G R O W Y O U R W I N G S

I love McMenamin's.  Bob and I need to hang out their more--go to some of their music events or something.  But they are getting so crowded--especially at the Edgefield Estate.  That's not too far away from where we live and if we "shortcut" through that area to get home, we know immediately when there's an Edgefield event because there are cars and people walking everywhere.  Now that we're almost empty-nesters, we really should go to something.

One event caught our eye--a Halfway to St. Patrick's Day celebration on Sept 17.  Looks like there's something at most of the McMenamin locations--at least the bigger venues...

Of course it is on a work night..

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*** HALFWAY TO ST. PATRICK'S DAY ***

OK, we know, it's kind of a wacky idea -- no one celebrates halfway to St. Valentine's Day, right? (Although, now that we think about it… nahhh…)

But, regardless, we love St. Patrick's Day and we love being halfway to it! So let's have some drinks, hear some music and have a full-on good time together. Because why not?

Follow the links below for full details...

Events are Free and All Ages (unless noted)

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CORNELIUS PASS ROADHOUSE • HILLSBORO
Wednesday, September 17
With live music from The Clems at 7 p.m.

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EDGEFIELD • TROUTDALE
Wednesday, September 17
With live music and Irish dancers starting at 4:30 p.m.

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GRAND LODGE • FOREST GROVE
Wednesday, September 17
With live music and Irish dancers starting at 6 p.m.

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HOTEL OREGON • McMINNVILLE
Wednesday, September 17
With live music and Irish dancers starting at 6 p.m.

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KENNEDY SCHOOL • PORTLAND
Wednesday, September 17
With live music and Irish dancers starting at 5 p.m.

IRISH WHISKEY TASTING
7 p.m. | $40; reservations required | 21 & over

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OLD ST. FRANCIS SCHOOL • BEND
Wednesday, September 17
With live music and Irish dancers starting at 5:30 p.m.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

OLYMPIC CLUB • CENTRALIA
Wednesday, September 17
With live music starting at 5 p.m.

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SAND TRAP • GEARHART
Wednesday, September 17
With live music starting at 7 p.m.

I love it.  It really hasn't rained a lot lately and I kinda miss it. 

Good thing I guess since I live in the Pacific NW--I'd kinda go nuts if I didn't like the rain.

Of course by March I'll hate it again--but for now...

I'm sitting in my comfy chair, reading and listening to the rain.

And until now all I've done all day is sleep--like a rock.  No idea why I was so tired but everytime I tried to get up to do something my body just siad, "no" and went back to sleep.

So the rain is very much matching with my lazy day.

Edit October 2010 :: When I first posted this article back in 2008, I find it interesting that I was not sensitive to the extrovert digs that appear in this article and in my own responses to it.   I think the fact I was insensitive shows how very dark those days were for me. I can truly say that July 2008 was a very dark time for me personally. Yesterday I was reviewing some of that past history and it led me back here. I can definitely remember that in 2008 I did not at all see any negative aspects to the viewpoints of the article. I think I was feeling victimized. Something I'd never thought I'd hear myself saying about myself. And coming from that space, all I could think was "hell, yes!"

Now in 2010, coming out from a 2 year period where I've undergone some reflection, growth, and healing, I re-read this article last night and did notice and wish there had not been extrovert bashing. I winced a little at the digs at extroverts.  I just didn't bother to point that out in my relinking; which I should have.   After responding to a insightful comment byjeeronie , I decided to provide some new 2010 context here. I still very much liked the points about introverts.   However, turning the tables "against" extroverts doesn't make those points any stronger.   I've always liked to think I believe in tolerance and balance.   Recognizing that I can have my own episodes of intolerance is not something I enjoy.   I'm not going to change any of the original post below because it helps me frame that time of my life for me.   Perhaps the original article was only trying for humor.  But I just want to say that the world needs both introverts and extroverts.  I know I very much depend on my main extrovert in my life, my husband.  My life without this key characteristic of him would have been a lot less vibrant and enjoyable.  And if I've offended any extroverts, I apologize for that.

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This is going to be one of those TL:DR posts.  Triggered by another day at work.  The day itself was not bad actually.  But my continuing frustration with "people" continues.  Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em (really, you sure about that???)

Anyway I was thinking about fickleone's response to a recent meme where she said something like LJ or the Internet seems to be full of introverts.  When I woke up this morning I found myself thinking about how the Internet seems to be freeing up introverts into a world of socialization--but without the pressure and/or angst that comes with socialization in the real world.

Surely, I thought, someone out there has done a study and/or master's on this or something.

So at the end of today's work day, as I was walking through the parking garage thinking about how strange people were and how I could never seem to truly deal with politics and competition and territorial in-fighting and one-up-manship.  I mean I just DON'T CARE and I sometimes don't get why others DO? 

When I got home I remembered my thoughts of the morning, so I went a web-surfin'.  I googled "Introverts and Internet."

Whoa.  Huh.

174,000 hits.

I guess my thoughts were not unique.  I found master's and blogs and articles all over the place.  Some as early as 1996---and that's only looking through about two-pages worth of hits.

I won't get into some of the anger and frustration I felt when I found some folks who loved to equate introversion with being neurotic.  I mean some folks used the two terms interchangeably.

And of course, I re-found the an Atlantic article I remembered finding and reading before.   "Caring for Your Introvert" by Jonathan Rauch published in March 2003.  I can remember finding it an having an email conversation with fickleone about it at the time.  Being an extreme introvert married to an extreme extrovert I can so identify with this article.  If you haven't read it--GO THERE now.  A excerpt to entice you:

Extroverts are easy for introverts to understand, because extroverts spend so much of their time working out who they are in voluble, and frequently inescapable, interaction with other people. They are as inscrutable as puppy dogs. But the street does not run both ways. Extroverts have little or no grasp of introversion. They assume that company, especially their own, is always welcome. They cannot imagine why someone would need to be alone; indeed, they often take umbrage at the suggestion. As often as I have tried to explain the matter to extroverts, I have never sensed that any of them really understood. They listen for a moment and then go back to barking and yipping.

And this speaks to my thoughts of this morning..

Your article has also been one of the most popular pages on our Web site. We posted it three years ago, and it still gets more hits than practically anything else on the site.

Yes. The Internet is the perfect medium for introverts. You could almost call it the Intronet. You know the old New Yorker cartoon with a dog sitting at a computer saying to another dog, "On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog." Well, on the Internet, no one knows you're an introvert. So it's kind of a natural that when The Atlantic put this piece online, introverts beat a path to it; it's the ideal distribution mechanism by which introverts can reach other introverts and spread the word.

 

If there's anything in the world I hate more than anything it's being bored.  Luckily I don't normally have the problem--family, work, RL, and SPN fandom keeps me more than busy.  But I can just FEEL it starting right now.

My son just "graduated" from middle school and is now officially on summer break.  So no homework or getting him up early in the morning.  Which--YIPPEE!  But it's adding to the "what do I do now" possible boredom syndrome.  BTW he won a presidential achievement award at he graduation ceremony--which for anyone who knows me will know is a huge deal for him.  He's been struggling with getting his school work act together for a few years now and somehow has turned a corner in the last few months.  So again--more YIPPEE!

My grown daughter is spending more and more time away from home.  It's starting to REALLY feel like she's building her own, separate life.  Which is great--but again--another checkmark in the "what do I do now" column.

Hubby's working again--so he's gone a lot.

The program I'm managing at work is settling into more routine--which again--YIPPEE!  But again--checkmark.  (And man I hope I just didn't jinx that.)

BSG airs it's mid-season finale tonight and then nothing more til 2009.  SPN is on hiatus.  Dallas Con is over.  I did finally commit to going to the LA Con in March 2009 and will be at Chicago Con this November....but month's without new SPN-related stuff.  huh. 

I do need to watch S2 of Heroes and S4(?) of LOST.  But somehow I'm not highly motivated to do so.

I think Hubby is planning on taking us to the beach next weekend--so that's something.

But yeah.....I feel like I'm teetering on a boredom cravasse here. 

Warning--this post is self-reflective rambling and navel-gazing..

My husband randomly asked me tonight who said "If you can't stand the heat..."  We both thought Truman and he asked me to look it up to verify.  I did, and it was.  But the site I ended up on was a Keirsey Personality Type site. 

Now I've taken the Myers-Briggs test many, many times (seems to be a favorite test for employers to give out in training classes.)  I'm a INTJ.  First tested as such when I was about 25 years old and with each test through the years I've remained an INTJ.  I had an instructor once say that normally once you are an adult your personality type doesn't change much although you learn to "compensate" and develop other traits to cope when needed.

So, what's weird to me is that I went to this site's description of an INTJ.  It was termed the Mastermind (hee!)  Which both felt good and felt not right--because although I take leadership roles--I really prefer to not do so and to stay in the background.  I've since termed myself a "beta" in that I'm best suited to be a very strong second-in-command.  And, of course, I learned more about what a beta really was by reading metas about SPN (everything goes back to SPN!)   But I digress. 

So I was reading through this description--which felt flattering to me because Stephen Hawkings and Ayn Rand were among other Masterminds.  And towards the end came across this statement: "Natural leaders, Masterminds are not at all eager to take command of projects or groups, preferring to stay in the background until others demonstrate their inability to lead." 

Whoa.  I truly only thought that was me.  Not the "natural leader" part--but the part about only stepping into the leader role if someone who should be leading was not doing a good job.  I've done that so many times and it was why I frequently found myself in management roles at work--despite my preference not to.  It was eerie to see that stated exactly as I would have said it about myself (again other than the "natural leader" part.)

Here's the INTJ description.  You can find the other description types by clicking on the various tabs.

... get yourself some time to watch the last three episodes of S2 of Torchwood (dammit).

/end note

I love Sundays. Bob usually makes breakfast and rich, dark coffee. Alex and Emily are here. Emily's doing much better. Tim was up late last night and I'm still having trouble getting him up (*sigh*). It's beautiful outside. Got the back sliding glass door open and can hear the birds and smell the cut grass.

Listening to my favorite music on my iPod.

Lazy Sundays. Just feels so good.

...OMG.  fickleone and I are flying out tomorrow morning at the ungodly hour of 6:50 am.  We're in LA by about 9:00!  Hopefully we'll be able to check into the hotel waaayyy early!

I'm now officially off of work.  So much to do!


Boy that was a boring list.

I think I'm still in denial about this trip.  When I let myself think about it too much I get waaayyy too excited. 

I finally caved yesterday and bought Photoshop CS for my Mac.  I'd been wanting to get it for over a year since the previous version I had only worked on my old Windows-based laptop.  That's the software that supposed to be arriving today!  I Can. Not. Wait.  I love Photoshop and playing with graphics and photos.  I'm excited about being able to do stuff with all the photos/vids I take at the LA Con.  Plus I have a bunch of family photo stuff that's been waiting for me to get this software.

ETA:  And the second I posted this I received an email from Creation about the posting of the "final?" schedule for this weekend.  Here. 

ETA 2:  I promised some work friends and family members that I'd spam them with info over the weekend.  I will be doing the same on my LJ.  I can't link these other folks to my LJ because I just don't want to worry about fully expressing myself and I definitely keep my work environment free from some of my freedom of expression items!  (grin).  So I either have to cut/paste into email or figure out that LJ filter stuff.  I don't even know if I can set up the filters to keep some people *only* viewing some things.  But you know?  My LJ is mostly public and I don't feel like changing that.  So if I even tell them my LJ name that would be a potential problem.  So cut/paste I guess it is.

It's probably just because I'm tired.  I didn't get much more than 4 hours of sleep last night.  But things seem weird to me tonight. 




So less than 2 weeks (OMG!!!! *hyperventilates*) until the LA con.   I watched Mystery Spot for about the billionth time this weekend and spent Sunday evening browsing LJ for meta's on the episode.  I really, really, really love that episode.  It's right up there with WIaWSNB for me.

I'm reading a manuscript written by a young man in his twenties.  I'm about halfway through.  It's a biography of his high school days.  I'm very impressed with this young man.  For a guy so young he's had a lot of experiences--many not good.  Yet he's cheerful, friendly, and a well-rounded human being. 


So the Superbowl is about to start.  I've decided I'm taking advantage of the national obsession (especially in the male department) to take what will hopefully be a quick trip to Home Depot to pick out various bathroom stuff for Tim's bathroom remodel.  I figure Home Depot will be very very empty when the Superbowl is on.  *crosses fingers*

I like football--more and more in fact.  But I like the idea of an empty Home Depot even more.  In and Out in under 45 minutes I hope.  I need to pick out tile, flooring, cabinet, paint, counter-top.  Since this is an extra bathroom upstairs, I'm just gonna go totally and boringly beige.  I never want to remodel another bathroom again for eons.  This is the last room in the house to go through a major change.  Took us 10ish years--but it's just about over.