Day 3 - Who was your favorite 90s Nickelodeon actor/actress?

Actor:
Of the shows I watched, David Lascher was my favorite actor.  Even better than his TV show appearances was his portrayal of Robert March in White Squall.  GREAT MOVIE!

There were three other actors on Nickelodeon that I liked even more, and still follow to this day.  Christopher Ralph (In A Heartbeat, Skulls II, Our Hero, Instant Star), Shawn Ashmore (In A Heartbeat, Any Mother's Son, Legends of Earthsea, Terry, X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand), and Paulo Costanzo (Josie & The Pussycats, Royal Pains) were regulars or recurring guest on the popular children's show Animorphs.  I never really watched the show (though I often bought the books for Kyle), but every once in awhile, I would turn it on just to see what was happening with these three actors.  They've all gone on to have pretty lucrative careers, especially Shawn Ashmore (as well as his twin brother, Aaron).

Actress:
Of the shows I watched, Christine Taylor would have to be my favorite.  And even better than his performance on Hey, Dude, would be her movie career.  She played a great Marcia Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie!

But once again, there were two other actresses that I liked much, much more, even though I either rarely or never watched their Nickelodeon show.  Melissa Joan Hart (Family Reunion: A Relative Nightmare, Two Came Back with the late Jonathan Brandis, Drive Me Crazy), Larisa Oleynik (The Baby-Sitter's Club, 10 Things I Hate About You, A Time for Danicing, Hawaii 5-0) and Amanda Bynes (What a Girl Wants, She's the Man, Hairspray, Sydney White, Easy A) have been two of the funniest actresses I've ever watched.  They have an understanding of comedy that makes their roles enjoyable, unlike so many other "comedic" actors and actresses today, who simply look stupid.

Day 2 - What was your least favorite show from the 90s Nickelodeon?

I had to do some research for this one.  Simply put, if I didn't like the show, I didn't watch it, and therefore, I don't remember it.

I did NOT like:
CatDog
Kenan & Kel
Salute Your Shorts
The Adventures of Pete & Pete
Hey Arnold!

But the worst show of them all was most definitely Ren & Stimpy.  That show was so bad, I actually can't believe that I didn't immediately think of it.  I actively despised that show!

Day 1 - What was your favorite show from the 90s Nickelodeon?

And so, let's begin.
My favorite show on Nickelodeon during the 1990s.

As a kid, I loved Pinwheel.  Little known fact: the original name for the channel was Pinwheel.  Pinwheel was a great combination of animation, live-action, and puppets.  I just loved the show!  My favorite parts were Plus and Minus (and their endless game of "Gotcha Last."), Ebeneezer T. Squint, Picture Pages with Bill Cosby, Curious George, and Paddington Bear.  Pinwheel last aired in 1990.

At times, I enjoyed The Secret World of Alex Mack and Clarissa Explains It All, as well as Hey Dude!.  I tried watching a Hey Dude! rerun a few weeks ago, and I have no idea how I ever liked that show.  I think it had something to do with David Lascher.

But my favorite show had to have been The Rugrats.  I was doing childcare during the last half of the 1990s, and not only was The Rugrats popular with my charges, I just adored it.  That show really gave insite into the workings of the infant and toddler minds.  And it made sense.  I think anyone with children should watch this show!

A special shout out to some of the other decades of  Nickelodeon (to include Nick Junior and TheN/TeenNick):
80s - Adventures of the Little Koala, Inspector Gadget, Danger Mouse, Mr. Wizard's World, The Littles, The Care Bears
00s - Spongebob Squarepants, Beyond the Break, Instant Star, Radio Free Roscoe, Whistler, Degrassi

10-day 90s Disney/Nickelodeon Blog Challenge

Now, here we have a blog challenge that is right up my alley.

The 10-day 90s Disney/Nickelodeon Blog Challenge

Day 1 - What was your favorite show from the 90s Nickelodeon?
Day 2 - What was your least favorite show from the 90s Nickelodeon?
Day 3 - Who was your favorite 90s Nickelodeon actor/actress?
Day 4 - Who was your least favorite 90s Nickelodeon actor/actress?
Day 5 - What was your favorite 90s Disney Channel show?
Day 6 - Who was your least favorite 90s Disney Channel show?
Day 7 - Who was your favorite 90s Disney Channel actor/actress?
Day 8 - Who was your least favorite 90s Disney Channel actor/actress?
Day 9 - Should they bring back shows from the 90s on Disney Channel like they have for Nickelodeon?
Day 10 - Anything you want about 90s Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel.

7-paragraph Twitter challenge

I'm not good at coming up with blog topics.  I try.  I frequently don't succeed.  That is why I love blog challenges.  They provide me with subjects to talk about, which I really enjoy.  I recently searched for some challenges, and found a bevy of topics to talk about.  Some are short (less than a week) and some are long (a month or more).  I think they will provide me with a nice selection of things to talk about in 2012.

And so begins the first blog challenge of 2012:
The 7-day Twitter challenge

Let me start by saying this:
This will not last 7 days.  This one will probably be the shortest, at 7 paragraphs.  I like the questions, but I just can't make them each last one full blog post.  Sooo.....

What is your Twitter username?
@eldabee

How many people follow your blog?
62 - I'm not very active on Twitter, so I'm not a known entity.  However, some of my coolest followers are:
@MagicalTrash - all about the trash cans at the Disney parks.  Trust me, Steve is great!
@leavenotrace - conservation education nonprofit
@AnthemLights_ST - official Street Team of Anthem Lights, Christian praise band (I love you, Chad!!!)
@JMCousteau - Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of Jacques

How many people do you follow?
321 - I could follow even more, but I try to be selective.  I follow these people for a reason.  I want to be able to read their tweets, and still have time to get things done.  Some of the people I follow are:
@ChadMGraham - singer, member of Anthem Lights, and from Ft Myers, FL (I love you, Chad!!!)
@harwichmariners - Cape Cod Baseball League team
@EricSkoglund25 - my cousin, pitcher for the UCF Knights baseball team, drafted to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2011 draft, and pitcher on the 2012 Harwich Mariners summer team
@WylandORG - the Wyland Foundation
@FCousteau - Fabian Cousteau, grandson of Jacques
@starbucks - no explanation needed (says the person with the venti toffee nut latte sitting on her desk)
@aaronspod - Aaron Wallace, host of the Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Pod Unofficial Disney Podcast (including the best Top 100 Disney Songs broadcast ever!)

Who is your favorite person to follow?
@loumongello - Lou Mongello, host of the WDW Radio Show, Disney tour guide, Disney trivia master, member of the WDW Radio running team (me, too!).  Check him out at http://www.loumongello.com/ or http://www.wdwradio.com/, or listen to the WDW Radio Show on iTunes.  Specifically, listen to the 12/25/2011 podcast, where Lou reads an email from.....ME!!!!!

Who has the funniest tweets?
@tattoed_dad - fellow Disney lover, UGA employee and musician Christopher Taylor.  He interviewed me for his Disney blog in 2010, and his tweets can be priceless (especially when I know he's talking about UGA).

What kinds of people do you follow?
LOTS of official and unofficial Disney people, various ocean and wildlife conservation organizations, pro and NCAA sports teams, CNN, NASA, and other equally geeky people.  I don't follow very many actors/actresses, singers or professional athletes.  There are a few, but I have my limits. 

Anything you want about Twitter:
I've gotten logs of laughs over my public bio:
"Disney freak, geocacher, aspiring photographer, scuba diver, trumpet player, basketball lover, minister's daughter, with some OCD thrown in for good measure."
I think it's pretty accurate. :-P

The Autism Quotient

I have always had a distinct dislike for any disease or disorder that becomes the "go-to" diagnosis in the medical field.  I resisted going to a doctor for depression for several years, not because I didn't want to admit to being depressed, but b/c I didn't want to be thrown into a diagnosis unless it was a true diagnosis.

In the 80s and 90s, children were being diagnosed hand-over-fist as being ADD or ADHD.  Then there was majoe depressive disorder (also known as clinical depression) and manic-depressive disorder (also known as bipolar disorder).  The latest "go-to" diagnosis is autism.

I know several people that have autistic children, all of which are on the severe end of the spectrum.  I marvel everyday at the things they deal with and the special things they have to do just to get through a normal day.

Recently, I have been reading up on what is being called the Autism Spectrum Disorder.  ASD is a proposed revision to the DSM-5, released in May 2013 (I'll refrain from going out on a tangent about my feelings regarding calling it the DSM-5, as opposed to the DSM-V), where the diagnosis of ASD will encompass all of the following: Autistic Disorder, Asperger's Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified.  In other words, instead of being diagnosed as autistic or as suffering from CDD, etc., a person would now be diagnosed as suffering from ASD, and will be described in terms of (a) severity of social communication symptoms, (b) severity of fixated or restricted behaviors or interests, and (c) associated features.

Several years ago, I took the AQ, or Autismm Spectrum Quotient.  It's a fifty question test that looks into whether adults of average intelligence (high-intelligence is generally typical of autism patients) have symptoms of autism spectrum conditions.  According to Wikipedia (which I trust only to a certain extent), in the test's initial trials, "the average score in the control group was 16.4, with men scoring slightly higher than women (about 17 versus about 15). 80% of adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders scored 32 or more, compared with only 2% of the control group.  The authors cited a score of 32 or more as indicating "clinically significant levels of autistic traits"."  Scores of 25-31 can be indicative of Asperger's Syndrome. NOTE: THIS TEST IS NOT INTENDED TO BE USED TO SELF-DIAGNOSE. However, I scored a 40 out of 50.

Asperger's Syndrome is a form of high-functioning autism.  The symptoms can range from mild to severe, and often include:
-problems with social skills
-eccentric or repetitive behaviors
-unusual preoccupations or rituals
-communication difficulties
-limited range of interests
-coordination problems
-skilled or talented
-unable to cuddle or be comforted

More specifically:
-inability to start and maintain a conversation
-dislike any changes in routines
-appear to lack empathy
-unable to recognize subtle differences in speech tone, pitch and accent that alter the meaning of speech; very literal
-have a formal style of speaking
-avoid eye contact or stare at others
-have unusual facial expressions or postures
-be preoccupied with only a few interests, and be extremely knowledgeable about those interests.
-talk a lot, have one-sided conversations, and/or verbalize internal thoughts
-have delayed motor development
-heightened senstivity to and become overstimulated by loud noises, lights, or strong tastes or textures
-most students with Asperger syndrome or high functioning autism have average mathematical ability and test slightly worse in mathematics than in general intelligence
-problems with sleep, including difficulty falling asleep and frequent nocturnal awakenings
-excellent auditory and visual perception

According to webMD, "although teens with Asperger's can begin to learn those social skills they lack, communication often remains difficult....will want friends but may feel shy or intimidated when approaching other teens. He or she may feel "different" from others. Although most teens place emphasis on being and looking "cool," teens with Asperger's may find it frustrating and emotionally draining to try to fit in. They may be immature for their age and be naive and too trusting, which can lead to teasing and bullying...some teens with Asperger's syndrome are able to make and keep a few close friends through the school years. Some of the classic Asperger's traits may also work to the benefit of your teen. Teens with Asperger's are typically uninterested in following social norms, fads, or conventional thinking, allowing creative thinking and the pursuit of original interests and goals. Their preference for rules and honesty may lead them to excel in the classroom and as citizens."

Regarding adults with Asperger's, webMD continues, "Asperger's syndrome is a lifelong condition, although it tends to stabilize over time, and improvements are often seen. Adults usually have a better understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses. They are able to learn social skills, including how to read others' social cues."

Many people with Asperger's syndrome also have symptoms of the following conditions:
-attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
-anxiety disorder
-depression
-nonverbal learning disorder
-obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
-social anxiety disorder

*a note on nonverbal learning disorder:
Children with nonverbal learning disorder often have difficulty with math.

We have long thought that I am numerically dyslexic.  By the time I figured out what the problem was, I was out of school and didn't see the need to get an official diagnosis.  However, if I ever go back to college, I will be looking into the issue.  I won't make it through 5 years of scientific math and calculus without some kind of help.

Check out all the orange in the above information.  If it's orange, it's me.  It's not that I want to be diagnoxed as having Asperger's Syndrome.  But the more I read about it, the more I wonder if I might be right htere on the edge.  So many of the symptoms have always been chalked up to other things, all of which do seem to fit.  But isn't it interesting that EVERY SINGLE ONE of the symptoms fits under one single diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome?

Day 28 of 30 - Something that stresses you out

I suffer from clinical depression with associated anxiety, clinical adjustment disorder, and a lesser form of social anxiety.  It doesn't take much to stress me out.  However, over the past ten years, I have learned to recognize many of the symptoms that tell me I'm about to go over the edge into madness.  I've learned many of my triggers, and 90% of the time, I can remove myself from the situation before things get bad.  I also have a nice collection of drugs.  And I promise you, they're all legal.

All the above being said, there are certain things that are guaranteed to cause atleast minor stress, no matter how hard I try to just roll with it.

1. changes in schedules/plans - it's that whole clinical adjustment disorder.  I live through my calendar.  If I have something to do, it goes on the calendar.  I'm anal about my calendar.  Truthfully, it's more of a memory thing that a stress thing; if it's not on the calendar, I will probably forget about it.  However, though I'm not what you would call a social butterfly, I do stay fairly busy.  Changing something at the last minute could mean that I am no longer able to participate in said thing, or atleast am not available for a month or more.  Also, since my father died 6 years ago, I've become the one that tends to do most of the planning, for events that often include upwards of 15-20 family members.  My family is pretty laid-back, and they can change things on a whim.  When I've spent several months planning something, and it gets changed, I tend to react a bit strong.  Most of the time, I overreact, and most of the time, I know I'm overreacting.  The problem with severe anxiety is that even when you know you're making something out of nothing, you don't have the ability, atleast at that time, to get a handle on your emotions.  Now, on the flip side of this issue, if I'm at home, or even if I'm out visiting friends or family, and nothing was ever planned, I'm so laid back that you can barely force me to make a decision.

2. travel - I LOVE to travel!  Absolutely LOVE it!  This year, I'll make 5 total trips to Florida, as long as nothing changes (no need to reference above discussion on changes...fifth trip is not set in stone yet).  While the 2nd trip to Florida was unplanned, and was not for fun reasons (I attended my aunt's funeral), I did take advantage of the time there to get out to the beach, and to Starbucks, and got to spend some pretty enjoyable time with my extended family, many of whom I don't get to see regularly.  I've already been to South Carolina several times this year, with several more trips planned (and SC trips can pop up quite suddenly, so more could be added).  I may or may not be going to Tennessee to visit family.  Next year, I'll be going to Washington DC in June, a trip that has been in the works for well over a year.  We're already starting to plan a trip to New York for 2013.  There will also be many, MANY more trips to Florida and South Carolina (though hopefully sometime in there, a house in SC will magically appear, and I'll be moving there, which will mean that there will be trips to Florida and Georgia).  So, again, I LOVE to travel!  But it never fails - the night I leave for a trip, SOMETHING will go wrong.  It's been flat tires, dead batteries, missing dive gear, and many other things.  No matter how hard I try, something goes wrong.  And I have a panic attack, which inevitably makes us even later.  I have made a pact with myself regarding the upcoming Florida trip, which begins October 28.  I will be packed, and have as much of the car packed as possible on Thursday, so that when I get off of work on Friday, I only have to load a few things, pick up Mama, and hit the road.  I'll let you know how it goes.

3. crowds - see the first paragraph, where I mentioned social anxiety.  Added to that, I'm claustrophobic, a condition that causes stress, and gets worse when I get stress.  It's a horrid cycle.  LOUD crowds are even worse.  I've reached a point where I can exist in a crowd, if I have time to prepare myself, but loud crowds (for instance, at a party) are still very hard for me to handle.

4. stupid people - I won't explain this one, because I think most people understand and agree.

I'm sure there are many other things that stress me out, but I think that's enough for now.