Reflections... (One-year membership)

[tlionheart78]

I just checked my profile and it says that I have been a member since today of last year. Funny thing is, I created my intro thread on September 22, 2006. Nearly SEVEN months of lurking until I had the guts to make my first post. Early on back then, I was a nervous wreck on posting my thoughts and concerns on this board. This was due to the fact that there were a lot heated debates and occasional fighting between members, and I felt that I couldn't make myself known at that time due to the occasional hate that was spreading since then. Now Season 4 of Kim Possible is here. We're all excited and thrilled over the new episodes, and right now there's a whole lot of love going around at this point. I really hope that it stays that way for quite a long time.

As of my own personal standing here, I believe that I've finally gotten over my phobia of posting on here (yeah, it takes me 5 months to realize this... ). I've gone from being a lurker/occasional poster to being responsible for the Season 4 episode reviews and the Overall S4 Episode Review Scores on RS.net. I still feel very honored and flattered to even hold such a position, and I thank you all for electing this responsibility to me.

Though real life does bog me down, with being at work without access to this website, I'll try to get on here whenever I can and contribute to what I can here.

Thanks, everyone, for giving me a warm welcome.

EDIT: Yeah, I feel weird for typing this. But, hey, you got to let your thoughts flow into words sometimes, y'know.

[nabusan]

Ah, I remember being the reason you first started to post on rs.net ;D And look at you now, five months on and you have a regular episode review sticky up every week. You're officially an established member of the board with your own responsibilities *sobs* They grow up so fast...!

[tlionheart78]

nabusan said:

Ah, I remember being the reason you first started to post on rs.net ;D And look at you now, five months on and you have a regular episode review sticky up every week. You're officially an established member of the board with your own responsibilities *sobs* They grow up so fast...!

And I have you to thank for it nabu. If you never said this, I may have been a lurker for quite a looooong time.

[Avenger]

Oh ho! Another one year anniversary! Mr. Lionheart... this is your life!

Even though you were lurking for the first six months, I think your activity the last six months more than makes up for it. ;D

But you don't have to take my word for it... let's take your's:

tlionheart78 said:

Man, I can't believe I'm doing this, but here goes. Granted, I got into KP early on this year after So The Drama, but better late than never. I'm just thankful that there's going to be a fourth season early next year. As for a personal life, I graduated from college last year, and I really enjoy drawing and writing. However, I'm in a bit of an artist's block because I'm currently in debt from dealing with car repairs from my job.

I know there's a long period between the day I signed up, but it's not what you guys think. I've been really aprehensive (not to mention very nervous) about actually posting here. It's VERY difficult for me to make myself noticed or to even start or even carry on a conversation. But from getting a couple for PM's and from reading the following link from nabusan (yeah, I realise he's going to be gone for a week, but I hope he notices this later on) on the Mental Retardation thread ronstoppable.proboards89.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1158241782&page=1#1158243619 I felt that maybe I should show myself some more round here.

Anyway, just figured I do the intro thing here. I'm a very busy guy right now, and though I visit here quite frequently, I'm not too used posting anything yet. I hope this will change in the near future.

Later guys.

Aww... look at you, taking your first baby steps into that brave new world that is RS.net. I know it must have been scary at first...

tlionheart78 said:

Thanks for making me feel welcome guys. I'm still a bit aprehensive about posting due to my A.S. (Asperger's Syndrome), so I'll plan on putting up a thread in the "Ask Me" section sometime tomorrow. I think that'll get me more comfortable with posting more around here. I'm too tired from driving around town all day.

Oh, and to Ash and Avenger:

Ash, sorry for putting you on freak out mode every time I showed up here. BTW, as a fellow writer, I'm curious about your work...

Avenger, your army come with health benefits??? ;D

...concerned about how people could react to your Asperger's Syndrome. But, you forged ahead, already planning to start an "Ask Me" thread. (Which took me about 4 months of constant posting here before I even became comfortable with that idea.) Not only that, you were already willing to pledge your loyalty to the Army. And to me, a notorioulsy volatile and insensitive jerk!

You even prepared yourself for the onslaught of Nabu's merciless "Ask Me" salvo...

tlionheart78 said:

nabusan said:

OMG, tlionheart78! I feel so flattered! I meant every word of that post

Anyhoo - welcome to the mad house! I'm nabusan, the resident Slash Shipper, Ron Lover, fan artist and general weirdo I see you've already started an ask me thread, so be on the look out for loadsssss of questions sometime today Lastly *welcome hug*, think of rs.net as a home away from home!

Dude, I was just about to PM ya.

Anyway, I welcome the questionare! Just don't limit yourself on my disability. Ask me anything you like. I'm looking forward to it.

BTW, thanks to everyone else who greeted me here.

...and came out the other side mostly intact:

tlionheart78 said:

The first of nabusan's questions....

1. What do you think of slashy ships, i.e. Ron/Felix, Kim/Shego?
-Meh, I don't care much for male slash fics, as for Kim/Shego I have a 75% don't care, 25% want-to-read with them. The 25% comes when I have a curiosity or need for some femslash.

2. What was the last 'intimate' dream you had?
-I hardly ever remember my dreams, sorry!

3. Are you a member of any other KP communities? SDS, ARA, MKP?
-I'm just a member of this one. I found a lot more folks with presonality here.

4. What KP merchandise do you own?
-I only have all the episodes on my computer. Best thing about it is get a PSP and a media manager program and you got KP on the go! ;D

5. Do you have all the episodes?
-See above.

6. Look in the nearest waste-paper-bin, what do you see?
-Pamphlet for a local job fair.

7. Does your bedroom have any posters on the walls? If so, what are they of?
-Yep. I got three D&D/Dragon posters, a poster painting called "Earthshrine", a Monty Python and the Holy Grail poster, and a map of the world (not technically a poster, but great to have on the wall).

8. What's the last movie you saw at the cinema?
-Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Man's Chest

9. Which friend of yours have you known the longest?
-I lost contact with most of my friends, so I can't really answer that one.

10. What level of the foodchain do you consider yourself?
-Foodchains are overrated and out of date, IMHO.

11. Five words to describe your personality?
-Artistic, thoughtful, open-minded, open-hearted, bizarre.

12. What hobbies/interests do you have aside from KP?
-Writer, artist, reader, and a major gamer! ;D

13. Last DVD you bought?
-The Princess Bride - Dread Pirate Edition

14. Favorite movie?
-Star Wars Series and the Lord of the Rings trilogy

15. Have you seen 'Interview With The Vampire'?
-Nope. Curious about both the book and movie, though.

16. Do you have any talents?
-Anything along the line of artistic talent, mainly drawing and singing (I like singing in private. Can't do that in front of people)

17. What do you wear when you sleep? Jammies etc?
Just my boxers and that's it.

18. Where is the computer you are using located?
-My room.

19. Do you own a cellphone?
-Big time. Very essential to my job as a pizza delivery driver.

20. Last time you cried?
-Probably when my ex-girlfriend broke up with me a year ago.

21. Have you listened to the KP Soundtrack?
-Not really. Does hearing the music from watching the shows count?

Stopping for right now, but more answers to come later! Right now, I need a bath/shower and I got a major headache.

And, with just a few posts under your belt, you began your meteoric rise to RS.net stardom.


You destroyed Paris Hilton:

tlionheart78 said:

nabusan said:

Bwhaha that too

But you have to admit, hot stuff(!!!!).....................................nah.

FIXED!!! ;D

Heck, nabu, I'm straight, and even I find her repulsive!

Introduced us to Pink Floyd as a lullaby:

tlionheart78 said:

Okay. I don't know how many of you guys are Pink Floyd fans, but I was browsing around one of the local music stores and I encountered this little..."gem???"

www.babyrockrecords.com/web/page.asp?pgs=product&catid=41&id=1049

Quote from the CD and website: "We couldn’t think of a band more deserving of the lullaby treatment than Pink Floyd. The sounds of this legendary group speak to the parts of the brain that are wide awake during that lovely dream state called REM. They are musical journeys to the bright side of the moon and beyond. While your child is comfortably sleeping, these lullabies will work to open their mind’s eye as only Pink Floyd can. Your crazy little diamond is going to shine on in a dreamland courtesy of Baby Rock. You’re gonna wish you were there."

Long story short, I saw this and nearly died from laughing so hard in the store. If you heard any of Floyd's lyrics, *sarcasm* then you just KNOW that the content is really appropriate for babies to fall asleep to. */sarcasm*

Your guys' thoughts?

Became an imposing force in the world's, nay, the universe's most powerful Army:

tlionheart78 said:

avenger said:

Please welcome tlionheart78, our newest member.

Unfortunately he just missed our greatest operation so far. But don't worry... there's plenty more, and plenty better, to come.

And look, Shads! He cooks up the bacon! yum, yum.

I thank you for your welcome. Though I have slight regrets for missing your last missions, I wanted to see you guys in action. I dared not join an army who was rewarded with failures after each mission. Your past successes has inspired me to bring my skills to the table.

Preferred weapon of choice:

Now, if you all will excuse me, I'm off to the kitchen. Who likes their bacon extra crispy?

Oh, BTW, Avenger: A. You forgot to mention my cooking skills in my profile in your OP. I'm very proud of those skills! And B. What are those two brats doing with a laser outside??

And even taught us some important lessons:

tlionheart78 said:

tlionheart78 said:

I kinda figured it'd be hard to understand at first. I'll break it down as soon as I can, okay hon? Got to get up early in the morning and it's gonna suck...

I hope this helps some:

Asperger Syndrome is basically a form of high functioning autism which mainly affects one's communication and social skills. The most significant traits of A.S. include

* Limited interests or preoccupation with a subject to the exclusion of other activities (for example, I may be focused on gaming or reading and could care less about other activities)

* Repetitive behaviors or rituals (I have a set schedule and a certain way of doing things.)

* Peculiarities in speech and language (Some people might think I'm dyslexic and I often repeat my words without thinking)

* Socially and emotionally inappropriate behavior and interpersonal interaction (Yeah, it's hard to read others' emotions, but for me, it's almost impossible for me to that)

* Problems with nonverbal communication

* Clumsy and uncoordinated motor movements (I occasionally mishandle some objects, but those are rare moments.)

Though those are prominent traits, typically the three big factors with A.S. are social impairments (basically how I converse with other people), narrow but intense interests, and peculiarities of speech and language. That's all that I can say for now. This entry, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_spectrum_disorder may break it down to simple terms as to the traits of autism.

If you got other questions, feel free to ask.

tlionheart78 said:

This post is in relation to the following thread: ronstoppable.proboards89.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1158241782

"But please you must forgive me, I am old but still a child" - Brian May, All Dead, All Dead. Performed by Queen on News of the World. (I often think of myself when I hear this lyric. It best describes how my mind has progressed. Granted I may have aged through the years, but my mind has quite a bit of catching up to do.)

I've been a member of this board since February, but it wasn't until that thread that I finally decided to start making myself known here. This was mainly due to a brief mentioning of autism there. Now, what I'm about to give here is going to be a long and descriptive post, so please bear with me. While it may seem that I'm going to discuss autism directly, my intention is to explain my experiences as someone who was diagnosed as mentally challenged/disabled. Keep in mind though that I fully respect and am pleased that there are a lot of you that consider those words as insults and would rather not use those terms, but for the purposes of this post, I'm neutralizing their negativity because parts of my mind has been disabled the way that parts of a machine have been disabled. There may be parts not working properly, yet the machine is still running fine and smoothly.

As I've mentioned before, when I was a toddler in the late 70's/early 80's, I was diagnosed with a brain disorder that was rather new at the time: Autism. In reality, as time wore on, it became evident that I was actually diagnosed with a higher-functioning form of autism commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome (I will use A.S. for short). This arose not only from these diagnoses from my time as a toddler, but I was also put through psychiatric tests and examinations to find out what kind of resource (or special needs) level I would be at while I was in Middle and High School. Now I'm not going to get into detail about these disorders, but I'll explain a few things in brief: Autism, and A.S.

AUTISM - I'm sure many of you may have seen news footage about autism, seen movies concerning the subject (most notably "Rain Man"). I'm taking the definition from Merriam-Webser's Medical Dictionary found at dictionary.reference.com/browse/autism : a developmental disorder that appears by age three and that is variable in expression but is recognized and diagnosed by impairment of the ability to form normal social relationships, by impairment of the ability to communicate with others, and by stereotyped behavior patterns especially as exhibited by a preoccupation with repetitive activities of restricted focus rather than with flexible and imaginative ones.

A.S. - Again from Merriam-Webster: a developmental disorder characterized by impaired social and occupational skills, by normal language and cognitive development, and by restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities often with above average performance in a narrow field against a general background of deficient functioning called also Asperger's disorder ( dictionary.reference.com/browse/Asperger%20Syndrome ). As I stated before I have this type of autism.

Now I want to go back to the original post. One of The Man's concerns was the fact that his friend was picked on a lot. I can understand what this guy went through because I went through a lot of teasing though most of my childhood. This arose from the fact that I had narrowed or zoned in my interests to my hobby: playing video games. It grew to an unhealthy obsession for me that it was all I could talk, draw, or even think about. Now, let's add in a few common traits of austim to that one I mentioned: limited interactions with others, the inability to from lasting relationships, and not recognizing one's emotions (I know that it's hard enough to read another person's emotion's, but for me, it's a near impossibility). A lot of my peers were having fun with this teasing, but I because of my introvertness due to my disability, I felt that I was being laughed and taunted at because of my interests. By the time I reached my high school years, I resolved that I would not let my obsessions take a hold of me; however, this made me worse at social interactions. A several peers either believed that I would turn out to be some kind of psychotic killer or just some kind of major nerd or something (one guy even asked me if I owned any pocket protectors. ). Now, I'm sure that there's a lot of you guys saying that I could've stand up to these people, or something along those lines. I have often thought about that, but the thing with me is that my mind would not even let me process how I would handle the whole interaction process: from the confrontation, conflict, all the way to the aftermath. Why? Because of several factors: I processed much of my daily routines to a ritual (if I broke that ritual, I wouldn't know how to handle it), my mind would not know what to let me say or act towards these people, and, of course, my social introvertness. With all of that on the table, it's safe to say that yes, I had dealt with a lot of rough obstacles in my life up to this point.

Now that I've realized that the cause of my social problems had a name (I didn't find out about my autism until it was in my later years in high school in my resource classes), I did some occasional research on the disability. Among the good things that I found out was the high skill levels in scientific or artistic fields. Upon reflection, I looked back and remember that one thing that had saved a small part of my social life was my artwork. Granted, I will admit, I eyeballed nearly all of my work then, but for me, it was practice for improving my skills on the human figure (I never had such success in the past with drawing people). And a lot of people thought that my work was really good (and it gave me confidence in myself). Plus, I realized I had skills as a creative writer in my sophomore year. With all the negativity I had socially experienced in my public school years, I was rather thankful that there was some positive things about my disability. And I was determined to at least enhance those skills. Thus why I went on to a community college (for an art history degree) and to our local university (University of Tennessee) and got my B.A. in English (concentration in Creative Writing). I was able to look past my defects and was able to focus more on the positive points of my "disability."

One thing that I'd like to say in closing (why am I hearing all this cheering in the background?? is that yes, I'm aware that there are organizations and groups available to those who are disabled. I strongly feel that parents have every right help their children with these kind of problems. I went through psychiatrists and mental tests myself as I reached my teenage years to help my parents understand how severe my disability was. Yet, there is one thing I want to point out here. You can subject the mentally handicapped to many kinds of treatment in order for them to overcome their disability. But that's about all you can do, overcome the problem and not cure it. Granted, I still have social interaction problems due to my autism, and that's something that I've come to live with. Heck it's still very hard for me to post something on RS.net sometimes because my mind is always afraid that I might come up with a post that will either offend someone or I might make a post to where no one can understand what I'm saying. But, through that, I've found many gifts (my art and writing skill, for example) that I don't want to give up on if my disability was taken away. Yes, the mentally handicapped have it really hard. I should know, since I was diagnosed as autistic (I stated before that I'm actually supposed to be diagnosed as having Asperger's syndrome). But we manage to overcome it as best as we can.

Now that I'm done with this essay, I'm willing to answer as much questions as I can. I really want to stay on topic here, K? I just want to point out though, I didn't make this post to have pity dumped on me or to draw attention to myself. I'm just seeking some closure to my past. I'm doing as fine as I can for the present, and I want to move on to a brighter future.

EDIT: I've added an Newsweek article that was on the stands about a few weeks ago. This was so big that it made the cover page of the magazine. I'll explain more over on page3.

You've indeed come a long way, Lionheart. From lurker, you've quickly become one of RS.net's most prominent and productive members. Even going so far as managing the review threads for Season 4 of Kim Possible:

Ill-Suited
Big Job
Cupid Effect
Trading Faces
Car Alarm
Mad Dogs & Aliens
Grande Size Me

You've even created your own ProBoards message board, celebrating my favorite technological achievement ever, the Wii!

Wii Network (visit it, everyone! Let's make it just as successful as RS.net. ;D)


And I'll leave you with some of your most profound words of wisdom:

tlionheart78 said:

ashleybenlove said:

Do you like your armpits?

And as towards my bum and pits, yeah. I think they're sexy...

avenger said:

Do you like my armpits?

Awesome. Shaved or not, a pit's a pit. ;D

Congratulations on one year, Lionheart!

May your wit and wisdom still grace us one year hence.

[tlionheart78]

Wow, Avenger. You did a lot of digging in my list of posts to find some examples of what I've done in the past! I applaud your efforts, and thank you for your tribute. Let's hope that I become a bit more productive in the future.

[nabusan]

Wow, Avenger - that's totally gonna be your thing now! Doing one year anniversary stuff for peeps! It brought back some good memories; that Paris Hilton pic gave me a larf ;d

[Ashley Benlove]

My gay best friend and the hot random dude that I wanna do...

I didn't say that.

both kinda said how I feel, so I'm just gonna say congrats and you rock our socks!

Plus, I got class in 15 minutes! ;D

Psychology is always fun.

[Avenger]

ashleybenlove said:

My gay best friend and the hot random dude that I wanna do...

Which one's which?

[nabusan]

Wow Avenger, didn't know you swung both ways

[Ashley Benlove]

Nabu is my gay best friend and Avy is the other guy.

[Avenger]

nabusan said:

Wow Avenger, didn't know you swung both ways

Well... I don't know how Ashley thinks. I figured she wanted to do you, too. (and she could have been talking about Lionheart, too. This is his thread, after all...)

ashleybenlove said:

Nabu is my gay best friend and Avy is the other guy.

But now I know!


Did anybody go sign up for the Wii Network, yet?

[tlionheart78]

avenger said:

Well... I don't know how Ashley thinks. I figured she wanted to do you, too. (and she could have been talking about Lionheart, too. This is his thread, after all...)

....

Did anybody go sign up for the Wii Network, yet?

First of all, even if Ashley did want me, I'd probably would've refused because I wouldn't know how to act. Either that or I'm just not interested in a relationship right now. And I probably won't be for a long time.

Second, I think the Wii Network hasn't caught on yet. I think I need some helpful advice on getting it going before it really becomes a bustling place (like getting noticed on google, etc.)

I look at it this way, I've done some searching, and I haven't even seen any other Wii specific forums as of yet, so I'm hoping that's a good thing.

[Ashley Benlove]

i don't even know what you look like, tlion.

I know what Avy and Nabu look like, so... of course I want them.
I just want Ron even more.

[tlionheart78]

ashleybenlove said:

i don't even know what you look like, tlion.

I know what Avy and Nabu look like, so... of course I want them.
I just want Ron even more.

I've seen Nabu, but not Avy. As for a pic of me, be patient. I'm waiting until the current "What do you look like" thread reaches 500 pages. When the new one shows up, I'd like to grab the first page. ;D So have patience. I'll be on there eventually.