“What is your favorite way to spend a lazy day?”
I was born the year that “Information Overload” became a thing. I grew up with the Internet supplying whatever I wanted to know about whatever. Before the World-Wide Web there was USENET, so instead of Googling for an answer I would post a question to a newsgroup; people eager to show off would be quick to share their information and their opinions. So not only did I learn details about technology and politics and religion and economics, but I also learned the points on which people disagree and I got to see them spar in public. This is arguably a better way to learn than reading a Wikipedia article.
So, soaking up knowledge is a thing with me. For example, a few months ago when we heard a critter scurrying around in our ceiling, I didn’t just call the exterminator – I researched how to narrow down what kind of animal it could be, and what kind of damage it could do, and how it might be getting into the ceiling, and what methods could be used to get it out and keep it out. I didn’t have the equipment, the time, or the desire to do any of these methods; that’s why I called the exterminator. But I wanted to at least have a clue of how he did his work so that I didn’t have to simply write a check and trust him. Come to think of it, I don’t like to rely on anyone else to fix my problems for me. Maybe it’s a trust issue.
I also have trouble getting to know people sometimes; I’m terrible with names and faces, but I remember them in terms of the things they do and their attitude towards the world. (Programmer humor: I reference people not by name but by value.) So I can be friendly and outgoing but I’m still an introvert by nature; social experiences can be draining.
The upshot of this is that I do a lot, I spend a lot of time around people, but those opportunities where I get to have some quiet time to shut myself off from the world – oh, I cherish those times, because this is when I can process all the stuff I’ve stored up in my head and on my iPhone’s notepad. I catch up on my email (a particularly good day is when I can bring my inbox down to zero). I read the web sites I’ve bookmarked, and then I delete the bookmarks. I go through my to-do list and I do all the things I remembered to do while I was sitting at the office. I sort out my thoughts and organize my brain.
Sometimes, like now, I’ll even dump my thoughts into a blog entry.
(By the way – the critter turned out to be a mouse. Florida Pest Control sealed up a few places where it could have been getting access from the roof, set a few traps, and took care of the problem. Whew!)