#like i genuinely don't know if most are actually trying to strike up a convo or if they're just saying some stuff that i should ignore

[holopossums]

okay quick question since i'm surrounded by younger folk who seem to use tumblr very differently than i:

[formulinos]

hi i almsot had a heart attack because of your bio but i wanted to ask which current f1 driver you’d be the most comfortable with as your uber driver

ok i can't just rate them like that i have to think of all of them as uber drivers. i'm already excluding latifi and albon for obvious reasons

max verstappen: i think he'd be the sort of guy that wouldn't talk anything other than hello and thank you, but it's ok bc i'm not big of an uber talker. efficient route, could end up having a bit of rage bc he drives a tesla and those things always have weird shit going on in their panels. you get to your place with no issue. 4.5 stars if it went well 4 stars if he got road rage bc tbh sometimes it's justified.

checo perez: lowkey the same as max except that for once i'd try to strike up a conversation and he'd dissociate. the sort of driver to wear sunglasses the entire time and you are kinda like "tf it's not that sunny today". you'd get there but with a 3 min delay because he always chose the slowest lanes. 3 and a half stars.

charles leclerc: i stopped paying attention to anything that was happening bc he was hot. i'd try to talk and make a joke and he'd laugh but i can tell it went over his head. drives a bit faster than expected and before you can tell there is a speedometer he already passed it. arrive on time. 5 stars.

carlos sainz: polite. hi hello. would ignore me when i said i preferred a certain path. would lowkey be the right call after we heard about a car crash on the radio (he listens to the news). arrive 1 min late i think. 4 stars bc i didn't forget he ignored me anyway.

lewis hamilton: i just know he leaves his car to open the door. he'd say hello, i'd say hi, we'd move in and he'd ask if car temperature and the radio are ok. he would also say that he has nice mints and water if i want some. he wouldn't really talk but i'd strike a convo bc he is hot and he'd actually be delightful while we're at it. i'd arrive to my destination 3 min before the prevision because he knows the nice shortcuts. 5 stars i hope i get his number.

george russell: he'd also do the door opening/temperature/radio check routine but i wouldn't want to talk and he'd try to talk just a little bit the same. he is pleasant but a bit awkward. arrive on time. he'd remind me to rate him on uber. 4.5 stars.

daniel ricciardo: super friendly would crack jokes all the way and raise the radio volume if it was a song he liked (i've seen his music taste on instagram and i know i would hate it). having some issues w the gear on his car that's a bit glitchy. arrive a few mins late. 4 stars.

lando norris: hi hello polite, wouldn't talk much which again i don't mind and would to text people at red lights. could make the wrong call on which lane to take. i think i would arrive 1 min late. 4 stars.

fernando alonso: would totally be polite but the second the car was on it was on. drives like he is indeed a race car driver and it shows. would drive on the speed limit and chop through lanes. arrive 1 min early. 4.5 stars i did get early after all.

esteban ocon: totally polite and for some reason would be overly excited about anything. would leave the windows open somehow. drives like he is wearing a suit, would occasionally close down on someone but whatever. arrive a bit late. 4 stars i genuinely can't give less than that to anyone.

pierre gasly: windows down and arm out. polite as well. would ask me if i'm from that area. driver analyst, he would see people do stupid stuff on traffic and say "this guy". arrive a bit late. would also ask me at the end of the drive if i had a phone number. 4 stars i am ashamed to admit i gave him my number.

yuki tsunoda: super sweet, door opener/temperature checker/radio checker as well. super road rage though, everyone is stupid according to him. would even curse a little. arrive a bit late. 4 stars because i am entertained at road ragers.

sebastian vettel: i don't think he'd be a door opener but def a temperature/radio checker. super polite. great music selection, he'd notice i'd be humming to the beatles and we'd strike a convo out of it. talk all the way to the destination about life and family and whatever. arrive a bit early. i'd be sad i love dilf uber drivers. 4.5 stars.

lance stroll: big fuck off car you don't even know how an uber driver can afford. would drive as if he is the only person on the road. polite but just hi hello. would arrive a bit late. 3.5 stars i'm actually confused.

valtteri bottas: polite, i don't think he'd be a temperature checker. radio off - disturbing. wouldn't talk much but would occasionally laugh to himself. efficient. arrive on time. 4 stars.

zhou guanyu: super polite and temperature/radio checker. would have so many gadgets in his car it's crazy. you're pretty sure the leather on the seats wasn't like that originally. would actually ask you if you have a preference in paths. he'd tell you he's just starting in uber. arrive a bit late. 4 stars anyway the car was cute.

kevin magnussen: would cancel the race on me. no stars.

mick schumacher: door opener and everything checker. super polite. would have a picture of his family on the dashboard. i'd try to sneak a convo on his dog and show pics of mine. first half of the drive he would be horrible but out of the blue he gets super fast and great at driving. he'd be smiling the entire time. a bit weird. arrive just a bit late. 4.5 stars i'd ask him for his phone number.

[cllynchauthor]

i'm 18 and starting to wonder if i could be autistic. i thought i had (social?) anxiety and apparently a lot of symptoms are similar? but i've also realised i'm mildly face blind and generally relate to a lot of autism symptoms. i'm considering getting assessed but worry about being seen as attention seeking. i think the things i experience aren't as severe as with most autistic people and also don't really know what the point would be. any advice? are there any benefits to being diagnosed?

I guess the question is whether diagnosis would help you in any way. If, for example, you have difficulty processing speech, a diagnosis might help you get accommodations in university.

Others avoid diagnosis since they feel it might limit their prospects or affect them negatively.

The autistic community is aware of the downsides of diagnosis as well as the challenges that face adults especially afab adults at getting a late diagnosis if they didn’t not receive one in childhood.

We know more than anyone that people think autism = flapping and no eye contact and even diagnosed autistics are often challenged regularly and accused of faking. People seem to struggle with the whole “it’s a spectrum” thing.

So you are welcome either way.

Either is fine. But diagnosis gets a lot more complicated and difficult - trust me I’m trying and I am not finding it easy - after 18 so it’s worth looking into now.

The first step would be to look at actual diagnostic criteria, though, and see if you fit. Check out the DSM V criteria for autism.

In summary, in order to be autistic, you need to fit three criteria:

1. So you struggle with social interaction especially conversation? This could be tendency to interrupt, difficulty understanding unspoken rules of polite conduct, challenges with figurative language etc. If people often confuse you with not meaning what they say or if people close to you complain that you are passive aggressive when you didn’t intend to be, interrupt when you didn’t think you were interrupting, or say you aren’t paying attention when you are, these things would count.

2. Restricted interests and patterns of behaviour. If you get all-consumingly obsessed with things to the point where your loved ones comment on how obsessed you are or accuse you of talking too much about it or try to restrict your access to it because it strikes them as unhealthy, this would be a sign. You may also have a love of repetition and routine and get upset if your routines are disrupted. For example you might like to eat the same thing day after day (called “samefooding” by the community) or always dress in a certain order and get upset if someone wants you to do it differently.

3. Sensory stuff - this can range from extreme repetitive fidgeting, like rubbing fabrics between your fingers non-stop or waving your fingers over your eyes, to oversensitivjty or undersensitivity to certain kinds of sensory stimuli.

If you don’t meet all three in some way or another then you may not have autism. People with just the sensory stuff may have sensory processing disorder for example or people with communication problems but no obsessions or stims might have social communication disorder.

You also won’t qualify for diagnosis if you don’t require support. I personally went under the radar for a long time because I was so well supported by my family (and then romantic partner) that my difficulties didn’t really show in an obvious manner. It was only once I lost those supports that everything went off the rails.

Social anxiety is common in autism but unlike social anxiety in a neurotypical person, it isn’t irrational.

While NTs with social anxiety live with extreme fear of social embarrassment, autistic people know that they are genuinely out of their depth when interacting with others and have been scolded/told they are doing it poorly so often that now it stresses them out.

I was always confused about my social anxiety. Because I’m not in general a socially anxious person.

I am comfortable with public speaking and will strike up a conversation with strangers without thought if I have reason to do so. Social anxiety quizzes score me low. I don’t see why having a stranger listen to me having a phone conversation would make me more stressed about said conversation, for example.

And yet I won’t go to a new place on my own, especially if it’s a new type of social interaction, like going for a massage for the first time or ordering fast food from a place with a menu I’m unfamiliar with.

I also hate phone comversations and meeting new people at parties. In fact interacting with unfamiliar people period iis awful and I hate it especially if it goes beyond “nice weather” type interactions that I can run off of scripts.

Now that I understand that I’m autistic, this makes sense - I’m not afraid of embarrassment particularly I’m just really not equipped to manage social interactions easily especially if I don’t have a script for them.

Phone conversations stress me out because they are hard and I am not good at them. I don’t care if someone is listening because that doesn’t affect that actual interaction going on. Like the phone convo is still hard whether or not someone else is listening in.

Anyway, I’m just a fiction author so I’m hardly an authority on the subject but I hope you find this helpful and good luck!