Cassie 🌻

Been off sick from work for two days. In that time, I've watched four series of #Taskmaster. The theme tune is echoing eerily around my head, and I'm sightly concerned how invested I am in the slow-burn relationship between @AlexHorne and @gdavies.

@Sara_Rose_G I have similar levels of subtlety when I am talking to my Spouse.

Spent lots of today giggling at the fact there was once a 'Bishop Otter' in Chichester. I immediately wanted to tell Arthur Shappey. (@JohnFinnemore, could you let him know?)

Been watching #Gogglebox - does Mary know she's got misophonia? I am flinching in sympathy every time her husband starts whistling or eating with his mouth open. 😟

ETA: Their autism guidelines recommend reading @littlehux's Stim anthology, so I think we're good! 😃

And then if they know, how's their level of knowledge around autism? Do they have more than a surface-level understanding? I have to be prepared to potentially educate new people, as well as just ... having a new job.

Really grateful for a four day weekend before I start my new job on Tuesday. It's going to be strange being the new person, learning new skills, new routines, but I'm excited.

@abi_angus Thank you! 😃

@asper_usual Good luck Cassie! Hope it goes well 🙂

@cjcrompton Thank you! I get to work with Excel all day, which is basically my dream. 😁

@lisaharveysmith Yess, smashing it! :)

@we_are_biscuit *pinches nose* I ... don't even want to know.

@penelopefriday He also hates and despises all cats, so it's not just the allergy thing. 😂 But thank you!

#AutChat A1: *cries in lack of pets* I've had rats before, and they were wonderful! I think I could have done more with them to enrich their lives, train them, etc. but they were great. I had a hamster and the difference was staggering. She wasn't "there" at all; not like rats.

A2: This is why I think a caged pet would be better for me to deal with, because I like interacting on my own schedule. It's hard to balance up everyone's needs and make sure that you're providing a good home/life for your pet. #AutChat

There's a really good guide on the PSDA website about choosing a pet suitable to your space/energy/costs: pdsa.org.uk/taking-care-of…

A1: (cont) Sadly my husband is allergic to cats, because I think they'd suit our life really well. We're looking to move soon, and ideally we'll find somewhere with enough space for a guinea pig cage. (A proper one, with tonnes of floor-space for them all to run about.)

#AutChat I think that animals can help so much, provide stability and emotional calm and just utter delight. (I don't have pets at the moment, and can't touch strangers' dogs, and it's killing me.)

I am so looking forward to starting my new job in a couple of weeks! I am so excited about all the new things I'm going to learn about data and Excel. 😊