Things I Just Can't Have in a Workplace or Job

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Hi-
I have been here before and check in periodically, but to my amazement I lasted almost 5 years in my most recent job, and with some satisfaction, to be honest, I got RIF'd recently due to business downturn and I am regrouping (with some joy actually). What I'd like in all this is feedback from others as to what might just be AS traits as opposed to personal preferences based on personality outside of the AS realm. For example, I do test consistently as an introvert and very high on creativity scales.

There are a few aspects of work life that I just know I have to eliminate or mitigate 'going forward' (I HATE that phrase but I'll relish using a corporate cliche ). Just some items, with apologies, sort of long. Items on this list are things I thought I could deal with, but have come to the 'enough is enough' stage:

1)A position in which people can call, email, or visit with random requests involving some band-aid to fix something right away.
2)Believing a manager when he says that support is available as a first line of defense for putting out fires.
3)A workspace characterized by frequent audible conversations in neighboring cubicles. Not necessarily loud ones, just chatter that is there. Fluorescent lights with no natural light at all.

Regarding 1), I have come to accept that being henpecked in this manner is just hazardous to my health and raises my blood pressure. I am smart and have a Ph.D. in engineering, and quite frankly I can find worthwhile things to do without constantly being pelted by petty mini-crises. When I first started that job, there was some of this during the initial period, when operatives in the facility were unfamiliar with the items I was to set up. I was assured by my boss that things would smooth out as people got familiar with it. After four years, half of them were incapable of dealing with things that had been very clearly documented (by myself) back in 2008! I slowly distanced myself from these items in hope that they could act more independently, but got dinged in my reviews when I did not handle these mini-crises that others should have been able to take up on.
Regarding 2), I was prescient enough, if I do say so myself, to establish (at interview time) that there would be sufficient tech support so I would not be expected to run to equipment and deal with typical and repeated failure modes characteristic of certain hardware. At first is was rough and the tech support director said "they need training". They got training, and still could not do anything. I had clear documentation explaining how to handle wafers getting trapped in a tool. When a wafer was stuck and tech support was needed, I sent out an email saying "A wafer is stuck on tool #4, please tend to it." My boss emailed me back privately: "Take care of it then". Not only had he assured me that techs would handle these things, his tone was snitty and supercilious. I was further dinged on reviews for not doing the tech jobs that my same boss earlier said would be handled by support staff.
Regarding 3), I find that when there is surrounding chatter, there are times when I feel that the noise is overwhelming - my brain just seems to amplify it, as if my skull were an echo chamber. The fluorescent lights are increasingly soporific as I get older. I know this, because after a couple of months of being at home, I rarely feel that way. At a recent meeting taking place in a corporate setting illuminated by fluorescent lighting, I immediately felt almost drugged.

I welcome your feedback on any aspects of this you can relate to or find interesting.

As far as being called to "put out fires:"
This quote is attributed to Albert Einstein. “Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.” However, putting out fires is what gets you the glory and the job security. If you prevent a problem, chances are it will be completely unnoticed.

That said, for awhile there a big local company's night security department had my cell phone number somehow confused with that of their night janitor. I got a surprising number of late-night calls. It was really unpleasant. My husband thought I was having an affair. So that option probably won't solve your problem either, and you would have to clean up barf (that was one of the 2am-ish calls).