I’m a magazine editor, and we’re always working months ahead – we’re currently mopping up the January issue, getting started on the February issue, and I’ve got a few things for the March issue (and one for the April issue, come to think of it) on my to-do list for next week.
The weird mental side-effect of this is that, starting usually in late August or so, I have absolutely no idea what year it is. I have to stop and think – hard – when writing a check to figure out what year we’re currently in, because 90% of the dates I’m bandying about (cover dates, future deadlines, etc.) are for '07. Usually things with “today’s” date – when I’m initialling my approval on something – is just month and date, not year, so that doesn’t really help.
Yesterday I was talking with a freelancer about a series of short pieces he’s going to do for me, and I said " '08" in reference to a date for next year – because I’m so " '07" oriented now, that when you add a year because it’s next year, well, there you are, smack dab in the middle of 2008.
Does anyone else have weird mental quirks that go with the territory in your job?
I’ve been working as an editor/ translator for a software company for 3 years now.
The most noticeable side effect of the subject matter, and spending a lot of time with programmers and coding types is that it’s significantly influenced the way I dream.
Dreams in code (I can’t program myself), dreams of being an program/ application, and dreams which include graphical representations of certain grammatical structures. Of course, this doesn’t have much impact on people I interact with, but it does keep my colleagues amused.
I’m also, interestingly, much happier being around numbers now (although my arithmetical and mathematical skills are still non-existent). Previously flight numbers and product codes used to send me into a flat spin, but I’m now quite happy with KL1229, as opposed to having to translate this into ‘the KLM Amsterdam - Paris 8am flight’.
I don’t think that the above necessarily comes with the territory. Just a mindless pointless thing to share, provoked by the OP.
I work in technical support for my company. I take calls coming in from all over the country, and some districts have a distinct “personality” when it comes to their ineptitude with computers. (Leading theory is that this is due to attitudes set by significant members of management within these districts.) This leads me to believe that, for example, not a single person in San Antonio, TX can screw in a light bulb, let alone figure out how to unplug a computer from the electrical outlet. Their ability to follow instructions is lacking, as well. How San Antonians manage to make it to work each day without drowning in the Potomac river is beyond me.
In my work as an Office Supervisor, it is noe my job to put together yesterday’s deposit and paperwork. So I spend the first hour or two every morning writing yesterday’s date on everything, and the rest of the day thinking it’s yesterday. Which gets really confusing when I have a day off and suddenly I’ve lost two days.
Similar to that, I work as a business systems consulting analyst focusing on business databases and information analysis. When I first started in the field, I was shocked when I found out that most people cannot think logically at all. I don’t just mean the general public, I mean people in the business up to vice presidents. People ask me for very complicated reports and analyses all the time and simply can’t describe how I might go about doing that logically speaking. The last time this happened, I was designing an electronic process 10’s of millions of dollars worth of money transfers between several companies every month. I am pretty good at guessing and playing detective with whatever nuggets of info I can extract from lots of different people so I just do the best I can. I can never be sure if it is right but the flip side is that most people are incapable of figuring out it is wrong.
The effect is that I am very wary of the way most other people think about things and I find it hard to trust the judgements and conclusions that most other people have. I too wonder how they handle the more complex things in their life at all. I suppose many of them don’t or at least not well.
When I worked as an ESL teacher, I caught myself talking v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y and stilting my words even when talking outside of class. People would give me funny looks. I suppose they might even have felt insulted that I was talking to them as if they would have trouble understanding me.
As a grad student, I can’t have a conversation with any of my peers without some literary/philosophical link/analogy being made in there somewhere. It’s depressing!
From my journalism background, I tend to listen more than I talk, but when I talk, I talk in paragraphs — lead sentence, supporting details, on the one hand, but on the other hand.
I’ve caught myself using methods I use to clean artifacts in the museum in which I work when I’m cleaning the house. I’ve had a couple occasions to ask myself, “Why am I standing here, gently rubbing burned-on grease from that pot? Get a fuckin’ Brillo Pad, girl! Sheesh!”
And that’s not to mention the number of times that I’ve answered the phone saying, “[Museum Name] This is Lissa. How may I help you?” I’ve had several people say “Oops! Wrong number”, and hang up before I could confess that I’m an idiot,
I’m a librarian. When I see alphabetized lists that file titles beginning with “a” or “an” under “a” and titles beginning with “the” filed under “t” it literally sets my teeth on edge.
I work as a 3D character animator, I also do modelling, texturing, lighting, camera work, etc…
I never look at the things around me like a normal person, I take notice of and analyze the different gaits of people walking around, I find myself mesmerized on the texture of a mossy wall or evaluating the light dispersion in a room.
One time I was walking along the road when I looked at a concrete curb ramp which had some indented lines, I thought to myself “that polygon topology is not the most efficient configuration…” I rummaged about that for a minute or so and then realized that real life things don´t have any 3D polygon topology. :smack:
It happens to me all the time, I look at something and I wonder what kind of wiremesh structure would better represent it´s shape.
After twenty years working in an intelligence agency (where I frequently have to show my badge to security guards when entering and/or exiting), I’ve caught myself reaching for my not-there badge when passing a security guard at a bank or mall entrance.
I once dated a psychiatric nurse practitioner, and she seemed to always assume everyone she meet was a little crazy, which is understandable if most of your day is spent around people who are crazy. There’s an old joke about a crusty old psychiatrist being introduced to the queen of Greece. “OK”, says the doc wearily. “And how long has she believed she’s the queen of Greece?”
I tend to lecture on trivial matters at the drop of a hat, and find myself answering simple questions like “Where is the vacuum?” with responses like “The vacuum cleaner, invented in 1846 by Bernardo Vacuum, was first used as a weapon by Bulgarian mercenaries during the War of Sally’s Elbow” or “You need to check your notes for that information. It was in the reading I assigned last week.”
When I was on the road I had difficulty remembering where I was. When on the phone I would frequently be asked my location and, more often than not, I couldn’t recall. Sometimes it would come to me after a few seconds of concentration and sometimes I would just say whatever came to mind. I also had trouble keeping track of the day of the week, I knew the date, but not the day. Of course I was covering 5-6 hundred miles a day.
I’ve worked in a prison for 25 years. I’ve long since gotten into the habit at work of always knowing where my keys are. And I now do it everywhere - I never get locked out of anyplace because I never close a door until I’ve checked my keys.
I work in education, so the year starts in September. Something that happened in July of 06 happened last year. I’ve confused friends and family when trying to plan personal things for “next” year because I’m always thinking academic year.
Also, my fingers want to type .edu at the end of every email address or url. Even if I chant in my head “it’s gmail.com, it’s gmail.com” as I am getting ready to email a friend, about half the time .edu ends up there instead. It’s sad that I’ve gotten to the point where I assume the bounced back error message is part of the normal routine of sending emails.
Oh, I forgot the best one, the Ctrl-Z reflex.
For example, I´m building a model plane and accidentaly break something, my first thought is to press Ctrl-Z in the keyboard to “undo” the damage.
As a baker, going to work at 5:45 AM actually feels late! Most bakers go in before that, and I usually do too. Leaving work at 2:00PM feels late, not early.
