Text Before Calling

Hi.  Many of you have probably noticed by now that I prefer to send you a text or email before calling you on the phone.  I make a considerable effort to strictly adhere to this personal policy as a gesture of respect.  I am merely trying to be very considerate and respectful by not calling you when you're working or otherwise occupied.  I would love to chat with you, preferably in person, at a mutually convenient time.  I also have a very busy schedule and ask that you please extend the same courtesy to me.  I usually turn my phone off while I'm at work in accordance with a company policy I am charged with enforcing.  What right have I to enforce a rule or policy unless I intend to abide by it myself?

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in this matter.

No More Social Networking

I have discovered, much to my great horror, that social networking websites are totally addictive and a serious threat to my personal privacy and security.  I found that I was on Facebook several hours a day, wasting time that should have been spent doing more important work.  Except for my immediate family, nearly all of my Facebook "friends" were people I have not seen or heard from since high school.  I was wasting my time reading about everyone else's drama.  Granted, only with a random visit to a friend's Facebook page did I find out about her untimely death, several weeks later.  I had known earlier that she was diagnosed with cancer and that her (third) husband had recently passed away.  During my last phone conversation with her, she told me that she was leaving for Michigan to visit her family.  I suspected that she was going there to spend her final days with her family, and my suspicion proved to be accurate.  The worst of it was that I never had a chance to say a proper goodbye to her.  I must also concede that I found out about my 30-year Class Reunion through Facebook.  I also realized that while social networking has its benefits for many people, it is no longer for me.

Despite the fact that I had set my security and privacy on Facebook and Google+ to the maximum security levels and that I have usually been very careful about what I posted on these sites, I have come to the realization that what I had intended as innocuous remarks had been taken out of their intended context by people for whom those remarks were not intended, possibly endangering my life and those of people who I hold very dear.  Furthermore, I believe that neither the Government nor private companies have any business snooping about my private affairs.

Therefore, after many months of agonizing contemplation and several discussions with my attorney, I have finally acted on my decision to permanently delete my Facebook and Google+ accounts.  For professional reasons, I am maintaining my LinkedIn account for the short term.  It is far better to have a small number of real close friends than it is to have hundreds of fake friends. 

You can still contact me via my personal website, BillLawless.me , or via this blog.  The official websites for my novels, toplessdelivery.com and foreverautumn.us, are still active and have some new features.  Please be sure to check them out.

A New Calling

I think I may have found my true calling.  After creating three websites in as many weeks, my personal website and one for each of my two novels, I would love to pursue a new career in website design or somewhere in the field of information technology (IT).

My personal website

My novels' websites are:

"Topless Delivery - The Myrtle Beach Experience"

"Forever Autumn - The Myrtle Beach Experience Continues"

Website design and development would be an ideal career for someone who is creative but uncomfortable dealing with the public all the time.  I would like to take some courses in cybersecurity as well as HTML, XML, and Java programming before I make it a career.

50th Anniversary Reception

Today is my parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary. My sisters and I are throwing a fancy reception for them tonight. Social events have always been a major challenge for me, as with most Aspergians, but tonight will be particularly difficult with many of my relatives in town. I think I was wise to not invite a guest for she would have been subjected to intense interrogation by my entire family. I feel like it's just another "dog and pony show" where I am under enormous pressure to make a good impression on everyone. I am keeping a very low profile tonight.

Advice To All Aspiring Writers

The best piece of advice that I can offer to an aspiring writer is to know when to put down your pen, step away from your laptop, and write with your heart. There are many nights when I wake up from a dream, dash over to my laptop, and start typing. Writing is my way of communicating with the neurotypical world. I wrote and published my novels not to make money, but to tell a story. I ask my readers to keep an open heart and mind when reading my novels, blogs, or websites. You will see the world through my eyes and get a better understanding of who I really am.

How To Care For An Introvert

Most Aspergians are introverts by our very nature.  Here are a few basic rules to follow when relating to us.

1.  Respect our need for privacy.

2.  Never embarrass us in public.

3.  Let us observe first in new situations.

4.  Give us time to think.  Don't demand instant answers.

5.  Don't interrupt us.

6.  Give us advance notice of unexpected changes in our lives.

7.  Give us 15-minute warnings to finish whatever we are doing.

8.  Reprimand us privately.

9.  Teach us new skills privately.

10. Enable us to find one best friend who has similar interests and abilities.

11. Don't push us to make lots of friends.

12. Respect our introversion.  Don't try to remake us into extroverts.

Living in Seclusion

Living in seclusion high above the city,
I see the mass of humanity down below.
Wishing I could connect with them in some way,
I know better than to approach those I don't know.

Living in fear of how others will judge me,
Knowing that many people wish me harm,
I wish I could extend a friendly hand,
Without fear of losing my entire arm.

Living in fear of appearing rude and boorish,
I've learned to keep my heart to myself.
Loneliness and depression are all I know,
Having put my human desires on the shelf.

Living without even the basic relationships,
That many take for granted every day,
I only wish I could reach out to touch you.
If only you could show me the way.