Friday, January 3, 2014

Vacationing as an Introvert

I love MAGfest. It's rapidly become my favorite convention, just because it's still sitting at that perfect balance of being big enough to be profitable and small enough to be relatively low-stress.

So when I say I'm ready to go home, understand that it's got nothing to do with this wonderful event I'm attending.

I feel like I need a vacation from this vacation. Ever since I left Tucson back on December 23rd at 1:49PM I've been on the road, spending time with family, hanging out with friends, sick, taking care of errands to get ready for MAGfest, or actually working the booth at MAGfest. With the exception of being sick, all of those things are things I enjoy doing... for a while. I, however, am an introvert.

Introverts recharge by being alone and relaxing. They're capable of everything else, but they need that recharge time. As long as I'm on vacation, though, I'm not getting much rest. The only time I'm alone is when I'm on the road, which is exhausting in a completely different way.

I'm not at dangerous levels right now. My fuel reserves are pretty deep, and I'm catching up when I can. (Right now, for instance: in the hotel room, alone, typing up a blog post. Ahh, relaxation!) However, I can feel my tank hovering between half full and a quarter full.

I think I'll spend the rest of tonight in here. I'll enjoy MAGfest more tomorrow.

2 comments:

  1. My tank isn't as deep as yours, and most social interaction beyond a gathering of a few friends takes a lot out of me. I had to sneak up to the room back at Nerdapalooza quite a few times to recharge in between the acts I wanted to see. And that was a much smaller thing than you're doing.

    Getting mildly intoxicated actually takes the edge off quite a bit and allows me to adjust to the energy of the room. I don't really like to drink often, though, since it comes with a host of other inconveniences. Like the next day.

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  2. This post is speaking to me since I'm the exact same way. PAX was a huuuuuge punch in the throat because I wasn't prepared for how much energy working the booth would drain out of me. I was physically okay, but mentally I just wanted to lay in bed in the dark for hours after I was done. I made plans to hang out with some friends at PAX, but those ultimately fell through because when I wasn't working, I just wanted to be either by myself or with maybe one other person (namely Gerritt, he helped keep me sane by taking me around Seattle and letting me talk about everything I was experiencing).

    Hang in there, Churles! You'll be home soon :)

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