The Side Effects of Visual Input

Everything I see triggers thoughts and memories. I see a hole in the street as I'm driving, the physics of traction changes for my car flit through my head, for all seasons which would change things.

I see a box of something on a shelf, (grocery stores are a nightmare) and I have to work to shut off the flow of thoughts. Thoughts regarding what it took to make the product, through mining, farming, the production of the raw materials, r&d for the mfg process. Assembly, marketing, focus groups, print setup and on and on.

When I see a service, thoughts run to their bottom line, where they fit in their niche, what their growth potential is, where they're making the bulk of their profits, how the company seems to be doing, alternatives I know of which might be better.

I see a closed business and I begin analyzing the neighborhood to see what the demographics of the area are, what businesses are missing, what niche businesses would do well. What local materials are available the cheapest, what can be done with them.

When I Meet New People

I use learned routines to assist me in socializing. My first thoughts run toward guaging the humor type/level of the person. I'll then fire off a joke or remark which fits the situation, just below where I figure your humor tolerance ends.

Difficulty reading facial expressions is a common issue with autistics. Asperger's is no different. Fortunately, most people let their guard down when they're laughing, at least the guarding of their facial expressions.

I figure I do this because people are easier to read when their emotions are showing, laughter gives a peek through armor quite often.

Once in a while I'll miss the mark and upset someone, having told a joke they found just a bit too inappropriate. Inappropriate for their sense of humor anyway. LOL

Life is Complex

Finding out I'm autistic has completely changed how I view the world. I am now extremely happy with a great number of areas of my life, a remarkable change. When I was unaware of my autism, I fully believed life just sucked, really, really, REALLY badly.

Awareness is a powerful thing