Autism

Ooooh story time…

I worked for a small company in 2017/2018 that had recently expanded its building and added offices into their second floor, which had previously been a storage area. The second floor offices didn’t have any windows, but is also the spot that they decided IT would go.

One day I came in and the fluorescent lights didn’t turn on. There happened to be some random old lamp (I think from the 60’s or 70’s) in a storage closet so I grabbed it and put it on the intersection of 4 cubicles to light the area. There were only 6 IT people that worked in the area and as people were coming into work, no one mentioned the light. We all just did our work.

Halfway though the day, one of our senior devs asked “hey, so what’s with the light?”

I let him know the overhead lights didn’t come on when I got here this morning so I just grabbed a lamp.

5 of us discussing the lighting situation all vocally said “yea, this is much better, the fluorescent lights suck.” One person was quiet.

The overhead lights were “fixed” not too long after but people started opting for turning them off in favor of the lamp. This upset 1 of the 6 IT people working in the area.

It eventually became an HR issue, and the one person won; to the detriment of the other 5.

I ended up quitting about 2 weeks after that, not from the light issue; but I let them believe it was a large contributing factor in the exit interview.

you don’t need to be neurodivergent to appreciate the dark….
for example, you could be one of those mole people with no pigment (i.e. northern white peoples)….

I like to sit in my desolate room. No lights. No music. Just anger.

Everytime I read something about neurodivergent behavior I am astonished that another atypical thing I do is actually typical behaviour just not for neurotypical persons. (sry for my English - not a native speaker)

This is one of my great sensitivities. I can't drive without sunglasses. My eyes will tear up and I'm unable to keep them open.

Somewhat related but does anyone else like driving in the dark? Like no other cars back roads in the middle of nowhere, the only light is from my instruments, radio, and headlights? Fucken peak especially out in the truly middle of nowhere with minimal light pollution with the cosmos visible.

Hum... Yeah... That'd be me. The creature of the night. Not rave n' disco night... More like, night night. Even during the day.

@mom @dad

Furthermore, other people turning OFF a light that's in another room because that's the precise amount of light I want where I'm at. Absolutely infuriating.

I find myself wearing my sunnies indoors more often than not. On days I forget and grab my regular glasses, switching over to the tinted lenses is literal full body relief as the light input is reduced.

Wouldn’t them being in the dark bolster the argument that they are bats?

And if they were lost bats, what would turning the lights on be meant to do?

I should get that diagnosis. 😐