Where do you buy a crash test dummy from? Just one of the random things I was asked at work yesterday.
I must say that I quite like working again. Okay, so it's not exactly recent, I've been there about 9 months now, but for a shy person like me there is a definite settling in period and things have just seemed very settled recently.
It also helps when you work with a great group of people, although that is a given for any part of life I imagine. People can make so much difference to a situation.
I seem to think about personal interactions quite a bit recently, I find it fascinating how much or how little we let on to others in the course of normal conversation. Of course, I try not to study myself too much here as I don't consider myself normal in this field, but others I find completely fascinating.
When I do turn the spotlight on myself I don't often like what I see which doesn't invite me to try again anytime soon. I used to be quite sociable when I was younger, I loved going out and could talk to strangers with ease.
Well, I still can talk to strangers with ease but I'm not one to leave the safe confines of my home too often, and dealing with people I know only a little is quite an exercise in relaxation. Perhaps it's not actually the people that I find hard to relate to, it's the actual situations themselves.
Case in point, last week when we had no children the husband and I went out for pool and dinner. Now I had a lovely time but at dinner all I could think of was how much I wanted to be home. I felt out of place in the restaurant and very uncomfortable. I simply couldn't relax.
We tried to figure this out over dinner, the husband and me. He couldn't quite wrap his head around it until I pointed out that he eats out at least 4 times a week, goes to pubs, clubs and more at least 3 times a week, and through the nature of his job and his jet-setting around the world, pretty much lives in a socialble world of outings.
For me, the move to Auckland and my first pregnancy ended my party lifestyle with a sudden bang, the new city with no acquaintances threw me repeatedly into the corner to huddle, and the parent I've become with few opportunities at outings easily explains my nervousness and awkwardness when away from home.
It's quite odd that me and the husband are very close yet we seem to live completely different social lives. Mostly I encourage him to go out with his mates because pubs don't interest me and it makes the house quieter so I can curl up with a good book.
Is this the beginnings of hermitism?
Is that even a word?
Just made me stop and think is all.
The Seven Days of Peter Crumb - Jonny Glynn
1 year ago
3 comments:
Interesting. I think I've stayed pretty much the same, social wise, since I was young. I had a brief period of hermitism when the kids were babies, though.
Me and the husband are very similar these days in our social lives. We never go out together though, but we go out separately a couple of times a week.
It could be the start of it. I have hardly left my apartment for 5 years except for work - which is within walking distance and the required outings for supplies. I visit a friend once each one or two weeks.
I was very shy when I was younger and then in my 30's became Confident Party Girl. But now I'm back to shy.
What doesn't help is those parties where I have already met some of the guests some time in the past, but because of my terrible memory I don't know if I have. Which is very distracting for me and stops me from diving into what would otherwise have been a vivacious chat-up or something.
Post a Comment