An ISTJ Nightmare

This is a true story.  I actually had this dream about a month before the trip.  When the trip to Australia was first introduced, one of my friends wanted to "wing-it."  To which I replied, "You do realize Australia is about the same size as the United States?  And we only have a two week vacation?  No, we are not 'winging-it.'"  So, we compromised.  There was a mix of planning and non-planning.  Since we were seeing several different parts of Australia and we had domestic flights to get places, we need to have some sort of itinerary.

And we did.  There were three of us going, so each one took a different location on our trip to plan.  One person had Brisbane, one had Sydney, and one had Ayer's Rock.  The last location fell to me by default since I was the only one over 25 and could rent the car we needed.  We had a rough sketch of our plane details and excursions in each area.

No wonder I had the following nightmare.  First, I dreamt that a bunch more people came on the trip then we had planned.  Second, one of them wanted to take a vote on what we were going to do.  I think that was the more stressful part.  Take a vote??  We already had an itinerary, we're not changing things just because more people arrived.  There's no voting after we arrive to change the trip!!  I'm all about flexibility within the itinerary, but not changing set plans that have reservations.

I think this dream stems from many times sitting at coffeehouses waiting for friends to figure out what everyone wants to do.  Don't get me wrong.  I love coffeehouses, and spending many hours there in good conversation.  What frustrates me is sitting there talking about what to do next for hours on end.

In response, my sub-conscious produced this dream...    

Planning a Fun Visit with Friends

At some point I came to be known as the friend who gave you detailed (by the hour) itineraries before you would visit.  Is it my fault I wanted to make sure the maximum amount of fun was had during a short weekend visit?  I had other friends who were more comfortable with just having a vague idea of options in their head.  I will say, my itineraries have become less structured having planned several trips with "EFPs."  And one of those friends made great improvements over the past couple years.  She now writes possible itinerary ideas on post-it notes.

The Secret Fear of All Introverts

A friend of mine has this book titled, The Introvert Advantage.  I've never read it, but the book description says: "Introverts are thoughtful, imaginative, tend to work independently and think outside the box. Introverts are keen observers and sensitive listeners. Introverts prefer to be involved intimately with one person and are often drawn to life’s spiritual side. Introverts are not antisocial, shy, or aloof."  I've been blessed to have a couple other introverts in my life.  Sometimes hard to figure out, but always come through when you want a great conversation over coffee, they are some very cool people.  

There was a couple of us that had fun creating an ITJ group (one was an N, the other two of us were S) to chat about, well, stuff introverts think about.  In response to one such conversation, this comic was made.  

Good Idea/Bad Idea #1

A group of friends and I gathered together in San Clemente, CA for a week vacation.  We camped out on the beach, but one of our activities took us to the mountains.  Luckily in California these two things are not far from each other.  We went from the beach to Big Bear Mt in about 3 hours.  Yes, a lovely day of snow boarding lay ahead of us.  On the way up the mountain I was driving the Escape (pronounced Eh - sca - pay during the trip).  The rest of the group was enjoying the scenery.  Two of them felt the need to stick their torsos out the window and wave at each other from opposite sides of the car.  And one of them kept insisting that I should veer off the road so that we would all die in a mass suicide and go to heaven.  I think the altitude was getting to her.  Well, it inspired this comic.  

Analyzing People

Yes, the ISTJ comic below was written in response to another comic.  What comic?  Well, below I'm posting the original comic and then the one written after the discussion.  I think you may agree the second one does make more sense.  And yes, I do put this much (too much?) thought into my comics.

The first draft.

The final draft.

An ISTJ Conversation

WARNING:  Extroverts may become bored with this comic since there are few pictures and lots of writing.  I'm not being mean, I've seen it happen again and again.

This was an actual conversation between two ISTJs.  Unfortunately, I think one of them is now an ISFJ, but not at the time.

How to Earn a Gold Star

Yes, I have a few friends who are "well versed" in Myers Briggs.  I am quite apt at going, "oh, you are an ENFP?  Well, that explains a lot."  A couple of my "I" friends and I started writing comics one day because I was bored at work, and they were both avoiding studying.  The results have been collected into a comic book. Actually, it's Moleskin notebook with them pasted in, but it's still full of hilariousness.  

One of the things we joked about was the difference between introverts and extroverts when it comes to needing rewards for actions.  One such reward system is the "gold star."  As illustrated below, it's given out a bit more liberally to the extroverts.  And believe me, they keep track of the number they have earned.  I actually had an introvert friend turn down a gold star because she didn't feel she had truly earned one.

Five Stages of FOMOness

FOMO: Fear of Missing Out. It usually happens when your friends plan a cool adventure and you aren't able to join in. If approached with the right attitude, FOMO lasts only a short time and does not affect your friendships. If you let it linger too long, your friends will get annoyed with your inability to accept reality and/or the responsibilities that are keeping you from joining the fun. For those times, we have created "The Five Stages of FOMOness." Enjoy!

Polly Ann and Concerned Connie

First, let me introduce you to a few friends. Some of them you probably already know: Debbie Downer and Negative Nancy. But you may not know some of their friends: Serious Sally, Sarcastic Susan, Passive-Aggressive Polly Ann, and Concerned Connie. Below is a comic recreating a conversation between Polly Ann and Connie. I hope you enjoy! :)

Concerned Connie: Hey Polly, I just came over to make sure you're doing okay. You seemed a little down lately... Are you alright?

Polly Ann: Yes. I just told you that on the phone.

CC: Are you sure you're not mad? I know sometimes you're not good at saying what you feel, so blink twice for 'yes' and once for "no" (Silence) Can you hear me?

PA: LEAVE ME ALONE SO I DON'T HAVE A REASON TO STOP BEING BITTER AND FEELING VICTIMIZED!! AHHHH!!!

Five Finger Language System

If you have every wondered what happens when friends have too much time on their hands, or just having too much fun over a dinner at Stake 'N Shake, here is your answer. Honestly, it started as a simple way to let one of our friends know when we were being sarcastic with them. But wait, what happens when we are being serious? Solution: the serious finger!! After that followed an in-depth conversation that resulted in an entire finger communication system.

It has been quite fun teaching others the system. I introduced it during my new staff training with Outward Bound. It was quickly adapted as a way for our instructors to interrupt a behavioral sim and tell us something important. When needed they would stick up their pointer finger and say, "Seriously! ........ "