I had a perfectly balanced day planned-- an early morning stop at my favorite sacred space, followed by a cup of Earl Grey with bergamont, a sensible multi-grain scone (not chocolate chip), and some Anne Lamott to feed the mind and spirit. And absolutely no more than ten minutes on email. Swear!Then on to the day's writing project, a piece in desperate need of resuscitation and revision. In the throes of deep rigormortis, if the truth be told of it. Partner was sleeping off a a long hospital shift, and rapscallion cats were entwined and down for the count.
Oh, baby, I had it made in the shade.
Enter the jackhammers.
An entire marching brigade of them outside my window in the hands what appeared to be three or twelve shouting, spitting, snorting, hawking, potty-mouthed gentlemen who spent the next few hours breaking up our neighbor's tile floor.
I think I might have survived the ear-rattling whirring, buzzing and blasting of their work. It really was the constant talking that nearly drove me to rush over and take a jackhammer to my own head. Put the poor girl out of her misery! Was there not a single introvert in the bunch?
Which led me to consider later, after throwing up my hands and going to the gym, what it might be like to live in an entire community of introverts, who most always would use their inside voices.
I found this short essay from a fun site called The Introvertz Coach. It's entitled "A Planned Community -- for Introverts!" Check it out! Call it Nirvana, Shangrila, or ecstasy. Just be sure and call me.
In the meantime, I'm back to work on my manuscript tomorrow, but earlier, way, way earlier. Off to bed. I'm up at 4:30!
Don't forget we have our first Milestone Mondays feature coming up! We'd love to post your news.
Hammered,
Mary
9 comments:
Thank you for pointing us toward the Introvertz Coach. It is a great site. And of course, I like yours a lot too.
Thanks, Bran Fan! Love your "handle".
:-)
Best,
Mary
Thank goodness for quiet places like libraries, which are made for people like us.
Best wishes,
Jennifer J.
Jennifer: As a formerly-practicing librarian, the noise and onslaught of people was one of the things that drove me out of working in the public libraries. People complained that the quiet was oppressive, they wanted their libraries to be community centers, not tombs, etc. Now, I think a lot of those same people wish they had the option for quiet in a noisy world.
I took the Meyers-Briggs test to find out what professions were best suited to my personality type, by the way. I had to laugh, because the top three recommendations were Librarian, Teacher, and Social Worker... three professions where the onslaught of neediness is nonstop and the opportunity to recharge is slight.
P.S. This in no way diminishes my admiration or respect for practicing Librarians, Teachers, and Social Workers. I just appreciate the fact that unless the organization is progressive, the areas for introverts to recharge can be hard to find. I used to work as an assistant teacher for a daycare in which there was no designated staff room and nowhere to go for a lunch break. Needless to say, there was a high turnover of teachers.
Sorry about your "introvert interruptus" experience, Mary. I just got back from a writers' retreat in Oregon that was an introvert's dream--a fairy-like setting in a forest and time alloted to write! Just the sounds of birds and a babbling brook...
Hi, Jennifer, Alkelda and Terry!
Fun to hear from you-- I haven't ever tried writing in a public library or coffee shop, though I've often thought I should try. I think I would get distracted by the other people, even if they were quiet.
I have a habit of spinning stories in my head about people I see. It gets a little exhausting after a while. Dodger stadium is like, um, pure torture to me. :-}
Terry, your writing retreat sounds fabulous! Lucky girl. I'll have to head over to your blog to hear more about it.
Best,
Mary
But the good thing about unexpected interruptions, like the jackhammering, is that they sometimes give us something to write about. ;-)
Though I will say I used to live in a city where they jackhammered in the middle of the night (and me with a day job that required me to be up at 5:15 am!), and I hate the sound of jackhammers above just about any other sound.
Hi, Liquidambar!
Next to jackhammers, dental drills for me. :-)
Mary
Post a Comment