Welcome back! This week I will be talking about a topic, a milestone of life you could say, with an Aspie (and maybe a little bit of a country) twist: Moving out for the first time. A frightening, opportunity-laden experience that, in my opinion, will be as close to a baptism of fire-like experience as most of us will get. It will help shape us into the responsible adult we can all be. And believe me when I say emphasis on the word, responsible, as I am already starting to find that part out for myself. I will be writing about my experience with this milestone, some of the ups and downs, as well as what you can expect, as an Aspie/Autistic, if you yourself are thinking of or are going to move out. Kind of like a tell-all scenario, except only about the whole moving out scenario.
So kind of like a tell-all-concerning-only-moving-out scenario. It still counts.
First of all, you’re going to need to start packing for the extended trip, making sure you pack enough food, clothing, and the correct equipment (toiletries, cooking equipment, etc.) I say correct equipment, because trust me when I say that if you don't bring the right kind of stuff, like a comb, shampoo, cooking pot or, in my case, razor, you’re not going to have a fun time. It won’t be world ending, though it may start to feel like it. When I started packing, with the assistance of my parents, and it came down to getting toiletries, I understood that some stuff would need to be bought and packed for the trip. That they should not be brought from home, in case I lose them at my temporary place of stay (and also so that I did not have to keep lugging them around). I thought that my razor was one of those items, I was right. Though the replacement razor that I bought wasn't (at all) much better.
See, the razor that I decided to buy, after speaking with my parents, was an electric razor. An electric, cheap (for an electric razor here in Canada, $50 counts as cheap), beard trimming, razor. What's so wrong about that? Well concerning that I would really only be using it a couple of times a week, and that if I lost it, it would not be that much of a loss (though I would certainly miss the next $50 I’d have to spend on a replacement), not much. The sticking point, dear reader, is the whole beard part. I don’t have a beard to shave off, only stubble. And, as I’m sure you’re well aware and have already put two and two together, a beard trimmer is not a good way to shave off stubble. Or even to look moderately good looking at best.
For those of you who saw the movie Bernard and the Genie, I looked like Bob Geldof but with the hair combed back.
You can imagine how impressive I must have looked walking out the door, going on public transit, and walking around the university looking like I had forgotten what proper hygiene is. A very pretty picture. That's why I stressed the correct part when buying your equipment, otherwise the transition will not go as smoothly as you hoped it would. Right up there with making sure you brought enough food to last you some time, and having enough money to make sure you can buy groceries when you need to. Think of it like camping, but preparing for a prolonged stay, you bring along way more than just some toothpaste and a toothbrush, and (most likely but not always) you’re in the city. The best way to experience camping
Well, that does it for this week. Next week I will continue to regale you with my… interesting experiences (I’ll just chalk up the whole razor bit to a bad facial hair day). The main topic being navigating a new routine, while navigating a new transit route...twice. In two different weeks. One week after the other. If that’s not enough to cause you to hyperventilate, I don’t know what will. Until then, this continues to be, the Audacious Aspie.