More Interesting Introvert Facts

I miss blogging so much! So much so that a couple of days ago, I was stuck on the side of the road waiting for my dad to get out of the pork shop (where they apparently kill the pig, skin it, clean it and cut it, while the patient customer waits), and I started writing a blog post in the drafts of my ancient cell phone. Yes, my cell phone that does not have a camera, music-playing abilities, or any print on the keypad so I have to pretty much make wild guesses when I'm putting in numbers or sending texts. But the decrepitude of my cell phone doesn't matter because I hate using it anyway. (P.S. Don't call me!) Anyhow...

So one of my most popular posts ever was all about introverts which is my favorite topic to pontificate about, so here you go... another glimpse into the mind of the introvert!

Online Shopping

One of the most exciting inventions to an introvert is Online Shopping. Oh. My. Gosh. When I left India a few years ago, it had not yet taken off. A lot of people used the Internet, but hadn't connected it with shopping. So I was in the US, and got an Amazon account...oh the sweet excitement of the first book I ever ordered. No sales people! No social interaction whatsoever! No need to leave my home!

For anyone trying to sell things to introverts, here's a tip: The fastest way to chase an introvert out of your store is hover around her, saying "Can I help you? Could I make a suggestion, madam? That blue will suit you! What exactly are you looking for?" AAAAHHHH!!! Read my tense body language- leave me alone!

Networking

Networking is an introvert's nightmare come true. Seriously. Some people thrive on it, some people spend the whole time screaming silently inside their heads. Making small talk, being thrust into multiple social situations with people you don't know well, reading and responding to unspoken social cues, going through the exhausting introductory stage with too many people.... this could be good material for a horror movie for introverts.

I have however started working on doing it whether or not I like it. This is one of the few occasions where 'fake it till you make it' works. Some day I'll write a post about how to survive as introvert in an extrovert's world.

Solitude

Loneliness is not a familiar concept for introverts. Okay, I realize that this is over-generalizing, but anyway. Where extroverts feel lonely, introverts say "Wheeee! Solitude!" Solitary confinement or 'sending someone to Coventry' (that has to be the British influence) doesn't work as a punishment for us. There is little I find as exciting as hearing that I will be left completely alone in my home with nothing but my books and the TV to keep me company. Okay introverts need people too, and I'm sure being alone too much is bad for us too, but on the whole solitude is a much-awaited treat in my life.

Any other introvert facts you'd like to add? ( I know you introverts are the ones reading my blogs!)

P.S. It's Independence Day today, and I suppose I should write something about that, but I don't really have anything interesting to say (what!!), except that I'm happy to be Indian. And also I'm reading 'Midnight's Children' by Salman Rushdie and getting a new glimpse into pre- and post-Independence India, which is fascinating. Even though Salman Rushdie is kinda weird.