I had a rough day yesterday because I had to go to the dentist. I knew it was going to be tough; I even told my wife the day before that I REALLY didn't want to go. But I knew I had to go, so I sucked it up and went and got it over with.
My Aspergers presents me with advantages and disadvantages when it comes to dealing with the dentist. On one hand, my Aspergers has blessed me with a well-above-average pain tolerance. I actually have the ability to unfocus my brain on what's going on in my mouth and focus on tiny details around the room (a poster, the fluorescent light above me, etc.). This makes the actual dental work that needs to be done a piece of cake for me.
The hard part is the social aspect, of course. I can hear you asking, "What about going to the dentist counts as a social interaction?"
The first thing you must know is that my teeth - for lack of a better description - are fucked up. I have major crowding issues, teeth squished into places where they don't belong, and in general I just have a major mess going on in there. It's not pretty. The whole situation makes brushing and flossing very difficult. Although not horrendous, my oral hygiene could be much better. This whole situation is embarassing for me, so it's obviously uncomfortable for me to be poked, prodded, and evaluated on how disgusting my mouth is.
But I got through it! My back was all sweaty, and my head hurt a little, and my wife had to order a pizza as comfort food for lunch... but I made it through! To be honest - and this is a little embarassing to admit, but what else is this blog for? - I was proud of myself for doing it. Maybe I can use this as inspiration in the future when I'm facing a difficult situation; I can do it if I just grit my (horribly disfigured) teeth and go for it.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Dunkin Donuts Ruins My Day
What a bunch of crap.
I had a light lunch the other day, so I decided to grab a snack at Dunkin Donuts (there is one right in the building where I work, which is AWESOME). I have a few coupons I can't decide between, so I grab them all and head on over.
I decide I want to use my "99c muffin with a medium beverage" coupon, because I love the chocolate chip muffins. As I head up to the counter, I notice.... no chocolat chip muffins. They don't even have my fallback option - the cinnamon roll muffin. All I see is pumpkin muffins (WTF is up with that anyway?) and corn muffins (bleh).
Ok, so muffins are out. I shuffle through my coupons and settle on "free hash browns with a breakfast combo" coupon (DD hashbrowns are soooo good). I ask the guy behind the counter if the coupon works with any of the combos on the menu, and he says yes. Excellent, because I like the 2-donut combo but I don't like any of the breakfast sandwiches. So, of course, when I ask for the 2-donut combo, he tells me that I can't use the coupon with that combo; Just the breakfast sandwhich ones count.
Uhhhh, ok. I just asked about that and you said yes, but whatever.
(Inside, I'm getting really pissed, but I'm handling it)
So I say screw the coupons and just get the combo anyway. I order my coffee the way I always do - medium iced coffee, cream, 8 splenda (yes, I know... get off my back, ok?). Oops!!! They are out of splenda.
They are out of splenda.
They.
Are.
Out.
Of.
Splenda.
WHAT KIND OF DUNKIN DONUTS IS THIS FUCKING PLACE?!?!?!?!?!?
... is what I wanted to say. Instead, I just said fine, whatever. I usually keep a stash of splenda in the break room at work for when I make coffee. I grab my stuff and sulk back to work.
When I get back, I find my splenda stash is gone, used up by either me or my coworkers.
Yay.
My Aspergers causes me to like certain specific things in specific ways. When I can't get my way with things I'm accustomed to having my way with, I get very crabby. And this ruined my day in such a spectacular fashion. I was able to find 5 splenda in my bag. I used those and added some sugar free caramel CoffeeMate for sweetness, but I needed to add 2 sugars to make it drinkable.
At least the donuts were yummy.
I had a light lunch the other day, so I decided to grab a snack at Dunkin Donuts (there is one right in the building where I work, which is AWESOME). I have a few coupons I can't decide between, so I grab them all and head on over.
I decide I want to use my "99c muffin with a medium beverage" coupon, because I love the chocolate chip muffins. As I head up to the counter, I notice.... no chocolat chip muffins. They don't even have my fallback option - the cinnamon roll muffin. All I see is pumpkin muffins (WTF is up with that anyway?) and corn muffins (bleh).
Ok, so muffins are out. I shuffle through my coupons and settle on "free hash browns with a breakfast combo" coupon (DD hashbrowns are soooo good). I ask the guy behind the counter if the coupon works with any of the combos on the menu, and he says yes. Excellent, because I like the 2-donut combo but I don't like any of the breakfast sandwiches. So, of course, when I ask for the 2-donut combo, he tells me that I can't use the coupon with that combo; Just the breakfast sandwhich ones count.
Uhhhh, ok. I just asked about that and you said yes, but whatever.
(Inside, I'm getting really pissed, but I'm handling it)
So I say screw the coupons and just get the combo anyway. I order my coffee the way I always do - medium iced coffee, cream, 8 splenda (yes, I know... get off my back, ok?). Oops!!! They are out of splenda.
They are out of splenda.
They.
Are.
Out.
Of.
Splenda.
WHAT KIND OF DUNKIN DONUTS IS THIS FUCKING PLACE?!?!?!?!?!?
... is what I wanted to say. Instead, I just said fine, whatever. I usually keep a stash of splenda in the break room at work for when I make coffee. I grab my stuff and sulk back to work.
When I get back, I find my splenda stash is gone, used up by either me or my coworkers.
Yay.
My Aspergers causes me to like certain specific things in specific ways. When I can't get my way with things I'm accustomed to having my way with, I get very crabby. And this ruined my day in such a spectacular fashion. I was able to find 5 splenda in my bag. I used those and added some sugar free caramel CoffeeMate for sweetness, but I needed to add 2 sugars to make it drinkable.
At least the donuts were yummy.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
It's Not As Bad As It Looks
The family went to a kids' music concert yesterday and had TONS of fun. Lots of dancing and jumping around in the aisles, and my little aspie really enjoyed it. A great time was had by all.
Talking to my wife afterwards, I found out that she was a little concerned that I was having a problem with the crowd of people there (the theater was packed with people). Contrary to normal aspie behavior, I'm actually pretty comfortable in a crowd, only because there is very little focus on me as an individual. If I'm allowed to blend in and be part of the scenery, I'm okay with that. Being part of the background is a nice feeling.
(I also think that since I had the opportunity to sit in a corner and avoid sitting next to anybody helped me be comfortable a lot.)
The problem I have is when I get together with a bunch of people and I'm forced to be social with them. If there was some sort of Q&A discussion after the concert, I would have been a nervous wreck. But since everyone else's attention was on the stage, being in the crowd didn't bother me in the least.
I think my biggest social fear is not of being in crowds, but instead it's sticking out in a crowd. It's being that one guy that everyone else is looking at and thinking, "What's that dude's problem?" I'd rather nobody look at me... or even be completely alone.
Talking to my wife afterwards, I found out that she was a little concerned that I was having a problem with the crowd of people there (the theater was packed with people). Contrary to normal aspie behavior, I'm actually pretty comfortable in a crowd, only because there is very little focus on me as an individual. If I'm allowed to blend in and be part of the scenery, I'm okay with that. Being part of the background is a nice feeling.
(I also think that since I had the opportunity to sit in a corner and avoid sitting next to anybody helped me be comfortable a lot.)
The problem I have is when I get together with a bunch of people and I'm forced to be social with them. If there was some sort of Q&A discussion after the concert, I would have been a nervous wreck. But since everyone else's attention was on the stage, being in the crowd didn't bother me in the least.
I think my biggest social fear is not of being in crowds, but instead it's sticking out in a crowd. It's being that one guy that everyone else is looking at and thinking, "What's that dude's problem?" I'd rather nobody look at me... or even be completely alone.
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