Great Moments in Social Embarrassment....

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Was reminded recently of how completely clueless I have always been in dating...

Years ago -- I was about 19 at the time -- I went to a go-cart track with an acquaintance and my younger brother. We had a great time! Later that evening, the acquaintance and I were alone and he asked me if I'd like to go again sometime. I got really excited and yelled out the door to my brother that "Kenny wants us to go to the go-cart track again!" Little was I aware that "Kenny" was actually asking me on a date for just the two of us, and had no interest in bringing my little brother along. I had NO idea that's what he was up to. I just assumed that he wanted another evening like we all had that night. Can't remember now whether I realized that he wanted a date or someone told me. Every time I think about it I cringe all over again.

To this day I'm not sure how I was supposed to know Kenny was asking me out alone -- what I missed that would have told me that he was interested in more than an afternoon with friends. And I'm not much better now. I don't get asked out often, and I'm worried is a man asks if I'd like to go out to dinner sometime, I'm going to say something stupid like "With who?"

that is clueless me also.

Hmm I know I have a bunch of embarrassing moments. I just can't remember them. I do remember that when someone tried to tap my glass for "cheers" I didn't get it and kept thinking they were trying to give me their glass. Every time they put their glass near mine I kept trying to grab their glass and they kept saying, "no, cheers" and I finally understood and felt so embarrassed that i tried to take their cup. I was thinking maybe they thought I was weird to assume that and I was embarrassed that I looked real dumb.

I've done things like a few posters above have described. Since it's only been ~6 months since discovering my own AS, I've had plenty of times looking back over my life and recognizing situations like this. I think it kinda happens to all of us.

One of the bigger ones that comes to mind is very similar to an anecdote in "Asperger's from the inside out," by Michael John Carley where he declined a job in TV because he was only interested in live theatre. Similarly, a business school instructor I had years ago told me he had contacts in ____ industry and would gladly give me a referral to them if I ever wanted a job in it.. it was nice to be acknowledged, but I instantly declined as I wasn't really interested in the industry even though I'd done some work in it. In hindsight, I maybe should have taken him up on it - could have had a better gig and more money.. woops! Ah well, life happens.. I like to think everything happens for a reason and I wouldn't have been happiest working in that field & that eventually I'll end up working in something I'm actually really interested in for it vs. having settled for something stable just for the sake of having a long term job and possibly being miserable for it if it's the wrong thing for me. Although, he did say if I was ever interested in a job in that arena... I suppose I could contact him, but, I'm still not really interested in that industry even though I would likely excel at any role I'm qualified for in it. Meh, I don't think it's healthy spending time thinking about stuff like that. I think I'll just move on with finding employment that's much more suited to my interests.

And that cookies story was pretty good.

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No for supporting trump. Because doing so is deplorable.

Gosh, that was a funny cookie story.

Hurrying to catch a plane years ago, I remembered I had left something in the car outside.
I galloped through the crowd, the glass doors, the carpark and retrieved it.
Racing back, I returned to the doors and they wouldn't open.
You know the sort where you have to stand in a certain spot before the automatic sensor "sees" you?
Observed by the increasingly fascinated rows of bored passengers facing me, I danced, hopped and waved.
The doors remained stuck. My presence did not register.
I threw myself into a perfect frenzy of leaping and bouncing. Nothing.

Then a man came from behind me and pushed the handle. Different set of doors.
Approximately 200 people craned their necks to see what I would perform next as I slunk past them.

in 1980 i was in the blackwell mansion [location of my shrink's office] in downtown tacoma, and i was descending the stairs towards my shrink's office when, at the top of one flight, my heel missed the top landing and my legs went out in front of me, with me landing on my tuckas and i went BUMP!BUMP!BUMP! etc. all the way down, going OW OW OW OW OW etc. all the way down. when i reached the bottom step, i was greeted by an open door with people looking out at me like i had two heads or something.

You guys are a bunch of pikers!

I proposed to a girl, on her birthday, no less, and, when the box with the ring arrived at our table, I had her suddenly stand up and look around the place, as if trying to figure out who sent it.

After scanning the patrons and not recognizing any of the faces, she slowly turned in my direction - I was sitting by her - and all the color drained from her face.

The box with the ring in it slipped from her nerveless fingers, and she began to sob and wail right there in front of God and everybody.

As bad as it was, though, I did end up making a good friend from the incident. There was a witness who recognized me, months later, when I went back there to re-open the wound, as was my wont. She thought it was sad and funny all at once. Became one of my best friends ever.

I ws watching a movie at a guy's house. I kinda liked him but I was trying to play it cool and not scare him away by being too physical with him, just in case it wasn't mutual. He had a friend over.

It was getting later and later. We smoked some and it made me a little jumpy, as is sometimes the case.
So about 2/3 through the movie, I see this flicker of movement in my peripheral vision and feel something touch my shoulder, and I scream bloody murder.

Then I see the guy sheepishly putting his arm back down from behind me as his friend laughed his a$$ off...

Mindsigh, that is hilarious