Into My Autistic Mind: My Year so far

Hello everybody, this is George Harvey (aka The Autistic Blogger). It’s taking me a bit longer to finish the last part of my Life, Animated Review. So in the meantime here’s another peek into my Autistic mind. You all know the drill by now. Everything you read below will be the raw, unfiltered thoughts that go through my head as I’m writing. Only this time, I’ll be trying to focus primarily on what I’ve been up to the past couple of months. Enjoy:

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It’s hard to believe it’s already been two months since the New Year. I’m thinking of fireworks and the ending to My Little Pony: the Movie. Which had fireworks. I just made “New Year” have capital letters. My sister is home and playing music on the radio. I’m sitting in the dining room. The table is turned in a new position to what it used to be. It’s apparently so the room looks bigger. My room has been completely repainted. I still can’t get the ending of MLP: the Movie out of my mind. Now I’m thinking of the Rugrats in Paris movie and a scene with Angelica and Chuckie. Saying that name makes me think of the Child’s Play movies – and the original film’s poster. Now – SORRY – sorry again my typing is a bit off. I keep mistyping and putting things in capital letters. I’m typing on my laptop instead of my iPad like I usually do. I remember an old kid’s show called Out of the Box that I used to watch with my sister on Playhouse Disney. I just paused to look at the bullet points I’m trying to stick to. To think, by the time I post this it will be the first of March – excuse me, March 1st. Then the old £10 notes will no longer be useable and people will have to be 16 in order to buy energy drinks, according to the new law. Give me a second. Sorry about that. I just had to move some things around. I needed to plug in my laptop as it was running low on power. Sorry, I just tried to type something there, but then thought better of it. Okay, now my laptop is charging. I just had to flip the switch. I’ve been quite tired today. I was up until 4:45am last night watching WWE Elimination Chamber on the WWE Network. I can’t believe I’d never subscribed to it before now. I’m thinking about somebody I sent an email to today. Anyway, I’m hoping when Wrestlemania comes around this year that I’m not working the morning after. If I’m free that Monday morning I’ll be able to watch the whole thing live Sunday night. But if not, I’ll have to watch it on catch up instead. I’m sure my friends will be watching it live too. Anyway, I remember New Year’s Eve. Sorry I’m constantly thinking of MLP. It’s probably because I watched somebody’s blind reaction to it on YouTube last night as well as Elimination Chamber. I didn’t get up until 11:45 this morning. And even then I had an hour’s nap to make up for the hour I missed sleeping this morning. I just had to say hello to somebody there. As I was saying, I remember New Year’s Eve. I didn’t have any plans until my aunt invited me to go out to dinner with her, my uncle and my cousin. There was a man there who wasn’t too happy with the service and had to be physically thrown out of the restaurant for disturbing the peace. I had a hard time spelling “restaurant” there. Thank goodness for auto-correct. I’m thinking of the Rugrats again. It was definitely one of my favourite Nick Toons. They even released a couple of PlayStation games, which I would play at my dad’s house. Anyway, I remember after dinner I went back to my aunt’s house and I had my laptop with me. I was racing to finish not just my last edition of Into my Autistic Mind but the review I’d been working on for five months. I’m thinking of an episode of SpongeBob and the Simpson’s Hit and Run game. I was able to upload both pieces onto my blog with something like 5 or 15 minutes left before the New Year arrived. It was actually kind of thrilling to finish them before the countdown. Since the New Year a lot has happened. One second, I’m thinking of an episode the Powerpuff Girls and a Lilo and Stitch movie. With everything that’s been happening I’ve been very busy. I had wanted to post something other than this edition of Into My Autistic Mind, since I do like to give my readers a bit of variety and I never want to seem lazy. However, with the deadline approaching fast, Feburary being – I can never spell “February” right on my first attempt – February being such a short month and all the hours I’ve been working, I knew I’d never complete on time. I think I’ll save it for a later month when I can actually put more effort into it, instead of rushing it to completion. I want to avoid doing things like that now. Which is why one of my New Year’s resolutions was to take my writing more seriously. I’ve been going over some GCSE English revision guides I bought a while back, I’ve been planning things more clearly and thinking about when best to write. I think it really is helping. Just this month I posted a review of the DS game Pokemon Ranger and it only took me a few weeks to finish, instead of five whole months. I just thought of a Comic Relief segment that was made a few years ago. The one where Alan Sugar is a contestant on Dragon’s Den. Now I’m remembering the one with Smithy (James Cordon/Gavin and Stacey) and various celebrities debating who should do the appeal film in Africa. There’s also the one where David Tennant was first playing Doctor Who; the one with Doctor Who and Lauren Cooper (The Catherine Tate Show); the one with Lauren Cooper in a war of words with Peggy (Eastenders). Wait? Was that last one a Comic Relief sketch? Actually no, maybe none of them were. I might be getting mixed up with Children in Need. It’s a shame Terry Wogan passed away a couple of years ago. I remember that sketch where he appeared alongside Lee Mack on the set of Not Going Out. I’m thinking of the Don Bluth film All Dogs go to Heaven for some reason. I’ve just heated the tea that I have and made a few text messages. Another thing that has kept me busy these past couple of months has been my drama. It wasn’t long ago I was performing in a panto of The Wizard of Oz. My characters were: a posh school boy; a munchkin in a red outfit, which I really liked; a crow with a Jamaican accent; a forest animal; a Poppy; and Winkie Soldier, who starts off tough, but then reveals he’s gay. Did I mention this was a modern retelling of The Wizard of Oz? It was a bit more like The Wiz. We even had the song Ease on Down the Road playing at the end of Act One. Apparently, it’s the biggest song in musical version of The Wiz, but in the movie version it wasn’t performed well. They just has Michael Jackson (as the Scarecrow) and the actress playing Dorothy performing the number with their backs to the camera and filmed it at least 30ft away. I’m thinking of the Spy Kids movies. But I did really like playing those parts. We had a real dog playing Toto, before he becomes an actor in a furry costume once Dorothy arrives in Oz. I could tell you a lot more about the panto, but then I could also write a whole other piece on that. I’m looking forward to going back to the hall where we rehearse this Sunday. We’ll all be watching a DVD of Dream. Which is what we called our show that was dedicated to Disney songs. Out of all the shows I’ve done so far I think Annie Get Your Gun was my favourite. Have any of you ever heard of the song Muffin Time? Go look it up on YouTube. It’s really catchy and gets stuck in your head. I’m thinking of an old PlayStation 2 game I had called Spyro: A Hero’s Tail. I actually had two copies of the game since the first one got scratched and became unplayable. I’m only just realising I’ll have a lot of editing to do after I’m do. This piece is already two pages long. As for my work life, things have been improving. There was a very long period of time where I wasn’t getting my contracted hours and I was starting to dislike working at the store in Welling. Since the New Year I’ve returned to Eltham and things have been a lot better. Being a small store it’s easier to get around and you get the chance to do more than just one job all the time – before I was only ever working on the tills. Now I work on the self-scan, de-card the store, help tidy up, etc. Plus, since the store isn’t overstaffed like the Welling one was, I’m getting my contracted hours now. In fact, the last two weeks I’ve been given almost double my weekly hours. So all in all, things are going well for me at the moment. However, I know this year will bring a lot of changes. Not too long ago I completed an online course in SEN, and I’m hoping this will allow me to find employment as a Teaching Assistant. I’ve even purchased another course which is tailored to exactly that. I’m also hoping to use what I learn in the book series I’m planning to write someday. I’ve been putting it off for much too long now and I really want to see if I can make a break as a published author. I might even get my very own place to live. It’s something I’ve been interested in doing for a while and it seems like the ideal time to do it. I also think I should try online dating as well. So much to do, so little free time to do it all. I’ll have to make sure I stay organised. I’m thinking of another Powerpuff Girls episode now. Actually, two. Now three. Now Disney’s The Kid. Now Holes. Now Goosebumps – which I wrote a review on once. And now Rugrats the movie. Now Doug’s First Movie, which I’ve never actually seen myself. I’ve just seen clips and snippets. This could go on for a while if I let it. I’ve said pretty much all I want to say. Hopefully, by the end of next month I’ll be finished with my Life, Animated Review. Then I can start debating about what to post for the 3rd Anniversary of this blog. I’m thinking of an old Cartoon Network show I used to love called Cubix. This is a good place to stop I think. I’m less than 25 words from this piece being 1900 words long – introduction included. If I think of anything else to say while I’m editing maybe I’ll add it in somewhere. I won’t change things too much though, as these are meant to be my raw, unfiltered thoughts. Whose Line is it Anyway just popped into my head. And wrestling and the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and King Kong vs Godzilla and the original American remake of Godzilla. I’m just rambling now. I hope you’ve enjoyed what I’ve had to say. Now I’m at 1969 words.

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If you have any questions regarding Autism or some of my pieces on it, then please feel free to leave me a comment – I’ll be happy to answer them. As I said, I will try to complete the last part of my Life, Animated Review by the beginning of next month. I hope you’ll enjoy it when it’s released. And until then, stay tuned.

Interests, Update and Music Video

Hello Internet. This is George Harvey, aka ‘The Autistic Blooger’. It’s been a while since my last post, as I’ve been on holiday in Majorca, and had other commitments. So to make up for it, I’ve decided to upload something special.
Over the last several months, I’ve written many posts about my experiences with Autism, and why I’m so passionate about raising awareness of it. I’ve also written creative pieces and reviews that showcase my other skills as a writer. However, one thing I’ve not been able to discuss in great detail are some of the interests I have as an ‘Aspie’ (autistic person).
I’ve said in the past that Autism makes me interested in a variety of different things. And these interests sometimes distract me from important things, like finding a full-time job, talking to people or completing a writing task. This is actually why it takes me longer to do certain things than other people – it’s not just that I’m a perfectionist. I’m not ashamed to say I have these interests. In fact, I think they’re what makes me relatable to other ‘Aspies’ around the world. Depending on whether they share my interests, of course.
So what does my Autism make me interested in?
Those of you who’ve read ‘Into My Autistic Mind’ would’ve noticed that I keep mentioning the series ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’. I will admit that I’m a fan of the show, like so many other Bronies and Pegasisters. A lot of people have problems with older audiences – especially teenage boys and grown men – liking ‘My Little Pony’. But I really think those people should watch an episode themselves, before they point fingers. The reason I like the show is because, unlike previous generations – which were so sissy even the target audience (little girls) would cringe – ‘Friendship is Magic’ teaches very sincere morals, which kids and grown-ups of all ages can learn from. There’s even one episode, which I think portrays one of it’s main characters having Autism – or at least Autistic traits. So I’m actually thinking of writing a review on that episode in the future. It’s called ‘Lesson Zero’, so please check it out. Also, check out the documentary ‘Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony’ on YouTube.
Other interests I have include trading cards. I have a large collection of ‘Yu-Gi-Oh’ cards at home – including one of the Sacred Beasts and two the Egyptian Gods. Every so often, I like to take them out and build decks, so I can see how they match up against each other in duels. I’ve only ever had real opponents during my time in secondary school, when I played against my friends in the spectrum base. Since then, I’ve only played against myself. It’s rather lonely, but still enjoyable. I’d love to take on real opponents, or teach somebody how to play, if I was given the chance to.
Another of my interests is wrestling. I first discovered WWE in 2002, and four years later, I became a full-time fan; watching ‘RAW’ and ‘Smackdown’ on TV, buying merchandise, visiting WWE.com, and even going to live events when they came to London. Not to mention I own all 31 editions of ‘WrestleMania’ on DVD. I’m usually not much of a sports fan – I actually quit football, karate and gymnastics when I was younger. But what I love about wrestling isn’t just the athleticism of its superstars. It’s also the creativeness that goes into the storytelling. Everyone knows wrestling is ‘fake’. But that doesn’t matter when you get to experience a great show. Sometimes what you see is so engaging, you completely forget what you’re watching is staged. This is why WWE sometimes influences my own creative writing skills. It takes a lot of talent to suspend your audiences disbeliefs. And that’s exactly what I aim to achieve with fictional writing.
I love wrestling so much that I’ve even written for HighlightNation, a website dedicated to all things WWE. They were generous enough to post a link to my blog there, so I feel it’s only right I do the same for them. If you like WWE as much as I do then visit: http://www.highlightnation.com.
Another interest that influences my creative writing is animes. I absolutely love animes. Ever since I saw ‘Sprited Away’, I’ve been obsessed with Japanese culture and how well they do animation. The ideas that go into their movies and TV shows are so unique, and inspiring, you couldn’t imagine them being made anywhere else in the world. Not even in America. Why? Because Japan comes up with stories that other countries wouldn’t dare to try. I now own more than 50 different anime DVDs. Including almost every Studio Ghibli film, and ‘Sword Art Online’ – which in my opinion is the greatest animated series ever made, and one every anime fan should own. When I decided to become an author, I knew I wanted to create books that would be as memorable and exciting as animes.
A good writer is first and foremost a good reader. And as a writer I do love to read. Especially the Jacqueline Wilson books. Most of you will have read my review of ‘Lily Alone’, and learnt just why I love Jacqueline Wilson as an author so much – I’m thinking of reviewing another of her books, ‘Lola Rose’, soon. I’ve also read book series like the ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘The Hunger Games’. I sometimes even read series that are outside my target audience, like ‘Dork Diaries’ and ‘Magic Animal Friends’. My reasons for reading them are the same reasons I’m a Brony. Plus, it’s good research for me as a writer to learn what makes certain books best-sellers.
My final interest is one I never thought I’d have. I was never much of a music fan growing up. But I started listening to Michael Jackson songs after he died, and realised just how good they were – it was like he told a short story while singing. Soon, I was listening to his music daily; going to see ‘Thriller Live’ at the Lyric Theatre; I even created my own ‘Billie Jean’ music video as an ICT project once (see below). I’m so passionate about MJ sometimes I like to imitate him. In fact, during my holiday in Majora I saw a tribute band to him, and they invited people to dance on stage. I showed off my stuff, and they thought it was pretty good. It was the highlight of my visit.
I could go on and on about other interests I have, like Doctor Who and YouTube videos by Markiplier, Mr. Enter and AniMat, but I think you get the general idea. I want to finish off by saying that I do still have plans for this blog. As I mentioned, there are two reviews I’m thinking of writing – one will touch on Autism, the other will touch on another personal issue. I also still have plans to interview people in my life and ask them how my Autism effected them. But before all that, I want to write something I’ve been meaning to for a long time now. Months ago, I uploaded pieces that talked about my experiences in primary and secondary school. However, I’ve yet to speak about my college and university years. The next upload will likely be a piece on when I first entered North West Kent college.
I’ll now leave you now with this music video of me trying to be Michael Jackson.
If you’ve enjoyed this post about my interests, then feel free to check out the other pieces I’ve uploaded to this blog. Leave me a comment if you have any questions – I’ll be glad to answer them – and, as always, stay tuned.

I do not own the song ‘Bille Jean’ or anything else. This was simply made as an ICT project.