i went to a concert last weekend!! my very first concert

and i went completely alone! which is a big deal for me as an autistic person who usually has a support person with me. however, my main support person is my mom and she didn't want to go to a concert. plus concert tickets are expensive!

it was Fall Out Boy! my favorite band. and my special interest. they were amazing.

it was pretty nerve-wracking and i started shaking/trembling a few times in line. once i got to my seat it was okay. the only time it was too loud for me is when everyone was cheering. i had to cover my ears then. im actually kind of proud of myself for just covering my ears instead of trying to deal with it.

im very sensory seeking, especially when it comes to music so the loud music and bright lights were A Lot but in a good way. i was close enough to the stage to feel the heat from the pyrotechnics fall out boy was using.

i didn't visibly stim much. i mostly held my phone and played with the pop socket. i did flap my hands a lot when they played Saturday at the end, which if you're a fall out boy fan you might understand! it was a very cool moment.

i also managed to speak verbally to the people at the merch booth! which is a big deal for me. the website said no ipads or tablets and i didn't want to deal with trying to tell every security person that my aac was a medical device. and i could have used my phone in the event i couldn't talk so it was fine. but i did manage verbal speech!

overall i had a positive experience, which im so glad for. i would hate to have the memories of seeing my favorite band "ruined" by a meltdown or panic attack.

MIXED COMPANY, no. 7. Fairport Convention, Unhalfbricking. A long time ago a friend of a friend hepped me to Richard Thompson. I went to a show, I started reading, I went to more shows. This band was his first gig, or his first high profile gig. I’ve actually played this album a lot over the years and if you find a more, uh..... I’m going to carefully choose this word and mean it fully—if you find a more *sublime* song and performance than “Who Knows Where the Time Goes” I will probably argue with you. The rest of the album is good although it’s all over the place: olde English songs like A Sailor’s Life and a long almost shaggy dog sad Dylan song about a mean judge. Then another Dylan, a cover of Million Dollar Bash before Basement Tapes came out that’s, eh, nowhere as magical fun as Bob and The Band’s tossed-off version. But I still enjoy this. Cajun Woman is lively. The French translated Dylan song is cute. And then there’s that serene diamond just laying there, “Who Knows etc.” that Sandy Denny wrote and sang. Lucky for us. I love love love this #albumcoverart btw. Those are her parents on the cover, I am given to understand <— seems like a phrase they’d use. #fairportconvention #unhalfbricking #whoknowswherethetimegoes #richardthompson #sandydenny #dylancovers #oldeenglish #coverart #albumcover (at Noblesville, Indiana) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJU8VuYrEDe/?igshid=axxuhji9b7ux

SOCIAL DISTANCING DAY 185. 1. Marj is using the Johns Hopkins numbers for her sheep #coronavirus count-up, btw. Today Phoebe joined their little soccer game. I guess the virus is here to stay so the sheep friends are just learning to incorporate it into their daily lives. 2. Still a lot of green tomatoes; hope they all beat the frost, whenever it shows up. C’mon guys. 3. Apple tree had a dead limb. Chore! #weekendchores #greentomatoes #frontyardsoccer #yardsheep #johnshopkins #covidupdate #quarantinelife (at Noblesville, Indiana) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFYXjQtguPZ/?igshid=2amlryqwbevm