Juno20 Report post Posted December 15, 2009 Hello Everyone, I am new on here and have not been diagnosed with aspergers but have been refered to my doctor about a week ago. I am 28 and my passion in life is animals, I also like cars and music. I know that i have alot of aspie traits and that growing up I had huge dificulties with making (and keeping) friends, I have also been fired from no less than 12 Jobs and as a result of that i am now self employed and relatively succesfull I hope that in joining this forum I can learn more and meet others with aspergers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vanna Report post Posted December 15, 2009 (edited) Hi Juno, I am relatively new to AS (and the forum) and not officially diagnosed yet either. Im 29, and also have had major issues with friends and jobs. The number of jobs I have lost, at the mo' Ive just added it up and I think it is 16. Eesh! worse than I thought! I've been in London the last 4 yrs and it is very lonely as I dont know anyone. I am waiting till the 31st to hopefully either get a dx or at least a referral to an AS specialist or something. Your self-employed? Cool. What do you do? I am currently reading an article that is really powerful in that it seems to epitomise me, completely or at least 95%. If you want to chek it out and see if it hits home too. Anyways welcome to the formus, hope to talk to you soon. http://www.aspires-relationships.com/as_gr...ntroduction.htm I love animals as well, I have a cat "Peanut" who I adore and I think she is my best friend (but who knows if I am hers, probably ... hopefully!) I also want lots of other animals, and I have a design degree but I really want to make a difference somehow either working for a charity or someone whose mission statement I agree with. (I am really into saving the planet, etc. That is really important to me too.) And I like nature, art and architecture, and colours. Ok so thats a bit about me, and of course that I babble on and on... sorry! xx Vanna Edited December 15, 2009 by Vanna Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Juno20 Report post Posted December 15, 2009 That is a good article Vanna, it's scarily like me. I am a driving instructor which I am sure is quite a strange ocupation for someone with AS but it seems to suit me ok, although it does stress me out sometimes. I Started doing it because i love cars and driving and I really knew I was not cut out for being an employee. The best bit about it is that I get lots of free time to spend with my Beautifull Yellow Labrador (Juno) and to swat up on my favourate subject which is currently dogs, although is has been birds, fish and rabbits previously. Don't worry about babbling by the way, I regularly try to bore the pants of anyone who will listen on the finer points of rabbit genetics or how dogs communicate with each other..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vanna Report post Posted December 16, 2009 Hi Juno, Well I think a driving instructor is interesting. Personally I can't teach anyone anything, not that I won't if I know something, I guess I can't explain what I mean and get frustrated. So teaching is out for me! But on the other hand you dont have to deal with office politics, etc or tons of other people, just one on one, and that isn't too bad at all! Yeah I was just reading that article yesterday too, and I thought I would share. I think most people on here will be able to relate... I love dogs, we want one, but live in a flat, so we have a cat (who I also love, as well as rabbits). Eventually I want one. I want the type on the Andrex commercials. (which is pretty much the same breed as your dog.) thats cute. I actually have an interview this afternoon, at the NAS no less, (sorry, you're new - National Autistic Society in case you have not heard of them, but you probably have) anyways for a graphic design post. So that would be cool. I've really got to get a job, and if anyone would give me a chance it's them. I know you shouldnt put all your eggs in one basket but ... oh well. I cnat help it sometimes. If I have a career change at any point I will probably go into veterinary nursing or something similar. You mentioned you are really into music as well Do you just listen to it or do you go to concerts etc. And what do you like? ok ttyl Vanna Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Juno20 Report post Posted December 16, 2009 (edited) Hi again Vanna, I find teaching ok as I know my subject really well and I notice very easily when someone does something wrong... sometimes i'm a bit too picky maybe but all my pupils say its a good thing. Because its one on one and I'm not actually facing the person I only get a bit edgy the first couple of times I meet someone or if i haven't seen them in a while. The best bit is that is very informal and most of my pupils are too busy concentrating on driving to want to make small talk... :-) In actual fact I really love teaching as it means I can go on and on about the thing i'm interested in and not bore someone because they actually want the information. I have taught one of my mums friends all about colour genetics and I hope that when i know more I can also teach people how to train there dogs as this is my real passion and I think i'd be pretty good at it. I like all types of music and do occasionally go to gigs, though I mostly just like hearing new bands and listening to them in my car. My favourate artists at the moment are Imogen Heap and Mumford and sons. Funnily enough I was a vetinary nurse for about 6 months when i was about 19, however all the nurses i worked with didn't like me and I got fired because of this, and got put off trying to do it again. My Labrador looks just like the andrex puppys, well she did when she was small, now she is a just big yellow lump but very pretty all the same. Good luck with your interview, i'm sure you'l be fine. Edited December 16, 2009 by Juno20 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tally Report post Posted December 16, 2009 Hello, and welcome to the forum. I am also 28. I was diagnosed with Asperger's 2 1/2 years ago. It's great you've managed to find a job that works for you, especially since you've not understood the reasons why jobs haven't worked out in the past. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vanna Report post Posted December 16, 2009 Its cool to find similar aged people on here. Most people I get on with are much older or younger... Juno Im glad teaching is working out for you and that it is not too stressful. I agree its good to be picky about driving, as so many people do it wrong but pass anyways (or forget what they have learned once they get a license and practically run everyone over who is crossing the street. Or at least in cities more. ) Also because you never know how the person giving the test is going to be really hard or not (at least in the states we have a cop in the front seat with us, but my husband just informed me its not like that here! ) I almost failed mine because I didnt know hand signals and was freaked out because the car I was driving was like the gadget-mobile with reversing noises and all. (it was my grandfathers who was into that and I just didnt know where things where. The other thing different is in the states, there is no different liscense for automatic or manual. I can use either, but I dont have a car here as its too much in London. I miss driving though. Ok enough about that! Too bad vet nurse didnt work out just because someone didnt like you. No matter where you go you can't please everyone. You could always try again now that you're older and seem to love animals maybe a bit more than cars? But if you have a good thing going, then learning to train dogs on the side sounds like a good plan. I have a dog question for you actually, I have been insisting we get a dog to hubby, (esp if I get the NAS job which has a work at home arrangment, so pleny of time to care for him/her. (we already have a cat) and we only have a 1 bed flat. Is that considered mean, for the space issue, will the dog have a problem with it, or is it better to just wait till we have a house and lots of space (which could be years!) I do live close to the Thames and there is a really big path so going for walks/ runs is not a problem. Sorry, a bit of randomness! You can ask me a design question if you ever need to! lol PS back from the interview, but I got lost so I was late, But they were fine with it as they just got out of a meeting. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Juno20 Report post Posted December 16, 2009 Hello, and welcome to the forum. I am also 28. I was diagnosed with Asperger's 2 1/2 years ago. It's great you've managed to find a job that works for you, especially since you've not understood the reasons why jobs haven't worked out in the past. He he, you're not kidding about not knowing why they didn't work out, all I really knew is that I needed to do something that was self employed so I couldn't get fired again. To be honest driving instructing is not perfect by any means as I do get quite annoyed with other people on the roads (VERY ANNOYED!!) and at times because of this I don't want to carry on but I know deep down that I could never go back to being employed now I know how great being your own boss is. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Juno20 Report post Posted December 16, 2009 Vanna, having a dog in a flat is difficult but not imposible, and it is only cruel on the dog if you don't understand the extra work involved. Firstly you need to consider that dogs generally need to use the "bathroom" between 2 and 4 times a day and if you are in flat you can't just let them into the garden. You have to be prepared to take them out to the park and stand there and wait while they mess about sometimes in the pouring rain and dark every day without fail. This doesn't sound too bad but when you've been out late at night and have to get up at 7 am on a sunday morning to stand in the freezing cold while you dog just wants to play rather than relieve himself it can be pretty frustrating. The worsed is that sometimes you are out late with the dog on your own and there are all sorts of scary hoody types in the park etc. Worse than this though is that puppies need to be taken out about every two hours if you are toilet training them which i imagine would be a pain in bum if you had to keep carrying it up and down stairs every time.... perhaps getting an older dog solves this. I say carry as puppies cannot cope with stairs until they are over a year old as it put strain on there growing limbs and joints which can cause deformities as the dog grows, therfore a big dog is a no no unless you have a lift or are a body builder. On the plus side and contrary to popular belief most dogs do not need hours and hours of walking and are more than happy to chill out or play doggy type games with you indoors. All in all the thing to consider is weather or not you are prepared to make that kind of comitment.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
