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30 March 2008

I am having introvert withdrawal syndrome. Or something. Help me name what I'm having.→[More:] I have been very social lately. Normally that would mean that I want some time by myself. But now that I have time by myself, I feel antsy and lonely and missing the instant-gratification interaction of dealing with other people. But I know that if I were around other people, I'd be pissy and annoyed, because, really, I'm ODed on interaction.

I hate this feeling. And I can't figure out what this feeling is called, which makes me more annoyed. Coin something, people!

(On the other hand, the PBS special on the kidnapping of Patty Hearst is on, and that's pretty much the most awesome tv ever.)

post by: occhiblu at: 22:04 | 24 comments

occhiphobia

posted by netbros 30 March | 22:18

I don't know what it's called, but I get it too. After hours (or days) of socialization, I can't wait to be by myself, but once I get home I feel lonely.

posted by grouse 30 March | 22:20

(On the other hand, the PBS special on the kidnapping of Patty Hearst is on, and that's pretty much the most awesome tv ever.)

That last statement locked in the diagnosis. You are suffering from Boredom.

This kind of reminds me of my thread yesterday. Go out and do something. srsly. Or not.

I think it may have something to do with the season of the year- wanting to go do stuff outside but the weather is not reliable enough yet. I'm really rambling.

posted by Doohickie 30 March | 22:20

You may be coming down with mental health. (I kid, but as the sages of beer commercials say 'why ask why?' Mingle and enjoy, my friend.)

posted by jonmc 30 March | 22:21

I have a long and involved theory that the Patty hearst story along with Jonestown is what put Reagan in the White House, but that's for another time.

posted by jonmc 30 March | 22:24

That last statement locked in the diagnosis. You are suffering from Boredom.

While I won't really quibble with the diagnosis, dude! Patty Hearst! They're forcing the Hearst family to give food to the poor! Soon she will change her name to Tanya! It's SO the 70s! This is all sorts of awesome.

posted by occhiblu 30 March | 22:24

Jon, the PBS special on Jonestown is next.

Though it's followed by "Wind in the Willows." So unless you can explicate that as a metaphor for the Reagan years, I think you're out of luck in arguing that PBS agrees with your theory.

But I'd be interested in hearing it. Bored and lacking interaction as I am. :-)

posted by occhiblu 30 March | 22:27

OK, now the FBI is having BLIND PEOPLE listen to the Patty Hearst recordings in case their acute hearing can discern things in the background that non-blind people might miss.

I'm sorry, I stand behind my diagnosis of TOTALLY AWESOME. This country was very, very, VERY weird in the 70s.

posted by occhiblu 30 March | 22:31

Well, I was a kid when the stories hit the news, but i remember all the grownups talking about both stories in omygod tones. And you have to remember that this was the late 70's when everybody (more or less) had amanged to get all blase about the social upheaval of the '60's. Patty and Jonestown, I think, for a lot of people made them think (about radical politics and alternative religion) that the world really had gone mad and that we needed to get back to old-fashioned values and all that bullshit, etc., hence Reagan.

Of course, for those of us who were kids then, it was just the beginning of a media deluge where we were bombarded with the unspeakable: Jonestown, patty hearst, the Iranian Hostages, the Challenger disaster, Columbine, mass murders beyond counting, 9/11 etc. to the point that we are numb, more or less.

posted by jonmc 30 March | 22:37

That makes sense. I'm a large believer in some sort of pendulum theory of politics -- we swing wildly from one extreme to another, with the truth or reality or best practices somewhere in the middle.

Also, they're now showing clips of Governor Reagan doing his best to instill confidence in the state.

posted by occhiblu 30 March | 22:44

I'm a large believer in some sort of pendulum theory of politics -- we swing wildly from one extreme to another, with the truth or reality or best practices somewhere in the middle.

Yeah, but like I said, I'm of the age where I can't remember a time when it didn't seem like the whole world hadn't gone mad. That probably puts me more in common with the Deprssion/WWII generation in some ways, even though I've (thank god) never known either.

posted by jonmc 30 March | 22:47

OK, now the FBI has deaf people reading Patty Hearst's lips on the surveillance videos of the bank robbery. Was this sort of thing common? Did the government, before technology evolved, often grab disabled people on the assumption that their senses were more highly developed? This seems totally weird to me.

posted by occhiblu 30 March | 22:51

It was a well-known fact in the 70s. I think I first heard about it on Mannix. Or maybe it was discovered on Hawaii Five-O. But it was on TV, so it must be true.

posted by Doohickie 30 March | 23:01

"Patty and Jonestown, I think, for a lot of people made them think (about radical politics and alternative religion) that the world really had gone mad and that we needed to get back to old-fashioned values and all that bullshit, etc., hence Reagan." Interesting interpretation jon. I remember that time as the point when punk hit and I thought "wow the 60's are dead and the conservatives have won."

"Though it's followed by "Wind in the Willows." So unless you can explicate that as a metaphor for the Reagan years, I think you're out of luck in arguing that PBS agrees with your theory." Walt Disney, natch.

"This country was very, very, VERY weird in the 70s." To me it seems far less weird than now.

posted by arse_hat 30 March | 23:47

Oh, and while I think the 70's were less weird than now I also think they were much uglier than now. Avocado green and harvest gold and the worst women's fashions ever. Everyone looked bad in the 70's.

posted by arse_hat 30 March | 23:51

I dunno. When was the US less weird? Look at where we've come from -- revolution, institutionalized slavery, civil war, women's suffrage, prohibition, segregation, and so on. As f'd up as we think we are now, I'd much rather live in the present day than in just about any other preceding era. And that goes for world history as well . . . the majority of human history has been stunningly brutal, and our present era, despite its faults, is an oasis in comparison.

posted by treepour 30 March | 23:58

I think it's the combination of extremism and idealism that interests me. (And by "weird" I didn't mean "bad," just that the energy seemed really different than now.) A terrorist group got the richest guy on the West Coast to hold tri-weekly food give-aways for the blacks and latinos in Oakland, then his daughter criticized him because "it sure wasn't high-quality beef or lamb; it didn't look like the food we eat at dinner."

I don't know. Maybe the same kind of stuff is going on now, and I'm just immersed enough in the idealism that I don't recognize it.

But also, yes. Harvest gold and avocado green are fairly atrocious. And I just watched 90 minutes of VERY BAD male journalist fashion. If you have red pants, you should probably not wear them *with* the red-striped shirt and red tie. Especially not if you're going to be on air. Yikes.

posted by occhiblu 31 March | 00:03

Oh, I'd intended to address the topic before I stepped up on my soapbox . . . sorry!

Yes, I get that feeling, too, sometimes. It's like your body remembers the motions it has to go through to socialize, just like a musician's body remembers the motion necessary to navigate a certain piece of music. And when the performance is over, the body is still attuned to a performance situation, because that's all it's been doing recently.

Myself, I find video games are the best antidote. Or a nice bath, with candles.

posted by treepour 31 March | 00:05

Sorry occhi, I should have also mentioned the worst men's fashions also!

posted by arse_hat 31 March | 00:14

I'll name it.
You've been in hibernation over the winter.
But not like a sleeping bear kind of hibernation.
Your thoughts have been getting a mulling over throughout the winter.

relax,
it's only spring and you can't wait for the ice to melt, like the bear, dreaming of their first taste of fresh blueberries,
never mind living off that fat stored up for the winter.

Summer arrives, soon.

Your Seasonal Affected Disorder is showing, turn on all the lights and put those full spectrum lightbulbs in every light you own. That'll reset everything.

You're jonesing for some sunshine.
Like many of us.

It's natural.

Oh, those 70's¿ That's in the past and it wasn't that great and you wouldn't want to be there now anyways.

It's all about embracing change. The present.
Embrace it. It's good.

Feeling the warmth¿ Good, that was my intention.
[Hope this work for you, occiblu.]

posted by alicesshoe 31 March | 00:54

I hate to tell you this, but you seem to be coming down with a serious case of being human. Unfortunately, the cure is worse than the disease ...

posted by dg 31 March | 02:35

Looking back through photo albums of family members, what always strikes me most about the 70s is how much women in their 30s all looked like Lina Wertmüller.

posted by iconomy 31 March | 08:35

Seems tangentially apropos to the conversation, up there.

posted by danf 31 March | 10:25

this was the late 70's

ah yes, 1974. the '80's came early that decade.

posted by quonsar 31 March | 11:52

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