Audio Disasters

   So, my sister and I went out last night with the meet-up group I go to every month for dinner and karaoke. While the food was excellent, if expensive, the karaoke... wasn't.

   You see, it is very difficult to sing in tune when not even the music is in the right key. No, that isn't a lame excuse for my lack of talent; my sister, who has had singing lessons, agrees with me. Plus, the other people around the table said I was very good, even though I was forced out of key by afore-mentioned un-music.

   Don't get me wrong, it was a fun night - most of the fun being from the food and the confusion at a Chinese restaurant using a Japanese invention as an attraction! So if you are in Geelong, Victoria any time soon, check out the Palace of the Orient. The food is well worth the price!

   The other reason I had so much trouble was that, to sing along to a song, I need the original song. When all I get is the music, I miss the cues and generally sound crap; whereas if it is the original song, I catch the cues and get the lyrics (mostly) right!

   Waiting for our Dad to pick us up was more fun than waiting in the rain is usually as well - we probably looked very strange indeed sitting there doing impressions of heavy metal versions of classical music! I ended up with quite a sore throat by the time Dad pulled up, and we were both laughing our heads off the whole time we were waiting! So all in all, a very good night out indeed!

Anxiety and Other Afflictions

   So... I had a panic attack last night. Usually these happen for a reason, but not last night. Maybe it was because of something I dreamt, I dunno; all I know is that it ended up being a panic attack about having a panic attack! My heart was pounding so hard I could feel every pulse, I felt nauseous and I needed to sit on the loo for about half an hour - my body tends to go into what I like to call 'evacuation mode' where it tries to dispose of everything inside my digestive tract. Luckily, I don't let it! (Yes, I know that is gross. That's my life for you!)
   Anxiety tends to be a big deal for Aspies - we get extremely nervous when we might have to do something we really don't like doing. For example, I can't talk to people I don't know - I literally cannot find the words to say. It of course means that these people think I'm being rude and refusing to talk to them, but that is not the case. After I've got to know them a little, I'm fine - I can talk to them; it's just that initial meeting.
   Aspergers also tends not to be the only problem. One of my friends is not only Aspie, but has Epilepsy too (poor fellow). I suffer from Depression (well, my doctor says I do, and I believe that), and another friend suffers from really bad insomnia.
   We're all extremely lucky in that we have a supportive family, and a great group of friends who are understanding of us - when we can make friends at all! Mums: we may find it hard to say - if we say it at all - but we do love you!

Why Small Boys Disgust me...

   So my little brother, who is eight, has just done the most stupid thing yet. Earlier, during dinner, he complained that he was feeling sick. A little while later, however, he was apparently well enough to guzzle down a bowl of chocolate ice cream. Guess what Mum and Dad just had to clean up off of the toilet seat?
   Yup. Chocolate ice cream. Because my brother seemed to think that the cure for nausea is to eat more food.
   I do love him so much, but wow, is he so annoying! He cannot sit still or shut up for five minutes. I wonder, sometimes, how the hell he manages at school! Looking back now, I can't really believe that I really didn't want another brother or sister - I believed that everything was fine the way it was. But now... he makes us laugh so much. Just the other day, when he got home from school he stripped off down to his underpants, wrapped the scarf I knitted for him around himself like one of those things that Chewie wears, tucked his toy sword into his waistband and ran around the house brandishing his toy spear yelling his lungs out! (My brother is also an Aspie.)
   I get much entertainment purely from watching him play with our adorable little Labradoodle Daisy. They run around the house, dog chasing boy; they roll around on the floor wrestling for Daisy's sock toy - it is so adorable I barely get any homework done!
   So to all those with annoying siblings who they wish were never born, take a moment to think about what your life would be like without them. Dull, isn't it?

Hello!

Hello! I am Lethandhrel One-Eye. (I don't really have one eye. It just feels like it sometimes...'Lazy eye'!) I am 20 years old, and was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome - on the Autism Spectrum - when I was 15. All through primary school I was treated as though I was just a naughty child, as back then, they didn't think girls could have Aspergers. It was mainly because school was soo stressful for me - I'd take as many sick days as I could get away with to get away from all the other kids and the teachers telling me what to do all the time. It was only after we moved to Australia from Britain that we finally found out, via recommendation from my form teacher, what was 'wrong'.
   By the way, there is nothing actually wrong with me. I just see things differently, that's all. I get obsessed over things - currently TESV: Skyrim - and socialising physically tires me. I'm hoping this can help people see things from my point of view at least - no one 'Aspie' or 'Autie' is the same. It's not 'met one, met them all'. I am high-functioning (which means I'm almost 'normal'), whereas the next autistic person you meet may be low-functioning (non-verbal, or won't touch anything that is blue, for example.)
   Also, please understand, this isn't a disease. Neither you nor your child will catch it from an Autie or from immunisations given as a baby. There is no cure; only coping mechanisms - ways of getting over the inhibitions and bad habits that prevent them from fitting in. So if someone you know, or a family member of theirs  is diagnosed, don't say 'get well soon'. I, personally, find that offensive. Just try to understand.