2mo ago

What are some subtle/small influences from your past that help shape the person you are today?

I always forget we are creatures of habit till that moment hits. I have a relative who is a woodworker, but the reality is they just love collecting wood because they worked at a sawmill as a teenager and talking about wood was all his peers did. I also have a friend who wears the same cologne since childhood because a crush once complimented them on it.

I suppose always being the "good friend" (in their parents eyes) made me more sociable, so now I avoid "events" because I just feel like it's a game and I don't want my interactions with other people to feel that way (love small gatherings with a purpose though, the Amish got it right with the barn raising).

What are some that you've experienced personally or through someone close to you?

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I had a coworker randomly suggest that we needed a union one night while we were shit talking the CEO. It intrigued me, but I didn't actually think much about it. 3 years later I helped form the largest union in our industry.
- Hell yeah!

A teacher telling us to wash our hands after school
I took it a bit too much at heart now I wash my hands 100~200 of times / day
Yes they are as dry as they can be

I once had someone I knew pull a gun on me when I was 14 and had to fight it off them before they could switch off the safety. 11 years later, I still get anxious if I'm talking to someone and I can't see both their hands, they have their hands in their pockets etc until both hands are in sight
- I'm sorry that happened to you. So unfair.
  
  Thank u for ur kindness stranger and hey life's never fair yk, we move on with things as best as we're able to and hope for better
- Well.. shite
- America?

Pick up any trash that I touch/step on/kick and dispose of it into the nearest bin.
This started from the bottles and soda cans kicking, I just loved how they sound when kicked to the max. I still do to this day :)
My dad hated it so much. He probably smacked my young tush once or twice for that. So i would pick the dirty bottles and cans (filthy and dusty at this point) if he's in the vicinity and kick them hard out far back. Yap, I know how silly this is. He still heard the kick sounds, tho LoL
So he came with a truce: "You wanna kick bottles? Fine. You kick a bottle, you ensure a proper disposal of it on the bin."
He even gave me a tactic to kick them higher up that day LoL

Recently, my supervisor at work was berating my friend over something ridiculous. I was standing 2 feet away when it occurred. I was surprised at how it oddly put me back into my childhood, reminding me of when my dad would scream at my mom and I was powerless to stop it. I ended up blubbering some nonsense to try to distract my supervisor, but it didn't really work. It's frustrating to not be able to protect those you care about. I guess it's in my nature to want to fiercely defend the people who I am loyal to, but I also don't have a way to do it without getting myself or the person I am defending in trouble.
- If it was less "come on dude you've worked here for x years this isn't hard" and more "you're a stupid piece of shit that frankly should quit now", you have a lot of power. Bully managers are real, and always need to be pushed out of their position of power. It's always hard speaking out in the moment, but you tried and that's what you should remember. You can't go back now to reassert yourself, but you could still take action by reporting it to the company, or asking how your coworker felt about the interaction.
  
  My supervisor is a bit of a bully at times, but it's not so direct and frequent that I have much of a case for HR, unfortunately. Especially because I often act irrationally with her specifically when my buttons are pushed. If I was a better employee in terms of interpersonal relationships, I could potentially build more of a "case" against her. As it stands, she has plenty of "evidence" to get me fired if I spoke up.
  In that particular instance, there was a miscommunication about the lunch schedule. My friend did something to attempt to be helpful, but there was some confusion and it did not go over as intended. My supervisor accused my friend of having a "conspiracy theory" about the lunch schedule, then proceded to lecture her about how much "time was wasted" in the confusion.
  My supervisor actually often makes valid points. She just acts like a condescending bitch when she does so.

I wonder about this but am not sure. I was an avid reader and collected comics so I wonder how much the authors and even artists influenced my world view. I was put through catholic school and it must have had some sort of effect. I like a lot of progressive/newwave/alternative rock bands which is just filled with social commentary and meaning. I can't point to any specific thing which then effected how I act though.

My late uncle was really into computers. He was around 20 years older than me and as I kid I got to play around with his computers. My first time accessing the Internet was at his place too.
If it wasn't for these experiences, I probably wouldn't have made a career in IT myself.
Unfortunately I never got to "talk shop" with him but I like to think he is somewhere out there watching and guiding me.

An artist I followed fell off the internet and it made me a data hoarder.
In the AOL era.

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