Published on 12, July, 2020
Anyone else have a series of obsessions that seem to come and go in rotation?
When I get into a hobby, I throw myself into it fully and pursue it with passion whilst I'm learning at a decent rate. Then when the learning slows down because of the plateau that inevitably comes, I lose interest and move on to something else, often an old hobby.
Because I value efficiency, I'll often sell all of the hobby equipment - sometimes regretting it shortly afterwards.
I've been through astronomy, photography, shortwave radio, ham radio, electronics, hifi, religion, piano playing, guitar playing, motorcycling, advanced motorcycling (to the point where I was qualified to teach this). On the odd occasion that I find myself without a passion I get into a hell of a mess with addictive behaviours too.
Agreed cloud is just client-server - in practical terms the issue in tems of open source is that the move of almost everything onto a restricted range of service and infrsstructure providers means the end user loses another huge chunk of autonomy and gains hugely increased exposure to data abuse, lock-in etc. It's more a question of degree than architecture. Nevertheless I still do whatever I can for personal computing locally and regret I no longer have the time to run my own servers. IoT again differs only in increased dependency - but given there's not much of the infrastructure of my daily life I could fix mysrl already, I'm sure I'd get used to it. But until they sort out privacy and security I've no intention of filling my home with an easily hackable 360 degree surveillance system.
I will try there
Miscellaneous? That’s what I usually go for.
I wolud love open up a new post on here about but I don't know where I should post it
Yes I use my feet alot
Yeah, we are definitely on the same wave length. That’s exactly how I think. Even if I’m crossing a road, I think how would he be if I was blind or deaf, or couldn’t perhaps walk so quickly. And I simply adore having my blood pressure taken! Lol! And being pushed in a wheelchair or walking with a walking frame or sticks. I love having one arm in a bandage or no use of my hands at all. I do things with my feet! I explore different ways of communicating as well. And sometimes I do pretend I’m someone else, and people believe it! Lol! I generally always say I can’t read or write when it comes to filling in forms. I say you have to do it for me, and they do!
We sound like we on the same wave with this obbession of putting yourself in other people shoes, I notice in america in more actepable for normal people to try other people situations and over in the uk it difficult to come out that you are different and that you get enjoyment out of being in someone else situation. I regert on a quiet night a respite not asking the staff if I could sleep downstairs and spend the entire stay being looked after by the care staff to see what it feels like to be in the situation where you have no say in anything and it all done for you. I just wish I could opened up more at school and tried more things in life
Oh yeah, that’s something I’ve always done as well, including being in a wheelchair etc. I’m about to start courses in sign language as well, and it can’t come quick enough judging by today’s interaction! I only asked the minister at church a few questions, one of them was why don’t you kill yourself and she was almost crying. She said she was going to resign from her post be because I had just destroyed everything she had ever believed in. I said great, you can come to my church. Then she said she didn’t mean it, she isn’t going to resign. So I had to remind her again, that I’m autistic and what that means
I always touch objects as if I was blind as well. And if there’s brail, I go to that before I read with my eyes. I hadn’t thought of this as something only a few of us do. I thought we all did it
Yes Love hearing and meeting other autistic people, what I mean about being up other people shoes, is that at the school i was at I was surrounded by less abled students who required all sorts of special equipment and needs and one day, i asked teacher if it was okay for me to how feels to be visual impaired and using bail. also when I went to respite for the experiences more than respite and it was there I got to what it feels like to be in a wheelchair with a full chest vest harness and foot restraints and surprisingly i found this experience very comforting.
I would love to do a full article and up to fellow ausitic people and about how deep my obbession is with trying things and see what it like to be other people shoes.
Yes. Likewise with piano-playing. I took it up forty years ago, in spite of having no real talent or aptitude. Even today, I can't play pieces through without making mistakes, and my technical ability is limited.
As a child and young teen, it was snooker and Sherlock Holmes. I still maintain interests in these things to this day. But then, they were all-absorbing. I had posters of Holmes on my bedroom wall. I had a pipe and deerstalker at 12. From that age until I was about 18, I played snooker almost every day - whether on a home-made table, or in a club. I was good, too. I had a good eye. But almost overnight, it seemed to fizzle out. And I haven't played since.
For a long time, my main spare time occupation was digital image editing, using PhotoShop or (mostly) Gimp. I was good at that, too. I used it to create memes and collages, as well as original artwork. I had one of my memes used as a backdrop to a news item on RTE. It was all self-taught, and I seemed to have a real talent for it. But then, about a year ago, I lost interest in that, too. Haven't done anything since.
My abiding interest, though - and one that I've had since I was around 7 - is writing. I've always done it. I've written loads of things over the years: poems, plays, film scripts, stories, a few novels, articles. Most of that stuff has never seen the light of day. Sometimes, it's felt like a burden around my neck because I don't find it easy - having to sit down and create substance from nothing. But it's the one thing I can never give up. It's the one thing that I can lose myself in - and when I'm lost in it, nothing else matters. It's my sanctuary, refuge, shelter from the storm.
I love your interests and like you, I love hearing about other people’s. Or at least other autistic people’s. It is what my friendship with one of my autistic friends is building on. It’s like the more I find out about his interests, the more I love him, and it’s not because I’m interested in his interests, because most of them I’m not. I think it’s just the way we talk about them that fascinates and enthrals me, even if we don’t all talk in an excited way like me. I think I just love how much we love what we’re intetested in.
My obbessions, can vary form time to time, but main obsession is with past always wanting know what yesterday was like and it even gets to point where I would want to time travel and experience it in real life. this leads me on something I had for ages but never had the confidence on carrying out fulling, Is always have obsession to see what it feels like to be other peoples shoes and Have tried some things along the way but would to try more,
I have done card making, designing fantasy hotels, gardening, photography and travelling all day on local buses
I'm currently creating a datebase of Greater Manchester Bus Routes past and present and trying to make my own bus network because I getting highly annoyed at how run down are bus services are getting.
I quite like seeing everyone esles hobbys and obbessions
@plastic thanks, useful - but I find job ads so very specific these days and they don't generally want to pay you for stuff like stem ambassador (I did a lot of work on women and STEAM but burned out, I'm not good at funding stuff). Finding things to do is never a problem, it's getting paid that's more challenging!
I'm done with Christmas Cards - mercifully I only have another 3 years - having had 6 extra years dumped on me for being born in 1950s. I can usually get through 2or 3 years in a job before I hit screaming point, I've moved across arts, academia (longest haul, I managed a decade), digital consultancy, policy, and non-profit sectors - all have plus and minus points but basically I'll do any job that doesn't make me sit in an office all day!
Yep, been there, done that, got the T-shirt! List not quite as long as yours but I did lots that were a good diversion from the hum drum and marked me out as a "good egg". Unfortunately, whilst this killed my boredom, it nearly killed me too.
No, I’m done with addictions. But I am always cautious none the less so no, I’m definitely not offended. I’m grateful for your concern. Thank you. I’ve been using drugs since I was a kid, so I have got a lot of affection and love for them and a kind of connection with them that will probably never be broke, but I use them wisely and spareingly these days and with respect and my intention is to be drug free, but that needs to be built back up again with the meditation etc. That’l all come together this year though, and generally whenever I start running and get back into regular excercise, I stop smoking. So it all comes together at the right time, when I get out the way and let things simply be as they are :)
Lost one of my little brothers to it and it got the other locked up for 4 years I saw them repeatedly decide to stop but couldn't cope with the physical withdrawals.
Please be careful with the ritalin as it seems you are replacing one addiction with another
I am probably wrong so please don't be offended
When I got bored at work I got involved with the company's non-work activities like community volunteering so I did careers evenings at secondary schools, literacy mentorship and became a STEM ambassador. I also became a pivotal person within the company doing energy audits, GxP training, LGBTA supporter etc. - all on the company dime.
It meant I had lots of diversions from the tedium of work - there was always something interesting dropping into my inbox that wasn't just another avoidable problerm that had just become my problem.
Think outside the box - there's lots of things to get into like becoming the fire safety officer, electrical senior person, emergency planner and a host of other non-jobs that can fill your day, give you transferable skills & qualifications and pad out your CV.
It also makes you harder to get rid of because you would leave so many vacuum spaces that would make the company operation impossible or even illegal.
Hi Extraneous, I can relate to moving around; I haven't moved between companies but I have moved across Engineering, Business Development, Product Management, Process Improvement etc. Like you I get bored so easily and much prefer starting on new stuff and making sense of it, but am tired and looking forward to retirement as soon as I possibly can (but it will be 10 years still, I think).
Yeah, most of my friends are dead through its use but it's usually by od or too pure a batch. I don't know how I was saved, but I was, so I just accept that now. The temptation to use again is always there though, because the benefits are so great. Heroin was, until I had a Ritalin, my favourite drug of all. It was my number 1 drug of choice.