PennSilverTaco's Aspergers (and general BS) thread!

My name is Charlie; I've been living in Bucks County, Pennsylvania for almost 12 years. I am the proud owner of a 2010 Toyota Tacoma that my parents bought brand new for me as a present of sorts when I finally got my learner's permit in 2009.

I also have Asperger's Syndrome, which is a high-functioning form of autism. Some people who know a lot about autism spectrum disorders can tell that I'm on the spectrum, but the vast majority are shocked when I tell them I have it. I was diagnosed in 1998 at the age of 9.

People are surprised because many of them lump all people with autism into one perceived stereotype, and are shocked that someone who is on the spectrum can do all the stuff that I've done. I have a driver's license, a college degree, a good job, and a ton of friends. When I hang out with my guy friends (some AS, some not), we do the same things a bunch of bros without AS would do. We get drunk, go to strip clubs, talk about cars and women, and happily engage in locker room talk about sex and bodily functions when there are no adults or women present. Some AS people I know are very socially awkward when it comes to romantic relationships and life in general. I won't go into explicit detail (literally or figuratively) on a public forum, but I can proudly say I've had quite a bit of fun with various women over the years. Yes, I have made out with a girl in my Tacoma before, but it didn't go beyond that.

Obviously, since I own a Tacoma, I know how to drive and thus have a driver's license. I have four close friends with Asperger's, and three of them have driver's licenses and their own vehicles. Sadly, none of them have trucks of any kind. Two drive 4-door sedans, and one has a 5-door hatchback. The 4th one is working towards FINALLY getting his learner's permit. I told my friend that when he gets his permit, I would take him to the DMV course after hours and teach him how to parallel park in my truck.

I got my learner's permit when I was 20, in August 2009. My dad bought the Tacoma in September 2009. In 2011, at the age of 22, I finally took the driving test in the Tacoma. I failed the first time because I couldn't parallel park correctly, and finally passed it on the third try in May 2011.

Anyway, I have wheels and a license. I also graduated from Bucks County Community College with an associate's degree in journalism. I actually plan on becoming an HVAC technician, but even now, I am still not 100% what I want to do for a career. Leaning more towards HVAC though...

Right now, I have a great job at a bar/restaurant/music venue called Puck, owned by a friend of mine. I started out as a regular customer back in 2010, then made friends with the owner. A new general manager was hired in 2011, right around the time I got my driver's license. My Tacoma played an indirect role in my first meeting with my future boss (a story for another day, available upon request). If you'd told me ten years ago I'd be working at a bar and actually kind of enjoying it, I'd laugh at you. I started out as the general manager's personal assistant and errand runner, and then after about a year of working at Puck, I was put on the books as a bar back. For those who don't know, a bar back is bartender's assistant who also performs duties like bussing tables, cleaning bathrooms, and picking up various bar supplies. It's not glamorous, but it beats the s*** out of retail! Two other employees at Puck, who work as both bartenders and barbacks depending on where they are needed, own pickup trucks (a 2011 Silverado 1500 and a 2013 Silverado 1500, respectively). However, they both have full-time jobs outside of Puck and can't be around all the time. Puck is my only job right now, so I can pretty much be available at a moment's notice. I am lifelong fan of Chevy trucks and hope to own one someday in addition to my beloved Tacoma, but my Tacoma is also much better for navigating congested streets and narrow alleyways of Doylestown than a full-size Silverado. The owner of the bar where I work has a 2016 Tundra crew cab 1794 Edition 4x4 and a 1994 Land Rover Defender 90!

My uncle who lives in Florida has a green 2012 SR5 extra cab short bed 2WD with the 5.7L V8. I have driven this beast of a truck once, and sadly it was just around the block when he and my aunt drove up from Florida for a visit, but I LOVED it...

Here's my Tacoma at one of Pennsylvania's state-owned liquor stores, loaded up with about TEN GRAND worth of hooch (the guy in the picture is Matt, one of the bartenders at Puck):


It's worth noting that the "powers that be" recently lumped all autism spectrum disorders together in the DSM-5 and did away with Asperger's Syndrome as a diagnosis. I do not agree with this, especially since autism can go hand in hand with intellectual disabilities like mental retardation.

I drive a Tacoma that I love, and I am lifelong GM truck guy, but my opinion is "How the hell can you not respect Toyota trucks?"

My goal in joining Tundras.com is to get my story out there, but primarily to learn more about Tundras...

 

Welcome from Ca. Charlie.

 

Welcome, Charlie. Great intro (makes mine look like shit now). We all love our Yotas and I had a Taco too. Loved it, but hard to pass up on the upgrade to a larger truck like the Tundra. Glad to have ya, and just so you know, we are all equal opportunity offenders here, Asperger's or not

 

Welcome bud. You'll probably get a little more than tongue... in a Tundra.

 

Welcome from TN!

My wife's a neuropsychologist so I'm well aware of the differences between aspergers and autism! All good brother! As long as you're a tundy lover, you're part of the gang!

 

Yeah, you got that right, but let's just say that I wouldn't want to go farther than that in a Tundra, unless it was a Limited/Platinum/1794 or whatever (with leather seats)...

 

Don't advance the stereotype @joonbug

 

That's why I get wet okoles. Need 'em to be waterproof.

 

Welcome! I have learned much about AS recently. A handful of shows have come out that have prominent characters with AS such as Chicago Med & Parenthood.

 

I learned watching South Park.

 

?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIDx96vraYo

 

Welcome from northern Virginia. Bucks county use to be my old stomping grounds before we moved to VA when I was 7. I lived in Doylestown by peace valley park.

 

Welcome from Virginia and thanks for sharing your story. I used to live down the road from you in Lower Moreland before we moved to VA two years ago. Miss that area and the people.

 

Welcome to Tundras.com Charlie! Thanks for sharing your story on here, you have a lot to be proud of.

It's a small world, I used to live down that way. Doylestown fitness center, which is across from Thompson Toyota, was where I spent most my evenings.

I'm sure you will like this forum and the people in it!

 

Bienvenidos! Hell of a intro!

 

Welcome from Southern Chester County, Pa

 

Welcome from Las Vegas, Charlie!! Nice to hear your story, it's a good one.

 

Welcome from Texas, Charlie! Great intro - far as I'm concerned, you're just one of the guys!

 

welcome on board !

 

You have AS too?

 

Thanks!

 

No. The stereotype of men talking sex, booze, sports, etc. Just yanking his chain, that's all.

 

Without going into detail, I told him the story of how I found out my truck is too small for, well...you know...

 

Sex, booze, sports...AND TRUCKS!

 

I just copy/pasted this story from TW. Figured you Tundra guys would be interested in it too...

Just read the story and imagine what would have happened to the guy if I'd been driving a Tundra!

Also, the most shocking part of this whole story is that the guy who hit me is a repeat offender. He killed somebody while driving drunk in 1980s (he was 70 when he hit me; would have been about 45 at the time of first DUI). He was convicted, did his time, and got his license back. I'm honestly glad that he did some easily repairable damage to my truck instead of nailing a pedestrian.

THE SHORT STORY:
A 70-year old snowbird from Florida in a 2002 Mercedes E320 made the dumb decision to drive drunk on a rainy Wednesday night. I had the misfortune of crossing paths with him at about 9pm right after I finished my shift at a pizzeria, where I'd taken a second job as a delivery driver to make some extra money. I stopped at a 3-way intersection with the intention of turning left. I signaled, looked both ways, and made the left. I probably should have waited a few more seconds, but it was dark and pouring rain. I could see part of the Benz's front end, but he was just sitting there, so I turned. Before I was all the way through the intersection, the moron decides to floor it, and he did this to my truck:



$2,600 in damage to my Tacoma, but his Benz had frame damage because he hit me so hard and was more than likely totaled...

THE LONG STORY:
This happened at about 9pm on October 28, 2015. From July through November of that year, I worked as a pizza delivery driver to make some extra money. I had just finished my shift and was driving to my primary place of employment to say hello to some friends of mine who I work with. I was on a one-way street and I stopped at a 3-way stop with the intention of turning left. I signaled, looked both ways, and found the intersection to be clear, so I turned left. It was at this point that I noticed a silver or beige Mercedes E320 sitting at the stop sign to my left. Without warning, the driver of the Mercedes accelerated, and I knew he was going to hit me before he actually hit me. He slammed into the left rear corner of my truck and I did not feel a thing. I was not injured or even that shaken up, just extraordinarily pissed off. I put my baby in park, jumped from the cab, pretty much freaked out upon seeing the damage, and started screaming and swearing at the old man before I even saw him and thus didn't know it was an old man. The left rear fender was smashed and the rear bumper was almost ripped off. I started swearing at the other driver, because I'd just been rear-ended the previous March and he'd just destroyed the shiny new bumper that someone else's insurance company had paid for! My truck's original bumper was kind of beat up from everyday use and occasionally backing into things, so getting rear-ended worked out. My words to this elderly alcoholic were "Are you f***ing kidding me? I just got this out of the shop from someone rear-ending me!" or something like that.

The jerk who hit my truck was a 70-year old man, and he insisted that I had run the stop sign. I suspected he might have been drinking but didn't confront him on it, and I insisted that the cops be called. Ironically, HE CALLED THE COPS! The responding officer asked for my license, registration, and proof of insurance, and got the same information from the old fart. He also asked if I'd been drinking, which I of course hadn't, and then he focused on the other driver. Another cop showed up, and the next thing I knew the old fart was in the back of a police SUV being taken to the local hospital for a blood test.

Despite the fact that the driver was drunk and my insurance company insisted I was totally 100% NOT at fault, he insisted that I had run the stop sign and his insurance company believed him. My insurance company ultimately ate the cost of fixing my truck, waived the deductible, and didn't raise my rates. My truck was fixed in December at a cost of about $2,600. I do not have rental coverage so I had to share my mom's car for the three days my truck was in the shop. In mid-November, I got sick of my tailgate not opening all the way, got fed up, and had my body guy remove the rear bumper.

My insurance company (USAA) took the drunk's insurance company to court, and it was a ruled a 50/50 draw. My rates DID NOT go up, and my insurance company waived the deductible. I have no idea how his insurance company handled his claim, but I know mine saw things my way and didn't pay one cent towards his Mercedes. By the way, I'm pretty sure the Mercedes was totaled. It was an older Mercedes, 13 years old at the time, and he hit my truck so hard that I think his frame got bent. He had trouble opening the driver's door immediately after the accident.

Fast-forward to April 2016, and I find out I'm being called to court as a witness, to testify against this guy. I found out from the prosecutor during a phone discussion that this drunk old fart had KILLED somebody while driving drunk in the late 1980s and was convicted. Obviously, he did not learn his lesson. The important thing is that nobody was hurt or killed, AGAIN!

Anyway, the drunk driver was found to have a BAC of .10 to .16 at the time of the accident. He later plead guilty and was sentenced to 40 days in jail and a 1-year suspension of his driver's license, in addition to having to pay a fine and court costs. I didn't have to go to court. The guy's Mercedes was registered in Florida, and he had a Florida address and a Florida driver's license, so I guess Pennsylvania and Florida have reciprocity? He was also ordered to pay restitution to me, and I will be putting some of the money towards front and rear dash cameras for my truck so if something like this happens again, the other driver won't be able to lie about it.

You know that saying about what a "female dog" karma can be. This is a perfect example...
My Tacoma was pretty much

DON'T DRIVE DRUNK!!!! Take an Uber or a Taxi!

By the way, the car in this picture looks EXACTLY like the one the SOB who hit me was driving:

 

Check out how my Tacoma kicked the ass of a Mercedes and indirectly gave a repeat offender his second DUI at the same time:
https://www.tundras.com/threads/a-d...with-his-mercedes-back-in-october-2015.11316/