2009 can go te hell.

[Vidar]

A bit of a personal rant here, so ignore at your own peril.

2009 is shaping up to be a real fucker of a year for me on a personal level. Besides the usual stuff like the economic meltdown (thank you, banks of America), the death of multiple celebrities, writers, or the fact that my favourite author of all time ,Terry Pratchett, has been diagnosed with Alzheimer, there was also the death of my father, my diagnosis of Aspergers syndrome, and now I'm about to lose my job because the company that I work for can no longer afford me (due to the clusterfuck to the poorhouse: global edition).
so, yeah. 2009 can go fuck itself with a rusty chainsaw.

I need a drink.

[Suwako]

2009 has been quite a year indeed, I cannot say that I have experienced it myself yet, however my father is currently likely to end up on the street as well and seeing as I still live at my parents house that is quite... yeah.

So 2009 as overall get's a thumbsdown from me as well.

[Lysander]

Freak, Vidar, sad to hear about all that. Hope things can turn around quickly with a new job or something for you. Luck to your family too, Tytaj. I know some people around here in the same situation and it just sucks. 

[Baal Hadad]

my diagnosis of Aspergers syndrome

Is that directly responsible for another problem?  I only ask because I've been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome myself and I don't see it as a problem.  If anything it helps me.

I am sorry about some of your other problems, though, especially the death of your father and the imminent loss of your job.    I hope things work out for you somehow....

[Alondro]

I've read much about Aspergers.  I know a number of people with it, and with autism as well. 

[techmaster-glitch]

   Man, that does suck muchly, Vidar. Family member death and job loss can't be easy to go through at the same time. Only advice I can give is to keep on trucking, things will have to turn around eventually.

  However, my mom has recently begun to suspect that I may have Asperger's, too, and I've done some reading on it. It really doesn't seem like that bad a thing. I've always been the kind of guy who likes to keep to himself, and throughout school, I noticed how most of my peers had more difficulty understanding and catching onto things like math and science than I do. That's just always been the way I am. If that's Asperger's, then, kinda like Baal Hadad, I'm glad I've "got it". I'm fine with the way I am.

  If you still think it's a bad thing, then consider this; you are who you are, and always have been. Even though you've been "diagnosed", you as a person have not changed at all, only your knowledge of yourself. If you were happy with yourself before, then hold onto that, for you are no different now.

[Ryudo Lee]

I need a drink.

I recommend Crown and 7up.  With more crown than seven.

I've read much about Aspergers.  I know a number of people with it, and with autism as well.  

As do I.  I also have a 3 year old niece with autism.  Asperger's Syndrome is another form of autism, though sometimes considered a "milder" form.

[Jigsaw Forte]

As do I.  I also have a 3 year old niece with autism.  Asperger's Syndrome is another form of autism, though sometimes considered a "milder" form.

I wouldn't use the term "milder" so much as "More likely to pass for normal".

Autism is a fundamental shift in sensory capabilities, which affects communication (and thus social development). There is very little, if any, difference between what's dubbed "High Functioning Autism" and Asperger's, or even between Asperger's and AD(H)D.

Edit: And as long as we're all being confessy here, I may as well say I'm nine-tenths-of-certain I'm one too. Funny how that works.

[Suwako]

All cool people have asperger!

and sometimes people like Tytaj have it too. 

[Teroniss]

Unless i manage to get this job with the Sheriff's department, then I agree, 2009 can go to hell, cuz it has been rotten thus far....

[Baal Hadad]

   Man, that does suck muchly, Vidar. Family member death and job loss can't be easy to go through at the same time. Only advice I can give is to keep on trucking, things will have to turn around eventually.

   However, my mom has recently begun to suspect that I may have Asperger's, too, and I've done some reading on it. It really doesn't seem like that bad a thing. I've always been the kind of guy who likes to keep to himself, and throughout school, I noticed how most of my peers had more difficulty understanding and catching onto things like math and science than I do. That's just always been the way I am. If that's Asperger's, then, kinda like Baal Hadad, I'm glad I've "got it".

   If you still think it's a bad thing, then consider this; you are who you are, and always have been. Even though you've been "diagnosed", you as a person have not changed at all, only your knowledge of yourself. If you were happy with yourself before, then hold onto that, for you are no different now.

A good way of putting it--not everyone can make themselves think of having Asperger's as not being bad or somehow handicapped but just differently-thinking.

And hey, if you've got it, you've got accommodations coming your way. 

I'm kidding--I don't want accommodations personally, as they reek of differential treatment, and I'm not that bad that I can't function without them--but as long as they have services for "special needs" people....  *shrugs*

[Sofox]

Tough stuff there Vidar, I really wish you the best.
People have already said how stuff like autism isn't really a bad thing. To be honest, take a random active member of any even slightly geeky message board, and the chances are they've got autism or some variant of it.
And a lot of symptoms are more like personality aspects: obsessive in certain hobbies, who doesn't want to have something they get wrapped up in from time to time?; strictness to routine and order, helps keep things organised though probably good to learn to relax now and then; high/low sensitivity to temperature?, mild inconvenience at best; lacking immediate social skills, okay this one can suck but if you make the effort you can learn them.
If certain aspects of autism are pronounced, they might interfere with what you want in life and you'll have to learn how to deal with them, but the same could be said for numerous different personality traits that countless people have. You respect people for dealing with their traits or downplaying the ones they don't like, not for having those traits in the first place.
Also, if you're worried, I recommend reading a few Autism books. Not to actually diagnose yourself, or self pigeon hole yourself, (whatever you do, do NOT fall into that trap), but rather to learn about people who may (emphasis on "may") have had similar experiences to you or similar traits. Seeing how they handled it can give you a better reflection on yourself, or ideas on how to improve on parts of yourself that you thought were lacking. Remember that everyone you read about will be different from you, no matter how many similarities you share, just learn bits and pieces that are relevant and discard the rest.


PS. Terry Pratchett has had that diagnosis for a long time now. I remember reading an article he wrote a while back kindly asking people to stop pronouncing him either dead and burried or a raving old loon.

[Vidar]

The lack of social skills is what gets me the most. Everyone wants me to communicate with them on their level and in their way, and are completely unwilling or incapable of even entertaining the thought of speaking with someone who isn't quite as fluent in social skills as they are, and I get lambasted for it frequently.
I'm not going to tell everyone around me I have this affliction, because they will Google it, and only read the most negative stereotypes on it, and hence forth shun me as though I have the plague, black death, aids and Ebola combined.
Add to that that I find the obsession with the national sport and soap series idiotic, vapid and boring, and I end up having nothing to converse about with anyone else.
Try bringing up any science and their eyes glaze over, or they are dismissive in it in a  "oh, big bang bullshit' kind of way.
Any other topic is deemed weird or eccentric and I already have enough of that, so I shut up most of the time.

*flips the rest of my country the bird*

Bunch of conformist idiots.

[Baal Hadad]

The lack of social skills is what gets me the most. Everyone wants me to communicate with them on their level and in their way, and are completely unwilling or incapable of even entertaining the thought of speaking with someone who isn't quite as fluent in social skills as they are, and I get lambasted for it frequently.
I'm not going to tell everyone around me I have this affliction, because they will Google it, and only read the most negative stereotypes on it, and hence forth shun me as though I have the plague, black death, aids and Ebola combined.
Add to that that I find the obsession with the national sport and soap series idiotic, vapid and boring, and I end up having nothing to converse about with anyone else.
Try bringing up any science and their eyes glaze over, or they are dismissive in it in a  "oh, big bang bullshit' kind of way.
Any other topic is deemed weird or eccentric and I already have enough of that, so I shut up most of the time.

*flips the rest of my country the bird*

Bunch of conformist idiots.

Wow.

There but for the grace of Providence go I. 

I've been lucky in that most of the people I've known have either known what Asperger's is (meaning NOT just negative stereotypes) or else have been open to finding out.  I'm sorry the only people you've known are the sort to be bigoted in that regard.

On the other hand, I've learned to improve my social skills somewhat, and people have noticed (even if I haven't).  I don't tell everyone I meet that I have it, usually just if the situation calls for it, but I haven't run into bigotry, really, that I'm aware of.  Not to mention the possibility you MIGHT run into someone else who has it (I have, though I really didn't have anything in common with her).

I'm with you on the "national sport and soap series" obsession, but I don't really try to condescend to others about it.  Sometimes I can't help it if it's someone I know well, but I don't try to make them feel stupid.  That might be part of why people have been patient with me--I have a (not entirely deserved) reputation for being nice.

Anyway, long story short, don't give up on the world.  If it produced someone like you, it's produced others like you. 

[Aisha deCabre]

All I can say is, I'm sorry to hear all of that, Vidar.  The best advice I can give is like many of the others; keep on going, there has to be a silver lining and surely you'll find it.  Whenever I hear people raving about their lives, I advise them (though people who follow me on DA know I'm bad at following that advice myself... ^^;) to step back and count their blessings.  More than likely you'll find your blessings are far more numerous than your curses.

I feel like complaining about this year too, myself...a situation wherein we're short on money enough to be behind on bills and house rent--wherein the sole sources of our incomes were canceled or delayed due to sickness--and wherein we were very narrowly saved by my brother and I getting jobs that we both end up despising, but must have, because we were even LUCKY to get anything in this crap economy it seems (and to piss on the wounds, my very first paycheck is late getting in when my family needs it).  On the sickness front, my grandmother (who practically raised us when we were kids) is deep enough into Alzheimer's disease herself to be practically across the veil.

But so long as I have friends, family, a wonderful boyfriend, and so many more things to laugh about than to cry about, then it's easy to calm down and hang on.  Hopefully everyone here can, too.  The year is only about half-over, after all. ^^

[rabid_fox]

I'm a fan of 2009 so far. I've eaten well this year.

[Kafzeil]

Let's see...2009...

Good things thus Far: Trip to New York.

bad Things:
Unemployed, then employed, then fired after a little over a week due to Overstaffing and being the inexperienced new guy.
Close Family Member died.
Self doubt as myself getting to College.

Yeah, I'd say for the most part 2009 been a shitty year for me too.

[Damaris]

I completely understand.  May sucked ass for us, between computers, phones, and cars dying (not to mention a bathroom repair from hell.)  I think it ended up costing us close to $6k.

At least Indiana passed a budget, so we're still employed. Bright spot there.

I hope things keep getting better for you all.