Post #61 - I Have A Job (well, a temporary one ...)

Yes, last week I obtained gainful employment.  Granted it's on temporary three-month contracts, but hey.  It's also located locally.  Watch this space.

Post #60 - Seeking Temporary Agency Work

Now, if you've been reading my blog regularly you'll know that I haven't worked full-time hours since 2007, a month or two before my son was born.  Why not? You may ask, well it's a combination of childcare and working part-time is better for my mental health overall.  Apparently ALL employers want FT staff now. Nice.

Fast forward to voluntary redundancy and now, the search for temporary employment.  I have registered with a couple of employment agencies, which I am not allowed to name because I've signed a confidentiality clause.  I can't really say a great deal else really.  Anyway, I did state on the paperwork that I do indeed have a disability and that it's Asperger's.  Gawd help me.

Post #59 - The Seaside Amusement Arcade

Yesterday we went to the Amusement arcade as we're currently staying on the coast. My s9n has become obsessed with the air hockey table, which is now £1 per play as opposed to 50p per play back in the Whitson Half Term! That's inflation for you.

Anyway, he soon got over-excited and began to shout; the noise, lights and general ambiance of the arcade is sensory overload for him, and my husband took him back to the bungalow. I won an Angry Birds 'Chuck' toy on the 2p flipper machine, so not all was lost.

Talking of vibrantly coloured birds, we bought this budgerigar coaster (along with a stuffed toy beaver) from a local wildlife park's gift shop.

Post #58 - Son In iPod Rage

The screen of my son's iPod is now totally wrecked. This will be the second replacement glass we'll need to purchase at a cost of £60. This is also the point in which it gets taken away from him. Forever. As will his other pad, the Samsung one.

Why on earth were you letting your child have two pads? Well, judgey pants, having a son with ASD and ADHD is pretty much impossible to deal with at times. He's in our face - . constantly. I personally believe that we try our best, but it's really difficult.

Thereth end thy sermon. Bless you all.

Post #57 - A Trip To The Cinema

Now, I must confess that I am the proud possessor of a Cineworld Unlimited Card (feel free to click on the link to see what that's all about) so this, combined with the fact that I'm currently out of work, means that I visit the cinema.  A lot.

"But you're an Aspie!" you may say - "cinema visits must be a complete nightmare?"

Well, yes and no really.  I tend to avoid busy times and don't tend to see films on the very day they're released.  That said, I still experience a few issues.  Here, step, by Aspie step, is the process involved for me to go and see a film:

• Before: purchase one (or if I'm pushing the boat out, two) bottles of Sainsbury's latte (yeah, it's 80p and available in the chiller cabinet near the lunch things - it does tend to sell out, so don't go quaffing it before I've bought mine - thanks!)

• Try to time my arrival ten or so minutes into the programme, which consists of a series of adverts and trailers and tends to last between 25-30 minutes prior to the film actually beginning
• Show my card (which often gets rejected at the 02(!) and choose a suitable seat for the performance - I tend to prefer the back as I gain a better panoramic view.  Hopefully near absolutely nobody, especially annoying people
• Find my allocated seat - sometimes this means turfing somebody else out of it - not that I care though - my seat, my rules!
• Sit down, get comfy, check in on Facebook (gawd I'm tragic!), ensure that I've set my mobile to its 'vibrate only' function
• Cring every time the door opens and pray that nobody sits anywhere near me
• Visibly prickle when two, three or even four people walk in, each holding a mega bag of popcorn and a large soft drink each and proceed to sit behind me
• Hope that the person sitting three rows in front of me would have switched off their mobile by the time the film starts - as well as being noisy, the light emitted from the screen illuminates the dark room in an annoying fashion
• The film begins (phew!) - anticipate the ache that will undoubtedly occur in the back of my neck when the people behind me begin to crunch their popcorn and slurp their straws
• It's not too bad ...
• The question is: should I renew my Unlimited Card next year, or just stick to watching Blu-Rays at home instead?

Post #56 - Cancelling Plans

Now, I write this in full knowledge that, as an Aspie, I may see life differently to others.  Yes, I can become more upset and take it much more personally than neurotypical people.  The issue is that I can't really factor in the important stuff which other people take as read.

Right, here's the background - I was supposed to be going to visit a friend down on the south coast.  I used to work with him a few years back and haven't seen him at all for the past couple of years - we keep in sporadic contact on Facebook and via email, although he's always been quite dismissive of such things, thinking himself to be a superior being and above such inane ramblings.*

Anyway, I'd already paid the deposit on a B&B room because I didn't want to undertake a whole load of rail travel in just one day.  He was rather evasive about which weekends he was free during the summer, but we agreed on one.  Bingo.

Er no, not quite - yesterday evening I received an apologetic email from him stating that the particular weekend we'd planned was ... wait for it ... his parents' Golden Wedding Anniversary.  Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't people usually aware of stuff like that?  Hmm.  Not happy.  Not happy at all.  He's yet another person to add to the (ever growing) list of people to block and ignore from now on.  If little else, this is a really useful line in the sand.  I rarely change my mind.

At least I enjoy my own company, which is rather useful at times.

*If I thought such a thing, why on earth was I keeping in contact with him you may ask?  The answer is that he's quite charming and quirky.  I am, however, clearly a myopic fool when it comes to some people.

Post #55 - School Charity Days

Today is 'wear green and yellow to show your support'. Hmm. What to do - I mean I don't want to send my son to school wearing a Norwich City football strip. Eventually, I found a yellow t-shirt for £1.90 in Primark, but surely, by rights, I should have been giving that to charity - not to a retail behemoth?

So, what's the issue? Well, my son hates being different and therefore dislikes deviating from school uniform and steadfastly refused to this morning. My husband had to bring him home to change this morning because the young 'un had seen his classmates en route to school bedecked in green and yellow.