On probably living with mild Asperger syndrome

I posted before that I probably have a mild flavor of Asperger Syndrome. And sadly for me, the more I learn about Asperger syndrome, the more I’m convinced that I was right before. I do not want to think that I am fundamentally deficient in anything, but I am beginning to notice that when it comes to behaving socially, I am extremely rough around the edges and do not know how to make things smoother.

Here are some reasons why I think that I was right:

  1. I saw a video that suggested that Asperger syndrome is tied to an “interest in systems”, of which I have a strong one. (I can’t find the URL, but it was on Wired Magazine.)
  2. I strongly relate to Richard Feynman’s tales of his life experiences, and he purportedly had Asperger syndrome as well.
  3. I also somewhat relate to Albert Einstein’s quote “I do not socialize because social encounters would distract me from my work and I really only live for that, and it would shorten even further my very limited lifespan”.
  4. I’m pretty sure that I made the Griswolds feel super awkward when I talked to them.
  5. I scored 36, when most

    6. … Read the rest

How to Survive a Robot Uprising

As someone who has worked with robots before, I could not resist buying the tiny satirical pocket guide “How to Survive a Robot Uprising” by Daniel H. Wilson when I learned about it. The book, officially categorized as “humor”, starts off with this paragraph:

If popular culture has taught us anything, it is that someday mankind must face and destroy the growing robot menace. In print and on the big screen we have been deluged with scenarios of robot malfunction, misuse, and outright rebellion. Robots have descended on us from outer space, escaped from top-secret laboratories, and even traveled back in time to destroy us. The cultural icon of the killer robot goes back almost as far as the notion of the “mad scientists” who supposedly create them. Even the word robot has ominous roots. It is Czech for “laborer” and was coined in. R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots), a play produced in 1920 in which robots revolted and destroyed all humans.

[omitted paragraphs]

You probably found How to Survive a Robot Uprising in the humor section. Lets just hope that it is where it belongs.

That is the attitude that the author takes throughout the book. It even has … Read the rest

I did a Georgie

Minus the photos because I suck at taking pictures. Go here for good photos of what I saw.

I just went out to see the Griswolds perform in Hollywood! Many thanks to Georgie, who got the Griswolds to add me to the venue’s guest list! Unlike her, though, I haven’t been to a gig in about four years, mostly because the gig scene is on the east side of LA and I live and work on the west side. But I really really enjoyed the last gig I went to, and decided that it was time to go again.

Unlike last time, when I went to the gig with a group of friends, this time, I went alone. Going to a gig, with a nightclub for a venue, alone was completely out of my comfort zone, and I was really nervous. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were several other girls about my age going alone as well. I relaxed, read stuff on my phone, and waited for the Griswolds to start their show.

The Griswolds were awesome. I love their music because it’s catchy, energetic, and not too harsh. In order, they played The Courtship of … Read the rest

I want to hide in a hole

This post is going to sound really silly, but I’m about to write the main reason that I want to move out of LA. It’s not because I really want to be somewhere new, although that’s what I tell people. It’s not because I’m sick of being at my school and it’s not because I’m sick of my lab – although that’s through for many people, it’s not true for me. At the moment, I want to move out of LA because I currently socialize a lot more than I’d like. (I don’t actually want to literally hide in a hole.)

I don’t at all feel obligated to hang out with friends at all. However, I honestly do enjoy my friendships and do enjoy being with my friends. But because I’m a bit introverted, social gatherings are tiring. My friends are also introverted for the most part and don’t actually propose too many outings. So what’s the problem? I have too many friends!

“But how does an introverted person go out and get so many friends?” you might ask. The answer is that I wasn’t trying to make friends. But during my time in LA, I made the most of … Read the rest

Cooking for Geeks

I just finished reading Cooking for Geeks by Jeff Potter, a software engineer and a self-taught cook. I got it as a birthday present from my boyfriend, and to be honest, he wasn’t sure whether or not I’d like it and I was slightly disappointed at first. However, sometimes you don’t know what you want until you have it. To quote Henry Ford, one of the pioneers of the automobile around the turn of the twentieth century, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

As many of you probably realize, I am extremely inquisitive. I want to have a deep and full understanding of all systems that I work with, such as the airplanes in my work, the plumbing, and computers. Of course, it’s impossible to have a full understanding of everything in the world, unless you’re Faust and sell your soul to the devil, so I restrain myself from asking “why?” sometimes, even though people close to me probably get asked “why?” so many times that they might not realize it. But cooking is something that is just a part of daily life, and it is something that I should understand. And … Read the rest