Welcome to the Web Page of Lisa the Dreamer

Hello, my name is Lisa the Dreamer. Actually, that isn't my real name, although my first name is Lisa. I chose that online name for myself several years ago not only to protect my privacy, but also because I have a very rich inner life.

I currently live in the wonderful city of Minneapolis (the City of Lakes) in the great state of Minnesota in the United States of America (link was broken, so I have to find a new one)..  I am originally from Illinois (link coming soon). I moved up here when I was 18 to go to college and liked it so much here that I decided to make it my permanent home.

Sometimes it's hard to know what picture to put of oneself on one's web page. People often put younger pictures of themselves, but sometimes that might be the only nice one available. The picture above was taken in 1995 and I haven't updated it because there aren't any really good current pictures of myself. I could have put the one to the left here and fooled you all into thinking I was only 21, the age I was in that picture. The only half-way decent most current picture of me is to the right here and was taken in October 2005.

I am an ENFP, close to the E/I border. ENFPs are very fun and loving people. This is a link to my ENFP page, where you can join the very best and original ENFP email mailing list that was started in December 1993 and has over 1100 members (not all posting at once though!). The ENFP page also includes links to some really good ENFP descriptions, some ENFP type acronyms (such as Every New Feeling Persists), and some links to other ENFPs' pages and pages ENFPs like.

I am also a part of the ENFP web ring, which you might also be interested in joining (we are new and growing and could use more members!).

Back to the table of contents

I am also a borderline INFP.  This link has a good description of INFPs, written by the original and best INFP list.

INFP Ring
	Next | Prev | Skip Next | Skip Prev Ring Hub | Random | Join

Back to the table of contents

I am a HSP (Highly Sensitive Person). Some good HSP web pages include Elaine Aron's web page, who is the author of "The Highly Sensitive Person" and other HSP books, and Thomas Eldridge's web page, which includes lots of information and other links to pages of interest to HSPs. There are also several  HSP-related email mailing lists out there, some are on Yahoo.

Back to the table of contents

I am a member of Mensa, the high-IQ society. This means that I am really smart in one of the seven kinds of intelligence. It also means that people sometimes have really high expectations of me that I often am unable to meet (mostly because they equate high IQ with almost deity-like qualities--they expect me to know and remember everything and to understand everything they say and to solve all problems, but they don't realize I am just another human just like they are, with a brain that processes things a little differently).

Mensans are really great people, or at least the ones I know are.  Many of my best friends are Mensans.  There's at least 360 Mensa-related email mailing lists on Yahoo groups (http://groups.yahoo.com do a search for Mensa). Other Mensa links: Minnesota Mensa, American Mensa, and Mensa International.

Mensans of the World Circle [ Join Now | Ring Hub | Random | << Prev | Next >> ]

Back to the table of contents

I have Asperger Syndrome. This is a high functioning form of autism, and I do function quite well in some ways and not so well in others. I have excelled in school, performed well in part-time employment, done an exceptional job in parenting my child with special needs, but when it comes to relationships with others (especially with extremely neurotypical others who think they know what's best for me without even asking me), I get quite confused. These people just don't make sense! But I'm smart enough that I have figured out enough to get by and most people who know me seem to like me. I actually appear quite "normal" and most people don't really understand just how much work it is for me to keep functioning as well as I do.

I think one of the hardest things about being autistic is other people's attitudes.  I've always been quite content to be the way that I am, but sometimes I encounter people who think I should be something other than what I am.  They have a hard time with my uniqueness and want me to conform more.  I say Value Diversity, learn to appreciate autistic people, they are really great and fun friends when you accept them as they are and learn to appreciate the unique things they have to offer.  I know I tend to be much better functioning when I surround myself with people who accept me as I am.

Here is one of my favorite autism-related links (it's humorous): Institute for the Study of the Neurologically Typical.
Another great autism link: Ooops...Wrong Planet! Syndrome - Autism Spectrum Resources.

Asperger’s WebRing [ Add Your Site | List Sites | Random Site ] [ << Previous Site | Next Site >> ] This ring site is owned by enfp. Discuss this site in the Asperger’s WebRing Forum.

Some other good webrings regarding autism:

• Ring of Auties
• My Autism Uplift
• Autiring
• Aut Friends
• Autism Awareness

Other good autism links:

• http://sonic.net/mustang/moggy/AutismLinks.html - For the newly diagnosed or person suspecting they are
  on the spectrum
• http://mjane.zolaweb.com - Jane's site, also helpful for newbies on the spectrum (Jane is on the spectrum)
• http://www.aspergeradults.ca - A web site by a person on the spectrum
• http://www.mnaspie.net - A resource site for people with Asperger Syndrome, created by a great
  couple I know personally and who both happen to be Aspies. Also the place to go to find out more
  about our monthly gatherings here in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. (We used to be on meetup.com) To
  join email MNaspieNet-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or fill in the form below:

  Subscribe to MNAspieNet
  Powered by health.groups.yahoo.com

• http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/ - O.A.S.I.S. Online Asperger Information & Support
• http://www.inlv.demon.nl/ - Independent Living on the autistic spectrum, by a person on the spectrum
• Note:  the next two links to Wendy's pages may be broken (I got a connect failure), but I am leaving them in because I want to find them again because I really liked them
  
• http://www.mugsy.org/wendy/esteem.htm - Asperger Syndrome and Promoting a Healthy Self-Esteem, by
  an Aspie named Wendy
• http://www.mugsy.org/wendy/index2.htm - Wendy's home page
• http://www.as-if.org.uk/criteria.htm - Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Criteria
• http://www.geocities.com/autistry/YMBAAI.html - "You May Be An Aspie If..."
• http://ani.autistics.org - Autism Network International - "resources by and for people on the autism spectrum"
• http://www.jimsinclair.org/dontmourn.htm - Don't Mourn For Us by Jim Sinclair, addressed to parents
• http://www.autistics.us/library/time.html - Excellent article that everyone absolutely has to read (please)
  
• http://www.geocities.com/autistry/oddizms.html - Another great site, by Oddizm, another person on the
  spectrum, and for those of you who have been interested in my "Aspie" bumper sticker and T-shirt, check
  out the link on Oddizm's page that says her first cafepress shop where you can buy bumper stickers,
  T-shirts, sweatshirts, buttons, fridge magnets, and more. (No, she does not pay me to put this
  here, I just like supporting autistic people in any way I can.)
  

I think one of the best ways to help an autistic is to listen to them and take them seriously.

Back to the table of contents

• I have raised, by myself, a son with special needs. (He's a beautiful, wonderful adult now, and still lives with me.)
  
• I taught myself how to use a computer in 1989.
• In 1972 I was told I had no musical aptitude whatsoever and was discouraged from trying out a musical instrument. Out of curiosity, I went into the gym where the instruments were on display. The guy there talked me into getting a clarinet. I was horrible at it, but once I got it, I got it, and I soon became first chair clarinet. Then in 1975, I taught myself how to play the piano. After that, I was the church pianist when we were in between ministers (the minister's wife was always the pianist).
• In 1975 when singing, I was told that I could not carry a tune in a bucket and to stop singing. In 1992, I aced Voice lessons and have been told on numerous occasions that I have a beautiful singing voice and have been a member of church choirs. (I'm thinking that it just took a bit longer for this autistic to actually grasp the concept of music.)
• I made almost straight A's in high school and was 3rd from the top in my high school graduating class.
• I am four credits short of graduating Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Mechanical Engineering with the Industrial Engineering option from the University of Minnesota (this will be my second bachelor's degree)
• I was an Industrial Engineer for a major engineering company for 13 months until they laid me off.
• When I was unable to find a part-time engineering job, I used my computer skills to get temp jobs through a temp agency. The temp jobs loved my work--I didn't continue at the first one after my assignment ended even though they wanted me to stay because the conditions were horrible, but the second temp job liked me so well that they kept me on as a temp for a year and then hired me permanently.
• I am a member of Tau Beta Pi, the National Engineering Honor Society and I have been both Co-President and Treasurer of our local student chapter (at different times of course) as well as held other officer positions in that organization. I helped our chapter win awards at Nationals and I also am responsible for initiating child care at National conventions.
• I am also a member of Pi Tau Sigma and Golden Key honor societies
• Most of my schooling was paid for by scholarships awarded to me by the Institute of Technology and the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Minnesota
• While attending the University of Minnesota, I received the President's Student Leadership Award.
• I helped a bunch of guys build a solar powered boat and our boat was in the Mechanical engineering show. I continued helping with the boat even after class was finished and we entered it into a race in Milwaukee. (Unfortunately, our boat was disqualified from the race because it was too heavy and sank too much during the test run.)
• 
  

  "National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30."

• 
  

  I wrote 50,931 words in November 2006.

• 
  

Back to the table of contents

I play darts on a blind dart league. That's right, we play darts blindfolded. Most of the people on the league have a visual disability, and everyone has to wear a blindfold. My first year (00-01), I got Rookie of the Year, and I won a third place trophy in the 2005 dart tournament. In the 2006 tournament, I placed in two of the four games, winning fourth in one and fifth in the other. During the 2006-2007 year, our team tied for second place overall. I've been secretary of the league since my third year in the league. I have made a lot of great supportive friends on the league. Here is my own personal page about the league.

I like chocolate (this is my personal link to a list of chocolate pages, feel free to suggest ones you'd like added).

My favorite newsgroups, which I have not visited for a very long time, are alt.cuddle where I once aspired to be a Princess and alt.romance.chat where I am the Official Whimsy of the RFA (Romantic Fireside Association) and where I used to virtually drench people in chocolate (and get drenched back myself!).

I have also been a lurker on misc.fitness.weights. I'm very interested in keeping my body in shape because it's so easy to gain 5-10 pounds a year and I would like to weigh what my driver's license says I weigh. (smile)

Back to the table of contents

• My past significant others, for loving me and caring for me to the extent that they were able, for all the things they gave me and taught me in spite of our differences
• My closest friends, for loving me, for being there for me, for listening to me vent and cry when I needed to, for helping me heal from anything I might need to recover from, for having fun with me and being outrageously crazy and/or silly together, for letting me love them too
• My son Ben, for teaching me about unconditional love, and for being such a delightful kid, and for helping build my confidence by blossoming into a happy, confident, self-assured, unself-conscious, beautiful kid under my great parenting!
• My church families for teaching me about love and acceptance and forgiveness and grace and for being nonjudgmental and very supportive. For helping me through crises when they came up and for helping celebrate my successes and accomplishments, and for all their many prayers and supportive affirmations.
• All the great people and friends I've made in Mensa, darts, Minn-Stf, Seward, other places
• All the autistic adults in the support groups I am in and the ones online for helping me feel normal and for understanding what life is like for me
• Family members and friends of people with Down Syndrome, who have been a great source of support and encouragement to me and my son
• Young adults with Down Syndrome who are always happy to see me and think I am great no matter how human and imperfect I am
• All of the Special Olympics athletes who have befriended me and for all the wonderful things they teach me about love and unconditional acceptance and persistence, for being delighted to see me every time they see me, for sharing with me all their challenges and accomplishments
• The other staff and parents and coaches of the Special Olympic teams and the friends I have made through other special needs activities my son is involved in for their warmth, support, friendship, and belief in me and my son
• All the supportive resource people who've helped me with my son and the ones who have helped me with me, for fixing things that others screw up, for finding resources for us, for believing in us and helping us keep on believing in ourselves too
• All of the supportive organizations I have been a part of and the people there, for their support and encouragement and helping me learn and grow, and especially for just liking me and caring about me
• All of the moderators of the ENFP list who have helped me tremendously with the ENFP list and all the other people current and past on the ENFP list who've been a tremendous source of support
• All of the people on the INFP list who have given me their love and support and encouragement and acceptance and understanding
• All of the people on all of the other supportive email lists I am on and have been on, who have given me their support, caring, and understanding
• All of my email pen pals, especially Mitch, for being such great friends for many years and for seeing me through so many experiences
• All of my mentors, especially Ron, for their patience and wisdom and support and encouragement
• Mark Foster, for evaluating me and diagnosing me with Asperger Syndrome
• Barbara Luskin at the Autism Society of Minnesota, for her help in understanding neurotypicals and their strange ways and for giving me opportunities to speak publicly to others about what it's like to be on the autism spectrum
• Dr McLellan at the Down Syndrome clinic for listening to me and believing the things I say about my son
• Hillary, my first psychiatrist, for believing in me and not overmedicating me for my depression
• Echo Bodine for her information on being psychic and being a healer
  
• My angels, for their love and protection, and for reminding me they are still around when I forget they exist, and for reminding me what a beautiful person I am and that I am here for a specific purpose
• All of the people who have and are still helping me heal and recover from life's traumas and all the resources and referrals they have given me
• All the people who have acknowledged how difficult it is to be an autistic person in this world and for complimenting me on how amazing I am that I have managed so well so far, and who don't expect me to be "normal" and who understand and get my vulnerabilities and believe me when I speak my truth
• Added June 2007:  I would also like to thank Larry, Chris, and Capri for being there for me.  Larry is one of my best friends who is always there for me day and night and he helps keep me sane.  He knows how to reassure me when life scares me and he knows how to make me laugh after listening to me vent when I need to.  Chris is my best friend from high school who still is one of my best friends and cares for me from far away through email.  She is very sweet and dear to me.  Capri is the newest moderator on the ENFP list and has helped me regain my confidence on that list after a few bouts with some really challenging  troublemakers.  We make a great team in keeping the ENFP list the sanest ENFP list out there.
  

Back to the table of contents

Spiritually, I have evolved a great deal. I was raised in a very fundamentalistic church system which I tried hard to but never could completely swallow. I've been searching and searching for answers and have been finding bits and pieces here and there. As I grow, I am finding more and more spiritual programs where there aren't so many rules and dos and don'ts and fear tactics and shaming. There are more open and accepting people and more freedom to be who I was meant to be. My eyes are continually being opened more and more and I am enjoying life much more.

Back to the table of contents

Add Your Positive Affirmation Text as a Cool Saying

Vote in a Poll

Votes show up immediately, but comments have to first be approved.

Other cool sites:

Learn how to create your own web page: the NCSA (at UIUC) Beginner's Guide to HTML.
This page will give you the basics to help get you started.

Smithsonian Photographs Online where there are lots of cool pictures

Pete's Pond Page which are pictures of a beautiful pond that Pete built

Share this page with a friend
(click on button)

Back to the top of the page

My Webrings:

This CuddleLand Web Ring site is owned by Lisa the Dreamer at unique at visi dot com. Want to join the CuddleLand Web Ring?
[Skip Prev] [Prev] [Next] [Skip Next] [Random] [Next 5] [List Sites]

Back to the top of the page

Starting December 6, 2005,
you are visitor number
 
search engine marketing Counter

Total page views since Dec 6, 2005:

search advertising australia Counter