Three Psychologists Walk into a Bar...

[A guest post by Linda's roommate Leslie.]

Well, not a bar exactly, it was more of a party – an unbelievably socially-awkward party full of highly-functioning Autistic men. Unfortunately this is not the beginning of a joke; it’s actually how I spent this past Saturday night.

Because of a long string of events that include (but are not limited to) Craigslist, a small, tenacious Asian man, and a lemon farmer, Linda done got herself invited to a party. The only thing we knew about the party in advance was that: A, it was going to be a total sausage fest; B, that it was going to be primarily full of dotcomers, and C, that we wouldn’t know anyone there. I like sausage, strangers, and the internet, so I decided to join her. We figured we would bring some peeps too (some of whom, like me, work in the field of Psychology).

It’s always interesting when you find yourself in the company of people who are really different from the folks you’re normally surrounded by, isn’t it? It doesn’t happen very often, and I find that I kind of enjoy it when it does. It shakes up reality a little bit. Well, last night reality was shaken up in a pretty hardcore way when six delicious ladies (and one luscious dude) walked into a party full of strangers, none of whom were capable of making eye contact.

Truthfully though, it has nothing to do with hotness (although there was a lot of it – for those of you who haven’t met or seen Linda, allow me to let you in on a little secret: Total Babe). It has to do with basic social skills. When I have a party I like to make sure that my guests feel welcome. I look at them. I say hello. I might even go so far as to offer them a drink, or perhaps a place to put their jackets -- but there was curiously none of that last night, none of it. You would have thought we were invisible, and this is where the whole psychology thing becomes really fun. My friend Jen pointed out early on that at bare minimum they all had Asperger’s (a mild form of Autism), if not Autism itself, and she was totally right. We were, without a doubt, in the company of highly-functioning Autistic men – none of whom were capable of carrying on a conversation with us. It was like a convention. I don’t know how it happened, but it did, and I have to tell you it was fascinating.

I’m not sure what category of men Linda could add this to. Perhaps those she can’t date because they have no idea women are in the room?