One of the more "entertaining" features of Asperger Syndrome is difficulty with executive function: that is, simply planning things and getting things done in one's life. Not everyone with AS has this problem; I, unfortunately, do.
The best way I've found to deal with this is to engage in a form of "question begging", as it were. That is, if I have problems doing the laundry on a regular basis, I own no more than one week's worth of clothing, meaning that I essentially have no choice but to do the laundry each week. It's kind of annoying to have to set things up that way, but I do what I have to.
The Internet has been a godsend for me in so many ways (among other things, it's how I met Denise). One of the big ones is that my bank, as more and more banks are doing these days, offers a pretty wide range of services thru its web site. The one that is seriously saving my ass from all kinds of problems is automatic monthly bill paying, especially recurring monthly payments for things like credit cards and utilities.
One of my little projects has been to set up all my accounts for automatic payment (and also to cancel all those accounts that I haven't been using, such as Netflix). This project will probably be completed at the end of next month... at that time, the only bill I will still be writing a check for each month will be the rent, and in a few more months, I should even be able to automate that one, too.
What a relief not to have to worry about this kind of thing anymore... all I have to do is log into my bank's web site once or twice a month and make sure that all the activity on the account is, indeed, mine. *chuckle*
Another account that I'm dumping will be my Columbia House Babylon 5 subscription. Columbia House, as anyone who has ever used them knows, are minions of the antichrist. I'm switching my Bab 5 collection from VHS to DVD, which is, as the saying goes, a no-brainer. The DVDs are more durable, have more features, are complete (Columbia House is notorious for not sending certain eps, or sending them out of order), take up less space, and cost less. I can get a full season on DVD for about $75 or so on eBay, whereas thru Columbia House, one full season would be about $275 if my math can be relied upon.
The only question is what I'm going to do with all these tapes. eBay would seem to be an obvious solution, but I doubt I could get more than a dollar or so apiece for them. Well... it would still mean a few extra dollars in my pocket if I sold them, plus more space in my video cabinet. Maybe a boost in my eBay rating as well. We'll see.
Posted by Zathras at May 14, 2003 10:04 AMThe big thing about bill payments online is that you can use it, but y'don't exactly wanna fully trust it. I've heard nitemares about stolen atm card #'s etc. Online bill payment is a good service, but not exactly a perfect one.
Well dude, now it looks like it's just you and me in this blog. Pass over da nachos - Oprah's on the tele.
Posted by: Shaw at May 14, 2003 09:07 PM*MUNCH MUNCH* Mmm...nice nachos.
Y'know, while yer on the subject of Bab 5 - I gotta admit the show looks cool, yet, I never got into it - even though I've tried. I like sci-fi, it's just that I have a hard time getting into the newer sci-fi shows. I just keep comparin' them to the older ones "Oh! Star Trek did this, Doctor Who did that . . . " That and I just think the older ones had more sense of imagination - despite the fact that the newer ones have so much special effect technology at their disposal.
Gimme the BBC Radiophonic Workshop anyday instead of Mark Snow. I'll take the real (cut from remnents at Carpetland) tribbles instead of animitronic computer-generated ones. Let me gaze at people flying on a Kromakey background instead of flying thanks to industrial lights and magic.
Ah - it's prob. just me. *munch munch* BURP. excuse me. It's just that I dig the sense of adventure and imagination they all had...
Posted by: Shaw at May 15, 2003 12:06 AMI know what you mean about the online bill payment. You can't fully trust it -- you have to keep an eye on it and make sure it's doing what you told it to. It's still much more preferable to mailing checks thru snail mail, though. :-)
The thing about Bab 5 is, it's basically a five year long novel for television, and one of the big reasons a lot of people don't get into it is that, first of all, you have to watch it in order, just like you have to read a book in order. And second, the entire first year of Bab 5 is pretty much just introducing the characters and giving the history of the universe and so on. The actual *action* doesn't really start until the second season. Most people don't have the patience for that kind of thing. (I didn't, either, when I first looked into it... but my friend Rob, who owned the SF/Fantasy bookstore in Bratt, encouraged me to stick with it, and I did.)
Eating nachos and watching Oprah? After all that work you did on your weight and blood pressure? Go get some exercise. --No, leave the nachos here. I'll be sure to, uh, throw them away for you. *cough cough*
hey! They're fat-free nachoes! Whatareya talkin' about? It's the Oprah stuff that'll kill me if I watch it too much.
See - no such thing as simplicity in sci-fi anymore. It used to be "Running across the galaxy from blah blah blah," or even "We gotta save the woooorld! Oh joy!!!" Now stuff is so complicated . . .
Posted by: Shaw at May 15, 2003 12:18 PM