Top 10 Things I Love/Hate About Autumn

It's Tuesday time again which means Top 10 time! Be sure to check out Kate and Tiff's Blogs as well to see their take on this week's theme, Top 10 Things I Love/Hate About Autumn.

Since this is my absolute favorite time of year, this is mainly going to be a "love" list, but as with everything, there's always a negative touch, so let's get started.

#1: DISNEY
Is it possible to turn every list into a Disney list? I'm not sure, but I'm willing to try or at the very least include it somehow...it just so happens that the autumn is a very important Disney time for me. I've been to Disney World at different times of the year, but the fall is my absolute favorite time to go. Not only does the Magic Kingdom have Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and Epcot has the Food & Wine Festival, but, for the past several years, Disney have also been offering free dining as well (and does it get any better than free food, I mean, seriously?). Right now, I am so regretting going to Disneyland instead of Disney World, especially with all the changes WDW has been going through, but hopefully Disneyland will prove me wrong.

Since this is such a great time of year to go to Disney World means that everyone else has figured it out as well, including the dreaded "evil ones". Disney may be the best place on earth, but most Disney guests are typically the worst sort of people...they are rude, mean, self-absorbed, and can ruin your trip faster than you can say "Donald Duck", hence their specialty moniker. Thankfully, they are what god made Xanax for and, when that option fails, there's always the safety and privacy of your resort room where you can at least regain your composure without the possibility of an assault charge. The benefits are worth the struggles of dealing with them, so I endure it for the cause.

#2: HALLOWEEN
Everyone has "their" holiday, Halloween is mine. Most people think that Halloween people are scary weirdos who don't fit in, and they would partially be right, at least in my case. But the history of Halloween and the subcultures surrounding it is one of the most interesting of all the holidays...that's not just my Celtic blood talking because Halloween goes further back than even my ancestors. Like every other holiday (or religion for that matter) it's been bastardized and turned into a dark twisted version of it's true meaning, but it's older than Christmas or even Christianity itself and definitely worth studying. I'm a firm believer in learning about the things that are important to you, even the "fun" things, and Halloween is a very interesting read.

#3: COOL WEATHER
And now it's negative time. For a "big" girl, I don't fall into the typical body issues that women of my size suffer from, most notably, all this extra tissue doesn't insulate me from the cold. I'm am always freezing from the inside out, so when the weather turns cooler, my internal thermometer goes haywire. Usually nothing, not extra layers of clothing or even heat can warm me (although I keep trying). They've tested me for every possible thing that could cause me to be like this, but everything always shows up normal...I'm fat because I eat too much and I'm cold because I was born that way. I love summer because it's hot (especially here in the South). Autumn is bad but Winter is way worse, especially since it's been getting colder and colder every year. If we're really headed for another ice age, I hope I don't live long enough to see it. Autumn means that Winter is coming which doesn't make me happy, Disney-time or not.

#4: CHANGING SEASONS
Although the title of this number probably seems more suited to the previous number's description, I am actually referring to the changing of the colors more than the weather. Of all the bad things I can say about my region, it gets pretty gorgeous around here as the seasons start to change, we are, after all, not called the Natural State for nothing! It's something you have to plan for because it happens rather quickly, but if you manage to catch it, it is truly a sight to behold. I often get so caught up in life around this time of year (planning Disney trips) that I often miss it, but thankfully, Eastward doesn't change as soon as we do and I can just take a short day's drive and see the colors to my heart's content.

#5: SCHOOL
Thankfully, it's not a problem I have to worry about now, but as a kid, school was the absolute worst time for me, all the way from daycare to college. Don't get me wrong, I loved learning (and still do), but dealing with all the socialness you are forced to deal with in a school setting just about did me in. I'm still not sure how I ever made it through those years alive. Every once in a while, I debate going back to finish my education (although my art years are far behind me now), but I've come to realize that there is absolutely no way I can ever put myself through that again even if it could possibly mean that I could better myself and my situation. The damage to my psyche is too extensive (and it's not like I could afford it anyway). I know that the education process is changing and going to a more online environment, but it's not quite to my comfort level yet, and probably never will be. I figure if it was meant to be, I would find a way, I always do with things that are important to me, so it must not be my destiny. Besides, I think that some people are career people and some people are job people and I'm just a job person. My career doesn't define me and I can't imagine any career that could, and luckily most jobs don't really require an education.

#6: TELEVISION
In this country, fall means that it's TV season again. Shows have had the summer off and all those annoying cliffhangers we were left with in the spring can now be cleared up and new stories can begin. It's one of the reasons why I've never been a fan of TV. I tend to get obsessed over things quite easily and waiting week to week to see my favorite characters is bad enough, but waiting months through the off-season is too hard for me to take sometimes. I am the consumer that Netflix and Hulu targets...the binge watcher. It's so much easier for me to wait until an entire season of a show is finished and I can watch it all at once (i.e. Supernatural or Vampire Diaries) than the week-to-week struggle I go through with Once Upon A Time. There are other shows I watch, but I can save up several episodes of them and enjoy them when I'm ready and in the mood. Once is the only show I'm obsessed over right now and I hope it stays that way because I'm not sure I could add more to the stress load.

#7: TRAFFIC
#5 above leads to #7 in this town, traffic. We are a college town and a small town so fall means an influx of out-of-town students looking to get an education at an affordable level. New college students are typically still teenagers which means they are horrible drivers as well, so double the vehicles driving erratically makes for really painful commutes to and from work. The fastest route for me to get to work is still through the college though, so I'm exposed to it more than most, but when your commute time goes from 10 minutes to 30-50 minutes overnight, it certainly doesn't make one look forward to this time of year.

#8: BRAIN TIME
I didn't mean for this list to turn out as negative as it seems, but here we go again on a bad note. I'm not a pessimist, I promise, but I am a realist and the reality is, life sucks. Fall means it's MRI time (and I've already explained how well that process went this year), but it also means the changing in the weather affects the quantity and quality of headaches for, not just me, but all migraine sufferers. Thanks to Zanaflex, I've had several months almost completely headache free except for the occasional flare up. I'm not looking forward to resuming a regular schedule of debilitating pain. I'm really hoping that the muscle relaxers keep doing their job and this season will be better than last, but I won't be able to count on only having occasional headaches once the barometer drops and stays down. The reality of the situation is that no medicine can completely control Mother Nature. Even as I type this, I am quite aware of the fact that the inside of mouth is completely numb to the cold tea I'm drinking...a precursor sign of an oncoming headache. Yea me.

#9: FOODS
Fall brings an entirely different menu to most places, even the most steadfast of locations. Granted, I'm not a fan of most "fall" foods...things like pumpkins, cooked apples, spices, turkey, etc, but I do love the smells they produce. I love me a good spiced apple scented candle, just don't expect me to eat the flavors the smells mimic. When I was younger, I was all about summer smells and foods (still the foods), but the even the ocean smells better in the fall, more sea than rotting fish and I'm appreciating that more with age. Granted, living alone I'm able to enjoy any food I want at any time, so if I want chilli in the heat of summer, then so be it, but if I want to order a bowl of chili in a restaurant, I pretty much have to wait until this time of year. I'm also not a fan of the fall/winter "meals" that are traditional, but thankfully age has settled that problem too...I'm now old enough to tell my family I'm staying home for Thanksgiving and Christmas to enjoy my personal time with my puppy.

#10: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME
September means it's time again for my Birthday. When I was younger, celebrating my birth was never a good thing, no matter how good the presents were. I was told at a very young age that I was only "created to save a marriage" and since that marriage failed, I drew my own conclusions about the importance of my existence. Even if I could look past that, there was still always the issue of the social occasions that are created by celebrating such a day. People are staring at you while you blow out candles or open presents and, even if those people are your nearest and dearest, they are still staring and you are the center of attention...not a good thing for someone with my condition. As I've gotten older and my Asper-ness can dictate who with and how I celebrate such a day (which is typically alone) and I've been able to move past the circumstances behind my creation, even if I still can't accept it. I feel more like a 16 year-old today than I did when I was actually 16, and I'm not sure that's a good thing, but I'm enjoying my life for the first time ever, so I'm not going to complain too much!

Well, another list down! This one wasn't nearly as hard as the past couple have been...this one pretty much rolled off my proverbial tongue, which probably means I should probably read over it and edit it some, but life's too short and I've got a trip to prepare for!