Wednesday, June 6, 2018

I Hate Interruption Rules

No disrespect or homophobic slurs are intended with my use of the word "gay".

This post is in need of cleanup. It may be deleted entirely.

It's a widely accepted rule in social skills that interrupting a person is not allowed if they're busy working or talking to other people, unless it's an emergency.
It's also agreed that if someone wants to interrupt, he/she must wait for the other person to pause working or talking.

Normally, a person with Asperger's syndrome or high-functioning autism has a difficulty understanding and following interruption rules.
No offense again, but I understand interruption rules, albeit I follow it to a limited extent due to my short patience.
Aside from my violent tendencies and video game addiction, I'm notorious for constantly interrupting people while they're working or studying.

Me Interrupting Others (During Conversation)

Occasionally, during work hours, I encounter customers, usually middle-age women, that my brother Ivann would describe as "extroverted imbeciles". I keep them away from Mom when she's busy cooking since, in addition to burning the food (I don't know how to cook, and I need to study), Mom will get stuck in a conversation about family and "gay" banter for about 30 minutes. In a rudely robotic voice, I usually rant, "Mom is not around. If you need her specifically, come back after 4 hours. Can I help you instead?"
But back to interrupting. I have a terrible short-term memory, which is not ideal when I have to hold a thought for 30 minutes of seemingly pointless subjects and simultaneously study or play video games. When I do hold the thought in, I get angry. So I get an impulse to interrupt my mother and the customer even though I'm perfectly aware that it's rude.
Good thing the customer usually doesn't show any signs of being offended, either in words or body language. But I still give her a pitiful, baby-like "Pasyensya na po!" (Pardon me, please!)

If I do decide to hold the thought in while staying calm, I do the right thing and wait for a pause, which I usually set to 5 seconds of silence after a non-interrogative sentence, which I think is solidly courteous since, by that time, everyone has run out of ideas.
Typically, I count down with my fingers, rather than simply counting in my head, since it functions a bit like fidgeting--it feels comfortable somehow. However, I feel like most people notice me counting down, resulting in them suddenly getting new ideas and starting another lively or heated conversation after 3-4 seconds of counting.
I'm wild-guessing that the chance of everyone stopping talking per conversation when I need to interrupt is 25%, which, for conversations that typically last 10 minutes, means that I have to stick around for about 40 minutes, more or less.
When I finally get the chance to talk, I explode in an outrage. "I've been waiting so long to interrupt so I can avoid being rude, but you guys won't freaking make a solid pause!"

Me Being Interrupted During Video Games

As you know, I am EXTREMELY lazy.
I am also a hardcore gamer--I write complicated strategies for my Minecraft team, and I spend hours looking for a Pokémon with ideal IVs and Nature.

So, when I'm in the middle of a game, I get infuriated when I get interrupted, especially by an authority figure telling me to stop what I'm doing, temporarily or otherwise.

I usually aim to help my Minecraft team as best as I can, even though I always screw up. It's natural for a teenager or young adult to prioritize his/her friends over family since he/she is becoming more independent.
Every time I get told to "get off your f**king seat", I get twice as disappointed and concerned as when I get killed by an enemy officer through pathetic means.
I need to use my authority-proof tactics again--i.e. using the little play time I have to support my team or troll the enemy. A little allied morale boost or enemy morale drop can go a long way in determining a battle's outcome.

And, similar to the above situation of a conversation restarting after 3-4 seconds where I'm once again prevented from interrupting, sometimes I can get interrupted during video games about 2 minutes after doing what the authority told me to do.
I'd be so angry, I could remove an otherwise stubborn and persistent dirt stain...and clean like crazy until I restore my calm. If I don't want to clean, eat, or study begrudgingly, I'd do a harsh training regimen on my punching bag. Don't worry; even if I'm raging, I still maintain my defense--I can still block, dodge, and do feints just fine.

Me Being Interrupted While I'm Talking

"Hey, Capt. Prof. Dr. Fr. Alfred-san, this is a story about my personal science experiment..."
"Have you finished your 1000-word essay?"
"GRRRAAARRRGGGHHH!!!" *loud punching bag noises*

"Okay, Capt. Prof. Dr. Fr. Alfred-san, I finished my essay for real this time. No mediocrity. Now can I discuss the force of my 4-hit combo in Newtons..."
"Can you help me design a website?"
*more punching bag noises*

(actually I'm not happy with this fake name)

It's not that I'm angry because others don't know interruption rules. I think 97% of non-autistic people understand them just fine.
I'm angry, again, because of the video games situation. (I can't remember the other reasons; maybe I finally get a chance to talk and the authority ruins it?)

My Responses to Potential Counter-Arguments

First of all, just cut me some slack and don't give me counter-arguments if you're not involved in a face-to-face conversation with me. I like to be peaceful and alone, thank you very much.
If you really want to give me a counter-argument, do it either politely or privately. My contact information is in "Helping People".

"You have to respect and follow rules no matter what, even if others violate them."
Admittedly, the laziest argument I have is "Cut me some slack; I have Asperger's syndrome", but, of course, this would have no effect, if not worse, in a debate against lawyers, authorities, or Internet trolls. I've seen a lot of crime reports where suspects were arrested even though they were "mentally retarded" (no offense).
By the way, if you're not an authority, then you're not in charge of my life. I will remain a lunatic and act like one any time I like. So don't tell me to follow rules.

"Patience is a virtue."
The hustle and bustle of everyday life has made me impatient.
All of my family members are impatient and act like drill sergeants, so I guess there's the genetic influence.

"Work harder to remember what you need to say (even if the conversation takes 8 hours)."
My mind always races with other information--some of which are important, while others aren't.
I have a terrible short-term memory, so, again, cut me some slack, s'il vous plaît.

"Write what you need to say."
I'm eco-friendly, and I don't always have access to writing materials/gadgets.
Then again, good idea, and thanks for the tip.

Lazy Conclusion

TL;DR summary: I hate waiting for a chance to interrupt because of my short-term memory and low patience. I hate being interrupted because I'm lazy. And minimize arguing against my hate because I want to slack off.

Edit: I'm having cringey second thoughts about this blog post; I might revert it to a draft.

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