soo it's been about 3 weeks since I officially have moved from Vermont, and begun my Florida adventure. I have really enjoyed being here and slowly starting to meet new people and getting to know my new home town of New Smyrna Beach, and my new home State of Florida.
With the help of my girlfriend and her friends, and her family, I have started becoming more comfortable with my surroundings. They have been soo wonderful in just accepting me and allowing me to become part of their social network. I love that fact that even before I officially moved down here, I had started making a social network so that when I did move down I could have a very easy transition. Though, as having Asbergers, making big life changes is something that I don't do very well. I planned for months and months to get ready for my move here, and then I was off.
I officially moved in on August 1st, and so far I really like my apartment. However, I am still feeling unsure about a lot of things.
The last time I officially lived on my own was about 6 years ago and that was a ill fated situation. I was just getting out of an emotionally/physically abusive relationship and was dealing with the aftermath of trying to live on my own, pay my own way , and yet everything seemed soo big and I am someone that doesn't really need a lot of space or room.so having this in retrospect small living space to me seems HUGE.. I have a living room, kitchen, bathroom utility room, and storage. All this for just me and Mitzy. She seems to have adjusted to this better then I have. I just feel soo overwhelmed a lot of the time that I have been having a difficult time trying to explore my new surroundings.
Having Asberger's makes many things a bit more tricky and sometime downright difficult to do. Like being back home I knew where I could go to get groceries, or to a move theatre, or to to town where I could drop by and see my friends and just feel comfortable and like, well ME !
Since being here I have gone out a couple of times to local pubs/bars and its a totally different world. I am not someone that can go out clubbing or drinking a lot due to health reasons, and also flashing lights and loud places are just soo hard for me to deal with that I usually spend most of my time in the back of the room or trying to distract myself with a TV ( they do sometimes have Red Sox games on down here) that I am preventing myself from actually having a good time. I do go out and have a couple of drinks now and then, and that usually helps me relax, but being on a budget and wanting to have a social life isn't the easiest of things to make happen plus having asbergers doesn't help too much either. I have continued to look for off-season work while applying for a couple of jobs here and there, since I have yet to start umpiring, though I have been told by a couple of assigners that once school starts, that hopefully a week or 2 later I will be back on a field. Umpiring was one of the main reasons I chose to move down to Florida. Not umpiring is making things a bit more difficult because when I am umpiring I have a routine and a schedule that I can follow, and adhere to. Without that structure it's very hard to figure out from day to day what I am going to do. I usually and have gone to the local gym which I am a member of about 2/3x a week and that has helped, but yet after the workout all I do is come home.
I am having difficulty find things to occupy my day. I know that this was something to be expected when I got down here, but its just having to deal with the unexpected that has made this transition a bit more rough then I would like. I continuously throughout the last 3 weeks have had numerous conversations with the social security office including spending a total of 4 hours there trying to straighten out my paperwork ( since the people on the phone kept giving me the run around) I have had to go back and forth with numerous gvt offices ( part of being on SSI) and it just drains me. I am continuously trying to stay on budget and prove to myself that I can live on my own and do all of this, its just going to take time .
I truly love having my girlfriend of now 7 months soo close by that it just helps me to know she is right there and I can go to her and talk with her. She has been soo supportive and encouraging and its just wonderful. Also having her older sister, whoI just love is soo great because like my girlfriend, she has accepted me and has worked with me to adapt and adjust to my new surroundings. I love that I have such a great network of friends both here in Florida, and back home in the Upper Valley, that they have helped me get this far, and I am sure that they will continue to help me as I progress in this new chapter of my life.
Hopefully soon I will start Umpiring and with that will feel a bit more like I used to when I was working. Also I have already started looking into getting into the local Theatre scene down here and that will help with expanding my horizons here and such. I have soo much to look forward to, and life is an adventure and I need to start living life, rather then worrying about what could/may/potentially happen and just start living... were only here once right? so CARPE DIEM and YOLO!!!
Thanks for reading and hope all of you are well and I send you lots of warm wishes from FLORIDA !!!
With the help of my girlfriend and her friends, and her family, I have started becoming more comfortable with my surroundings. They have been soo wonderful in just accepting me and allowing me to become part of their social network. I love that fact that even before I officially moved down here, I had started making a social network so that when I did move down I could have a very easy transition. Though, as having Asbergers, making big life changes is something that I don't do very well. I planned for months and months to get ready for my move here, and then I was off.
I officially moved in on August 1st, and so far I really like my apartment. However, I am still feeling unsure about a lot of things.
The last time I officially lived on my own was about 6 years ago and that was a ill fated situation. I was just getting out of an emotionally/physically abusive relationship and was dealing with the aftermath of trying to live on my own, pay my own way , and yet everything seemed soo big and I am someone that doesn't really need a lot of space or room.so having this in retrospect small living space to me seems HUGE.. I have a living room, kitchen, bathroom utility room, and storage. All this for just me and Mitzy. She seems to have adjusted to this better then I have. I just feel soo overwhelmed a lot of the time that I have been having a difficult time trying to explore my new surroundings.
Having Asberger's makes many things a bit more tricky and sometime downright difficult to do. Like being back home I knew where I could go to get groceries, or to a move theatre, or to to town where I could drop by and see my friends and just feel comfortable and like, well ME !
Since being here I have gone out a couple of times to local pubs/bars and its a totally different world. I am not someone that can go out clubbing or drinking a lot due to health reasons, and also flashing lights and loud places are just soo hard for me to deal with that I usually spend most of my time in the back of the room or trying to distract myself with a TV ( they do sometimes have Red Sox games on down here) that I am preventing myself from actually having a good time. I do go out and have a couple of drinks now and then, and that usually helps me relax, but being on a budget and wanting to have a social life isn't the easiest of things to make happen plus having asbergers doesn't help too much either. I have continued to look for off-season work while applying for a couple of jobs here and there, since I have yet to start umpiring, though I have been told by a couple of assigners that once school starts, that hopefully a week or 2 later I will be back on a field. Umpiring was one of the main reasons I chose to move down to Florida. Not umpiring is making things a bit more difficult because when I am umpiring I have a routine and a schedule that I can follow, and adhere to. Without that structure it's very hard to figure out from day to day what I am going to do. I usually and have gone to the local gym which I am a member of about 2/3x a week and that has helped, but yet after the workout all I do is come home.
I am having difficulty find things to occupy my day. I know that this was something to be expected when I got down here, but its just having to deal with the unexpected that has made this transition a bit more rough then I would like. I continuously throughout the last 3 weeks have had numerous conversations with the social security office including spending a total of 4 hours there trying to straighten out my paperwork ( since the people on the phone kept giving me the run around) I have had to go back and forth with numerous gvt offices ( part of being on SSI) and it just drains me. I am continuously trying to stay on budget and prove to myself that I can live on my own and do all of this, its just going to take time .
I truly love having my girlfriend of now 7 months soo close by that it just helps me to know she is right there and I can go to her and talk with her. She has been soo supportive and encouraging and its just wonderful. Also having her older sister, whoI just love is soo great because like my girlfriend, she has accepted me and has worked with me to adapt and adjust to my new surroundings. I love that I have such a great network of friends both here in Florida, and back home in the Upper Valley, that they have helped me get this far, and I am sure that they will continue to help me as I progress in this new chapter of my life.
Hopefully soon I will start Umpiring and with that will feel a bit more like I used to when I was working. Also I have already started looking into getting into the local Theatre scene down here and that will help with expanding my horizons here and such. I have soo much to look forward to, and life is an adventure and I need to start living life, rather then worrying about what could/may/potentially happen and just start living... were only here once right? so CARPE DIEM and YOLO!!!
Thanks for reading and hope all of you are well and I send you lots of warm wishes from FLORIDA !!!
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