This last week has taught me a  very valuable lesson about how the some of the world views autism. Fortunately for me, the majority of the population doesn’t really have any knowledge or understanding of autism and most people also don’t know that I have Asperger’s Syndrome – a form of higher functioning autism.  .

Unfortunately, my friends are aware, and they  have some very bizarre opinions on the subject. One has the attitude of “you can’t be autistic – you seem so normal”, which I know can upset some ASD people. But I’m kinda ok with that as it just means that I’ve somehow managed to learn how to fit in with people and engage with them socially. My other freindeer has taken a different approach and has begun teaming up with another “friend”. They have taken the “Rain Man” approach, thinking that all of us are the same as one character played by an actor in a film. Repeated jokes about dropping lots of items and being able to count them in seconds and I have a nice new shiny nickname of Raymond to boot. I can’t really say it bothers me that much, as I can see where they have got the idea from. They are both the kind of people that see someone like me, who is somewhat clever with a really good memory recall on lots of subjects and a love of science and comic books, and are possibly envious of how I see the world. After seeing both these different approaches, it made me think, how would they feel if the shoe was on the other foot? “It’s ok some of my best friends are Neruotypical” “You don’t seem Neurotypical” “NT is my second language”, etc.  I think they would soon get upset with it and ask for it to stop. Why don’t I give them a taste of their own medicine and hope that they get the message and stop it? Because I really don’t think it’s the right way to go about things and to be honest I’m better than that. I guess I feel sorry for them – they must have nothing going in their own lives, so they have to do this.

In short, with all that’s going on in the world, why don’t we all take some time out of our week and get to know an NT and try to help them to understand autism?  It’s not their fault they’re like it. Make some time for NT Awareness lol.

Stay Safe X

Well, after the absolute chaos that was my Saturday, Sunday was much easier on my mind and body,

As it was a nice day, and Mrs Bob was busy working in her office at home. I was almost on my way  home when I received an invitation from my best friend asking if I wanted to have a catch-up. We decided to meet in a pub in my town, got a table some (soft) drinks and caught up on what had been going on in our lives. It was so nice to just sit and begin the wind down that many take for granted on the weekend. It meant that when I got home to Mrs Bob, I was relaxed and ready to sit with her and watch our latest favourite TV show, Blindspot, which is brilliant and highly recommended.

Follow this with a sumptuous home-cooked feast at the hands of Mrs Bob, and some game time on my Xbox, and I think it’s been a perfect end to a good weekend. I hope you all had a great weekend whatever you chose to do with it, wherever and whoever you spent with…. if you can remember that far back now!

Stay Safe x

It’s been a very quiet week in the Bob household with nothing particularly noteworthy happening. On Tuesday, though, I decided to take a trip out to a nearby village to visit a tattoo studio that my freindeer has recommended countless times. I’ve been thinking of having an old tattoo covered over with a new, personal to me piece of art. I called into the studio and was expecting the usual “It’s going to take two hours and we can’t book you in for about a month”, standard line for most studios. Imagine my surprise when the artist (yes they are artists) said it would take an hour max and even better he had a cancellation this Friday (today), first thing. I couldn’t say no, so  I paid my deposit, gave the man his hand back and left with Mrs Bob.  We drove back home via the supermarket for some bits ‘n’ pieces and some goodies.

The rest of my day off was spent sending emails, tweets, etc, and generally looking after my nerdy web empire (lol). Before I knew it, l I was back in the chair getting some more ink. I was up bright and early Friday morning and raring to go – unlike Mrs Bob who, unfortunately for her, had to come with me as I’m not very good on my own in strange places. I had a great time chatting to the artist about comic books, TV series and movies while he worked his magic. The only thing that hurt was not from having the tattoo done, as I find it very relaxing, but the noise of the tattoo gun. It was right next to my ear and at points it was really painful. The time flew by, though, and it was soon time to stand up, look in the mirror, have my arm wrapped up and go downstairs to meet Mrs Bob and pay for the work.

Imagine my surprise when I got downstairs to find that Mrs Bob had booked herself in for her her first tattoo ever! In a couple of weeks. So I’m going to be going back with her for moral support.

Stay Safe X

Yesterday saw one of the longest days I have had in an eternity. I know that, as a man, I maybe have a knack of exaggerating things, but I think that on this occasion even the long-suffering Mrs Bob would agree with me.

It began with an early start at 6.30am, which is early when you consider that I had been working until late the night before and we didn’t get to sleep until nearly 1am. So, this two-day road trip would see us cover over 500 miles and some of the most monotonous driving ever including the entire M5.  The trip “up north” was mainly to attend a family funeral, but we also managed to see my family while we were up that way. We have made this trip about 30 times in the last few years and it usually takes us 3.5 hours. This trip, however, took about 5 hrs with one quick pit-stop to refuel the car.

When we finally arrived at my parent’s house, we were literally straight in and then back out the door and my parents drove us to their favourite restaurant, where they had booked a table, as we hadn’t seen them since we were up in early September last year. Also, as it had been my mothers birthday a couple of days earlier, she wanted to treat us. We had a wonderful meal and some great conversation, but it felt a little rushed as we had to also fit in picking up my daughters from two different parts of town and spend time with them as well. The other down side (not for me) was that after picking the kids up, we were taking them out for a meal so this meant having another meal a couple of hours after the last one. I had a nice chat with the kids, caught up on gossip and then dropped them back at home.  This meant that we could check into our hotel after a day of being inside a small Japanese car. We needed a good night’s sleep as we had a full day of driving and a funeral to attend the following day. I headed to the bar for one stiff drink (very unusual for me) before turning in for the night.

The next morning, we got up early and I got suited and literally booted ready for the family funeral later that day. We decided to call in and see my parents again on the way, as we won’t see them again for possibly a year. Then onward 40 miles to pay our respects to a member of Mrs Bob’s family. We were first to arrive, and sat in the crematorium waiting room.  It soon filled up and when it got to standing-room only, my head started to spin with all the different conversations that were taking place around us. So we decided so wait outside… though as it turns out,that was a mistake as it was just as busy outside. The service itself was so different to any I had attended before; the minister addressed the deceased directly and spoke to the family in a very light and not overly religious way. It was very fitting and appropriate.  The chapel was full to bursting with family and friends and was a lovely testament to the life this man had lived.  He really had lived a full and happy life, touched so many people and helped a huge amount of rescue dogs find forever homes through The Dog’s Trust. The rest of the family were all so brave and so very strong, I really don’t know how his wife and young adult daughter managed it, I honestly don’t. They are made of strong stuff indeed.

After such a lovely service we all went to the after-party to celebrate a great man and a great life. There was lots of people there and we ate, drank and talked for hours before finally deciding to make the long journey back to Devon. The trip itself was long and dark, but ultimately uneventful. Mrs Bob and I had  some great conversation and some happy silences while we listened to the radio as the hours and miles ticked by. We reached home and no sooner had Mrs Bob opened the door than our furry housemate, Dog, flew out of the darkness and into the house to tell us what had happened while we were away. As it was pretry late, we climbed on the bed with Dog clambering over us, for cuddles and just relaxed watching some TV before calling it a night. We were both shattered.

Stay Safe X

Well as the new year breaks like a crashing wave on the shores of time, w make our promises and resolutions that this new year will be the year we improve ourselves or our lives in some way.

Most of these resolutions last until maybe the end of January at best. Why do we give up on them though? Is this possibly because we set ourselves unrealistic goals? I’ve decided to set myself a target this year, I’m looking to lose a little weight – not a huge amount, but just drop down a couple of sizes on the waist. Can this be achieved or am I like many others just deluding myself with the whole New Year New Me?  Well we shall see I have set myself a challenge to cut my sugar intake in half and to go for a walk everyday. Will this make any difference? We shall see.

Stay Safe X