Sunday, January 11, 2009

Out of the Depths

Well, I survived the holidays! Actually, I had a lot of fun, even though it was a tremendous amount of work. One of the downsides of being fundamentally introverted is that even when you're having a good time with other people, you're still using energy being with them. Friday and yesterday were largely spent falling over and recovering. Today, Rob decided to do some furniture rearrangement. He cleared out his desk in the basement (which he hasn't used in about two years), and we brought it upstairs to be used as a computer/homework desk for the boys. With some luck, this will enable him to get his computer back (the boys have been using it quite a bit).

It may give you an idea of just how swamped I've been feeling if I note that in the first week of 2009, I read one, and only one, book. And I wouldn't have read that one, except that my temp. neighbor brought it over and handed it to me, having taken it out on his library card. The only other week in which I can remember not wanting to read at all was during a week-long whitewater kayaking class one summer almost two decades ago. Then it was up at dawn, eat, hit the river, work insanely hard until dark, eat, fall over until dawn. I was too tired to read.

Wait - that explains it.

5 comments:

Becky G said...

Cindy, I SO know what you mean about being introverted! Being around people--even people I like--is exhausting for me. Trying to make myself sociable takes a tremendous amount of work on my part. I guess that's why I keep to myself so much. It's just easier.

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Perpetual Beginner said...

Thank you for stopping by, karateka. I'm glad you like the blog.

Becky, the hardest part of being introverted for me is explaining to friends who are extroverted why I really, really just need to be alone at points when they want to hang out. It's so easy for them to think it's personal when it really has nothing to do with them at all.

Becky G said...

I think the hardest part for me is getting them to understand that just because I'm not chattering a mile a minute doesn't mean I'm mad or that anything is wrong. As in:

Why are you so quiet? Is something wrong?

No, I just don't feel like talking.

Why? Are you mad about something?

No. I just feel like being quiet.

Why? What's wrong?

Nothing. I'm just a quiet person.

Are you sure you aren't mad?

No. But I will be in a minute if you don't stop asking me that.


You get the idea...

Perpetual Beginner said...

Heh. That's a problem I don't have often, because my usual reaction to being in a bunch of people is to chatter a mile a minute. Which means I don't have your kind of misunderstanding, but does make it hard for people who think of me as extremely talkative to realize that I'm also an introvert.

It took me a long time to figure out that one of the reasons I am so talkative is that it lets me control the direction of the conversation, making it less likely for people to ask me things I don't want to go into. Nobody's likely to pry if they all want me to shut up!