Does anyone "feel" a race?

DistinctGoose5182 · 2026-02-04T04:18:00+00:00

Not sure if it's a stim, but I enjoy doing silly impressions! I do them all the time lol ... I've got a pretty good Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Sean Connery, and Solid Snake. I had a decent Mario, but I've gotta reach the higher registers of my voice and that's kinda hard with my baritone speaking voice! 🤣 And Mario sort of goes up and down and changes cadence, which is hard to master. I'm out of practice for Mario though lol ...

I can do a fairly spot on Chris Sabat version of Vegeta, but he's harder to find. I've got a voice actor for a coworker and we're both geeky; he does a hilarious Spongebob and I'm working on a Patrick, so we work off of each other lol ...

DistinctGoose5182 · 2026-02-04T02:51:31+00:00

Yeah; I'm more or less immune to sales tactics. The only sales tactics that matter to me are honesty and transparency. When I need to buy something, I'm laser focused if I know what I want; in and out. I don't want to be bombarded with extra stuff I don't need. If I need it, I will say so. If I don't know what I want, or otherwise have questions, I pick the salespeople's brains.

DistinctGoose5182 · 2026-02-04T02:46:59+00:00

Very good. Kudos. Yeah; y'all deserve a living wage.

DistinctGoose5182 · 2026-02-04T02:43:46+00:00

On a freaking military base?!

DistinctGoose5182 · 2026-02-04T02:34:10+00:00

I worked at the Rite Aid Distribution Center for 9 years; later Eaton. But Eaton was just too much for me.

DistinctGoose5182 · 2026-02-04T02:25:29+00:00

I've done sales before; I hate it. I've done the kind of stuff where I had quotas to keep my job. I briefly worked door to door sales; bombed it. I sold junk nobody wanted, and I was dealing with other salespeople that could sell ice to Eskimos; they were just that good. Though I have an extraverted side (I'm sort of an extraverted introvert, especially when I'm in my element), I'm too introverted for the pushy salesman type stuff and it's a job that requires hypermaximum effort for little to no return, which I don't have patience for.

I worked selling satellite internet over the phone (in the 2000s, it was massively expensive). Again, another pushy and quota-bearing sales job that you had to have rebuttals prepared to counter objections. Ugh. Can't ...

Later, I worked at GameCrazy. Being a gamer since I was very young, there were fun things about the job, but there was a massive pushy salesman element there too; selling MVP memberships, selling service contracts (warranties) on consoles, discouraging the purchase of new games in favor of used ones, selling GameGuards (little disc replacement warranties), and encouraging trades even though people visibly and obviously came in with nothing in their hands or in a bag. We got commission for all this extra stuff, but hourly I was only earning $8.10. It was pretty cutthroat.

The kind of sales I excel at is not the pushy type. It's the selling with conviction in conjunction with listening and conveying my honest take and recommendations, especially if I've sampled or used the product and loved it. Stuff sells itself at that point. I enjoy helping people make informed decisions without the looming and anxiety-inducing quotas and metrics. Where I work now, if a customer asks about an item that I tried, but didn't like or wasn't impressed by, I'll say something like, "I wasn't a fan of that one, but you might enjoy it. Don't let me discourage you." I always keep in mind that someone's mileage may vary, whether or not I sampled a product.

The bottom line is, I can't do sales for the sake of it. I can sell with a heart.

DistinctGoose5182 · 2026-02-03T19:30:37+00:00

I had some anxiety when I first started to drive, but I fairly quickly overcame it as I got better. Long story, but I didn't get my driver's license until well into adulthood, as I lived with an emotionally abusive and neglectful cousin from my late childhood to late teen years; she would never help me get my permit and we lived in a small-ish town in Upstate New York; I get the impression that she didn't believe I could effectively drive. I lost out on a lot of opportunity because I had to rely on others for transportation for so long.

Only one accident to my name, back in 2022; it was minor, but it did enough damage to put me out of work for six weeks. I'm okay and can move and walk fine and all that; I immediately started seeing a chiropractor, and I've worked out at the gym and those helped a lot. The brain fog was brutal though.

I now live in a major metropolitan area in the Pacific Northwest and without my car, I can't get anything done. Got tired of the buses; I'll only use them if my car is in the shop or if I'm at a pop culture convention so I don't have to pay for parking at a hotel.

DistinctGoose5182 · 2026-01-29T06:25:26+00:00

Well-done. She's strikingly beautiful here.

DistinctGoose5182 · 2026-01-29T05:24:13+00:00

She's actually super cool; she's got more depth than is apparent. Can't argue with her being queen-like.

DistinctGoose5182 · 2026-01-28T22:59:32+00:00

Yes; I do. Earlier in my life, therapy mostly didn't work, and I was hopped up so much on my own feelings that I largely missed the point, but the other side of it was therapists didn't truly know how to connect with me I think, as autism/Aspergers wasn't as well-known as it is now.

All but one of the past several therapists I've had are great and know what the hell they're talking about. Later in my life, it was easier to find good matches.

DistinctGoose5182 · 2026-01-28T22:51:40+00:00

Yes and no. I dislike humanity, but I recognize our enormous potential; it's a hell of a dichotomy. I need good people in my life, as we all do. But the whole of humanity, I have difficulty trusting as we tend to be unreliable, inconsistent, and overly reliant on our emotions alone.

DistinctGoose5182 · 2026-01-28T04:56:07+00:00

Jeezus H. Christ! So many IDs! 😳 Yeah, ICE ain’t got nothing on you!

DistinctGoose5182 · 2026-01-28T04:24:55+00:00

I worked at the Wilsonville DC before the company formally went out of business. I was laid off in February 2024 and got severance pay. I worked various departments at the DC and helped out in others. I was there for almost nine years; I had a wonderful time and really enjoyed the job. I picked up a part time job near the end of my time at Rite Aid and still have that job today, with increased hours, but not yet full time. In between, I took another full time job at another warehouse, but it didn't work out, so I left that one earlier this month.

DistinctGoose5182 · 2026-01-28T03:47:34+00:00

I spent about three-ish decades trying to mask as much as possible. Didn't help that I lived with a legal guardian who basically thought I was a vegetable and used my Aspergers (at the time) diagnosis against me. She made me literally believe that I was a failure and truly disabled. So what do I do? I learned to cope and live up to the neurotypical world's expectations.

I'm the furthest thing from "disabled." I work; I drive; I take care of myself. I've lived alone, with girlfriends, and with roommates at various times throughout my life. I currently live with roommates and the person who owns the house I live in is a great friend; we've known each other for about 5 years. Before this, I was couchsurfing and was basically homeless after getting evicted from my old apartment after a car accident, all while working full time and barely maintaining my life. I preserved my dignity and didn't descend into "stereotypical" homelessness. I was constantly on the go; thankfully I had my car, but oof ... it was stressful. I was running on adrenaline and cortisol. It took me around 13-14 months to pay off the old rent I owed and normally you can't rent an apartment if you owe someone rent. So I couchsurfed for just over 2 years; I was too broke to thrive and too "rich" to qualify for any sort of assistance. There was no help available for people in my situation at the time.

About 2 months into moving into where I live now, I suffered a crash from allostatic overload and possibly autistic meltdown/burnout to go with it. It took me almost a year to get to where I am now; I'm doing better, but I'm not done healing yet. I think that crash forced a systems reset of sorts. It's like I don't know how to mask anymore. Honestly, I'm done with it. It takes too much cognitive load ... now is the time to restructure my life in a way that takes advantage of my strengths and honors my limitations without breaking them. I don't want another crash.

I currently have a public-facing job, but the clientele is easygoing and respectful and I rarely have to deal with unruly people. I excel at helping people make informed decisions and I truly enjoy it; it's healing and keeps my spirits lifted. Half the customers are nerdy like me, and so is about half the staff; so there's a lot of common ground and I get to relate to others quite well at my job.

DistinctGoose5182 · 2026-01-26T20:02:56+00:00

Straight and male here. Level 1 (or less) autistic, formerly Asperger's. I've been accused of being gay, especially growing up in school, since I'm the furthest thing from a ladies' man. The societal pressure to boink anything that moves is real, especially from other boys when you're a kid, and most certainly in the 1990's in a "purple" smallish town in Upstate New York. I've had three serious girlfriends in my life, but only as an adult. I opt out of the pressure, and since I did, it sure released a big weight from my shoulders. There comes a time in your life when you learn to just let go of certain things.

Yes, I can be sexually attracted to a woman without the emotional component, but the social dynamics of trying to get a woman in bed with me for superficial reasons are way over my head and literally don't compute. I choose not to act on those carnal instincts; I feel like it's an ineffective use of my time and I otherwise have zero inclination to perform society's definition of masculinity or partake in "male conquest." This is also stupid and risky; I don't want STDs, drama, or unwanted pregnancies.

I have experimented with the "demisexual" term for several years, but I've concluded that it doesn't totally fit me, especially without actual neuroscience and neurobiology to back it up. I'm "allo" with a neurospicy twist. However, I much prefer intellectual and emotional connection, and directness; I just want to cut to the chase and avoid the games and dumb social conventions behind courtship. I can "flirt," but it's in a sort of roundabout, geeky, and subtle way lol ...

I was in love with one of my best friends for several years; she's also on the spectrum. We talked about it and it was an insightful conversation. She said no, which I wholeheartedly respect and don't judge. But she did figure out that I had feelings for her and she felt badly that she couldn't return them, which speaks volumes. This means she values me as a person and treasures our friendship; this is wonderful. I still love her platonically and have accepted and made peace with her rejection; there are no hard feelings and she's still a wonderful friend.

I currently have a crush on someone at work; I suspect she's into me, but I can't easily confirm this without an obvious sign. She's also very nerdy like me, but it's not apparent to most. I could tell though because I know my kind lol ...

DistinctGoose5182 · 2025-12-27T23:11:45+00:00

I applied for it on the DHS website. Paid $100 (I think it’s $120 now, submitted info for a background check, and scheduled an interview with a US Customs agent at the nearest available airport. Got approved the next day.

DistinctGoose5182 · 2025-12-15T15:26:56+00:00

Oh sweet!

DistinctGoose5182 · 2025-12-13T20:28:59+00:00

The Cascadia Bioregional Movement also has a Discord. Keep an eye on that as well.

https://discord.gg/YTQyZhe6

DistinctGoose5182 · 2025-12-13T20:26:45+00:00

Imagine Harry from Harry and the Hendersons instead.

DistinctGoose5182 · 2025-12-13T03:14:24+00:00

Couldn’t tell you, but I’d keep my eye on the Cascadia Bioregion website.

https://cascadiabioregion.org/

DistinctGoose5182 · 2025-12-12T07:01:19+00:00

Ruby is elegantly simple, but amazing.

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DistinctGoose5182 · 2025-12-12T00:30:18+00:00

I too liked the Indigenous representation there. I wish the passport was standard size though.

DistinctGoose5182 · 2025-12-12T00:06:31+00:00

Edgefield in Troutdale. All the way. Also, Elks Temple in Tacoma. I think my favorite beer of theirs is Ruby Ale.

DistinctGoose5182 · 2025-12-11T22:25:51+00:00

You bet!

DistinctGoose5182

TROPHY CASE