New TV Texts

While one of my goals in life is to never purchase a TV, one of Evan's big goals in life is to purchase a TV. Specifically a big black flat one bigger than he is to see every detail of every Harry Potter, LOTR, Star Wars, Michael Bay, and Jackie Chan movie ever made.

Our old roommate had a nice TV, but when he moved out, he took it with him. Evan was not pleased. How would he watch YouTube clips (he calls it Tribune)? How would he watch Wizards of Waverly Place? General Conference talks? Old N'YSNC and Backstreet Boys music videos?

He sent me a text a little before I went to bed: "Afater get back tiple we will get big new tv sep 2 buy at boston cocos."

We are planning on getting back to Boston from our summer trip at the beginning of September. Looks like the next day we need to stop by Costco.

Film Decorations

Evan loves movies. He watches at least one movie per day. Evan also loves decorating and reorganizing his room. He changes his decor at least once per day.

Evan also loves masking tape. Recently he went for the Hollywood look - he put up all of his movie posters and all of the DVD covers on one wall.

Ancestors While Waiting for McCullough

Evan and I stood in front of the Old Burial Ground in Harvard Square waiting for a speaking event by David McCullough. The gravestones were from the 17th-18th centuries but look like Dia de los Muertos.

Evan started asking me about the people buried there.

1. Any of our ancestors buried there?
2. What about Jared and Mary's?
3. How about Blair and Julie's?
4. What about Mom and Dad's?
5. What about our grandparents?
6. How about in Washington DC?

I need to go on FamilySearch and find an ancestor buried in Boston. If you know of one, let me know.

Respect

Evan can be a little glib in his requests. When it concerns food and dinner, he might even be a little demanding.

Evan: Brigham, give me bread.
Me: Please?
Evan: Give me bread, please, sir.
Me: Wo - too much respect.

Texting Skills

Evan is quite good at texting and at being diligent about attending FHE. Our group normally figures out when and where FHE will be the day of and sometimes the afternoon of. This does not gel well with Evan the Planner.

Monday morning, Evan texted me the following:

"F h e night is it church or home"

Pretty impressive.

Jack's Name

Evan likes kids. In controlled, muted doses. His cousin's cousin's kid Jack Christensen is a pretty chill, cool dude. He is only 1 years old, but is generally not a squealer.

At cousin dinner in April, Evan and Jack had a conversation. Of sorts. Jack doesn't know many words, so he just started speaking gibberish to Evan. Evan started talking right back. They both weren't listening to each other. They both kept talking. For like a minute. It wasn't so much a dialogue as two concurrent monologues.

Finally, Evan asked him a few questions:

• Hey Jack, what's your name?
• What's your name in Spanish?

Jack didn't reply and the conversation ended.

Texting

Evan texts me for four reasons:

• To request purchases from Amazon - 40%
• To ask about when I will be home, what we are doing, where I am - 30%
• To announce his position, his desires, or the weather - 20%
• To express praise or gratitude - 10%

They are sometimes funny, sometimes demanding, but normally delivered at a calm emotional level. Until tonight.

Me: Want some pasta?

Evan: Oh yes best bet on do it

A Printer

As a reincarnated 14th-century monk, Evan loves being able to quickly type and print the written word. This technology speeds up his transcribing of the scriptures, general conference talks, and the memoir he is writing. Evan loves having a printer and thinks it is pretty amazing.

As his source of laptops, paper, and ink, I enable his passion for printing. When I stopped by today, I was impressed with what appeared to be a book - typed and taped in a corner of his room. Also, we are out of black ink.

Something Stressful

My life was stressful in May. There was lots of uncertainty about housing, employment, and relationships. Evan apparently caught on to the uncertainty, because he started asking me very specific questions about the future - where are we going to live? what are we going to do? when will Parker visit? etc. Evan is a planner and things either happen or don't - so he needed answers.

One afternoon when we were driving I couldn't hear him very well because the windows were open and the radio was on. And I probably was not very excited to talk about probabilities and options. After mumbling some lame responses to his first questions, I had to ask him two or three times to repeat his last question.

Finally I rolled up the window and turned off the music and asked him to repeat his question. He said, "Something, something, something."

Sushi

The MIT Sloan cafeteria has cheap sushi. It tastes like pre-made refrigerated 8-buck sushi. When Evan gets it for lunch, he feels like a cultured king feasting.

Knowing that he loves eating out, had been at home too much lately and our evening plans had fallen through, I suggested we go out to eat. He agree quickly and asked where. I suggested the sushi place near our house. He point his finger at me, and approved with a smile and a click.

Despite how much Evan claims to like sushi, there is probably no other food that is constructed to be so difficult for a Downsy-boy to eat. Sushi rolls are just big enough that if you have a Down Syndrome-sized mouth (small) and a Down Syndrome-sized tongue (large) that they don't fit. Add poor fine motor skills and a stubborn social tendency to refuse accommodations. Finally eat where chopsticks are given and forks would need a special request. Ah. That was dinner.

Sushi is meant to be eaten in one bite. Small bites or piercing the seaweed/rice hoop with the chopsticks made every roll start to fall into pieces on his plate. Good thing Evan was hungry. He persevered and somehow made those two sticks stick in the food enough to bring it to his mouth.

A normal dinner budget spent on sushi does not go as far as cheap, plentiful, filling pasta. As we were walking back from the sushi restaurant we talked.

Me: Are you full or still hungry?
Evan: Keep going... Haven't had dessert yet!