Eye Opener

So I realized as soon as I posted on Monday that I forgot to mention probably one of the ore humorous things that happened to me in a while. On Monday afternoon, I had to go sign a contract with Spectrum Care, (which is the company that actually will be paying me this year). So I got to sit in a small room and talk to a HR guy for an hour, and then I got to watch about an hour and fifteen minutes worth of video's on how to wash my hands properly and that sort of thing. It was pretty painstaking to say the least. At any rate, their business is rather far away, so I rode Leigh's bike there. Now just recently Leigh Christoph and I had been discussing how dangerous it was to ride a bike in Auckland. The drivers just aren't aware or used to cyclists so they don't pay attention. However I noticed many mailman (who get around on bikes here) rode on the sidewalk commonly. So I was returning from Spectrum on Monday, and decided to be safe and ride on the sidewalk rather than the road. (Besides roundabouts on a bike are terrifying and confusing.) So I was riding home and going moderately fast when suddenly out of nowhere a car pulls out of its driveway! I am about 3-4 feet from the car, and far from being able to stop in time, however I slam on the brakes. However my bike lock is resting on my right handlebar, so my rear brake is engaged far less then my front. The result? I pop a huge wheelie on my front wheel, go flying over the handlebars, and splatter all over the hood of this car. It was rather comedic and seemed straight out of the films, as my face was smeared up against the windshield and everything. I immediately got up, and the driver got out. We both apologized profusely and said it was our own faults (which was far better than her being angry with me). I think I must have dented the hood of her car, but she pretended not to notice I think. There was however a large black streak across the hood from my leather jacket rubbing rather forcefully against it. That however would wash off we both agreed. So we said our goodbyes, and went on our marry way. However, it was pretty funny. I was uninjured luckily except for a bit of bruising to my leg, and more importantly Leigh's bike was perfectly fine which was good.

Now on to a slightly more serious note. Last night I had a bit of a scary realization of what caring for an Autistic child really entails, and means. Also a better idea of what his parents must have gone through their whole life. I should say first that after this experience, I also watched the movie the Black Balloon, which is an excellent movie, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in seeing how Autism effects a household. Its nice because it doesn't glorify, or put a silver lining on Autism like many movies which are based around high functioning Autists or Savants like Rainman. This movie gives an excellent portrayal of your run of the mill low functioning Autism. At any rate, yesterday morning I woke up, and took a shower as I normally do. I cleaned the house, and in the afternoon I watched Yannik. At 5 I took him to a swimming lesson which he enjoyed. Then we came back and had a delicious dinner of squid, with a carrot salad (which sound nasty, but it was awesome actually). After dinner Christoph gave Yannik a shower as he normally does. I was in the kitchen doing the dishes when suddenly I heard Christoph yell "no" an running over to Yannik. It wasn't to unusual except for the sound of his voice, so I came over to see what the matter was. Yannik had found a disposable razor, broke the handle off, and was chewing on razorblade in the head of the razor. Somehow, by a prayer, he had not shredded the inside of his mouth yet. Christoph was confused as how it had happened. The answer? I had forgotten to take my razor out of the shower after shaving that morning. I should say, that Yannik doesn't really feel pain in the same way as you or I do. He feels some things quite acutely, but others he hardly feels (for example biting his hand till it bleeds). He would have chewed that razor to peices and shredded the inside of this mouth and tongue maybe without ever having ever even felt it. I took the razor from Christoph and through it away, as it sunk in on me that what could have happened by me simply forgetting to move my razor in the morning.
So needless to say, yesterday was a bit of an eye opener for me. That experience, mixed with watching The Black Balloon afterwards, and then talking to Leigh about Yannik as a child was very powerful lesson for me to swallow. Don't get me wrong, I'm not beating my head against the wall, and petrified by my mistake. I know everyone makes a mistake on occasion, but it was a realization, that a tiny mistake in this household, can lead to a major crisis.

Well, enough of that sort of talk. Its Wed. morning here. I am going to go clean up and such, because at 11:30 I have a playdate with my fellow Manny. His kids, himself, and I are all going to go to the zoo, and then Chris (that would be his name) and I are going to hang out for a bit. Then when he gets off we are going to go to a couple micro breweries, grab dinner, and then head off for downtown to the pier for drinks with the other couchsurfers. It Weekly Wednesday's.