Memorable Day Out

The first time I've has time in Portland to myself in probably 4-6 weeks - and it was great. I was lucky. Nate picked me up at 12 noon. It was so warm I only needed a sweatshirt, no coat - 54 degrees it said.

First I walked around Portland for 90 minutes, and the air didnt bother me like I was afraid it would. I went from Monument Sq to the bakery and back and basked in the sun. Then I walked to Whole Foods and wasn't winded like I usually am for some reason. I was smiling a lot because of the weather.

Then when I got there, Kristen, who I was supposed to meet there,
left me a message saying she couldn't meet me after all. That was fine, though, because I ran into another old friend, who I met 3 yrs ago in a cab, there. We sat and talked for 90 min! Her and her co worker; it was like a business meeting of some sort which she had me be part of, which was way cool. I listened to her business with him and then we talked about my book. And she even wants to try to pitch it as a documentary to someone, can you believe that? Maybe even make it a documentary about toxins and mcs. She knows the guy who made "supersize me, so she knows a few people. It was one of those times when I was talking and thinking way faster than my brain could keep up with, but I was so energized to be with her talking about these ideas. I liked it, but I was so overwhelmed from the fast pace of conversation afterwards I needed an hour wandering around Whole Foods doing nothing but nervously munching on crackers for my brain to catch up and relax.

Which it did just in time for Nate to come. We went to the light house in South Portland,
and walked on the rocks that lead to it, which took about 40 minutes or so. It was absolutely beautiful with the sun going down. I got to meet two people from the AS group I'd never met, who I liked. I talked to them on the rocks. Isn't Maine a great state to be able to do all this on a whim? There is no better city than Portland - Portland, Maine.

Then we all had dinner together at Whole Foods. I was afraid 6 people would be too much to have dinner with, and would be too overwhelming, too hard to keep up with and be a part of the conversation, but it went well. We started out with 4 to a table, so it was less overwhelming. I sat with Ryan, Sarah and Reid. No one was dominating the conversation, so it was easy to make conversation and include everyone, or easier than I would have thought. We all seemed to like each other.

Right before we were going to sit down, my mouth dropped open, as I saw John walking towards us, having just bought some groceries. John used to be in the AS group way back when, isn't now, and I hadn't seen him 2 or 3 years. It used to be that we ran into each other rather frequently at Borders or Panera, back when I could still go to those places, but it had been ages. We talked for a good 5 or 10 minutes before he left.

I told the other people at dinner I was going to tell a joke, and
said "Well, Nate's probably already heard it 5 times before," as it was my favorite one, and he knew exactly which one I was talking about. Now that's a friend - someone who knows your jokes before you tell them. :)

I saw the girl from the bus I sometimes see at Whole Foods and chatted with her for a bit. Seldom a time ever goes by when I don't see her when I'm at Whole Foods, actually.

Then I spent anotjher 90 min grocery shopping, and got some ymmy things, including some lasagna for my roommate that I think she'll like, and we went home. I asked the manager about speaking there about autism and she gave me a name to contact.

Nice to have good things happen to you for once and gives you hope that the future can't be completely bleak and depressing if things like this can happen.

It felt good to be part of a (well functioning, friendly) group.