A Finance Course and an Autism Benefit Concert
Sup? Sup? Things are a little crazy right now and I can't complain because while scientists have their own calculations about chaos... mine kind of goes like this: Tova + life = CHAOS. It's not that complicated of a calculation but sometimes you need an addition of the variable "Wine" and it seems to accelerate particles and then we have a Lifetime film starring a chubby Leelee Sobieski. I like a little chaos and I am definitely responsible for 99% of it and yet, I wouldn't change anything. Last time I posted, I fan girled over the awesome article Vienna Würstelstand posted about autism and it had pictures of the Kid and me and he looked adorable and I looked like I like cake (and I do). I loved the article and I loved all the shares. What I didn't expect was to be stopped in the street and for some woman to exclaim "YOU ARE THE AUTISM LADY!!!" I'll take it because that beats "you are that woman who thinks she can sing Amy Winehouse after a couple of cocktails." Heh.
So what is new? On Monday I went to work and afterwards met a very lovely guy who has offered to help me out in regards to figuring out figures for the Beacon Beach House. Now, this might come as a surprise to some of you... but I am awful at math. So this type of help is priceless and after 2 hours of sitting in a cafe, working on a Mac and using an Excel chart, we came up with a very very good financial plan. At one point he turned to me and said "You could actually make a lot of money from this." and I laughed and said "Yeees, exploitation of children is EVERYTHING." and of course that was a joke. I don't want to make a lot of money from this center... I want to make enough money in order to pay for our apartment and to pay for the Kid's therapy and for the darn Marmorkuchen he loves so much. I don't want this to be a cash cow because I believe that this center is more than an income - this is a new wave of autism awareness. I don't want parents here in Vienna to ever go through what we went through and I want this center to be the go-to place in Vienna for all things autism. And I hope that this vision will be shared with all the people I will be asking money for in the near future. Make it rain, possible future investors!
The other day I received quite a scathing post on the Autism on Vienna page. It broke my heart a little and I wanted to have a glass of wine but I was at work and it was 8 in the morning and one can't possibly start drinking until 8:15. I read the post a few times and talked to a couple of friends about it. I decided that honesty is the best policy and I responded. In the end it worked out and I realized that there will always be "haters" but if you are open and you are honest, that truly is the best way to go. My 18 hour days will pay off soon and I just need to grow a bit of a thicker skin because, again, surprisingly, you might not know this about me... but I am sensitive.
Last night was an autism benefit concert and I was lucky enough to be invited. It was in the incredible Musik Verein which looks just like Liberace's bathroom: so much gold. The concert was long... I won't lie. Over 3 hours long. And it was eclectic. But the absolute highlight, cross that off the bucket list, was hearing Anna Netrebko sing. She sang one song with her husband at the end and I teared up. Netrebko has an amazing little boy with autism and he was at the concert and he reminded me so much of the Kid. Except the Kid would not have behaved as beautifully as Anna Netrebko's son. At one point, her son saw a trumpet and walked across the stage to look at it and touch it and I knew that the Kid would have done the same thing... and then maybe would have kicked a hole in a priceless instrument because that's my boy! Siiiigh. After the concert, my friend and I headed to the after party in a tent outside of the Musik Verein and filled up on champagne and met a lovely man named Vito because of course we did. I am so pleased that there seems to be more of a trend to talk about autism and I am very much looking forward to planning an event in the next couple of months (stay tuned for that!).
Speaking of autism, tonight the Kid had a bit of freak out. I was getting him ready for bed and for some reason he was not happy. Since he can't speak (oh, he can speak his own language and we are all apparently idiots for not understanding him because self-confidence? Yes, he has a lot.), it is a challenge for us to understand what is wrong. He proceeded to scream and throw things and I just kept my cool and grabbed a blanket and wrapped him up in it. Our method for dealing with freak outs is to wrap the Kid in a blanket and hold him until he calms down. I whisper "You are such a good boy. I love you to the Moon and back. You are going to get through this. I love you." Over and over again. I am not sure if he understands what I am saying when he is in the middle of a freak out but I want him to know that these freak outs are not his fault. After about 30 minutes he calmed down and I brought him back to bed where he is currently sleeping deeply, happy as a clam. Pass me the wine.
And the last paragraph of the night before I do some yoga: tomorrow is the House of Canada Plaid and Poutine party!!!! We have been planning this for at least half a year and I am overwhelmed to see so many people excited about it! If you are in Vienna tomorrow evening, drop by the Beaver Brewing Company after 7 and treat yo'self to some Poutine Viennoise. I cannot wait! I wish you all a fantastic evening and hopefully see a lot of you tomorrow. I'll be eating cheese, fries and gravy and thinking about my arteries but don't let that stop you from coming up and saying "hi". Happy Wednesday!
So what is new? On Monday I went to work and afterwards met a very lovely guy who has offered to help me out in regards to figuring out figures for the Beacon Beach House. Now, this might come as a surprise to some of you... but I am awful at math. So this type of help is priceless and after 2 hours of sitting in a cafe, working on a Mac and using an Excel chart, we came up with a very very good financial plan. At one point he turned to me and said "You could actually make a lot of money from this." and I laughed and said "Yeees, exploitation of children is EVERYTHING." and of course that was a joke. I don't want to make a lot of money from this center... I want to make enough money in order to pay for our apartment and to pay for the Kid's therapy and for the darn Marmorkuchen he loves so much. I don't want this to be a cash cow because I believe that this center is more than an income - this is a new wave of autism awareness. I don't want parents here in Vienna to ever go through what we went through and I want this center to be the go-to place in Vienna for all things autism. And I hope that this vision will be shared with all the people I will be asking money for in the near future. Make it rain, possible future investors!
The other day I received quite a scathing post on the Autism on Vienna page. It broke my heart a little and I wanted to have a glass of wine but I was at work and it was 8 in the morning and one can't possibly start drinking until 8:15. I read the post a few times and talked to a couple of friends about it. I decided that honesty is the best policy and I responded. In the end it worked out and I realized that there will always be "haters" but if you are open and you are honest, that truly is the best way to go. My 18 hour days will pay off soon and I just need to grow a bit of a thicker skin because, again, surprisingly, you might not know this about me... but I am sensitive.
Last night was an autism benefit concert and I was lucky enough to be invited. It was in the incredible Musik Verein which looks just like Liberace's bathroom: so much gold. The concert was long... I won't lie. Over 3 hours long. And it was eclectic. But the absolute highlight, cross that off the bucket list, was hearing Anna Netrebko sing. She sang one song with her husband at the end and I teared up. Netrebko has an amazing little boy with autism and he was at the concert and he reminded me so much of the Kid. Except the Kid would not have behaved as beautifully as Anna Netrebko's son. At one point, her son saw a trumpet and walked across the stage to look at it and touch it and I knew that the Kid would have done the same thing... and then maybe would have kicked a hole in a priceless instrument because that's my boy! Siiiigh. After the concert, my friend and I headed to the after party in a tent outside of the Musik Verein and filled up on champagne and met a lovely man named Vito because of course we did. I am so pleased that there seems to be more of a trend to talk about autism and I am very much looking forward to planning an event in the next couple of months (stay tuned for that!).
Speaking of autism, tonight the Kid had a bit of freak out. I was getting him ready for bed and for some reason he was not happy. Since he can't speak (oh, he can speak his own language and we are all apparently idiots for not understanding him because self-confidence? Yes, he has a lot.), it is a challenge for us to understand what is wrong. He proceeded to scream and throw things and I just kept my cool and grabbed a blanket and wrapped him up in it. Our method for dealing with freak outs is to wrap the Kid in a blanket and hold him until he calms down. I whisper "You are such a good boy. I love you to the Moon and back. You are going to get through this. I love you." Over and over again. I am not sure if he understands what I am saying when he is in the middle of a freak out but I want him to know that these freak outs are not his fault. After about 30 minutes he calmed down and I brought him back to bed where he is currently sleeping deeply, happy as a clam. Pass me the wine.
And the last paragraph of the night before I do some yoga: tomorrow is the House of Canada Plaid and Poutine party!!!! We have been planning this for at least half a year and I am overwhelmed to see so many people excited about it! If you are in Vienna tomorrow evening, drop by the Beaver Brewing Company after 7 and treat yo'self to some Poutine Viennoise. I cannot wait! I wish you all a fantastic evening and hopefully see a lot of you tomorrow. I'll be eating cheese, fries and gravy and thinking about my arteries but don't let that stop you from coming up and saying "hi". Happy Wednesday!
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