Universal Chat Thread

[ShiraNoMai]

You'd have a better case if you could confirm with patrons that you got them sick as a result of you working there, but that gets messy and complicated to the point it doesn't feel worth it. It's just super shitty. Sorry you have to deal with that, dude.

[Moonface]

Even then I expect it would just bring more negatives than positives. Like if the business was reported or closed for it then DL has no job.

What's everyone up to this weekend? For those who are in a place celebrating it tomorrow, any plans for Mother's Day?

[Maniakkid25]

One of the negatives of working for a small, privately owned business: There's no one to report this kind of thing to. She can tell me I have to work while being sick or I will lose my job, and there's not much I can do about it at all. I'd be able to potentially report it to the state, but the odds of that actually amounting to anything is very small.

Yeah, can confirm this is just as true in a business that isn't just a privately-owned small joint. I've been explicitly told by managers working at Publix "If you're sick, take some medicine and get your ass in here." They don't care; they just care that there are warm bodies so that customers don't get offended that we aren't catering to their every whim.

I'm working and my family is going out to a fancy restaurant. I'm not joining them because I have a struggle with my diet. And before any of you bastards say "Just try some other foods", you can tell me that when you have literally vomited from trying to eat spiral macaroni WHEN YOU LIKED IT!

[Moonface]

My store doesn't have any managers that do that, and if there were my department manager would rip them a new one.

What's wrong in regards to your diet @Maniakkid25? Is it an intolerance to foods that you're trying to figure out or something else?

[Maniakkid25]

No; it's the fact that if I try to eat "normal" food, I can't keep it down. It's a fun side effect of Autism: most of the time, you get a sensitivity to a specific sense. Most get hearing (hence the mechanic in An Aspie Life), but I got screwed and got touch. Not only can the feel of things, including food, feel "wrong", it can PHYSICALLY MAKE ME THROW UP! Hell, it's so bad, I can't even eat food cold that's meant to be cooked. Cold Pizza? Out! Cold fries? NOPE! Cold chicken? Can't even swallow it! IT'S F***ING EMBARRASSING, AND I CAN'T JUST EAT THE FOOD MY FAMILY CAN! DO YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS WHEN YOUR NAME IS IN A F***ING WEDDING CONTRACT SO THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY EAT THERE?! I F***ING HATE IT; I HATE THIS GODDAMN PERSON! WHERE'S A SLEDGEHAMMER SO I CAN SMASH A MIRROR FOR SOME CATHARSIS?!

[Moonface]

So is it literally just a roll of the dice as to whether a food is going to bother you at any given time?

[Maniakkid25]

YUP! That's why I don't eat anything other people offer me; there's no telling if I'll actually like it or if it'll make me hurl right in front of them!

[Moonface]

Jeez, that sucks. It's a shame there isn't a medication or treatment that can help you stop that happening.

[Maniakkid25]

It's really fun, but it could be worse. Most people in my situation literally cannot wear certain items of clothing. They can't concentrate on anything other than the sensation, and its discomfort. I usually don't have that problem; I tend to bypass that and skip straight to gagging, though that's not to say I've not be able to just continuously notice a sensation that will refuse to go away, like, say, the face masks tugging at my face while we are still forced to wear them (which is how I always know when the mask falls down).

[Moonface]

So is it always a negative in regards to a sensation to something, whether it be clothes, food, or something else? Can it ever be where there's something that conversely feels really pleasant? I forget what it is but I know there's something where people can find it nice to touch things, based on what a friend of Shira and mine said one time. She might remember or know what I'm talking about if no one else does.

[Maniakkid25]

Not that I'm aware of? I've never really looked into it, this part is more "the things that I've heard in my small amount of research". I can really only speak for myself when I say "I guess it can have its upsides; it's easy to notice when things are wrong."

[ShiraNoMai]

Well, I recall back in high school when Maniak would "floof" a dangling part of my hair. I'm sure that had some degree of touch satisfaction.

I am reading about it, though. Our friend's touch comfort stems from her ADHD, though, which is a bit different. But there's definitely quite a bit of food sensory research I'm reading up on that's interesting to look into. One thing I'm seeing as a reliever can be chewing objects like these to mitigate some of the sensational issues that occur from eating things.

Still, that is an insanely frustrating thing to live with. I actually wonder if touching the food first before deciding to ingest it will give you warning enough to know if it'll be a bad time or not.

[Maniakkid25]

Well, the problem with touching them for a warning is that that can send the exact same signal to me, and make me start gagging. Also, I'm not surprised about the ADHD link; I saw a therapist once who helped with my anger issues A LOT (literally, if it weren't for him, I'd be in jail right now), and he mentioned that ADHD, Autism, OCD, and Tourettes are all linked and you tend to see them together in most cases, rather than one in isolation.

The hair thing is completely unrelated; I like playing with long hair. I'll be honest, had I felt I could get away with it, I'd have both my hands just combing through it (there is really no way to make that sound any better, I swear to god).

[Moonface]

I think I'd rather gag without having the food in my mouth so I'd be testing everything with touch. Unless just because you're fine when you touch it doesn't mean you'll be fine trying to eat it.

Been feeling really lost with myself lately. I just seem to be going through the motions and whenever I'm asked what I want to do I never have an answer. XD

[Mr EliteL]

Yeesh, yeah I'd hate to have something like that. Sounds like it can happen even after eating something like the spiral macaroni as Maniak said he already liked that, yet still had to remove it from his system. That kinda thing happened to me earlier in January, I thought I liked what I ate, but nope a week off work happened. Not saying my incident was the same, I don't usually gag at anything, if something doesn't pass my sight, smell and taste test, it's being left aside. Wish it could be easier for you, Maniak.

@Moonface That's what I usually feel like, if I have no work or full day off I start the day not knowing what to do, know I should have a plan but nah, still don't know. Never have an answer when my mum asks me what I'm going to do for the day. Also not talking about single days, I got nothing for weeks, months, other work or whatever. Nowt.