AUTISTIC NICK’S WEEK
It is the summer of 1983, and precocious 17-year-old Elio Perlman is spending the days with his family at their 17th-century villa in Lombardy, Italy. He soon meets Oliver, a handsome doctoral student who is working as an intern for Elio’s father. Amid the sun-drenched splendour of their surroundings, Elio and Oliver discover the heady beauty of awakening desire over the course of a summer that will alter their lives forever.
I’m sorry no it’s not the summer of 1983, its 2021 and currently here in Perth, it’s a dark and gloomy day with heavy rain belting down the reminiscence from an overnight cyclone.
How I wish I were Elio, and I was staying in an 17th-century villa in Lombardy, Italy. The thought of spending time with an Italian man named Oliver amid the sun-drenched splendour of our surroundings.
Currently the weather in Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy on Sunday the 11/4/21 at 5:00 am is partly cloudy.
Sadly, no sun-drenched splendour surroundings for me.
I’m currently facing a dark grey cloudy gloomy day, although my week was a little better.
MONDAY
I awake from my slumber after experiencing a dream about Lombardy and 17th-century villa’s. A quick google search tells me that if I wished to travel to Italy, I would have to quarantine for 14 days required after entry. I decide against it and have pasta for lunch instead. But not before an intense workout in my garage. I have a zoom meeting scheduled for 11am to work with a mentor from the screen writing industry.
TUESDAY
I do a quick google search before I head to the gym. According to google Lombardy is a region in Northern Italy. Its capital, Milan, is a global hub of fashion and finance, with many high-end shops and restaurants. After reading this I will fit right in! If I didn’t have to quarantine for 14 days after arrival. I hit the gym hard and then check emails afterwards to see if any feedback and homework has been given and set before we meet up again in 2 weeks’ time.
WEDNESDAY
Gym again! I know I should be ripped like Chris Hemsworth or Italian actor Raffaello Balzo by now the amount of times that I’ve hit the gym this week! But sadly not! Begin working on my mentoring homework and instantly have a creative block! Ugh!
THURSDAY
My one on one with my exercise physiologist Jake. Jake is part exercise physiologist and part confidant. We always have a great gossipy session together. By this point we were discussing the various regional cheeses that are to be found in the Lombardy region of Italy which include
Robiola, Crescenza, Taleggio, Gorgonzola and Grana Padano. All of which are cheeses that I would enjoy on a meat and cheese platter as I watch the sun set from the balcony of my 17th-century villa. This is also the night when I prepare for work the next day.
I make sure that I had packed my backpack the night before, this meant packing a lunch, shaving, washing, and ironing an outfit suitable for work, making sure my car had enough petrol in it, my shoes were polished, I had my word search puzzle book and a pen, my work notebook, and a water bottle as well as my noise cancelling headphones. I also made sure that my phone was fully charged before I left home (I took my recharger with me). I have a quick look via a live webcam of what Lombardy looks like at night and it is magical.
FRIDAY
Head into the office with Beyonce’s crazy in love blasting through my headphones. I stop by the kitchen and make myself a mug of tea and then head to my desk and log in. Thus, my structured day at work begins.
How my day is structured
- I would come prepared with potential article ideas.
- My mentor and I would have a meeting at 10.30am to discuss those ideas and to see which ones would work best in an article.
- Nick to go away and research, email potential interviewees, etc.
- The mentor to come and check on Nick at 12.30 pm to see what progress he’s made.
- The mentor will be my first contact, if they are busy then my boss and editor is the next person I can go to for advice/help.
- Before Nick leaves for the day, he and his mentor will have a quick meeting to discuss what stage of the article process Nick is at.
- My boss/editor has also informed me that I can as long as I give notice work from home and they will check in on me via Zoom.
- If Nick feels overwhelmed, he can email/text either the mentor or the boss just to let them know that he’s heading outside/to his quiet room.
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
I usually take Saturday as my rest day. I like to do nothing and unwind and relax and process what’s happened on Friday at work. Sunday is the day when I usually write/come up with blog ideas!
Thus, my week ends!
Carry on the Conversation
As always, I can be found on Twitter:@AutisticNickAU
Thank you for reading and I will see you next time for more thoughts from across the spectrum.
Autistic Nick 