new special interest......

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I've always been interested in assistive technology. I use a manual wheelchair and I have an interest in wheelchairs in general. Lately, I've been reading about electric wheelchairs a lot and it's become a bit of a new obsession. To the point that I'm buying one on Craigslist.

I'm not totally sure why, but I'm kinda nervous about people that know me seeing me use it.
I'm really nervous about bringing it home and my roommates seeing it.

It's not like I don't have a valid physical reason for having it, but I get around in my manual chair just fine. To me, power chairs are just "cool"

Anyone else have interests that make you feel kind of embarrassed when other people see you enjoying it?

I think they'll think it's cool and will probably want to ride on it. Who doesn't like going place to place without standing up? Even the manual wheelchairs are fun to play with.

For my embarrassing interest... I like going onto real estate websites and looking at expensive houses. I like to judge them. Over time, I've become a huge stickler for proper architecture. It's surprisingly how many multi-million dollar homes look like crap. A lot of copy-paste architecture with giant rooms (30x25 bedroom? But why!?!?) with no function and impractical style, but when I find a house where you can tell the architect actually put effort in: <3. I've also taken interest in ceilings, which I think is the most under-appreciated part of a house.

I'm always sure to use Incognito mode when I'm looking. It's a hobby I'd really prefer stays on the internet.

Because of health problems I now use the electric riding carts in the super markets when shopping, and have had to do so for some years now. Several years ago, while I was shopping, a lady's really sweet, cute little boy came over and was very fascinated by the electric cart I was riding. He insisted on stepping aboard and standing there in front of me between my feet. I gave him a short ride over to his mother, and all three of us got a kick out of it.

As for embarrassing interests, I have never told anyone outside of WP about my very active, and lifelong daydream hobby. I have many day dream "universes." NTs would see this as a worthless waste of time, but it provides me with a multitude of "story lands" that I create, and manipulate for my own pleasure and interest.

I am not good at sports, I have no musical or craft talents, and I don't have a lot of other interest outlets, just reading, TV, the radio, and keeping up with sites of interest to me on the I-net, so this provides an interest outlet for me. I am also not good at actually writing stories, just at messing around with my mind stories.

I am already an outcast because of my Aspie differences, I don't need others criticising me over day dreaming, and yes, people did do that to me when I was a child, so I learned to try to keep my doing it a secret.

Well, this is what I'm getting in a week. It's an Invacare Storm TDX3 with power tilt.
Going to look at it Monday and make sure it fits me well.

Two of my current special interests are anthro Cars and plushies (how they're made, different companies that make them and since what years, which companies make the highest - quality ones, etc) and as a result, I have a ton of stuff related to both interests all over my room. I also have a substantial amount of MLP: FiM stuff on my shelves as well. Seriously, anyone who knows nothing about me who goes into my room would think it belonged to a little boy or girl rather than to a 20 - year - old college student. I have a Monty Python poster on one of my walls, tho, so newcomers aren't totally misled.

As for whether I'm embarrassed about people knowing about these special interests, well...it's kinda complicated. On the one hand, to all those who know me (like my family) it's really no longer a secret that I love this kind of stuff, and they're all pretty good about accepting/tolerating it, partly bcuz I conduct my interests in a mature way and don't really go on about them ad nauseum (I used to, tho).

The special interest in plushies has always been a little tougher to explain away than the others, since apparently many of us still live in the dark ages in which stuffed animals and plushies were exclusively intended for young children at or below certain age....never mind that there were/are a number of young adults who benefit from them perhaps due to anxiety, depression, loneliness, inability to make/maintain connections with other human beings and feel secure/close, or maybe simply like to collect them (I own plushies for all the reasons I just mentioned, BTW). When it comes to my collections of plushies/toys, I'm sort of torn b/tw being kind of self - conscious about it, and feeling like, "this is what I love and what makes happy; no one HAS to like it."

I've pretty much given up caring about what makes other people happy and what make them more "comfortable..." I've done that for far too long and it sure hasn't done much to make ME feel fulfilled.

It's funny, tho...if I mention that one of my special interests is animation, people are like, "Oh, that's cool!" but let me mention how I like the Cars movies or collect plushies and they just go, "Oh, really. "

Can't say I feel embarrassed per se, but I have an intense interest in spiders, and really all animals and insects. I refuse to kill any of them, because I've found that they really aren't that scary. Actually, I have two little wasps that found their way into my dorm and I'm don't want to get rid of them. They are my odd little pets:)

Another interest I have to keep under wraps is my fascination with medical stuff. I have been accused of being a hypochondriac because I tend to obsessively research certain conditions and learn everything I can about them, often to the point that I know more about them than most doctors.

I think my lifelong special interest in local rail transport (subways, light rail, etc.) is what you might call embarrassing. I don't really care what people think, but unlike my interests in jazz, and live theatre, no one ever understands why it would be fun to look at subway maps, or why I won't shut up about how jealous I am of people who live in cities with proper transportation. It's also the only interest that I've never met anyone who shares, so I'm likely to be teased about it anywhere, so I don't talk about it anymore, I just relegate it to my own time.

Power Chairs ARE cool. You should totally get racing stripes on it!

As for being embarrased by some special interests, Yes.

I was obsessed with sippi cups for about 5 months once. I was about 26 at the time. I loved their colors, the shapes, the texture of the holding sections etc. Why would an adult want child cups!?>,< On well. I was terribly embarrassed to be seen with one and I only bought a couple of them. But I could spend long periods of time examining them at the store and would "excuse myself" to go to the restroom just to run and contemplate them alone without further embarrassment.

I've always been interested in rocks, cars, and buildings. These are the ones that have lasted the longest. Since these are not typical girlie interests, I end up discussing my interest with men.

The problem is that I don't really care about the engines in cars, I just get carried away with how the car looks--predominantly older cars, by the way. I love the looks of the curves and how they connect to make a piece of art. Then again, I LOVE VWs, especially buses--my main passion--and they are not classically beautiful. I love the interiors of cars as well. Cars used to be made with wood and chrome--that's what I love.

With buildings, I seem to be drawn to art deco and buildings with clearly noticeable handmade carving or column work. When I go to Los Angeles, I always want to look at the buildings because there are a lot of older ones there (for California). I actually prefer looking at the buildings than going to an art show or other event.

As far as rocks go, I have always thought that rocks have essence, as in some sort of life. I can't explain why--they just seem that way to me. I can't stand it when gems and minerals are made into jewelry. I think it cheapens the Earth's work, not to mention puts a lot of people's lives at risk.

Nope, I don't talk to NTs about my views on these things. If I say anything, I try to make it aesthetic. I don't go on and on, even though I want to. It's kind of like a secret escape.

Went to look at the chair today and try it out.
One thing I found interesting at the time was that I didn't really have any trouble talking to the guy that's selling it. I realized it was because we were talking only about wheelchairs (a topic I'm very interested in). I was able to have a relatively long conversation with someone I had never met before. Which is something that happens VERY rarely! lol
Getting the chair Thursday!