This last week was tough. I gave a fireside for my ward on Sunday. In the days leading up to it, everything in life just seemed to go wrong.Well, not everything - just enough went wrong to make life uncomfortable, but not impossible. In re…

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Or at least a twinge of something somewhat like jealousy. Or longing. Or desire. Or whatever.It was Friday night, and my shop was packed with people. Earlier in the day had been utterly quiet, with only a handful of people walking in. By 8…

My mother is a hero.She studied rocket science at MIT. Between winning regional diving championships and cooking mass meals for the Institute, she met my dad, who was studying business. He had a year left, and she had two... so she did wha…

It's a Wednesday, and I am in an Internet cafe far from my apartment and thousands of miles from home. My spot is along the right aisle, on the left hand side, three chairs from the front.I pull out the chair and try to tune out the chaos …

There wasn't a firestorm this General Conference. In the past few years, usually at least one talk each Conference will have something that the gay, anti/ex-Mormon world can dredge up as proof of the Church's alleged discrimination. This t…

I am lonely. Loneliness ultimately comes from an unmet need based in others. I feel a need to emotionally connect. Then I reach out to others. If they don't fill the need, then I feel loneliness and have to find coping strategies to offset…

It's been a while since I did anything with North Star.North Star is a multi-faceted organization. As a base, the organization provides resources for members of the LDS Church and community to help them understand and navigate issues surro…

But the question made me think.Happiness.It's such a strange thing.And so intertwined with other, sometimes seemingly exclusive principles:Fun. Meaning. Purpose. Fulfillment. Achievement. Growth. Bliss. Pleasure.Tonight after the Friday ni…

The title of this post is actually a terrible misnomer. Even people like me - and I have all sorts of issues revolving around love - can experience the peace and happiness that comes from the true love of God. Without Him, I would have tur…

I need to think.In my past life, depression came often enough that I didn't have to schedule time to think about my priorities. It just happened anytime that life went downhill. Depression would take over, and force me to rethink everythin…

Over the last few years, I've developed a set of social armor that deflects at least a few of the things that used to hit me hard, but there are some things that bypass the outside and hit me no matter what.People are one of those things.S…

Very few people have ever been able to see my fear. Most see the person I am trying to be - outgoing, passionate, friendly, happy - and can't see past the outer shell to see deep into who I am.&nbsp;The reality is that sometimes I sit at h…

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I turn 30 today.Happy birthday. :)My life the last few weeks have been hectic and stressful. Holidays always are, and moving my business at the same time has made it even more so. Thankfully, I've had time just to sit back and enjoy - to w…

Sometimes blogging inspires me. And sometimes it stifles me. Today I'm feeling both. I started half a dozen posts yet finished none of them. And half-finished thoughts are, honestly, best left alone until they find their other halves. I fe…

not Except once. But that was before I learned that you're not supposed to tell a girl that you're not attracted to her. Even if she asks. Before you impose all sorts of socially prescribed judgment on me, remember that I am autistic. Norm…

It was my freshman year of college.A few weeks before classes opened for registration, I had a powerful prompting: I was supposed to be an ambassador.I signed up for Hebrew, Arabic, Middle Eastern Studies, and American Sign Language. My go…

I knew that my family was different. My parents' choices were different from anyone else I knew... and I was different... so sometimes that meant I got bullied. Other kids wouldn't talk to me, I didn't have many friends, and people sometim…