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Being a Happy Introvert Makes Me Fussy When Choosing Friends

Thursday, April 25th, 2013 at 3:33 pm

These days I would describe myself as a “Happy Introvert”. I spend a lot of time alone, but it’s not because I dislike other people, but because I enjoy my own company so much.

I feel like I need a regular dose of solitude almost as much as I need air, food and water. But what I really like is QUALITY alone time. I love a nice day out somewhere on my own. If I have a day out in the city, I love going round the art galleries on my own, or doing a bit of urban hiking to see where I end up.

I like people, but only in small doses. If I’m around lots of people, I don’t like it to go on too long. If I’m with just one other person or a small group, I can enjoy longer time with them. It has to be the right person though.

This is the key thing. It has to be the right person. I’m very choosy about who I spend lots of time with. Here’s why: Because I enjoy my own company so much, this means the bar is set very high. If I spend the day with someone and I end up feeling that I would have had a better time if I’d been there on my own, that’s a clear sign that it’s not a good idea to spend lots of time with them.

It’s good to trust your feelings in life. If you’re generally happy and healthy, your emotions tend to tell you the truth about whether things are right for you or not. This is true of all kinds of things. If you feel worse during or after doing something than you did before you did it, that’s a clear sign that it’s not working for you.

Of course, sometimes you can feel sad after something because you are sad that it’s come to an end, or you are sad that you won’t see the person for a while. But that feels different to just feeling unhappy or exhausted because you didn’t have a nice time or because it didn’t work out somehow because the person or situation wasn’t suited to you.

Anyway, you know what I’m saying. Basically, you know what the truth is if you listen to your true feelings. Unless you’re fucked in the head or an emotional wreck, in which case, good luck!

Anyway, back to the introvert thing. Extroverts need social activity the same way introverts need solitude. It’s the natural position they gravitate towards. But extroverts can sometimes be on their own, and introverts can sometimes socialise. But it’s about where your default setting is.

And you can get happy extroverts, unhappy extroverts, happy introverts, and unhappy introverts (of course I am simplifying things here just to make a point). None of this really changes where their natural position is on the introvert-extrovert scale. An unhappy extrovert might feel less unhappy if his friends invite him out to a party. A happy extrovert might have the best time ever at the party. An unhappy introvert will perhaps feel less unhappy if they can at least have their personal space to sort through their unhappy thoughts and feelings in their own way. But a happy introvert will actively ENJOY being on their own. As I said, I’m really simplifying things here just to make a point.

And that’s really all my point is: If you’re irritating or a challenge to be around, you’re never going to have a happy introvert as a best friend. It’s just not going to happen. On the other hand, if you’re a lovely person and very easy to be around, a happy introvert could be the most loyal friend you’ll ever have.

HOWEVER, luckily for a happy introvert, a happy introvert is a happy introvert’s true best friend, so a happy introvert can easily be their own best friend.

Other people can be great to spend time with too though. Just not all the time…

High Definition Panoramic View of London

Tuesday, February 26th, 2013 at 10:08 am

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Here is a fantastic panoramic view of London, taken from the top of the BT Tower. It’s great! You can spin all round and zoom in really close. You can look in peoples’ windows. Spot someone wanking and you win a prize!

http://btlondon2012.co.uk/pano.html

The only problem I have with it is: why did they only choose cloudy days to take the photos? Maybe it is because it would mean some of the photos would have been pointing into the sun? But they could have been clever and taken those when the sun had gone round the other side, keeping the direct sun out of the panoramic. It’s probably just because London is often cloudy.

Anyway, to me, this is like a much bigger version of the view of Bristol that you get from the top of Cabot Tower.

Worcester and Gloucester Are Very Similar

Wednesday, October 10th, 2012 at 6:34 pm

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I had to drive to Worcester on Monday, to sign up with a job agency for a job which is actually in Gloucester. As I was driving through Worcester, helped by a satnav, it occured to me just how similar Worcester is to Gloucester. Actually, it’s almost identical.

What they have in common:

Small English cities, both in the middle of their respective, predominantly rural, counties (Worcestershire and Gloucestershire).
River Severn running through them.
Same kind of streets of endless red brick houses.
Same kind of pedestrianised central shopping area.
Same types of roads.
Same types of buildings.
Same type of ordinary small city feel (kind of nice but also kind of nothing special).

Worcester Cathedral (surrounded by inferior Godless buildings built from Satanic red bricks):

Gloucester Cathedral (built by God herself, immediately prior to menstruating):

As I walked through the pedestrianised Worcester city centre, it seemed just like Gloucester. The same types of shops, the same kind of look about the whole place, even the same kind of smells from the food outlets. It all felt totally reassuringly familiar.

In fact, on the way back home from Worcester, I stopped at Gloucester to take a look at the new place I will be working. At one point while I was driving out of Gloucester, along some totally normal looking road lined with totally average red brick houses, for a few seconds I drifted off and thought I was still in Worcester.

So, the moral of the story is this:

If you’ve ever been to either Gloucester or Worcester, and you’re ever thinking about going to the other one just to see what it’s like, don’t bother. Save yourself the time and travel expense.

As for the counties, if you want to explore a lovely rural county somewhere around the western side of England, go to Gloucestershire. It’s better than Worcestershire. This is a fact. Actually, you can even forget visiting Gloucester city itself, and just visit the rest of Gloucestershire, because the rest of Gloucestershire is better than Gloucester. Not that I’m saying that Gloucester is a nasty place, far from it. It’s fine. It’s just that it shouldn’t be your reason for visiting Gloucestershire. You won’t find the essence of Gloucestershire there. You’ll just find Gloucester.

And this is what annoys me when some people, particularly those from a larger city such as Bristol (and therefore think of places mainly in terms of cities), use the word “Gloucester” to refer to the county rather than the city. It’s not the same thing! This is why the county has “shire” put on the end of it, to distinguish it from the city. The two are very different things. Of course, Gloucester is in Gloucestershire, but Gloucestershire is so much more than just Gloucester. I do NOT live, and have NEVER lived, in Gloucester; but I DO live, and have ALWAYS lived, in Gloucestershire.

It’s only because the county takes it’s name from its main city. It doesn’t happen with counties where that is not the case. For example, people don’t refer to those living in Devon as living in Exeter, or those living in Cornwall as living in Truro, or those living in Cumbria as living in Carlisle, or those living in Essex as living in Chelmsford. Okay, I’ve listed enough; you get my point, right?

This is Gloucester:

It’s fine, but it’s not somewhere I particularly go for a leisurely day out.

This is Gloucestershire:

The kind of place you can prance around gayly singing happy songs at the clouds floating above.

Visit to Duntisbourne Abbots

Friday, October 5th, 2012 at 7:03 pm

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Following on from my previous posts Duntisbourne Abbots Soulmate Devastation Technique and Duntisbourne Abbots Soulmate Devastation Technique (Part 2), last Saturday I actually visited the place for myself.

Despite it being less than 20 miles away from where I live, I had never been there. Luckily, I used a sat nav. It was just as well really, because it involved driving down lots of minor lanes that I was unfamiliar with.

The drive there involved going through mostly nondescript rural scenery. You see, where I live is hilly and interesting, but when you go to the more eastern side of Gloucestershire, it it more up on the flat Cotswold plateau, so it can tend to be just lots of flat farm fields.

Anyway, once I arrived at Duntishbourne Abbots it was hillier, and I was filled with excitement of finally seeing somewhere for real that I had only seen images of. I actually drove through Duntisbourne Leer first, driving my car through the stream that crosses the road. After driving through Duntisbourne Abbots, I drove out the other side to find the location of the album cover of Duntisbourne Abbots Soulmate Devastation Technique.

The Duntisbourne Abbots Sign

Click here to see this location on Google Street View.

A short distance up the road from here, I parked my car at the side of the road. After relaxing for a while, and studying my map of the area, I decided to walk along the footpath across the fields to the nearby village of Winstone.

Winstone Church

I have no particular fascination with churches. I just thought this scene made a lovely photo.

Click here to see this location on Google Street View.

After this, I thoroughly enjoyed walking around Winstone, which didn’t take long because it is so tiny. After a short while, I made my way back down another footpath which went back in the direction of Duntisbourne Abbots. However, it was such a lovely sunny day, I just felt like sitting in the field for a bit.

After just enjoying the scene as it was for a while, I eventually listened to Power by Marillion on my MP3 player:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aZxKeANsIw

This is the kind of song that really deserves to be listened to loud on earphones in a field on a sunny day in Gloucestershire, with wind blowing through the trees. Trust me on that one.

Duntisbourne Abbots