The Opinionated Aspie

My first short story is published and available in digital form, on Amazon. You do not need a Kindle reader. Only the app.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZSGZ2B8

Posted October 16, 2018 7:00 PM  The day after my nephew Cameron died I sat down at a little cafe in New Zealand, and wrote a poem. At the time I didn’t think it was very good. So I never shared it or told anyone about it. But just in case I wanted to come back to it another time, I put it in my lock box and thought nothing more of it. Today while I was sorting through that box, looking for something else and throwing away things I no longer need, I pulled that poem out and read it. Sometimes it’s better to tuck things you write away, and let the fog clear before you toss it out or try to change it. Turns out, the poem was perfect just the way it was. And with my sister Jacqueline’s permission, I post it here for you: Written: January 2018 I did everything I came here to do... Gone too soon That’s what many will say to you A waste of youth Don’t listen to them Don’t write your history of me while you’re in pain You’ll think of all the times you could have said thin...

  K... here goes. My scathing review on MTV's television series Awkward.   The reason it has to be this way, is due in part to there being a particular formulation for romantic comedies, coming of age shows, and love stories that I am increasingly beginning to resent. And Awkward was supposed to be one of those shows I was expecting to break through that barrier completely. It didn't.   You know the formula I'm talking about, right? The one where girl meets boy--- girls becomes obsessed with boy--- boy could take her or leave her--- girl needs boy to validate her worth and existence and will do anything to achieve this. Will he? Then when he does, only one season has been accomplished, so there needs to be a break up. They push and they pull, and other lovers come and go in between. An incestuous circle of friendships are formed. Everyone betrays everyone. But through it all, the one true couple that we all desperately need to see end up together, continue to build...

  I'm just going to say this as plainly as anyone can. I am disappointed with my life.    I know I'm not supposed to be. I know I'm supposed to count my blessings, and think about all those children starving in third world countries who still find a reason to smile. If I just stop long enough to think about how much better I have it than them, right?     But the truth is, I am staring. I've been starving my whole life. Not from lack of food... though I know what that feels like. It's more like... my soul has been starving. I bet you know what I'm talking about. Maybe you keep chanting some kind of mantra that keeps you from feeling it entirely, but you know it's eating you up.   Didn't I have children who could fill up that void completely? How could I be so ungrateful? Am I saying that they were not enough to fill my heart to capacity? Shouldn't I feel my life's work was completed the moment I became a mother?   My children gave me...

   I was going to write a scathing blog post about how slightly disappointed I was with the last three seasons of 'Awkward.' now that I've finally watched them, and yes, you read that right... I did use the word "scathing" to describe how I was planning to write about something only slightly disappointing to me.   But there's a matter far more pressing I think I should write about first, and the reason I let you, the reader, know about what I would have written had nothing pressed at me harder, is because telling you how I would write a review shredding something that brought me pleasure, many laughs and a great escape, perfectly encapsulates my personality and my aspie brain.   Of course... I'm still going to write that scathing review. No matter how much sentimental residue clings to me once I'm finished with this one. I still have to be me.   For a short while now, I have been working a job that has nothing to do with hair. Kind of a summer...

  If there's one television series I am haunted by 20+ years after its making, My So-Called Life is that. I know I'm not unique in this experience. I know about the massive campaign that was run to try and save it. I've read the fan pages and the interviews. People want to know what would have happened next. Not only because it had a short 19 episode life, but because it had so much potential for greatness no other of its kind did. Its cancellation left everyone hanging after the creator had only just begun fleshing out these characters and their relationships. Relationships and situations that would have only filled the pages of half a novel were it a book. So it feels like someone tore in half the only copy in existence, and burned the half with all the answers in it. Those questions will never get an answer. Not by the original creator anyway. Oh fine, so two decades go by and she's willing to give us a tiny taste of what was coming next, in an interview. But t...

  I posted the meme you see above to my Instagram last year, and it cracks me up every single time I see it, no matter how many times! The look on that kid is so priceless too. It's what one of my daughters looks like when she's online, and how my other daughter looks when it comes to Anime. And perhaps I would have looked this happy about my interests too, if I hadn't had the kind of upbringing I had. But perhaps not. I can't really know if I would be any different than what I was.   After all, I'd still be autistic and I'd also still be me. We aren't all carbon copies of some original form. That being said, I may not be able to speak for all autistic people on how they handle their obsessions, but I can  tell you that we all tend to be hyper-focused on what we're interested in, and little else. These "special interests" may manifest differently from person to person, or you may not even know someone has them if like me (when I was young)...