Growing up |
BeginningsI was born at the very beginning of my life. It was so long ago that I don't even remember that particular day. They say it was in February and somehow I believe them.
I had a difficult start. I had to learn to walk, talk, aim at the toilet. No one bothered to explain why this was important, but the undoubted authority of my parents made me do my best to meet these expectations. I walked at 0.7 years old, spoke shortly after, the rest is still kinda problematic, but I'm still learning. Fortunately, my development was not limited to these three things. There are still many skills i have problems with, but sometimes i have the opportunity to refine them, so there is still hope. |
As I was growing up, my older brother made sure my abilities didn't stop at the basics. Whatever task was to be performed, it was generously handed over to me, so that my brain would become more accurate in judging situations, my hands more efficient in dealing with adversity, and my hump would tower over my character. And indeed his tactics worked. Already in our childhood, he began to understand that there was more in my head than potentially should. So despite him being older (an perhaps wiser), sometimes, when he couldn't deal with some issue, he would come to me. All I could do was help, when help was needed. In the end, it was thanks to him that I acquired this power.
Solving more and more difficult tasks has increased the range of my abilities. But nothing in life is simple and transparent. When I was already well developed, it turned out that a big change in my life was waiting for me. It's time to go to school.
And i know what you think...
I mean... technically I don't know, but that's what they say... never mind... so...
I know what you think! You think all of us civilized people have experienced this, but with my skills, I was probably first at everything!
Nope. Nothing came by itself. I was never very good at anything in school. I thought about it for a long time and only when the school years ended I understood what the problem was.
I wasn't studying. Almost not at all...
It went like this: For reasons that are not very pleasant and which I will not bring up, I felt some kind of reluctance to study at home. All my knowledge that I had and which I used to continue my education was taken from lesson hours. Never from learning at home.
It was only when school ended and I discovered that some issues are more interesting than they were presented at school .... I understood that learning is not just memorizing unnecessary facts that will never be useful... sometimes it's memorizing facts that help to understand others things that allow us to understand yet another things, which in turn explain other things.
But then... it was too late. (Yes. Too late. You can start college at any age, but for the purposes of this story, let's assume it was too late.)
Solving more and more difficult tasks has increased the range of my abilities. But nothing in life is simple and transparent. When I was already well developed, it turned out that a big change in my life was waiting for me. It's time to go to school.
And i know what you think...
I mean... technically I don't know, but that's what they say... never mind... so...
I know what you think! You think all of us civilized people have experienced this, but with my skills, I was probably first at everything!
Nope. Nothing came by itself. I was never very good at anything in school. I thought about it for a long time and only when the school years ended I understood what the problem was.
I wasn't studying. Almost not at all...
It went like this: For reasons that are not very pleasant and which I will not bring up, I felt some kind of reluctance to study at home. All my knowledge that I had and which I used to continue my education was taken from lesson hours. Never from learning at home.
It was only when school ended and I discovered that some issues are more interesting than they were presented at school .... I understood that learning is not just memorizing unnecessary facts that will never be useful... sometimes it's memorizing facts that help to understand others things that allow us to understand yet another things, which in turn explain other things.
But then... it was too late. (Yes. Too late. You can start college at any age, but for the purposes of this story, let's assume it was too late.)
Adulthood
So after school came the time for an internship and... the army! Yes, after the internship was over, I got drafted and was put in group B1. Temporarily unable.
After a year... the same... after several months of specialized examinations I finally got put in group A and was assigned to 4390 and it was... interesting.
I generally wouldn't mention this, but the description of where and who I was there sounds really impressive... despite what I actually did there, but... that's not important... The full name of the place is: 25th Air Cavalry Brigade - Tomaszów Mazowiecki with a detachment to the 25th Command Battalion.
Yeees... read that again. Command Battalion. <rolls eyes>
Anyway, that's over. After I left, I took on various mundane jobs, both out of necessity for earning money and lack of belief that I could do something concrete... Sometimes quite literally mundane. I was an operator of a gasoline-powered lawn mower and dealt with difficult terrain. I was an employee in the advertising department at HM Tesco. I was employed at an advertising company that... I'd rather not remember. I worked at a company dealing with the conservation and maintenance of high-level greenery, again with a focus on difficult and hard-to-reach areas. I did things you haven't even dreamed of!
Or at least there's a small chance you have, because how often do you dream about strange and unusual career paths?
After a year... the same... after several months of specialized examinations I finally got put in group A and was assigned to 4390 and it was... interesting.
I generally wouldn't mention this, but the description of where and who I was there sounds really impressive... despite what I actually did there, but... that's not important... The full name of the place is: 25th Air Cavalry Brigade - Tomaszów Mazowiecki with a detachment to the 25th Command Battalion.
Yeees... read that again. Command Battalion. <rolls eyes>
Anyway, that's over. After I left, I took on various mundane jobs, both out of necessity for earning money and lack of belief that I could do something concrete... Sometimes quite literally mundane. I was an operator of a gasoline-powered lawn mower and dealt with difficult terrain. I was an employee in the advertising department at HM Tesco. I was employed at an advertising company that... I'd rather not remember. I worked at a company dealing with the conservation and maintenance of high-level greenery, again with a focus on difficult and hard-to-reach areas. I did things you haven't even dreamed of!
Or at least there's a small chance you have, because how often do you dream about strange and unusual career paths?
Timelessness
In any case, I did various things professionally, but I did more things as a hobby. I repaired bikes, fixed computers, carved wood, sewed, created structures from various materials, drew, painted, dug holes for people and fell into them. Many activities and many tools were needed for this. I have a jigsaw, drills, a screwdriver, a milling machine, a CNC milling machine, an oscillating sander, a Dremel, a hair jigsaw, a soldering iron, a burner, a rivet gun, staplers, a glue gun, screwdrivers, pliers, combination wrenches, hammers, chisels, knives of all kinds... and supplementary tools, which I will not mention. I also don't have (but had), most importantly, a laser cutter and use it hobby-wise. This probably tells something about me... considering that I had to take it out on a loan for 5 years with a rate of half my pay. So, I'm not very rich, but... dreams... and that sort of thing. So, using all of this, I learned enough to it becoming damn annoying, because ultimately everyone wants to come to me for help. It's really weird, when I have to pretend to be dumber than I am, to have free time.
But... life.
Nonetheless, my professional life has undergone a significant stagnation after the previously described adventures. I found a job at a local Castorama store, where I worked as a paramedic. That's right, a paramedic. My department was colloquially known as the "paramedic" department, so to avoid saying I was selling toilets, I decided to write it enigmatically so nobody would figure it out. I spent there about 3 years more than I should have, after realizing that I had spent 5 years too many in that job.
That's a lot of years.
But motivated by nothing in particular, I thought I would do something with myself. And so, I managed to break free and found a new path and became a POS designer.
But... life.
Nonetheless, my professional life has undergone a significant stagnation after the previously described adventures. I found a job at a local Castorama store, where I worked as a paramedic. That's right, a paramedic. My department was colloquially known as the "paramedic" department, so to avoid saying I was selling toilets, I decided to write it enigmatically so nobody would figure it out. I spent there about 3 years more than I should have, after realizing that I had spent 5 years too many in that job.
That's a lot of years.
But motivated by nothing in particular, I thought I would do something with myself. And so, I managed to break free and found a new path and became a POS designer.
Soon.. ish
Now... for over 5 years I have been working loyally at the same company and I wonder if this is really the place where I will stay. The company is okay overall. It's better than my previous job (although it's far from home. From my bed to Casto, I had about 600 meters in a straight line, so now going 70km in one direction is still a challenge.) but definitely some gears in this mechanism have worn out and the whole thing seems to be shaking in its foundations...
Anyway... while my development in the company hasn't stopped, it's hard to look at the time left until retirement and hope that everything will fall into place and I will be appreciated. Besides... not being modest for a moment... take a look at the "real" department.
Anyway, I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that I need to fill in a few gaps in my knowledge. The most important ones are:
Anyway... while my development in the company hasn't stopped, it's hard to look at the time left until retirement and hope that everything will fall into place and I will be appreciated. Besides... not being modest for a moment... take a look at the "real" department.
Anyway, I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that I need to fill in a few gaps in my knowledge. The most important ones are:
- Coding
- Electronics design
- Electronics programming
- 3D modeling in more programs. As time allows... and circumstances.
Note! None of the above photos show the tools that I own or owned. They are only an artistic representation of the time period that the corresponding text part refers to. However, there are things on these photos that I would like to have. A saw made of velvet! Who would have thought it was possible?