Do you guys ALWAYS find "out in public" annoying?

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I know there's only so much I can take--but sometimes I actually find myself getting a buzz of sorts out of being in a place like Wal-Mart or the airport or similar places. It's not like I'm doing much in the way of socializing or anything, but I kind of feel like the visiting anthropologist or ethnographer, just kind of...taking in what people are like and how they act. It's a sense of detachment and amazement at the same time--detached because I'm the odd one out, but amazement just at the activity and really just marveling at all the different kinds of people.

Anyone else feel this way? If so, are you on the spectrum or no?

A litte bit, yes!

i think that it might be a question of degree. i'm good for about 25-30 min of public contact them i begin to freak. up to that point, it is almost anthropological, yes.

It depends. When people are nice, it's easy to be around them, but often they are chaotic and unpredictable, meaning I get a random selection of responses and reactions which I don't like.
Some things bug me more than others. One thing that annoys me is when I get in a line that has a hold up. I tend to pick the slowest ones, the ones with the cashier who doesn't know how to do something, so she spends ten or fifteen minutes trying to figure out how to use a particular card the customer wants to pay with, or how to use a coupon or a money order or something.
Lines are the only time I actually get a chance to focus on the people around me. A few months ago, this woman was in line behind me at Wal Mart, talking on a cell phone. She was oblivious to all around her, having a completely innane conversation that consisted of her saying "I'm so ret*d" and "Don't be ret*d" about ten or twelve times to whomever she was talking to. It's not like I wanted to hear her, it's just that she was so unbelievably loud. Suddenly, she says "Gotta go" and I hear this loud whooping yell and this other woman comes up to her and gives her this hug. "It's so great to see you, I can't believe I bumped into you here, no time no see" and blah blah blah. It was like, so loud and so personal. I wondered if I really needed to be privy to such an intimate moment.
After I got through paying for my stuff, the woman was like, totally quiet and polite to the cashier, no longer talking on her cell phone or yelling at anyone. It was a Jekyll and Hyde moment. It frazzled my nerves, none the less.

I can deal with an entire sci-fi convention, which is typically a long weekend--but I canNOT stay in the same hotel as the con because I can't handle room parties and I need a place to crash at night that is quiet and civilized. But then at a con, I also don't have to worry about being on my best, most NT-ish behavior, so in a way it's relaxing because I have 3 days of me being ME.

That is a good description of how I feel. I try to stay detached so I don't get overwhelmed. When I go places I take breaks. There are quiet areas at conventions and malls. I normally limit my time in a wallmart since they are the worse offenders at overstimulating their shoppers.

Yes I do.

Doesn't really bug me beyond my typical restlessness.

Absolutely. I'm fascinated by people watching. Everything about social interaction is memorizing to me. I do have a preference for people watching in grocery stores, or super-centers like Wal-Mart though. People seem especially relaxed in this setting, completely focused on their own little shopping excursions. Everything from the type of mustard someone will buy, to how long a couple will hold hands before one of them lets go leaves me curious, and excited to keep watching. I always wonder if I'll be able to do something like pinch my boyfriends butt when I think no one's watching, or how I might handle a screaming child.

You never know how people are doing to react, so it's so endlessly exciting. Ahh! Yes. I hope this doesn't sound too strange, haha.

Not always, I am either immersed in whatever I came out to do, or am watching people - it is interesting to see what they're saying and why - though if there's too many conversations/people in a place or screaming kids then I get uncomfortable quickly.

@SoSayWeAll, I also like going to Sci-Fi cons (NorwesCon mainly). With everyone in Cosplay or otherwise made up, NOBODY looks at ME. It's like being invisible or using obfuscation. Wal-Mart I can't really stand. I draw too much attention their. Or at least I feel like I do. But yeah, when I can feel anonymous I sometimes like crowded spaces. It's like socializing without actually socializing.

Yup. Yesterday I walked with a friend through a thick crowd of people we hadn't expected to be in our way (it was some festival or other). It felt like swimming through a lake. I enjoyed it, though I don't think I could have stood it for a lot longer. It's interesting to look ahead and see what looks like an impenetrable picket of people turns out to have enough space to get through, once you're up close. I think it also helped that my friend seemed to share my initial annoyance at the prospect of wading into the crowd.......I remarked that a machete would be useful but I was not rebuked for it. I suppose a lot depends on my mood - I was feeling pretty buoyant at the time because we'd just had a good rap together.

I hate LARGE crowds. I tried to go to a big festival in Kyoto a few years back and I found myself close to screaming. I had to run off a back road and go somewhere else, then I was fine.

I like to watch people when out but definitely not large crowds. And I can't stand it when people clog the walkways or walk too slow. I MUST wear in-ear headphones and listen to music whenever I'm out cuz otherwise I can't deal. It's nice if you just go about your business and you have your own soundtrack

To answer your question, I don't know if I have AS or not. All the online tests say yes. If I have it I'd probably be a borderline case. I scored a 150/72 on the Aspie quiz.

I can and do go into Martian anthropologist mode - it is like analyzing the dentist's equipment and technique.

But if I have to act or interact at all - as opposed to just standing or sitting around - stress happens.

I always feel that these exaggerated, over-the-top greetings are a display for onlookers. A way of 'showing off' all the friends that they have and how popular they are. My opinion is that, for NT people, having friends is actually less important than being seen to have friends.

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