection letter. So it was hard to me to know what I was saying was appropriate or not. It's the same feeling I have with my writing. Sometimes I'm not certain I'm writing something that's going to be misunderstood as offensive or whatever.
When I sometimes received criticism, it usually didn't make any sense. For example, the person would say "You should know...." or "You already know..." but the truth was that I didn't know or just didn't understand why I should know that point that person was criticizing me about. Sometimes I wondered if they were talking about me or someone else because what they were criticizing didn't sound like something I said, did or wrote.
I'm not sensitive to criticism because I have joined writers workshops and writers groups and had a good time being part of it. I am even with a few writers forums on the Internet. I haven't had any problems with receiving criticism.
Before I was diagnosed, I was sensitive to things people said to me because I couldn't tell whether or not they were being verbally abusive. That's my only guess why a few people would think I was sensitive to criticism. The truth was that I was emotionally abused a lot and it wrecked my self-esteem. I've spent most of my adult life improving it.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
How AS Affected My Radio Career
A Past "Uncommentary" From 2003
How Asperger’s Syndrome Affected My Radio Career
After graduation from Emerson College in 1986, I had the knowledge and experience to pursue a radio career. However, as the rejections from desired radio stations became more frequent, I noticed that something was wrong because the feedback I was getting was irrelevant having nothing to do with the job I was applying for. Some of the feedback was about my not being able to relate to people and couldn’t connect with people. In my opinion they were talking nonsense because they were not vital requirements and other disc jockeys that I listened to here in Boston seemed as good as I was. It seemed to me that the program directors were making things up to keep me out of radio.
Little did I know at that time that I had Asperger’s Syndrome, a neurological condition that impairs social skills. It’s also a communication disorder. There’s no cure for it.
I had to take speech therapy while I was a college freshman because my voice was flat with no inflections. My Public Speaking teacher sent me to Emerson’s Speech and Communications Disorders Department where my voice was tested. They put me with a Speech Pathologist to work on my speech. The following year I was in the Voice and Articulation class. The next year after that I was in Radio Performance. I also worked at both WECB-AM and WERS-FM during my years at Emerson.
With a tape and resume, I landed a disc jockey job outside of Boston that lasted a few months because the radio station went off the air due to a lack of funds. I looked for more work in that field, but the rejections were harsh and difficult to understand because some of the program directors wrote in their letters that I had no experience whatsoever! Others would just say that I had “potential but need more experience” and nothing else.
On two occasions did I try to give up my pursuit of a radio career, but other radio professionals convinced me to keep trying after they heard my tape and looked over my resume. They said that I did have experience but just needed a little bit more to succeed. In October 1994, WBCN-FM in Boston hired me as a weekend listener line volunteer for Melissa, one of their weekend disc jockeys. I was there for almost six years answering telephones and writing down names of callers for contest prizes and song requests. That’s all I did there and wasn’t paid for it because the job was a non-wage position.
Trying to find the right career path at WBCN was difficult. Whenever I asked for an informational interview with the program director, Oedipus, he would refuse and get one of his assistants to tell me to get more experience instead. Even having WBCN on my resume didn’t matter at all when I applied for radio jobs. In April 2000, I left WBCN for good because whatever the criticism that was keeping me out of getting radio jobs didn’t exist to me.
Two years later, I started going to a neurotherapist for EEG Biofeedback therapy to treat a mental disorder that I was diagnosed in 1989 called Intermittent Explosive Disorder, an impulse control disorder that causes anger outbursts. She realized that my real mental disorder was Asperger’s Syndrome (AS), a mild form of autism. After I got the results of my tests from another doctor who is a neuro-psychologist, I had confirmation that I do have Asperger’s Syndrome. That doctor explained that I do not perceive everything around me, and it’s been that way for most of my life.
That statement made me realize that I did lack something that the radio people were telling me about, but I am unable to perceive it because of Asperger’s Syndrome. It will never exist to me at all, but at last I know that something kept me out of the radio business.
© Uncommentary, 2003
How Asperger’s Syndrome Affected My Radio Career
After graduation from Emerson College in 1986, I had the knowledge and experience to pursue a radio career. However, as the rejections from desired radio stations became more frequent, I noticed that something was wrong because the feedback I was getting was irrelevant having nothing to do with the job I was applying for. Some of the feedback was about my not being able to relate to people and couldn’t connect with people. In my opinion they were talking nonsense because they were not vital requirements and other disc jockeys that I listened to here in Boston seemed as good as I was. It seemed to me that the program directors were making things up to keep me out of radio.
Little did I know at that time that I had Asperger’s Syndrome, a neurological condition that impairs social skills. It’s also a communication disorder. There’s no cure for it.
I had to take speech therapy while I was a college freshman because my voice was flat with no inflections. My Public Speaking teacher sent me to Emerson’s Speech and Communications Disorders Department where my voice was tested. They put me with a Speech Pathologist to work on my speech. The following year I was in the Voice and Articulation class. The next year after that I was in Radio Performance. I also worked at both WECB-AM and WERS-FM during my years at Emerson.
With a tape and resume, I landed a disc jockey job outside of Boston that lasted a few months because the radio station went off the air due to a lack of funds. I looked for more work in that field, but the rejections were harsh and difficult to understand because some of the program directors wrote in their letters that I had no experience whatsoever! Others would just say that I had “potential but need more experience” and nothing else.
On two occasions did I try to give up my pursuit of a radio career, but other radio professionals convinced me to keep trying after they heard my tape and looked over my resume. They said that I did have experience but just needed a little bit more to succeed. In October 1994, WBCN-FM in Boston hired me as a weekend listener line volunteer for Melissa, one of their weekend disc jockeys. I was there for almost six years answering telephones and writing down names of callers for contest prizes and song requests. That’s all I did there and wasn’t paid for it because the job was a non-wage position.
Trying to find the right career path at WBCN was difficult. Whenever I asked for an informational interview with the program director, Oedipus, he would refuse and get one of his assistants to tell me to get more experience instead. Even having WBCN on my resume didn’t matter at all when I applied for radio jobs. In April 2000, I left WBCN for good because whatever the criticism that was keeping me out of getting radio jobs didn’t exist to me.
Two years later, I started going to a neurotherapist for EEG Biofeedback therapy to treat a mental disorder that I was diagnosed in 1989 called Intermittent Explosive Disorder, an impulse control disorder that causes anger outbursts. She realized that my real mental disorder was Asperger’s Syndrome (AS), a mild form of autism. After I got the results of my tests from another doctor who is a neuro-psychologist, I had confirmation that I do have Asperger’s Syndrome. That doctor explained that I do not perceive everything around me, and it’s been that way for most of my life.
That statement made me realize that I did lack something that the radio people were telling me about, but I am unable to perceive it because of Asperger’s Syndrome. It will never exist to me at all, but at last I know that something kept me out of the radio business.
© Uncommentary, 2003
My Third of July Trip
A couple of Sundays ago, I was walking across the Yard at Harvard
University to reach Harvard Square. The regular path I walk on
was blocked by construction stuff so I had to walk on a brick
path. The uneveness of the path made the sandal of my right foot
get caught in between two bricks forcing me to trip over.
I fell on my right side hurting my shoulder, hip, knee and ankle. A campus security guard helped me get back up on my feet. I had two small bruises on my leg because I was wearing shorts. My shoulder just throbbed painfully. Dirt was on my purple shirt and I had to contineously dust it off as I walked away.
That evening and the next day, the Fourth of July, I felt sore shoulder to ankle and put some heat and ice on various parts of my body. My right leg is still recovering from the car accident that I had back in December 2004.
My physical therapist did some stretches to help me with my new injuries. A few days later I saw my doctor who checked my leg. Luckily nothing was broken.
My unexpected trip delayed me in starting my blog, but better late than never. The bruises are now gone, but my right knee and ankle still feel sore. OUCH!
I fell on my right side hurting my shoulder, hip, knee and ankle. A campus security guard helped me get back up on my feet. I had two small bruises on my leg because I was wearing shorts. My shoulder just throbbed painfully. Dirt was on my purple shirt and I had to contineously dust it off as I walked away.
That evening and the next day, the Fourth of July, I felt sore shoulder to ankle and put some heat and ice on various parts of my body. My right leg is still recovering from the car accident that I had back in December 2004.
My physical therapist did some stretches to help me with my new injuries. A few days later I saw my doctor who checked my leg. Luckily nothing was broken.
My unexpected trip delayed me in starting my blog, but better late than never. The bruises are now gone, but my right knee and ankle still feel sore. OUCH!
Friday, July 15, 2005
Breathe This!
The breathing mask that came with the ResMed S7 Lightweight
breathing machine to help me take in oxygen to let me sleep better was
finally replaced this week by a nasal pillow. I
have to stick this new device right into my nostrils! At least
it's not as bad as the
old breathing mask I used. That mask put a rash on my face last
month that was as big as a golf ball. It took almost a week for
that huge bump on my forehead to go down to a little brown mark.
Now I have comfort at last when I sleep at night. My older brother, James, told me about the nasal pillow because he uses one with his breathing machine. Sleep Apnea runs in the family, according to one of my doctors.
Now I have comfort at last when I sleep at night. My older brother, James, told me about the nasal pillow because he uses one with his breathing machine. Sleep Apnea runs in the family, according to one of my doctors.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Happy Birthday Alfred! Wish You Were Here!
I wish he was here to celebrate his 44th birthday, but tragically he
can't. Back on June 15, 1980 (Father's Day) he was driving his
Camero home from church in the middle of the day when he somehow lost
control of his blue Camero and struck a big tree head-on. He
suffered a head injury and a broken leg. The crash was in Rock
Creek Park near Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, DC. He
was helicoptered to the hospital. Our parents got the call from
the hospital and went there to see him while I was miles away on a
school field trip to the beach at Assateague Island in Maryland.
I didn't know about Alfred's situation until the school bus got
back in town late that Sunday night. My father broke the bad news
to me as he drove me back home.
The next day I saw Alfred at the hospital all hooked up to machines that were helping him breathe. It was a hearbreaking sight. He was brain dead a few days later on June 19. He was only a few weeks away from his 19th birthday.
I rather talk about his life than his death. He had an abundance of social skills. He easily made friends with everyone he came in contact with. On the other hand, I had the hardest time making friends with anyone. Alfred would just simply talk to them and - Viola! - instant friends. With me, it was instant World War III whenever I talked to someone either at school or anywhere else. This drove me crazy because I thought everyone was just being unfair to me and were treating Alfred like he was Elvis Presley or one of the Beatles. No one hated him. In fact, on his tombstone it says "To know him is to love him."
His death happened while I was still in high school, a place where his fellows students treated him extremely well. I had just finished 10th grade the week he died. Even more depressing that we knew the night before on June 18, Paul McCartney's birthday, that Alfred wasn't going to make it. Paul is my favorite Beatle, but I love all four Beatles. You don't have to imagine (no pun intended) how I felt when Daddy told me that John Lennon had been shot and killed in New York City almost six months after Alfred died.
Alfred was and still is in my thoughts. In the years after his death, I had tried very hard to improve my social skills and kept on failing every time. Just before my 30th birthday when I was ending a disasterous relationship, I realized that something in my brain was preventing me from socializing correctly. Then in November 1997 I realized the first time that I couldn't see certain facial expressions and had trouble understanding body language. It was until 2002 when I had my diagnosis of Aspeger's Syndrome and Non-Verbal Learning Disorder.
At last The Mystery of My Missing Social Skills was solved.
The next day I saw Alfred at the hospital all hooked up to machines that were helping him breathe. It was a hearbreaking sight. He was brain dead a few days later on June 19. He was only a few weeks away from his 19th birthday.
I rather talk about his life than his death. He had an abundance of social skills. He easily made friends with everyone he came in contact with. On the other hand, I had the hardest time making friends with anyone. Alfred would just simply talk to them and - Viola! - instant friends. With me, it was instant World War III whenever I talked to someone either at school or anywhere else. This drove me crazy because I thought everyone was just being unfair to me and were treating Alfred like he was Elvis Presley or one of the Beatles. No one hated him. In fact, on his tombstone it says "To know him is to love him."
His death happened while I was still in high school, a place where his fellows students treated him extremely well. I had just finished 10th grade the week he died. Even more depressing that we knew the night before on June 18, Paul McCartney's birthday, that Alfred wasn't going to make it. Paul is my favorite Beatle, but I love all four Beatles. You don't have to imagine (no pun intended) how I felt when Daddy told me that John Lennon had been shot and killed in New York City almost six months after Alfred died.
Alfred was and still is in my thoughts. In the years after his death, I had tried very hard to improve my social skills and kept on failing every time. Just before my 30th birthday when I was ending a disasterous relationship, I realized that something in my brain was preventing me from socializing correctly. Then in November 1997 I realized the first time that I couldn't see certain facial expressions and had trouble understanding body language. It was until 2002 when I had my diagnosis of Aspeger's Syndrome and Non-Verbal Learning Disorder.
At last The Mystery of My Missing Social Skills was solved.
Sunday, July 10, 2005
So Long Steve
Last Friday morning, just before work, I looked at the newspaper and read the news (oh, boy!) that Charles Laquidara's replacement, Steve Sweeney, had been let go by WZLX. That almost made me do cartwheels!
When Charles retired in 2000, I was no longer interested in radio and had no desire to be his replacement. I was suprised that WZLX hired Sweeney, a local stand-up comic in Boston for many years but not well-known nationally. Sure he appeared in a few Jim Carrey movies but they were very minor parts. His ability as a disc jockey was weak because he wasn't a big fan of rock music and it showed. Sure he's a big Eric Clapton fan but who isn't? He never made me laugh at all.
It's true that I never seen his stand-up act, even though WZLX had many times gave away tickets to see Steve do his stand-up routine for free at Comedy Connection. I was never interested in going. In fact, I told a friend once that WZLX had to give me money to make me go to one of his stand-up shows.
It was obvious that Steve got Charles's old job via networking, not because of his talent. I had more experience at being a disc jockey than he did anyway, but as I mentioned above I was no longer interested in radio.
Sure hope that this time they will hire someone who is talented and funny (Maybe David Lee Roth). I was getting tired of jumping around between WZLX and WODS every morning for the last two years.
When Charles retired in 2000, I was no longer interested in radio and had no desire to be his replacement. I was suprised that WZLX hired Sweeney, a local stand-up comic in Boston for many years but not well-known nationally. Sure he appeared in a few Jim Carrey movies but they were very minor parts. His ability as a disc jockey was weak because he wasn't a big fan of rock music and it showed. Sure he's a big Eric Clapton fan but who isn't? He never made me laugh at all.
It's true that I never seen his stand-up act, even though WZLX had many times gave away tickets to see Steve do his stand-up routine for free at Comedy Connection. I was never interested in going. In fact, I told a friend once that WZLX had to give me money to make me go to one of his stand-up shows.
It was obvious that Steve got Charles's old job via networking, not because of his talent. I had more experience at being a disc jockey than he did anyway, but as I mentioned above I was no longer interested in radio.
Sure hope that this time they will hire someone who is talented and funny (Maybe David Lee Roth). I was getting tired of jumping around between WZLX and WODS every morning for the last two years.
Saturday, July 9, 2005
A Really Wet Show
Just got back home from seeing music legend Johnny Rivers at the Hatch Shell in Boston. Beatlejuice, a local Beatles tribute band, opened for him. The biggest hazard that the whole audience was the rain showers that started just before Beatlejuice came out ot do their set. Brad Delp of the band called Boston was the leader of the group. They had to keep their set short because of the rain delay. The sky did clear up as Beatlejuice started their set.
Johnny Rivers came out just before the second shower came upon us. Johnny kept on playing his hits until the rain stopped for good.
Overall I had a good time there.
Johnny Rivers came out just before the second shower came upon us. Johnny kept on playing his hits until the rain stopped for good.
Overall I had a good time there.
Friday, July 8, 2005
Why the name "Outside In" and not "Uncommon Bostonian"?
Okay, here I am with my own blog. Currenly, I am working on a
book proposal and query letter for my memoir called "Uncommon
Bostonian" right now, but I'm not naming my blog after my memoir.
Why? Because last fall I wanted to do a radio public
affairs show about adults with Asperger's Syndrome with
Allston/Brighton FreeRadio (a small community radio station in Boston).
I had a partner who was an intern at the Aspeger Association of
New England (AANE) who was going to line up guest for me to talk to for
my one hour show.
It was a good idea to raise awareness about Asperger's, but diaster struck on December 6, 2004. I was in a car accident. My Mustang was hit from behind twice by two cars during a light snow storm in Brighton. The second impact made my car go off the road and hit a fence. Luckily I was able to get out of the car after the crash, but I was injured with multiple injuries that I am still recovering from. So it wasn't feasable to do a radio show at that point. Also my partner's internship ended in December and AANE didn't have a new intern to help me out so I couldn't use the title that a fellow "Aspie" came up with: Outside In.
I always wanted to do a blog, but I couldn't come up with a name for it. I did consider the title of my memoir, but I am using that title for my website: THE UNCOMMON BOSTONIAN (http://www.yvonnechristian.unimstores.com). Besides, I didn't want to throw away the name "Outside In" so here I am using it.
It was a good idea to raise awareness about Asperger's, but diaster struck on December 6, 2004. I was in a car accident. My Mustang was hit from behind twice by two cars during a light snow storm in Brighton. The second impact made my car go off the road and hit a fence. Luckily I was able to get out of the car after the crash, but I was injured with multiple injuries that I am still recovering from. So it wasn't feasable to do a radio show at that point. Also my partner's internship ended in December and AANE didn't have a new intern to help me out so I couldn't use the title that a fellow "Aspie" came up with: Outside In.
I always wanted to do a blog, but I couldn't come up with a name for it. I did consider the title of my memoir, but I am using that title for my website: THE UNCOMMON BOSTONIAN (http://www.yvonnechristian.unimstores.com). Besides, I didn't want to throw away the name "Outside In" so here I am using it.
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