Girl on the NetIDEA: extrovert train carriages. Like those ‘chat to me’ benches, but a whole carriage of the train dedicated to people who wanna talk rather than just read a book or listen to music (through headphones, of course) and enjoy the scenery. Introverts can drop their extrovert mates off in those carriages so they have people to chat to, and extroverts will leave us alone to enjoy our quiet time.
Extroverts do this ‘I’ll keep you company!’ thing at really distressing times imho. Like, just as I’ve managed to extricate myself from the group and I’m getting ready to go out for a walk, someone will go ‘I’ll come with you!’. Oh noooo I’m only walking to get AWAY from people! Or I say I’m nipping to the shops or out for a vape ‘I’ll keep you company!’ - I don’t WANT company that’s why I’ve found an excuse to go away!
When I was working I’d get excited about lunch breaks on a nice day: plan which bench I’d head for in the park, look forward to the specific Tesco Meal Deal sandwich I’d eat on it and the book I’d read while there. Then half the time some random colleague would pop up at last minute to ‘keep me company’, and I’d miss out on my plan. Instead I had to TALK to a COLLEAGUE for the WHOLE OF LUNCH. And that’s basically work. Extroverts stole my lunch breaks.
Graham Downs@girlonthenet I can probably count on one hand the number of "proper" lunch breaks I've taken in my 26 years of working. I've never liked them, I've always felt they were a waste of time, and I've pushed back every time I've worked at a company that's tried to force me to get up from my desk and go somewhere else to eat.
It's just not me. I'd rather just munch down a sandwich at my desk and get on with it. Getting up and taking a proper "lunch break" is just such a disruption in my life. Plus I've found that when I have gone somewhere over lunch, I find it very difficult to get back into "work mode" upon my return (not to mention how much productivity we lose by people returning late from lunch).
YMMV, of course. That's just me. :-)
Crocodile Slattern@girlonthenet this used to happen all the time to me. Sit in the break room reading a book and then it comes, "what are you reading then?" and then I'd realise there was no way out and I wasn't going to get to read it. It was a library job as well so we were talking to strangers all shift.
@tobyleaf gutting, you have my sympathies 😢
samiamsam
Final Round Player 😷🇪🇺🍸@girlonthenet Sounds like you need this.
Jacob Something@girlonthenet I used to have a colleague I went on lunch breaks with, and we had a deal: We each bring our books. And we read the whole time. No word was spoken.
Ms. Denie@jkanev @girlonthenet we also need a word for "people you can be quiet with"
Interpipes 💙@girlonthenet I still feel some kind of giddy way about the memory of the first time I went to a restaurant for a sit down lunch on my own with the paper and the accompanying realisation that I could actually do this whenever the hell I felt like it.
Abhiram@girlonthenet and to make matters worse, THEY TALK TO YOU WHEN YOU HAVE HEADPHONES ON
econads@axel @girlonthenet can't you just keep the headphones in?
@econads @girlonthenet You can, yes.
But then you're the asshole for refusing to engage and people get really high school about it. 
But then you're the asshole for refusing to engage and people get really high school about it.
@axel @girlonthenet
Aww. Life is hard at times. :-(
Learning to stand up for yourself takes time, but it's often not as bad as you think it's going to be..
Of course I don't know your situation so sorry if I'm coming across patronising.
Aww. Life is hard at times. :-(
Learning to stand up for yourself takes time, but it's often not as bad as you think it's going to be..
Of course I don't know your situation so sorry if I'm coming across patronising.
Naiyer@girlonthenet Well, you can always don a pair of headphones and pretend you are listening to something. Works well for me but yeah, it is a chore.
i eat in my car