While I’m at my desk at work, more often than not I’ll have my ear buds planted deep in my ears. Sure, I like my music, and it allows me to get a firmer appreciation for some CDs that I’ve been on the fence about. Really, more than that though, it allows me to block out the rest of the environment. It’s not that I don’t appreciate everyone around me, but in some cases blocking the world out allows me to get more work done. I recognize that I can’t always be an island, so I sometimes compromise by having on ear bud in and one ear open to listen to all of the chat topics around me. Lately I’ve been hearing my name in conjunction with “he’s a machine!”
I guess that label started sticking after the work effort I put in during the last code launch. I worked like a madman to whip the queue into submission. And whip it, I did. I’m kind of proud of it, because otherwise the queue would have just looked overwhelming. At some point my project manager just started saying that I was a machine. Fair enough. It was in a good light, right? I remember one time I replied to a request with: “Acknowledged.” Some people picked up on that and imitated me in a robotic voice. Sure, sure: fine. Now that it’s been a while, I’m just tired of it. When I hear my name in conjunction with “machine” I have to roll my eyes. These days the usage morphed to something like “Oh, I’m sure Jason can do it in half the time because he’s the machine, you didn’t know?” Ugh. Whatever.
Yeah, I guess it’s in a sense of admiration. At the same time, when I think of the word “machine” I think of something that’s devoid of emotion or feelings. Sure, give me a repetitive task, and I can probably brute force my way through it to completion. It’s not magic–it just requires focus. Unlike some robot though, I feel fatigue. There’s a risk of me feeling bored and unmotivated if I’m lacking stimulating work. Prick me, I bleed. Call me a machine if you want, but I’m so much more.
*sigh*
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2 comments
Black Prophet says:
Sat. December 20, 2008 at 12:40 am (UTC -5 )
TAke the Advice Scotty gave Laforge about captians: You have to keep their expectations low, so when you do something ordinary they think you are a miracle worker. Its always kept me in good stead.
Jay says:
Sat. December 20, 2008 at 9:48 pm (UTC -5 )
Set the bar low? Hahah. Yeah, I kind of like that. Problem is that doesn’t really lend itself well to team situations. As much as you don’t want to overplay your hand, you also don’t want to go too far under relative to the rest, know what I mean?