I am a pretty antisocial individual. It's not that I don't like people; I just don't like being around them. :-) j/k
I'm the guy that when I go to a restaurant, I choose the booth furthest away from other people. I sit on the far aisle in movie theaters. I am a homebody. I have gone three or four days in a row without ever leaving (or wanting to leave) the house. I hate crowds and loud parties. When my fellow cast members go out for drinks or dinner, it is rare that I will go with them. Again, it has nothing to do with my like or dislike for people; I'm just kind of a loner and truly value my alone time.
In the Salt Lake Tribune in August, the following article appeared (I believe the exact date was August 1):
Fort Myers, Fla. - The Vangelakoses' southwest Florida condominium has marble floors, a large pool overlooking a river and modern furnishings that speak of affluence and luxury. What they don't have in the 32-story building is a single neighbor.
The New Jersey family of five purchased their unit four years ago, when Fort Myers was in the midst of a housing boom and any hints of an impending financial crisis were buried in lofty dreams of expansion and development. They made a $10,000 down payment and eagerly watched as builders transformed an empty lot into an opulent high-rise, one that now symbolizes the foreclosure crisis.
"The future was going to be southwest Florida," said Victor Vangelakos, 45, a fire captain who planned to eventually retire and live permanently in the condo.
Most of the other tenants in the 200-unit condo didn't close on their contracts, and the few that did have transferred to an adjacent building owned by the same company because more people live there. The Vangelakoses' mortgage lender will not allow them to do the same. That leaves them as the sole residents of the Oasis Tower One.
"It's a beautiful building," said their attorney, John Ewing, who is representing 27 others who made deposits on units. "The problem is, it's a very lonely building."
When the Vangelakoses travel from Weehawken, N.J., to spend a week or a few days in their Florida home, they have exclusive use of the pool, game room and gym, but they miss having a few tenants around.
"Being from the city, it's very eerie," Vangelakos said. "It's almost like a scary movie."
A large, circular fountain in front of the building is dry. The automatic glass doors that lead to the front lobby are locked. On the front desk is a guest sign-in sheet. The last entry: Feb. 13, 2009.
"It's like time froze here six months ago," Ewing said.
Betsy McCoy, vice president and associated general counsel with The Related Group, which sold the family their unit, said they have tried to help find a solution -- even offering them a unit in the building next door, free of cost, while the situation is resolved.Some interested buyers who put down deposits lost their jobs, others were unable to get mortgages and some were just nervous when the financial collapse came.
The obvious slant in the story is "Oh, these poor people who have to live alone in this huge building, what can be done for them?" But my initial reaction was, "Oh, my gosh! That sounds ideal! I would love that!"
How's that for antisocial?
3 comments:
This isn't antisocial. Antisociality is the DSM term for what used to be called sociopathy or psychopathy -- which are very very very different things than what you're trying to describe here.
what you describe is simply introversion.
While realizing that antisociality is a clinical term for a personality disorder which is defined as:
1. A pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others and inability or unwillingness to conform to what are considered to be the norms of society;
2. Hostile to or disruptive of the established social order; marked by or engaging in behavior that violates accepted mores
3. Antagonistic toward or disrespectful of others; rude, annoying or harmful to other people,
the dictionary also uses the following definitions:
1. Shunning the society of others; not sociable.
2. Avoiding the company of other people
It seems to me if I were living alone in a huge building and enjoying it because there were no people around or if I stay in my home for days on end because I'd rather be by myself than in the company of the rest of the world, the last two definitions would still apply.
That's all I mean, but I get your point. Besides I think it's more fun to say "antisocial" than "introverted." ;-)
I know it's a more fun term...that's why I feel I have to disabuse you of its layman usage ;)
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