Respect for Introverts

From Wednesday until today, up until now, I’ve had to go without my obligatory alone time. Because of this, I only wrote one measly poem during that time, I couldn’t catch up on the reading for the WSS contests (sorry, guys), and I was grumpy; very, very grumpy. For introverts like me, alone time isn’t just a luxury to be taken for granted; it’s a requirement. Recharging our batteries is the key to being able to relax after a long period of stress. Even extroverts can go on sensory overload from time to time, so alone time is important for them as well. Here’s how my four days of extreme human contact went:

On Wednesday and Thursday, both days were completely filled up time-wise with me helping my brother James move out of his apartment. He already had a head start on getting the bulkier pieces of furniture out of there, so it was just a matter of getting the little shit packed in boxes and cleaning the carpets and windows. Constant periods of heavy lifting can get on anybody’s nerves. Try lifting those heavy objects up and down two flights of wooden stairs that are falling apart and breaking on a regular basis. I’ve put my foot through two different steps during these moving days. That, and I’ve injured my knee going up and down those stairs. Even though I was grumpy and tired afterwards, it was all for a good cause: helping my brother get on with his life after being fired from a well-paying job.

On Friday, even though it was purely for entertainment and having a life event I can brag about on Face Book, I went to see Cavalera Conspiracy in Seattle along with their opening acts Sanction VIII, Lody Kong, Corrosion of Conformity (Blind), and Death Angel. Altogether, that was six and a half hours of heavy metal with very few chances to sit down and rest my legs and feet. I was fucking exhausted and it must have shown, because two different people (a nice metal head lady and a bouncer) offered to buy me bottled water. On the bright side, the heavy metal music was fucking awesome and my parents actually came to pick me up right after the show. That night (if 1:00 in the morning qualifies), I dreamed about singing with Lody Kong, playing a WWE game, and getting a boner in front of Susan. Weird fucking combination.

By the time today rolled along, I was dying for my obligatory alone time. After checking out of the hotel we were staying at the night before, my mom thought it would be a good idea to eat lunch in Port Orchard (even though I wasn’t hungry) and then exercise at the YMCA shortly after. Spiro’s ending up being a good choice for food since I got to drink a lot of iced tea. But when we got home, I wanted to go straight to bed and take a goddamn nap. Susan and Reina were in my room watching Guardians of the Galaxy and insisted on finishing it since it was almost over. Good God, I was pissed. And not only that, but James called later in the day and requested my help in moving his barbecue out of the apartment. I was so sure that I wasn’t going to get any free time to myself that I was going to explode. I was grumpy, pissed off, and tired. What was I going to do?

What made everything okay was when I was folding laundry with Mom, she told me that she empathized with my need for alone time. She’s retired now, but during her final few days at the EPA laboratory, different people would engage her in conversation while she was trying to get work done and it was stressful for her. Needless to say, we cancelled our trip to the Y for that day. When James showed up to come get me, he confessed that he was just as grumpy as me since he didn’t get any alone time either. All he wanted to do was read Game of Thrones and practice his drums while all I wanted to do was read Of Dice and Men and write stories. During the drive to and from his apartment, we talked about wrestling (which he isn’t a fan of, but humored me anyways) and Star Wars. You know, brother stuff.

And by the way, my mom and James are nowhere near as introverted as I am and they both get grumpy whenever they don’t have their alone time. Hell, when Reina tried to invade my room for the second time that day, Susan yelled at her and told her to leave me alone. Thank you, Susan.

If you want to be a friend to someone and hang out together, be respectful of his or her time. Don’t pick and activity that’s going to occupy their whole day and don’t be defensive when they demand alone time. Helping James move and going to see Cavalera Conspiracy were obligations that couldn’t be met on any other day. Exercising at the Y and watching science fiction movies on my TV are both gratuitous, which is probably where my real grumpiness came from. Be good to the introverts in your life and they will be good to you in return. We’ve got ears, say cheers!

***WEEKLY SHORT STORY CONTEST AND COMPANY***

We’ve got a doozy of a prompt this week. The guy who came up with it, Edward Therese, said he was only kidding when he invented it, but the admins wanted to use it anyways for its unique qualities. This week’s prompt is “Robot Overlord” and my story will be called “Demon Hunter”. It goes like this:

CHARACTERS:

Jennifer Williams, “Demon Hunter”

Russell Condit, Psychologist

Shawn Blythe, Schizophrenic Tormentor

PROMPT CONFORMITY: Shawn has the ability to morph into a “robot overlord” while in hallucination mode.

SYNOPSIS: After coming home from Afghanistan with schizophrenia, Army Sergeant Jennifer Williams takes part in an experimental treatment procedure created by Dr. Russell Condit. The treatment involves being locked in a sensory deprivation room and being able to face schizophrenic voices in hand-to-hand combat without having to do it in real life and go to jail for it. Private Shawn Blythe was her biggest tormentor due to his sexist remarks and disregard for her authority while overseas. Dr. Condit’s chances of his experiment working are unknown as Jennifer is the first person to use it.

FUN FACT: The title of this story, Demon Hunter, is derived from the heavy metal band and Diablo III character class both of the same name.

***LYRICS OF THE DAY***

“I’d rather go to a funeral than to this high school reunion.”

-Green Day-