*Warning: Looong Read. Don't want to sound like a jerkosaurus, but if you don't want to spend a lot of time reading my "ranting" as some people would probably call it, it's best to skip over this thread.*
Hi guys. Like the thread title says, I'm new--kind of. Signed up a long time ago under a different username and email address, posted briefly but I since reverted to lurking again. Just registered a new account to give myself a fresh start, seeing as how it'd be weird to see somebody who registered months ago and who only has a couple posts, start posting again out of the blue; or at least it'd feel weird for me. Anyways a few facts about me. I'm 22, from a nowhere town called Goshen, Virginia. Own 20 cats, 3 dogs, a few alpacas and a rat (not much longer unfortunately, as she has a large tumor. She doesn't seem to be in any pain and is still quite mobile, so she hasn't been put down yet.). As far as a diagnosis is concerned, I've been diagnosed as PDD-NOS AND Asperger's various times throughout my childhood, though my family always referred to me as Asperger's more often than not and that's always what I have identified as, so I prefer being considered that. Probably somewhat silly, but what can you do?
As far as interests are concerned, I have an interest in the paranormal, although in more specific subject such as UFOs, Ghosts, Psi. Also, I abhor some of the more....ungrounded and fringe elements of the paranormal which are becoming more and more popular, such as the 2012 idiocy and David Icke. As far as other interests are concerned, the Mafia has always had some appeal to me (not in the sense that I "admire" their crimes, obviously or think of them in a Robin Hood-ish light, which is just absurd and silly to the extreme, given that they are and were all about greed. I just find the history of it somewhat fascinating. Have gleaned most of my information on it from TV, but if anybody would like to recommend books, I'm all ea......well, eyes). I also enjoy Jeopardy! and shows on some aspects of ancient history, particularly Greece.
As for keeping myself in the loop politically, I watch CNN, read Politifact and watch Rachel Maddow and Olbermann (Started watching them recently. And yes, I'm aware of MSNBC's bias. How could you not be?). I also enjoy video games, primarily FPS, Survival Horror and RPGs (I also enjoy long games, especially given that today's games are $60. A fun 8 hour game is still only 8 hours, so yeah, I prefer waiting for price drops on those.). I also have an interest in a couple conspiracy theories, those mainly being JFK and 9/11, though I have no in-depth knowledge on the subject which would lead me to an opinion either way and have as of yet, not ordered any books on 9/11 (Looking at some of David Griffin's works) or Kennedy, for which "Inside the Assassination Record Review Boards" has my interest. Finally, I do dig antiques in general (Like to watch Pawn Stars and American Pickers. Antiques Roadshow is sometimes fun...), trading cards (well, Yugioh.), philosophy and have an interest in foreign coins/paper currency, as well.
As far as politics go, I'm a mixed bag. If you looked at some of my opinions, you'd be of the opinion I was left leaning/liberal (I'm pro-choice, support a regulated market, decriminalization of drugs and support gay marriage. I also wonder if marriage is a "Religious Institution", why are atheists allowed to marry in non-religious settings?), but I'm also against affirmative action, am pro capital punishment and support the idea of intervention (Less so the actual act, more often than not, as I'm not a fan of "Nation Building" and our forcing democracy, as if people can't be content with other governing systems. I also fear going into war based off a lie, as we did with Iraq. And there isn't a person alive who could convince me that Bush is the only one who'd be willing to do it and there aren't people who'd do the same if he felt he could get away with it.). As far as gun laws are concerned, which is a point of contention, I believe somebody should have the right to openly bear arms........on their own property, so dependent on individual circumstances I favor restrictions/handing over whatever weapon you may have, concealed or no. At Gun-Free Zones, you should hand over your weapon, while while you're in a public area not owned by you in particular, you should be allowed to carry a concealed weapon for the sole purpose of safety, as to say you should be allowed to carry it openly caters far too much to the right and to say you should leave them at home caters far too much to the left.
On border control, I'm fully in favor of securing the borders and deporting illegal immigrants and am all for AZ's law, which I believe is decidedly not racist. I sympathize with their (Immigrants) situation and realize the government bears some burden of responsibility for the shoddy situations which cause them to migrate here, but I just can't support them sneaking into the country and taking jobs at cheap rates that documented people need to keep a roof over their heads. Some people may say "Why do we need borders?" and the answer is simple: To keep this country secure from hostile invaders such as terrorists and to keep jobs secure for people who have been green-carded. There's also the issue of private property: If you pay taxes to the government to own land, use water, etc, you acknowledge that the government owns land that is unaccounted for by yourself or places of business. Therefore, they reserve the right to establish borders on that land and restrict entry.
As far as religion goes, I'm, as my custom user title on another board on says, comfortably agnostic. I mainly don't believe in God because I A) Have no faith and B) View him as inherently contradictory, at least when he's conceived of in the traditional sense; perfect in every conceivable way. No offense to fellow Aspies who happen to be religious, of course, because I recognize it's benefits, individually and communally. On the latter, when religion isn't used as an excuse for hatred, intolerance and elitism for other people/religions--and a lot of people don't use it in that context, so don't get me wrong, it's a great tool to help promote peace, regardless of it's inherent truth or lackthereof. I've also thought of Deism as maybe more plausible, but to be honest, it kinda scares me to think of a God who just doesn't really care either way.
Other facts:
-I don't have much self-confidence, as is sometimes noted in people with Asperger's. My personality, particularly my humor, leaves something to be desired* (Though I amuse people with my sarcasm at times and before I developed depression, I was more personable, though still not very much so. Also, I'm self-critical of my weight....), though if offered a cure, I'd refuse. I value my sense of individuality and my Autism Spectrum Disorder is inextricably linked to who and what I am, which I'm sure a lot of you agree with.
-I'm relatively self-sufficient. I'm not much of a cook, but I can get chores done, tend for myself when my mother is away and am a hard worker when I'm not dead tired due to my insomnia/fatigue brought on by depression/dysthymia. Unfortunately, due to insomnia, depression/dysthymia (Not sure of which) and Asperger's, I can't really find gainful employment, though I am advertising some services such as mowing and tilling (Now if only people would call.). May begin pressure washing decks, cars, etc, once I can afford to shell out for a pressure washer.
-I have a driving anxiety. The idea or having so many people's lives reliant on me is intimidating. I always worry that I'll screw up if I get behind the wheel. Therefore, I'm sorta debating the idea of a license and questioning whether I should just use the local transportation services when it's worth it, even if their prices are a jip.
At any rate, if you're still reading, I thank you for that. I'm the type of guy, who when I introduce myself, wants you to know the person you're meeting in some sense (At least online, since I'm horrible at socializing offline and have little desire to talk due to my social ineptitude). Going in and saying "Hi guys, what's up?" has never been my style, because it takes away any sort of novelty that may come with meeting somebody new and turns it into just another day at the office, if you will. Anyways, I'm going to do some browsing and possibly some posting and will come back here later to catch up with some of you later. Thanks for reading; take care.
26 Jun 2010, 1:29 am
