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07/20/2005: "weapons of mass profanity"

One thing I noticed very quickly when I arrived at this company is the propensity for certain members of engineering to swear, not just openly but quite frequently as well. The cuss of choice around here seems to be the F-bomb, although other common profanities are peppered throughout the ongoing dialogue as well. Even the president lets a "shit" slip out now and again. (Boy, that would mean something else entirely without those quotes, huh?)

Most regretably, the direct impact it's having is that I'm starting to swear more. I knew that there would be a tendency to do so, and have been both hoping and trying to avoid it, but I'm a creature of my surroundings, and I too am now an F-bomb dropper.

There is one person in particular that is the biggest offender, and I'm sure he's the root cause of the blue haze that descends now and again. The exact reason why he expresses himself in that manner, I'm not entirely sure. I still haven't really figured him out, other than the fact that he is anything but a happy-go-lucky guy.

No amount of armchair psychoanalysis is going to do any amount of good if my language keeps shifting towards the blue side. As much as I'd like to think that I can compartmentalize my swearing to just work, I'm not foolish enough to assume that it's actually possible. With a set of 4-year-old ears at home that have demonstrated the ability to instantly pick up on an interesting new word spoken in frustration, I have to be really careful.

So, what's the solution? I suppose keeping my vigilance up is really the only thing I can do at this point. At least I know I'm here for only another 33 work days (but who's counting?), after which I will hopefully find myself in a less verbally shocking atmosphere.