My Father's Daughter

I have turned into a walking, talking, spiting image of my father. I don't know if it is a result of spending 40+ hours a week with him, or if I was doomed to this fate from the moment I was born. Here are just a few of the ways I have become my father.

1. I listen to AM radio. Yep. I do. I listen to talk radio all day. I start my morning with the drive from Bellingham to Lynden and I listen to the morning news and talk show. Then I spend the first hour or two listening to music on my computer and then I switch over to a live-online version of am radio and spend the rest of my day listening to various republican talk shows. It is interesting to hear the different topics being debated, discussed, and thoroughly torn apart by various hard-core republicans. Sometimes I am irritated by what someone has said enough to turn the radio off, but typically it will last through my drive back to Bellingham.

2. I have a strong need to control. I usually express this need in terms of organization and cleanliness, but I am noticing it escape in other forms. For example my bi-weekly safety meetings. It drives me crazy when Charlie will start with the meetings off with schedule checks, and job updates... that is supposed to come after the safety meeting discussion and updates. But it makes me even more crazy when he talks over me or makes me skip the team building activity for the week. Then, guaranteed, two days later he will ask me why I didn't do some sort of team building activity at the bi-weekly meeting. Sometimes I want to pull my hair out. Although, I do have to admit the office is looking wonderful. It is actually taking on the look of an actual place of business, rather than just some desks and computers in a shop office. I am very proud of what I have accomplished so far.

3. I have to be on my own schedule - NOT someone else's. Growing up, my Dad would had this saying he would use when we would forget something at home when we left for school. "Poor planning on your part, does not constitute an emergency on my part." This saying used to drive me crazy! I was going to be in trouble if Dad didn't bring my flute to school soon, I don't want to hear a lecture, I want you to get in the truck and bring my flute! Today - I live by this rule. I like to organize my day around what I want to accomplish, and when Dad comes into the office and wants me to give him my undivided attention on ten different topics, I want to pinch him, jab his ribs and go back to my work. I have my own things to get done. Just because you can't remember how to attach a file to your email, doesn't mean I have to put everything aside until you feel better. ...actually I do, that's my job.

4. It's My Way Or The Highway. I really do want things done my way. I try to be open to suggestions, but really, deep down, I just want them to conform to what I have already thought out. This doesn't transfer over to all areas of my life (at least I would like to think so), but it definitely shows up at work. It drives me crazy when Charlie puts something where I don't want it, or he doesn't follow my instructions. His idea of putting something away is to just throw it on my desk. (aka - I put it away). It drives me bonkers because I hate things on my desk. I think that is why he does it. Or he refuses to label things. He says he will remember what it is, but a week later he will ask me what this file is doing on his desk. Oh brother! He also keeps trying to take over the corner of my desk that is next to his desk. So I went out into the shop and found a long stick and use it to push his stuff off my desk and onto the floor. One day he will learn to knock it off.

Of course these are just a few, but they are the most obvious. I can see how one might see these traits as negative, but I see them as positive traits when used appropriately and in moderation. This is my task: To learn how to control my need for control. (hows that for a control freak! ha ha)