I think I might have broken my social interaction mechanism. Or else I just overdid it and need to sit with it elevated for awhile. I’m discovering more and more that I need more downtime in my life than I tend to allow for. Or else I’m just getting boring old. I suspect part of it is less tolerance for living outside my comfort zone. After 3 evenings of social events in various settings, the following things were once again reinforced for me:
- Once you stop working with someone, if you have no other common context, the conversation really tends to die after the initial “What’s new” part.
- I do better in smaller groups than larger ones.
- It’s not that I don’t respect the fact that you might have a very different opinion of something than I do, and it’s not that I am not open-minded or willing to learn new things, but if the opinion you’re spouting is drunken, ignorant and/or belligerent, I’m going to tune you out.
- I’m usually much more content to listen than to talk. I don’t have any particular compulsion to insert my opinions or scoff at others out loud. Does this make me apathetic? Wise? Boring?
- Pubs are not my style, although I’m very grateful for the consideration of certain acquaintances this evening who were kind enough to take their smoke breaks elsewhere than the table.
- Part of me is simultaneously glad I’m not, and envious of, the kind of person who can sauna for half an hour and then do naked snow angels in the backyard.
e11en! It was so nice to meet you tonight, although way too short.
Really Great Writing Out There Right Now: How Normal Becomes Wonderful
(Mom, read this, it sums up perfectly what I think, too)
This Dog, Right Here, Is The Biggest Reason I’m Wanting a Dog These Days: Wee’s Beautiful Finnegan Jane