Does this sound like Asperger's to you?

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I have recently met someone with Asperger's, and we act a lot alike. So much so that it got me to start reading The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome, and everything I've read seems to me to correlate with my past experiences, but I'm still having doubts and wondering whether I should see a psychiatrist to mention something.

I never felt comfortable in social situations, and except for a few people where the interactions are somewhat forced and uncomfortable for me to engage in, I never really socailize or successfully try to meet new people.

I don't know whether or not I have the other traits of Aspegers, such as intense interests in particular subjects or, a hightened sensory awareness, but here's a few things that I can remember, any thoughts?

For example:

When I was a small child I had a fascination with buttons, my mother always thought it was weird and worth bringing up in a crowd. I would push every button in the house and want to know what it did. Anywhere in public I would go up and press it, looking for a reaction. I was always sitting at computers or I had all the tv remotes gathered together, backs taken off, finding the good batteries and the bad batteries, pressing every single button in the room, one after another, just trying to figure out what they did.
I also would take anything and everything apart. If it was held together by screws and I got a hold of it, I took it apart and put it back together again. If it had batteries, I would take them. "WHERE ARE THE BATTERIES!" she would say.

In high school I taught myself how to play bass and I played bass in 3 bands, at one point all three at the same time. I gave myself a hard part to learn, I'd lock myself in my room, and I'd play it until I could do it up to tempo. I would also lock myself in my room for hours and paint, not eating, until the painting itself was done. I was told that one of my 10+ paintings would have won and gone to state, had I not ran away from home and emancipated myself. (Long story there)

Recent years I have had a fascination with science, astronomy, physics, geography, biology, and not for any real educational reasons, as I intend to go to school for english lit. I write incessantly about these topics, but not for anyone else and I delete most of my journal entries.

I delve into video games (and always have) for real escape. I've spent months upon months building vast catacombs, pyramids, and underground waterways in the game Minecraft, and there are countless other games that I have emptied myself into over the years.

When I do these things while I'm stressed (stress has been a big part of my life, regrettably so) I forget to eat, sleep, and I don't put them down, or keep them out of my head for hours. They will, however, be a reoccurring thought when I'm not doing them. Kind of like my fixation on whether or not I have Asperger's, I can't get it out of my head, and I'm sure I've lost a little weight in the process.

When I was little and I got really upset I'd bite myself, when I was a bit older I'd cut myself.

Sensory differences from NT:
I don't really know how to describe my sensory processes, or to be exact, whether they are different from Neurotypicals. I have a large astigmatism, and I can't really make sense of anything without my glasses unless it's within 6-8 feet of me. As far as Nerves and how they transmit information to the brain, what is different that could be noticeable to aspies, versus what a neurotypical would feel? Loud noises bother me, and make me turn my head in the direction of the noise. I hang out with my old band mate, and the volume level he plays his music at bothers me so much, as well as how he takes such heavy steps. Bright artificial lights bother me, they're almost blinding, in fact I have the one light in my room dimmed, but I thought that was just my eyesight. Background noise seems to catch my attention often. I tend to be the one to say "did you hear that?", that or I'm just listening to what's going on in the entire house.

I have insurance and everything to go, what practical reasons are there to be diagnosed, and do you think it would be beneficial, or a waste of my time to be seen my a psychiatrist?