Meyers-Briggs (which is rife with problems IMHO but I'll reference anyway) pegs me as an introvert, which surprised me a little this last round, but may very well be accurate. This chart unfortunately doesn't help me diagnose myself at all.

Wait, I'm lying. I came to that conclusion after reading it the first two times. Upon the third revisit I'm willing to say that according to this chart I mostly fall into the introvert category.

I am one of those people who is very quiet in a group of people I do not know or am not comfortable with, but can be very loud, jovial, social, and outgoing in a group or social situation where I am comfortable. It takes me a while to get a feel for new people. I like to stay quiet at first and observe. What might make them laugh? What are they thinking about? How do they work?

When it comes to small talk I can do it and I understand its function, which is why I will participate in it. Small talk puts people at ease. It makes them feel comfortable with you, and hopefully vice versa. It can lead to big talk down the road(which is what I prefer - when it stays small for too long, i.e. repeated interactions, I start to find it boring).

My favorite friends are the ones I can hang out in silence with. We know each other well enough if we don't have something to talk about, we don't need to talk. It is relaxed and unforced.

Tonight I had to go to a bar and settle matters with someone. It was draining. I was invited to go elsewhere with others afterwards but I much preferred to leave alone, go back to my place, write down some of what had happened, and turn it over in my mind.

My roommate considers herself an introvert, but I think it is more a case of shyness. From what I've observed, she loves to talk. (That is my polite way of saying she talks far too much for me.) She has a lot of trouble making friends however. I think her assessment of introversion allows her to dismiss her lack of social connections as a fixed aspect of her personality, which in turn means she doesn't have to work on it - it allows her to avoid confronting and potentially overcoming what I believe is really shyness and a little social anxiety.

This is something I've thought about a fair bit since moving in with her and realizing how much she likes to talk. She also likes to go out and do things too - I'm not making this assessment off of just one trait, of course!

Anyway, some ruminations.