Same Old Song and Dance
I once had a job that required me to do a lot of standing around and since conditions were ripe in that way, I did what comes naturally to me; I periodically pulled out my notebook and began jotting things down, then returning it to my pocket. A few moments later, after something else I noticed required me to record it, I would repeat my method of remembering things by removing my pen and notebook, writing something, and returning it to my pocket. Eventually, a supervisor noticed me doing so.
"You can't be writing up here." he told me.
"No note taking?" I asked.
"That's right." was his answer.
Behind the Eyes
I complied as I slowly returned my pen and notebook to my pocket and pondering the situation, I thought to myself,
Well, here we go again. He doesn't realize that by asking me not to write or take visual notes is like asking me to change the color of my eyes or disown my mother. It can't be done.
Immovable
There is a story about a ship that was returning home from a long sea voyage and as it was approaching the coast in the dark, the captain noticed a beacon of light straight ahead on a collision course with his vessel, so he sent a message directed at the source of the light:
"From the USS Caine, Change course."
Shortly thereafter, the captain of the Caine received a reply: "Negative. You change course."
The captain relayed, "We're on a collision course and I order you to change direction 10 degrees starboard."
The answer was "Negative. I order you to change course."
At this, the captain of the ship let his ego get the best of him and he proudly replied, "I am Lieutenant Commander Phillip Francis of the United States Navy, commander of the USS Caine and I order you to change course!"
Afterwards, the message came back, "I am a lighthouse. You change course."
Nothing New
That story perfectly illustrates the situation with my most recent supervisor and it's only one of many stories about the derision and contempt I've received since grade school and throughout all my years of employment because of my natural tendency to always have a notebook and pen very nearby. I'm an artist who writes and to somehow attempting to prevent me from harmlessly taking notes at any given time is like asking a lighthouse to change course.
