Me Too Part 1

"Did that make you uncomfortable?" he asked.

"No," I lied.

I didn't want him to feel bad for making me uncomfortable.

#metoo

Depression

The swirling darkness, the lead blanket, the broken record of failures. It's back. Depression.

I don't remember how to smile. It feels unnatural.

The silence in my ears is deafening. The clock ticking, the buzz of the refrigerator, the keys on my keyboard clacking, my dog licking his ass. These are the only sounds penetrating the stillness.

I like stillness. I like silence. This is oppressive.

My facial muscles are drooping. It hurts to move them. My pulse is throbbing in my forehead.

Sometimes the darkness is a blanket I want to wrap myself in. Today, I need to cast it aside. I need to go to work. I need to smile. I need to be present.

I just want to lay down and not move.

Flights of fancy. Escape. Impossible day dreams. Fictional characters bring comfort. They can't disappoint. They can be rewritten. The bad parts of their story cast aside or reformed.

Love who isn't. Avoid who is.

This is my depression.

Dear Friends,

As many of you know, I work with the Logan Autism Center that used to be located First Congregational Church. We are continuing to grow and do wonderful things with the children at our new location. I love every second of it.

This July, I will be embarking on a personal journey, not associated with Logan. I will be flying to the Dominican Republic to volunteer at an autism center in Santo Domingo for two weeks. I am going through an organization called The Global Autism Project.

The Global Autism Project is an organization that trains teachers to work with children with autism globally. One of their programs is Skill Corps, which is what I will be working through. Skill Corps sends behavior technicians to sites around the world to train workers at autism centers and parents of children with autism, as well as advocate within the local communities.

I will be part of a team traveling to Santo Domingo to work at an autism center called Aprendo. We will be building on the trainings of previous Skill Corps teams, and laying the foundations for future trainings.

The Global Autism Project would like me to stress to potential donors that this is not a vacation. This is work. I need to raise $5,000 to cover the cost of room and board, as well as transportation on the island. I am further responsible for budgeting $500 for a Fun Day on the island and an additional $1,200 for three airplane flights. I will be flying to Brooklyn, NY on July 11, 2017 for two days of orientation and training. Then, I will fly to Santo Domingo on July 14, 2017. My return flight is on July 30, 2017.

I need your help raising the money to do this good work. So far, I have raised $3,430 on my crowdrise page. I have also raised $595 through hand-delivered checks and cash from friends and the Lakeshore Lion’s Club. This brings me to a total of $4,025 raised. I still need $975 to reach the $5K minimum and would love help raising an additional $1,700 to cover transportation and the Fun Day. So, I need a grand total of $2,675 to fully fund my excursion.

Will you please help me?

Thank you so much for your consideration,

Krysten Watson

Donations can be made in a variety of ways:

Online	https://www.crowdrise.com/dominican-republic-july-2017/fundraiser/krystenwatson
Sending a check directly to the Global Autism Project	Write a check to "Global Autism Project" with "Krysten Watson - DR" in the memo and mail to: Global Autism Project 252 3rd Ave Brooklyn, NY 11215
Checks or cash given directly to me	Checks can be made out to “Krysten Watson”

Interview

I had my interview!

It was supposed to be a phone interview but my interviewer is at a conference and had poor cell reception. So, instead, we did Google Hangouts. I hadn't expected to be seen, so I was makeupless, hair pulled back, chillin' on my couch with Jack. I looked gross, but whatever. I could have done Google Hangouts without the video part, but I wasn't sure how to switch it to that (video is what I always used for school) and didn't want to accidentally hang up on my interviewer.

Anyway, she asked me the standard questions and some more thought-provoking questions. Standard: why are you interested in doing this?
Thought-provoking: What do you think about sustainability of this project?
Funny (to me) question: What is a token board? (Funny because I use different ones every day - it was like asking me what is a pencil.)

Apparently there are still a few openings left in the Dominican Republic project. She didn't even ask me about my second choice location.

Overall, I felt my interview went very well. My interview needs to be reviewed by some other people and I will find out in a week whether or not I am accepted on this mission of awesome. Here's hoping!

Crossing fingers and toes!

Interview Scheduled

I now have a phone interview scheduled for Tuesday after work! Normally, I hate talking on the phone, but I cannot wait to speak with them! I am super excited about the idea of volunteering with autism clinics overseas! *cheesy grin*

Quick Update

They've asked for my resume. I sent it in. Waiting to hear back....

Crossing fingers and toes....

Crossing Fingers and Toes

I have the best job in the world. I have stable hours, I can dress comfortably, I can be silly and unique, I am constantly learning new things, I am making a difference in people's lives, and I get to work with silly, funny, adorable children. I work with kids on the autism spectrum.

It's the best.

I just submitted an application to the Global Autism Project's Skill Corps to volunteer my skill set as a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) for two weeks in another country. I chose the Dominican Republic as my first choice. My second choice is Kenya.

If accepted, I will need to raise $5,000.

If accepted, I will be starting a GoFundMe page and commence begging.

If accepted, I will embark on a life-changing mission of servitude.

As Tutu, my grandma, said: I'm crossing my fingers and toes.