I've realized today that I have a gift. A gift from God.
The first thing that people see in me is my analytical nature, and that I naturally have a talent with computers. Then they try to figure me out based on that. It doesn't take long for them to figure out that I don't fit the stereotype.
First, let me describe the stereotypes:
THE APPLES:
THE CONCRETE THINKER (such as an IT professional). Always a pessimistic person. Never thinks outside of the box. Usually a quite argumentative person who never gets any sleep. Someone on my career path is more likely to be seen as the fat geezer that sits in a closet and stares at a computer screen all day, eats Hot Pockets and drinks can after can of "Bawls" (an energy drink, for those of you who don't know). They have no social skills, and no way with pleasing people, but for good reason. The only time people talk to them is when something is wrong with their computer. They're usually in a nervous wreck and, "I NEED MY COMPUTER WORKING NOW!!!!" (Just a tip, guys. That doesn't make these guys work any faster.) The IT guy is at home in his little closet because the computer doesn't talk back. The computer doesn't complain about deadlines, and it always does what it's told to do. Computers ALWAYS respond the same way in the same circumstances.
But then it takes a special kind of person to deal with something inanimate, that you can't curse at, or inflict pain on, when something goes wrong.
That's where we have the other end of the spectrum.
THE ORANGES:
THE ABSTRACT PEOPLE-PEOPLE. The kinds of people who do more abstract thinking. The kinds of people that like to dream of the possibilities. The kind of people that invest themselves in people; the "super-social" types of people that are really good at communicating. They're excellent with kids and people, and many of them ponder psychology as a career, at some point. They understand people very well, and they desire to be able to help those in distress. They're kinda like the fixit for relationships.
So many times, though, there are some of these people that get frustrated when they see a problem that they've seen before. They remember how they've handled it, but the problem is that the solution that worked the last time doesn't work this time around. Why not?
The way most people think is that there is a textbook for everything. A textbook that tells you how to fix a computer. A self-help book that tells you how you can lose 30 lbs in 14 days. A manual that tells you how to make your VCR stop flashing "12:00". I've even seen some guy on TV that claims that he has the solution to "Change Your Kid's Behavior in Under 1 Minute". (Apparently, kids now come with a manual, too).
So, these people often get excited when they take their first Psych class in college. There are answers to every kind of deviant behavior. There's answers to how to train your dog. There's answers to why your kids are rebellious. But the funny thing is that, these things don't always work. Why is it that people want to have a solution for everything?
You always hear that "everyone is different", but it amazes me how many people don't REALLY realize that. There's this unhealthy obsession with people wanting to put people into categories, and think that the same principles apply to all of the people within that group, which simply isn't true.
MIXING THE ORDINARY WITH THE EXTRAORDINARY, you get....A fun game of Apples and Oranges.
Now God decides to make ME, and put me smack right in the middle of the two extremes. The first thing that people see in me is that I'm an odd kind of a guy who has the most bizarre combination of interests, and that I naturally have a talent with computers. And if that's all they know, they draw all kinds of false conclusions. They figure that I'm reclusive, that I eat a lot of junk food and energy drinks (ugh), that I don't like to talk, and that I listen to techno or electronica, I have no sense of style, and that I have no life, whatsoever.
It doesn't take long for people to figure out that I don't fit the stereotype of the computer junkie and that it's ALL WRONG. I'm hardly withdrawn [anymore]. I don't eat much sweets or junk, I HATE energy drinks (the makings of a wicked, non-alcoholic hangover), I don't listen to techno/electronica (I prefer music with much more class, see above), I've got an awesome life (that part's subjective), a GREAT sense of style, and I CERTAINLY don't have any problem talking or writing a lot (as you can see).
I've also got a healthy blend of both of the above stereotypes and I feel that it places me with a unique opportunity. I believe that God has put me in my particular job for a reason. You have the people that know gobs about computers, but they have no social skills. And you also have the people that have GREAT people skills, but don't know squat about a computer. Then God created this freakish hybrid of a personality that does BOTH and, VOILA! (I feel like Remy in Ratatouille, when he discovers that the combination of strawberries and pineapples creates a flavor totally different than what either of the two can accomplish alone.)
I've been blessed with the gift of patience with both inanimate objects, as well as people. It's a unique combination, and I understand that the two don't usually come in the same package. Therefore I feel it as my obligation to make the most of it, while I'm out at my job. (Read my first post, if you haven't heard about my new job).
Well, that's a wrap! Love ya, guys and gals!
