I've discovered something about myself...

[Lewguitar]

Took me 74 years to learn that I'm a fixer.

I have a compulsion to fix anything that's broken or needs improving.

It may have started when my parents split up. I was nine but my mom lost it for a while and needed a lot of help.

Since then my brother and I have both been the guys friends and family came to to fix things. Because Bruce got caught up in that whole thing too. He's an even better fixer than I am!

I started as a musician but in my 20's became a kitchen/bath remodeler and eventually furniture maker.

Worked with my hands my whole life and it's what I do and who I am.

I can fix just about anything if I stay with it long enough.

I read alot. Joseph Campbell is a favorite and he was a mythologist.

Helped people get in touch with their personal myth, hero and life path.

My hero has always been Muhammad Ali.

But Ali was a fixer and repair guy too. He wanted to fix people's thinking.

He wasn't just a boxer.

 

[JasonE]

Took me 74 years to learn that I'm a fixer.

I have a compulsion to fix anything that's broken or needs improving.

It may have started when my parents split up. I was nine but my mom lost it for a while and needed a lot of help.

Since then my brother and I have both been the guys friends and family came to to fix things. Because Bruce got caught up in that whole thing too. He's an even better fixer than I am!

I started as a musician but in my 20's became a kitchen/bath remodeler and eventually furniture maker.

Worked with my hands my whole life and it's what I do and who I am.

I can fix just about anything if I stay with it long enough.

I read alot. Joseph Campbell is a favorite and he was a mythologist.

Helped people get in touch with their personal myth, hero and life path.

My hero has always been Muhammad Ali.

But Ali was a fixer and repair guy too. He wanted to fix people's thinking.

I could have told you that just from interacting with you on here.

I learned quite a while ago that I am a very logical thinking troubleshooter. Once I figured that out, I used it in my career. I like to get to the root of a problem then fix it. I know I have driven some people a little nuts with my troubleshooting ways but I also know that others like it and keep asking me what I think about issues they are having with something. I am not just this way with one thing in life. It is everything. I have to know how things work. I have done most of my own work on guitars, cars, motorcycles, computers, and on and on and on. It saves me money and I know things are done right. That is another thing I know about me. I always want to fix things the right way even if it costs more to do it. It is all about quality over quantity.

 

[Greywolf]

I've had that role in life for years ... call JT he'll know how to fix it .. I started working on engines as a kid , then became an engineer, Luthier .. and of course parent, grandparent .. and now of course sound guy .. .we sound like crap .. HELP .. where's JT? .... it's nice to feel useful

 

[JasonE]

I've had that role in life for years ... call JT he'll know how to fix it .. I started working on engines as a kid , then became an engineer, Luthier .. and of course parent, grandparent .. and now of course sound guy .. .we sound like crap .. HELP .. where's JT? .... it's nice to feel useful

I have that sound guy moniker too. Every time I go see any of my friends bands play, the first question they ask me is how do we sound. They all know to not ask me that question if they are not truly interested in what I have to say. Sometimes I will give them a list of things to adjust and other times they sound great. Sometimes I get asked to make the changes for them while they are playing.

 

[FragileThunder]

I'm not The Fixer, but I am The Solver. I've overcome my feeble fixing skills with my great skill in building resource networks. I may not be able to FIX your problem, but I can certainly help you SOLVE your problem by connecting you with someone who can. To the point that I have people who were employees of mine 20 years ago who still routinely call me- "Hey J, I've got a problem..." - because they know I've always got the solution. And if it's an EMERGENCY? I'm even better. I know who will pick up my call at 11PM on a Saturday night and deliver on their special brand of helpfulness. And WHY do they take my call? Because when they have a problem, who do you think they call?

So the same but different...and yes, it's good to be needed.

 

[Maxime Bousquet]

In the same story, my father died when I was 12 years old, my older brother was never a manual worker, it all started with this damn painter who had to start over the living room and the kitchen three times lol!

I'm I remember, my mom was furious at this guy's incompetence, so I said, hey, I don't think I'd do any worse than that!!

After that, I always did everything, carpentry, plumbing, electricity... plastering, I love knowing how it's done! I've studied
electronics and electricity. Plus, I avoid labor costs then = more PRS!!

 

[Moondog Wily]

I get pretty pissed at self when I can NOT fix something and have to rely on someone else ;~(( It is just my nature to want to not only fix stuff, but also understand how it works (which goes a LOOOOOOONG way in knowing/figuring out how to fix stuff). I also get very frustrated and want to step in whenever I see someone wasting time or doing something in a very unproductive fashion. I don't want to do their work, but I do want to help them to work smarter and not harder. It does not always get accepted as such, but IDGAF ;~))

As for sound, I too get asked by musician friends "how's the sound" pretty consistently and they always make adjustments based on any feedback that would require such action. There is one guy though, who does not ask me, and when I offered my opinion a couple of months back about too much bass, he was like "well that is just your opinion". I shall not be offering my opinion to him in the future, then again, he has never asked!

 

[Tom Bradovich]

There is one guy though, who does not ask me, and when I offered my opinion a couple of months back about too much bass, he was like "well that is just your opinion".

His loss!

 

[John F]

I grew up fixing everything also. Nothing was thrown away, at a minimum broken items were saved for spare parts. We live in a throw-away society today, so much waste. As an instructor, I’m amazed that the young people we hire don’t know how things work and lack basic mechanical and troubleshooting skills because they never take anything apart. Most don’t have tools and so many skills are being lost in the up and coming generations. I took classes in 7th - 12th grade for type setting using printing presses, wood shop, power mechanics, metal working, and electronics. So many of these trades are gone from the school system. Plumbers, Electricians, Mechanics, Carpenters are still needed and can make good income too.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I’ve found I enjoy breaking things more.

Like, I’ll just walk into a place and knock something off a shelf.

 

[Simon Says]

I brake stuff

 

[JasonE]

I get pretty pissed at self when I can NOT fix something and have to rely on someone else ;~(( It is just my nature to want to not only fix stuff, but also understand how it works (which goes a LOOOOOOONG way in knowing/figuring out how to fix stuff). I also get very frustrated and want to step in whenever I see someone wasting time or doing something in a very unproductive fashion. I don't want to do their work, but I do want to help them to work smarter and not harder. It does not always get accepted as such, but IDGAF ;~))

As for sound, I too get asked by musician friends "how's the sound" pretty consistently and they always make adjustments based on any feedback that would require such action. There is one guy though, who does not ask me, and when I offered my opinion a couple of months back about too much bass, he was like "well that is just your opinion". I shall not be offering my opinion to him in the future, then again, he has never asked!

I NEVER offer my opinion without being asked. That never goes well. I can't stand it when someone does it to me either. They have no idea what I may be hearing and adjusting at the time they come up and give me their advice. I probably have already heard what they heard along with something else that I think is much more important to fix before I address what they are bringing up. I have also had people come up and give me advice that told me they have no idea what the heck they were talking about. One time that sticks in my mind is that I had a situation at an outdoor gig where I was running sound and I heard something that was off. I was running back and forth between the board and the side of the stage trying to adjust things to fix the issue. The issue was that I was clipping one of the amps. I had a guy stop me while I was trying to fix it to tell me that I had a compressor pumping. I thanked him for his advice and told him he was wrong and that I know what the issue is and am on it.

 

[Moondog Wily]

I NEVER offer my opinion without being asked. That never goes well. I can't stand it when someone does it to me either. They have no idea what I may be hearing and adjusting at the time they come up and give me their advice. I probably have already heard what they heard along with something else that I think is much more important to fix before I address what they are bringing up. I have also had people come up and give me advice that told me they have no idea what the heck they were talking about. One time that sticks in my mind is that I had a situation at an outdoor gig where I was running sound and I heard something that was off. I was running back and forth between the board and the side of the stage trying to adjust things to fix the issue. The issue was that I was clipping one of the amps. I had a guy stop me while I was trying to fix it to tell me that I had a compressor pumping. I thanked him for his advice and told him he was wrong and that I know what the issue is and am on it.

Yeah, I generally will not offer my opinion on such matters, but I and the other 4 folk at my table did NOT like the sound we were hearing, and we have seen this guy for years without such audio problems. He is a solo performer with acoustic guitar and doing his own sound. So in this particular case, even though he has never asked, I did tell him there was a problem (simple EQ problem), but his reception will prevent me from offering any future adjustments, and if we are not liking his sound, we will simply leave without tipping him ;~))

 

[László]

I have no socially redeeming values whatsoever.

 

[Miles88]

As a child, I also thought I was a fixer. One slap from my father changed everything. It may seem funny, but over time, I realized how much such moments influenced me as an adult. Now, by studying sources such as https://edubirdie.com/examples/self-evaluation-essays/ I can analyze all the events that happened to me and draw the correct conclusions. Conclusions that can not only affect my self-esteem but also how I should behave with my kids. We all need to work on ourselves.