Extrovert?

 I’ve often been told that I’m an extrovert. I look at myself—my social needs, wants and tendencies—and think “Eh, mebbe. Depends on the day, the moment.”

There is no such thing as a pure introvert or extrovert. Such a person would be in the lunatic asylum. —Carl G. Jung

Tell it Carl!

From Fast Company:

Introverts (or those of us with introverted tendencies) tend to recharge by spending time alone. They lose energy from being around people for long periods of time, particularly large crowds.
Extroverts, on the other hand, gain energy from other people. Extroverts actually find their energy is sapped when they spend too much time alone. They recharge by being social.

The former feral still known as Rocco

Sometimes I recharge the old body and brain by crawling into bed with a ripping yarn (now reading Apocalypse Now Now by Charlie Human), Rocco (the skittish but MOST def no longer feral beastie) and a cuppa vanilla chai. I’ve been known to resuscitate my spirit with a good long trike ride. And there are times when nothing else will do the energizing job than times spent with chums or kicking up my heels at a good shindig.

Hi, my name is Donna and I’m an Ambivert.

Things’ve changed since I lost my hearing (damn, I just know I left it here somewhere! Prolly hiding out with my reading glasses which are also, disturbingly, MIA too). Parties are exquisitely exhausting and ‘party’ is now defined as any gathering of four or more. Think about it. I’m a late, very late, deafened babe. This means that I’ve, essentially, got no language that’s simple and easy to understand without a lot of sweaty concentration. Convo in group situations tends to run fast and speakers overlap one another. There’s just no way that I can keep up.

Mind you, communication is complicated enough even with hearing and everyone speaking the same language.

We live in America,' he said. 'Everyone who speaks English understands you. How they interpret you is something else.”
~ Carrie Fisher, Postcards from the Edge

There’s knowing what words are being uttered and then the next hurdle comes—understanding what the speaker’s dishing. I can’t get to that mega important bit if I miss the first part.

I need to improve, expand and hone my ASL chops. I gotta crank the lipreading up a few notches or so. I need to not feel like such a bungling nincompoop when friends and fam have to resort to writing shit down for me and I need to not be afraid to ask people to write shit down. This whole communication thing has just GOT to become easier, less enervating.

Warum? Because Baby Dolls, though not a real live, true, honest to Bast extrovert, I’m an ambivert with extra-honey leanings. I loves me some social time. Meeting new folks, hearing new stories, hanging with all my buds really trips my trigger but it’s mega exhausting—much more than it was pre-deafening. Of course.