While I Was Gone: Diary Excerpts

Hello everyone – I’m back!

Where have I been?

Well as you know I had a workation. To be honest it ended up being hardly any work and mostly just a lot of snacks and acation. But I feel great and very much back to my old self. And I’m confident the time out will be repaid in fresh insights on the introvert life to share with you.

I also took time to organise and decorate the new apartment in my signature introvert minimalist style. As a typical home-loving introvert this has been really important for me. I know a lot of you are interested in simplicity and minimalism – makes sense given we introverts are easily overwhelmed – so in upcoming posts I’ll be sharing a bunch of cool home organisation and decor ideas for the minimalism-loving introvert.

I  also spent a relaxing and happy Christmas and New Year’s hanging out with my dearest loved ones – family, friends, and of course the Gilmore Girls. (Those last four words…)

Next week the Louder Minds blog will return to usual. Meanwhile, I thought I’d share some excerpts from my diary (aka personal Facebook page) over the last few weeks.

While I Was Gone: Diary Excerpts

Tuesday November 8

Phase 1: Craving KFC
Phase 2: Eating too much KFC
Phase 3: Feeling ill from too much KFC
Phase 4: Refractory period
Phase 5: Wishing there was some leftover KFC

Wednesday November 30

Starting to question the French program I’ve been doing. I’ve learned how to say I wanted to vomit this morning and I thought I was sick but I’m pregnant and also My car is on fire.

Yet still not I’m not embarrassed to have Lionel Ritchie on my iPod or even What’s your damage, Heather?

Sunday December 4

Christmas tree is up and decorated. #lazygirl

Saturday December  31

Owner Of A Lonely Heart comes on the car radio.

Me: Hey do you remember who sings this?
Craig: Yes.
Me: Who?
Craig YES.
Me: Geez if you don’t wanna tell me…
Craig: *sigh*

Sunday January 1

My New Year’s Resolutions for 2017:

1. Give up burpees
2. No white wine
3. Consume more antioxidants (chocolate and red wine)
4. Stop trying to activate peanuts in rocky road
5. Accept that I cannot save the original meaning of literally.

Tuesday January 10

I have a knee injury, so I’m skipping combat and riding a bike at the gym. I’m literally the only person using a bike.

Guy approaches, surveys his options, ignores the many bikes available elsewhere and chooses the one RIGHT BESIDE ME. As he puts his water bottle in the thing, I summon my best what-the-fuck expression and glare passive-aggressively first at his water bottle and then at ALL THE MANY AVAILABLE BIKES NOT RIGHT NEXT TO ME.

Guy collects his water bottle and disappears.

So now I’m wondering… Did he change his mind or did I repel him with the sheer strength of my crankiness? Is this the superpower I’ve long hoped for? Can I harness this ability to also stop people from sitting next to me in otherwise empty cafes?

More urgently, should I get a cape?

Wednesday January 11

Since moving in October after 18 years in our previous apartment we’ve completely re-decorated (except the white leather sofa).

We’ve bought new dining and bedroom furniture. Downsized to a cute little bookshelf. I refurnished my lovely home office. Updated lamps and cushions. Organised and re-organised storage space until everything felt like it was in the right place. Even found plants able to survive the super sunny aspect here (though probably not my neglectful care).

But something has just never felt right… until we got a wine rack!

And now, finally, the place feels like home.

Friday January 13

Today I did something totally uncharacteristic.

I wanted to email a former lecturer for advice about a project and instead of overthinking and working myself into a state of neurotic immobilisation as I normally would, I simply did it. Wrote the email, proof-read it, sent it.

It makes me wonder what regular non-neurotic people do with all that extra time they don’t spend overanalysing every little thing. They really should have invented flying cars by now.

Saturday January 14

Me: It’s sad you still listen to the same songs you’ve been listening to for 30 years.
Me: But I just downloaded an album that was released in 2015.
Me: Was it a remix of the same songs you’ve been listening to for 30 years?
Me: IT WAS RELEASED IN 2015!!
Me: Yep. Sad.

#MinistryOfSound80sMix

Tuesday January 17

Realises she’s not a people person.

Starts blog about not being a people person.

Creates group for blog readers who are also not people persons.

Struggles to deal with quickly growing group of people who are not people persons.

Melts down from having to deal with some of the people who are not people persons but are still, unfortunately, people.

Wednesday January 18

FITNESS CRISIS: Painful knee
CONSULTATION: Physio
DIAGNOSIS: Torn meniscus
HIGHLIGHT: Saying thank you when he called my injury ‘acute’
CHIEF REGRET: Not pretending I had a burnt tongue so I could keep asking about my torn menithcith
CURRENT MOOD: Tim Tams

Saturday January 21

A beautiful, new notebook… a symbol of life’s infinite possibilities. You open it, and smell the pages. You delight in the quality of the paper, the perfect space between the lines. You uncap your pen and, almost holding your breath, you begin to write. A world of possibility swirls from idea to word, from mind to page.

But the letters come out irregular and squadgy. It’s like your hand is a five-legged spider. The pristine whiteness is too much pressure!

You tear out the page, find its partner and remove that page too. You make a silent pact with the notebook to pretend those pages were never there. And you begin again.

A beautiful, new notebook…

Sunday January 22

Lately I’ve been hitting the Rocklea Road* pretty hard.

Had blackouts where I find Original and Dark Cherry wrappers in the bin with no memory of how they got there. Bought ‘extras’ for my sister that she never saw, causing my 10-year-old nephew to chide me harshly. Woken from a nap in a pool of coconut and marshmallow.

Now I may finally have hit rocklea bottom. Wondering if there’s a 12-step program for me…

(*Australian brand of rocky road)

Monday January 23

Me: What do you call irrelevant comments about blunt pruning shears?
Me: Non-secateurs.
Me: Seriously, how do we not have our own comedy show.

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So that’s me… Now what have you been up to?