They get some, I get some, the situation gets some

I have a little under half an hour, till I need to get on a conference call with my work. I’m traveling this week, with a user conference on the other side of the country – literally. My sleeping schedule is pretty much thrown off — for here, that is. My body is still keeping with the time zone it’s used to, so I’m waking up at 4:30 a.m. instead of 7:30. And I’m ready for bed by 8.

I haven’t been doing a very good job of getting to bed by 8, but at least I haven’t gone much past 10:00. That’s some victory. I’m pretty much resigned to the fact of being “dog tired” all this week, and I’m living accordingly. Not expecting much of myself in loud and busy situations, not expecting myself to be able to sustain attention for more than an hour at a time.

Yesterday I was in an all-day training which wasn’t very well designed. So, it was hard to pay attention, especially during 2-hour blocks of time. I kept losing my place, then catching up… spikes and troughs, peaks and valleys. Just like me. Plus, my boss was messaging me during some of the presentation, so my attention was divided several times. By the end of the day, I was wiped out.

But (of course) they had a reception at the end of the day. Two hours of milling around with people who were drinking and becoming progressively louder. Incredibly awkward. For me, anyway. I can’t stand those kinds of things, but to me, it’s obligatory, because that’s where people are “relaxed” (after getting a few drinks in them), so they feel more comfortable opening up.

Not a good use of time for me. Pure obligation. I was so… challenged, last night. I was tired. So, so tired. Overwhelmed. Super-saturated. Couldn’t hear properly. Couldn’t talk smoothly. Couldn’t interact the way I wanted to. I worked overtime to compensate with my deliberate (feigned) curiosity about other people’s lives, got stuck in a fewe extended monologues on things that mattered to me (of course they were fascinating! 😉 ), and mumbling and bumbling when put on the spot. I seriously cannot put words together when I’m tired, can’t hear, and a group of people (who were seamlessly talking about themselves and their lives just a minute before) turn to me and say, “What about you?”

Ugh. It’s just not my skill. Sometimes I can do it, other times not. Last night, I couldn’t. Oh, well.

I was supposed to go to dinner with a “select group” of attendees who were hand-picked to talk about some special aspect of this special technology. And I was totally going to go. I had agreed to go, so my system told me, Go. When you commit to something — especially when you’ve accepted a gift that’s kind of an honor — you follow through. So, I was going to do the right thing and stick with my Plan.

But when I got back to my room to wash up and change, I thought, “What the hell am I thinking? I can’t deal with those people now! Especially after they’ve had a few drinks in them.” People tend to get louder, when they’re drinking, and my hearing was not up to par. I felt like I was swimming under water, and everything around me was muffled, dampened, without clear, distinguishable sounds. Plus, when I can’t hear, I have to get close to people to distinguish their words, and that either makes them uncomfortable, or it gives them “the wrong idea” and they seem to think I’m interested in them. When I’m listening intently, I can be very interactive, and I’ve noticed that with me, it elicits an uncomfortable “vibe”, and with women, they seem to draw away from me.

I don’t mean anything by it. I’m just trying to hear what they’re saying and understand what they mean. I’m not looking for a date. But apparently, that’s what people do on business trips? I’ve heard about something like that… Not me, though. Nope. No thanks. Infidelity is not for me.

So, instead of going to dinner with the crowd, I went to dinner by myself. It was very nice. I got to a restaurant that a friend recommended. And I’m going to leave my options open tonight, in terms of what I do. There’s a customer appreciation event after the conference today, so I’ll go for a little while. But I can’t stay late. I’ll set some alarms for myself, so I look like I’m getting a message or a text.  Then I can excuse myself. And retreat.

I don’t expect to be as wiped out tonight as I was yesterday, though. Today and tomorrow, the conference will be at a pace I’m more comfortable with — a keynote opening with speakers selling an hour-long burst of information download, followed by a short break to catch my breath, then another info download, a break, more info… lunch… more info… break… more info… then the event.

After tonight, I’m “off the hook” for all that socializing. The conference ends tomorrow afternoon, then I’m staying in town till Thursday, so I can catch up with friends I haven’t seen in 20-some years. Fun! And it’s my pace.

So, in the grand scheme of things, everybody gets their “piece” of my energy and attention. The event itself, the people I’m with, the dynamics we have, and me. Last but certainly not least — me.