You may have noticed my lack of presence on the blogosphere lately and this post explains why. The jist of the story is that I've had to go back into the real world and be a real person. As you can see from this weeks icon, I am not happy about it! Mostly because in my every day encounters, I haven't come across any vampires, werewolves, shifters and least of all any super smokin' hot guys.
All jokes aside, I've had to do my fair share of socializing with non bloggers this past few weeks and have noticed that whilst I seem pretty outgoing and laid back on my blog (at least I hope so) it's a pretty different story in the real world. I'm still friendly and stuff but I don't find that I go out of my way to be extroverted. In fact, I get downright annoyed when I have to leave my lair and venture outside for groceries or petrol (gas for you Americans!) or work.
Also, I have developed a very low tolerance for bullsh@t. Suddenly, I am that funny sidekick character who can't shut their mouth and who is either there for comic relief or to be sadly killed of in a later book. Sometimes, I find that I even zone out in the middle of a conversation a la JD from Scrubs style and imagine a number of funny scenarios that would take me away from the boredom of my current situation.
All in all, I think I may possibly be going crazy. But it has at least prompted me to wonder what my fellow blogger friends are like in real life. So tell me, who are you? Are you exactly the same? Are you like me and feel more comfortable in the world of words? I would really love to find out :)
*On another note, I have taken everybody's advice and decided to be kinder to myself. Therefore, I am going to start changing the way I write my reviews so they don't take up so much of my time! Woohoo for shortcuts.
Wow, I feel like you're just like me in real life! I hate leaving home just to go shopping, etc. I don't know if I even seem outgoing on my blog. No one's really said one way, or the other, but I know I socialize more on-line than IRL. I'm super, super avoidant. I won't say I'm shy because that's probably not accurate. But, I'm avoidant big time!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, good luck with your new job. I hope you enjoy it, since you're stuck with it! Good luck with your manuscript, too.
Me in real life, huh? Brace yourself. (kidding)
ReplyDeleteI am a lot like you. I grew up really shy. I didn't even order for myself at a restaurant until I was 16. It wasn't until I got my first real job (retail) at 19 that I was forced into dealing with people. Even now when I'm faced with certain social situations, if there's any way to opt out of them, I will. I am so much better with words on paper than words out loud. It's probably why I don't really have too many close friends. Most of the ones I was close to at one time have become more like kindred spirits (Anne Of Green Gables reference) due to distance and different lives (everyone growing up, getting married, kids, moving, etc).
I spend a lot of time living in a fantasy world, even though part of me wants to be out there experiencing life more. I've got an obsessive personality, as you well know. Always have since I was 12! It's just been one crazy distraction after another: TV shows, movies, celebrities, hobbies, etc. It's a cycle that never ends.
And... that's about it! Oh, and I can listen to the same song over and over again for hours and not get sick of it (it does depend on the song, the song has to be epic awesome). ^_^
No vampires at all? There's an old dude up the road from me who I suspect could be a vampire! I wrote about him only because he is eerie and weird and I only see him at twilight. Hmm, but then he has a dog . . . I'm not so sure if vampires keep dogs unless he's just saving it for a quick snack when things get really tough :)
ReplyDeleteAs for life right now, I've just discovered those DVD machine outlets that allows you to rent new releases for such a cheap price, so I've been watching movies more than reading. Bad, I know . . . but still helps with that creativity thing we need. That's how I justify it to myself anyway.
Lan you write the coolest posts and ask the most intriguing questions! I totally get you on this one. Sometimes I feel like Im this multiple personality filled person...
ReplyDelete1. In busy, bustling social settings I tend to shut down. My sister calls me 'socially awkward' when i prefer to explain it as - I really cant be bothered. I find mindless chatter with random people very tiring. But put me with a small group of my close friends and Im loud, narky, sarcastic, semi-funny (in other words, the character that needs to get killed off really soon before i self-combust.)
2. Online, in my blog, I get to meet lots of people and CHOOSE HOW AND WHEN i want to interact with them. That for me is the best part abt social media. If Im tired? I just dont say anything on twitter/blogger. And nobody can get offended by my silence. If Im in one of my screamingly happy /funny moods? Then look out - y'all better UNfollow me in case i get too annoying.
the other nite me and the Hot Man were at a dinner party. And the whole time? I was thinking 'damn i wish i could twitter this thought...wow that will make a super blog post...this would be waaay funnier on Facebook...' How lame is that!
I would *like* to think I'm the same in real life but oddly enough ... I think I'm nicer online than in real life. I think it's because online, I can SEE what I'm typing, so I have time to edit my comments and stuff, but in real life, I kind of just say whatever is on my mind (not that I'm rude or anything, I just mean, I say the first thing on my mind a lot and don't think about it until later). I think I can be pretty shy as well, in unfamiliar situations.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty shy in real life, except around my family and a few close friends. It takes me a long time to feel comfortable around people, and if I'm in a big group of people, I usually don't talk much if at all. I think on my blog, more of my real personality comes out--the personality my family and friends know, but people who aren't close to me probably don't. And online I don't feel weird commenting on the blogs of people I don't know, but in real life there's pretty much no way I'd approach a stranger and tell them the same things.
ReplyDeleteCathy: Sometimes I'll drive to the supermarket and then turn around because there are too many people and someone I've gotten annoyed already! I'm super avoidant too. It's not that I can't carry on a conversation, I just prefer to do it via email.
ReplyDeleteJessica: You took the words right out of my blog. Its like we're living almost the same life! Right now I'm avoiding calling a bunch of people because I don't want to have to talk to them :(
Elizabeth: There aren't even any people I would suspect as being vampires because they're all so boring!!
Lani: I am the same. When I'm in a group I tend to be the shy one sitting there pretending there is something extremely interesting happening with the ice in my drink. But then when I'm in a small group, I'm unstoppable. On the other hand, when I'm angry, I tend to just say anything I think.
Jinny: Being able to think about what you type and also delete is really handy isn't it? Many a time I've written something overly sarcastic and then back tracked in case it offended someone. In real life, the comment would just slip out!
Karen: Imagine just walking up to a total stranger and commenting on something they're doing. That would be so funny. I agree it's much easier to chat about things on blogs. Especially since we already know the person is interested in books.
ReplyDeleteI do all my shopping online these days. I only venture out when I absolutely have to. I think I must have some anxiety disorder, but either way I like being able to read and occupy my mind. Also, blogging has been a great outlet and gives me something else to do.
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, I think I'm more shy typing stuff online to people who I don't know in RL, than I would be to a stranger in person!
I would totally go into detail here, but you pretty much know my feelings towards this kind of thing. I agree I'm 100% like this I try and be super sweet to people out here in blogger land. (I'm mean seriously I rarely go and buy things for my family, but I've gotten all sorts of books and stuff for my blogging friends, and they for me.) I was talking to a friend who lives in Georgia a few days ago, and it's weird how you can feel so comfortable talking to someone like that who you've only ever met through here, but it seems like they genuinely care. She's always texting asking me how I am or what's going on. I rarely get that from the people I live with or my friends I live near.
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't know what I would do without my blog buddies. :)
Rebecca: Good for you. I'd love to be able to transfer my blogger self into my real life. Something I am working on. Online grocery shopping is an awesome idea. I might check it out.
ReplyDeleteAsh: I haven't graduated to the point of texting or calling any blogger friends yet but it's great that you've met such great people. Like they say, you can't choose your family so anyone else you can find who you feel comfortable with is a big bonus.
I completely agree with you. I'm also starting to feel like a sidekick character and I hate it when I have to leave home (I have to or else I will become a hermit).
ReplyDeleteI'm crazier in real life, I guess, although I'm shy sometimes. Real life has interfered a lot since school started. I'm kinda like what Karen had said way above.
Darn, I'm using my writer's account again.
ReplyDeleteI loved this post because I really had to think about who I was on the blog world versus in real life. I want to say I think I am the same in my online world as I am in person. Although, I must say it's easier starting a conversation with a person online than it is in person.
ReplyDeleteThis summer I attended a book event (ALA) in New Orleans and we were meeting a few bloggers at a local bar for drinks and socializing. It took me a whole 30 minutes of sitting in the same restaurant to work up the courage to walk over to the table and say hi to everyone. I felt like an idiot and if it wasn't for my hubby being there with me I probably wouldn't have talked to anyone and walked out.
I'm glad I did though because I met some great bloggers like Rachel (parajunkee) Sasha (Sash & Em) Patti (The Book Addict)and Jess (Gone with the words).
I like to think of my blog persona as me, amplified. In real life I'm still geeky, silly, sarcastic and opinionated. I'm still friendly. But I'm quieter about it. I only geek out with other geeks, I only joke with close friends, and I'm a lot gentler with my opinions about things. I wouldn't say that I'm shy in real life, but I think I'm a bit more self conscious, if that makes sense.
ReplyDeletegah. this post ia SO me right now. I think its the routine thing thats messing with us, mines all out of wack and im therefore accomplishing nothing and finding no balance between work, reading/blogging, cleaning/errands, and having fun/socializing. I feel like there is so much to be done. Like today for example. I had to do a test for a course in the morning, and it only took 20 minutes. I dont work til noon so youd think id be ding laundry, the dishes, having a shower, goign for a run or at the very least eating a early lunch and/or catching a nap but nope. I'm not even in read-mode im going to mindlessly play the sims 3. ftw.
ReplyDeleteHa! I'm the same way. I'm much more outgoing on line than I am am in person and I'm always imagining silly scenarios JD style. ;)
ReplyDeleteSabrina: Real life is kinda annoying in that way isn't it? Always taking us away from our online stuff :)
ReplyDeleteNeri: Meeting other bloggers would be so cool. I haven't been able to connect with any bloggers in Melbourne as yet but I can't wait for it to happen.
Fairypenguin: "I like to think of my blog persona as me, amplified." I think that sums up all our answers in one go!
Alana: I haven't played Sims 3 in such a long time but I spend all my time trying not to do anything too productive either!
Jenny: I'm glad I'm not the only one who does a JD once in a while :)
I love u Lan!!!! You are like saying EXACTLY what goes on in my head on a daily basis. The most my family gets out of me is a conversation while I am cooking dinner (which I do mainly because it makes me available to them, and because if i dont cook i'll starve or eat too much junk/fast food) My time with friends is spent comparing them to characters in my books, wondering what I'm going to write this evening, did i charge my computer, oh and I need to chean out my car. I fake like I like being the center of attention, although I really want someone else to talk so that I can compare them to characters and find out what they think about in their spare time. I laugh at some people in ,my head, and have become too sarcastic to actually say what I am thinking out loud to someone, so I make jokes in my head. I spend my time wondering why on earth some people have nothing better to do, and still wondering why I dont seem to fit in normal society. It may be strange to others, but I think bloggers are the only ones that understand. It's so much more easy to seem outgoing online than it is in person. I feel like I have a bunch of AMAZING friends in the blog world that I love catching up with and chatting with (you, for example) but outside of here, I have enough to fit on one hand. Simply put, im am an introvert outside of blogging and had I never discovered blogging, I would always be boring!
ReplyDeleteI think blogging (and online in general) is a natural way for those of us who read and write to socialize - it is, after all, all based on the written word! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm your typical introvert - quiet overall, but put me with a group of people I know well, and I'm the life of the party. ;) I like to pretend I'm tactful, but DH and my boss just laugh if I try to tell them that...so apparently I'm as bluntly out spoken in real life as I am online. But...I'm not mean. :)