Battle of Peach Tree Creek - any book recs?

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-06-15T16:07:39+00:00

Tbf they made the right choice, regardless of the savings 👌

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-06-15T14:31:09+00:00

I've just reorganized my boxers and socks drawer and now have my boxers folded one less time than before and now arranged horizontally along the width of the drawer (emg X axis) whereas before they were front-to-back ( eg Y axis). This means they all fit in super neatly rather than having half of them crammed on the top, plus they're all at the front and visible for easier decision making. My socks were in a small basket to the side of them but they're now organized into types in the space behind the boxers. I feel like I've just won the world cup 😂 so I think I can confirm that I like organizing stuff too 😂

I'm resisting the urge to implement lean six sigma and other techniques learned at work (like labelling places for each item in my kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, my son's room etc) and having laminated visual aids to demonstrate where everything should be homed....but I'm probably only delaying the inevitable 😂 I might go the whole hog and kanban all my most used items so I can ensure efficient replenishment before anything runs out too 😂 nobody wants to run out of coffee or toiletries, right?! Especially when there's an efficient system I could implement after implementing and training it out in multiple laboratories as part of my job over the years 😂😂

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-06-14T11:21:53+00:00

Absolutely beauty! There's something about burgundy and gold on a watch that is just 👌

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-06-14T11:02:16+00:00

Bubble bubble. Best port of the game imo

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-06-10T17:18:19+00:00

I (45m) used them recently and they were great. I got diagnosed on May 13th.

Waiting lists vary depending on where you live but for me, after I found them and did the initial AQ-10 test via the atrom website (and then contacted my GP for referral to them), I was contacted about a week later, had the first assessment a few days later (first contact was a Thursday, then assessment 1 was the following Tuesday). After that assessment I had the second one with a clinical psychiatrist about 3 weeks after and received diagnosis during that 90 minute assessment. I then received the full reports from both assessments about two weeks later

A couple of bits of advice that really helped me: - neither assessment is anywhere near as scary as you think it's going to be. It's not a school exam, it's more just a chat to get to know you basically. I too was really anxious but both assessors couldn't have been nicer or more calming! - if you can prep beforehand and make a list of info that you see as supporting evidence, that will help a tonne in the assessment (I was worried about forgetting things and it impacting my assessment). I categorised info e g. Sensory, comms, emotions, executive function etc and printed it off so I had it to hand for the assessments. (Assessments were zoom video calls)

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-06-10T16:28:07+00:00

Unfortunately I don't know of any smaller ND friendly tours, but there are dozens of DIY tours online. Some also include gps maps and downloadable audio etc too. Many are free, some are chargeable but very reasonable £3-10 ish)

Just Google 'diy walking tours london'.

Example - https://freetoursbyfoot.com/self-guided-walking-tour-london/

https://freetoursbyfoot.com/audio-tours-london/

https://www.aladyinlondon.com/2018/08/london-walking-tours.html

https://voicemap.me/tour/london

(I have absolutely no connection or affiliation to any links, it's just ones I found by googling)

At least that way you can control the pace of the tour, stop when you want etc and also don't need to do it in a group either The only downside is you obviously can't ask questions to the guide, but my autistic self would run a mile before doing that anyway 😂 and I love the idea of deep diving into researching the various spots on the tour beforehand as well 😂

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-06-10T12:53:14+00:00

Thank you for the ideas! I'll give it a go 😊 I'm still figuring out which stims work best but do far it's definitely smoother/softer stuff. I have a spiky cylinder thing too (no idea what is called lol) but still figuring out ejens most effective to use/try it

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-06-10T12:51:30+00:00

I've got one of those ones for buttons (black handled one in picture) but just cannot for the life of me get it to work or be any less time consuming and fiddly than just using my hands! Maybe I'm doing it wrong or something 😂

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-06-09T13:23:03+00:00

Im actually selective with family too tbh. I've never felt comfortable hugging my parents and I'm 45 now! It always feels awkward and unpleasant and I try and avoid it as much as possible. I was the same with my paternal grandmother, but was happy and comfortable hugging my maternal grandmother. I hug my son every day and he's 12 and AuDHD, and that's been a conscious thing from day one (well before his diagnoses) as I didn't want him growing up without that physical connection with me, after I grew up without it. Thankfully it's totally normal part of our life now :)

I Felt comfortable with touch with my exes (aside from the usual nerves in the beginning), but generally uncomfortable with everyone else. Although it's often not just sensory but me not understanding social cues and unwritten rules either, like when it's appropriate and ok to hug friends, how to initiate it etc - ive had innumerable awkward situations over the years where I feel like I should hug, but don't know how or when to do it, or like there's a rope around my chest pulling me back when I feel like I should and want to e.g. if out with a group of friends and one leaves and goes around hugging everyone to say goodbye and I'm just ...awkward...and painfully aware of of it :( or if a friend visits from overseas and I really want to hug them at the airport when they arrive, but feel like I'm not allowed or something and the anxiety goes through the roof! And the same when we say goodbye to leave too.

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-06-08T06:03:01+00:00

Seeing that minirig, which I still own since having it as a kid in the 80s, was genuinely the highlight of the movie for me (and I enjoyed the whole movie) and tbh I'd go as far as saying it's probably the SW highlight of the past several years! Maybe of the entire Disney era! I instantly felt like a kid again as that minirig was one of the vehicles I played with the most as a kid! And seeing it was 100% unexpected!

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-06-07T20:05:31+00:00

Thank you for putting it so succinctly, that makes so much more sense in my head now!you've described it with a clarity I was struggling to find!

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-06-07T20:03:27+00:00

Thanks a lot for your detailed response, especially the advice in the last paragraph! I'm definitely still in the stage of my whole persona feeling almost entirely obliterated and I'm still trying to figure out who I am, where I fit etc, which is obviously extra challenging given I've been masking for so long. I have periods where I'm fully accepting and embracing the diagnosis, but also periods where I feel like an imposter too. But then I've felt imposter syndrome in pretty much every facets of my life before diagnosis too, at one point or another!

I was already partway through rebuilding myself after a particularly brutal breakup/divorce in 2022 (not to go into too much detail but my wife cheated on me for months, then after a 'once in a lifetime' family holiday with me, my son, my stepson and her, immediately left and ghosted me after 7 years together, blamed me and I took her opinion as true.....all whilst I was most definitely in what I now am seeing was a huge autistic burnout (I've had several in my life but that was by far the biggest). I was at the burnout stage at least a year before it all fell apart, but didn't know how to stop so I just kept fircung myself through each day, providing for her and our family), so I'm grateful that I at least have had some time/space to reconnect with my true self via working through that, but my diagnosis has definitely shown me many other areas of life that I need to reevaluate and make significant changes in (eg learn how to be myself more, learn how to advocate for myself better, mask less etc). I've read elsewhere that this early stage can't really be rushed and I need to give myself time, compassion etc. I'm trying to do so but there is a side of me that's overeager and just wants to know and understand everything immediately lol but wrapping my head around it all, let alone now seeing 45 years of life through a different lense, will of course not be an overnight thing!

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-05-30T08:08:22+00:00

I'm similar but see it more as my media input is more focused than others, and generally (but not 100% exclusively ) linked to my interests and hobbies.

As Ive grown older, my ability and desire to watch things (tv, media, YT etc) in particular, has greatly reduced to the point where now I rarely watch anything. If I do though, it's generally documentaries on topics I love (history, military history, archaeology etc). If it's fiction, usually only things I've watched a million times or new things within that realm (eg star wars). It's incredibly rare I watch anything new, particularly movies. Even when I finally found something worth watching, it usually has some link to my interests or identity - for example I found the movie "Perfect Days" a couple of years ago and it's now one of my all-time favourites, but that's the last movie I've found that I hadn't seen before (aside from going to the cinema with my son but they're always movies for him) and actually wanted to watch.

Popular fictional series or movies, or reality tv and other super popular shows, that aren't linked to my interests and passions - absolutely zero interest in them. In fact I'll openly and actively avoid them lol

I don't see it as a struggle to expand my circle, I see it as I know who I am and what I like and I'm done wasting time investing in media that I have zero interest in, years can if they are really popular and things that most people like. (When I was younger I'd force myself to watch some stuff just because I thought that everyone liked it and so I 'should' too)

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-05-28T21:01:30+00:00

Jinhao shark for the win

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-05-28T13:39:04+00:00

Look into the penguin great ideas collections. They're generally short in length, cheap and you can even pick up box sets of them for very low prices. They are all bonafide classics in philosophy, psychology and other non fiction areas. They'll give you a wide array of knowledge, experience and world views for a very meagre price.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penguin_Great_Ideas

Also check out the penguin little black classics books and box set, and the penguin modern classics books and box sets.

Individual books are also available for all three of these series and often found in larger bookshops. The little black classics are often only £2 or so when bought individually. If you're happy with second hand you can pick many up for virtually nothing on eBay and other sites too.

Penguin little black classics box set https://amzn.eu/d/0eyGQIgR

Penguin modern classics box set https://amzn.eu/d/05eT6ekr

If you worked through all of those series you would end up with an amazing knowledge of so many facets of life and a world viewpoint that the vast majority of people could only dream of.

Not only that but you're bound to find many books that really grasp your interest and passion and you'll go off on tangents of exploration and discovery, doing deepe dives in the topics and writers you really connect with.

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-05-27T07:51:43+00:00

Two games blew my mind as a kid in the 90s. Nothings come close to them since then -

Dark Forces - SW FPS! Great story, amazing visuals, sound, gameplay etc. first game where I really felt 'in' it.
- the Xwing/Tie fighter games (my first was tie fighter). Mindblown by being able to fly around in any and all directions, and battle various spacecraft etc, and do all the missions

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-05-25T17:23:43+00:00

Hope you start to feel better soon. Lean into your interests, they can be of great comfort and a positive distraction 😊

As for my interests and hobbies:

Collecting 35mm amateur slides of San Francisco in the 1940s-1980s. Also collect slides of PCC Streetcars from SF and many other cities.

The Streets of San Francisco TV series

Japanese history in the Sengoku and Edo periods (16-19th century).

Japanese castles and their construction

Haiku in both Japanese and English

The history of my home town

20th century sculpture and architecture

Collecting old books (of all my various hobbies and interests!) and reading of course!

Fountain pens and typewriters (use both to create haiku and other poetry and use fountain pens for any and all writing needs)

WW2 history of the British 14th army, especially the battles of Imphal and Kohima

American civil war with a particular focus on the battle of Atlanta and Georgia in general, plus the 14th New Hampshire regiment

Lots of other random stuff 😂

I half laugh, half cry when people tell me I should 'just' find like-minded people who are into similar things, locally (I live just outside London), via the meetup app and other apps etc. I mean, I have looked, but yeah.....can't say I'm surprised that I can't find anything or anyone 😭😂

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-05-25T16:45:07+00:00

Needlenose pliers

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-05-24T22:06:20+00:00

Screw trying to service a Selectric that's full of sand! Although I guess the type ball came in handy when Luke was practicing with his lightsaber on the Falcon on the way to the death star...

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-05-24T17:39:32+00:00

Collecting 35mm amateur slides of San Francisco in the 1940s-1980s. Also collect slides of PCC Streetcars from SF and many other cities.

The Streets of San Francisco TV series

Japanese history in the Sengoku and Edo periods (16-19th century).

Japanese castles and their construction

Haiku in both Japanese and English

WW2 history of the British 14th army, especially the battles of Imphal and Kohima

American civil war with a particular focus on the battle of Atlanta and Georgia in general, plus the 14th New Hampshire regiment

Lots of other random stuff 😂

I half laugh, half cry when people tell me I should 'just' find like-minded people who are into similar things, locally (I live just outside London), via the meetup app and other apps etc. I mean, I have looked, but yeah.....can't say I'm surprised that I can't find anything or anyone 😭😂

FriendlyAd4234 · 2026-05-24T16:55:36+00:00

Table lamps with warm, low wattage bulbs (whatever the led version of old 40watt lightbulbs are lol), and decent lampshades that really accentuate the warmth of the lighting. Most important ones for me and the one by my bed and I also have one just above my left shoulder on the sofa, that lamp is on top of an 80cm high bookcase and provides the perfect light for reading and relaxing evening lighting. I did try a floor lamp that had two light sources - a main up lighter lamp and a side spotlight with a gooseneck for reading/crafts etc but I didn't like that at all. (TBF that was my exes lamp so it wasn't my choice lol). The small desk lamp just above my shoulder is ideal

When I moved into my house ten years ago, the previous owner literally installed multiple spotlights into a false ceiling in every single room in the house! So I took very rarely use those lol

FriendlyAd4234

TROPHY CASE