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Saturday, October 02, 2010

Living in your own head
Posted by Jill | 12:32 PM
Wow...Maron must have really been hitting the WTF Roast before going on Craig Ferguson last night:



It's surprising to hear a man talk about the nonstop dialogue in one's head. I always tell Mr. Brilliant that if he's ever away and puts listening devices in the house, he'll think I had someone move in while he's away, because I carry on entire conversations with myself. I don't even direct them at the cats. When I need to rant, the walls are as good an audience as anyone.

My brain is always talking. Always. I dream in color, with large casts of characters, sometimes in exotic locales, and there's always talking. If I wake up in the middle of the night, it's a challenge to get to the bathroom and back without thinking "Now what do I have to do today? You know, this room really needs painting. Do you think I can get around to those closet organizers this weekend? Shit -- I forgot to call the exterminator again. When is that meeting? God, [annoying person] is a pain in the ass. I wonder if I'll get out of work on time today. I'd really like to blog about what Rachel said last night. Is the car due for an oil change? Jim DeMint is a fucking idiot." Because once this kicks in, it's all over. Wanda Sykes did a bit on this once, and unfortunately I can't find it on YouTube. Every woman I've asked says the same thing -- that the mind is always going. I can be in Savasana, and I'll be making shopping lists. It just never stops.

I once read someplace that when a woman asks a man "What are you thinking" and he replies "Nothing", he's telling the truth. I asked Mr. Brilliant about this and he concurred that yes, sometimes he just doesn't think about anything. I simply cannot fathom how this can happen. So when Marc Maron talks about his inner dialogue looking at someone's new ice cream maker on the subway, I know exactly what he's talking about. Except mine will continue at around 2:30 AM. There might even be recipes.

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4 Comments:
Anonymous mandt said...
"I once read someplace that when a woman asks a man "What are you thinking" and he replies "Nothing", he's telling the truth." Not exactly, it's just that men often considered non-fiction as nothing, and fiction too often pornographic. ( at least, according to Cilas commercials)
10/2/10, 2:10 PM  
Anonymous Anton A said...
I once read someplace that when a woman asks a man "What are you thinking" and he replies "Nothing", he's telling the truth.

Actually, as a practicing man for over 60 years, I have to disagree with that. I find that my brain works quite like you describe yours. I totally understand that middle-of-the-night challenge, happens to me all the time.

Maybe I'm atypical. And yet I still find myself answering "Nothing," at times, when asked what I'm thinking.

Sometimes I'm working something out in my head & don't want to be interrupted. Sometimes I'm wondering if that pain in my arm is a sign of something more serious but don't want to get into a whole discussion.

Sometimes I genuinely am thinking of nothing, other than maybe "Gosh that's a fabulous sunset!" I'm absorbed in what I'm looking at and don't want to be distracted.

Maybe men are just less prone to talk about their thoughts than women are. Anyway, I try to be wary of all generalizations, including that one, since reality is usually more nuanced.

Oh yes, I hopped over here from Poor Impulse Control, a fave blog of mine, & just had to comment. Cheers.
10/2/10, 3:54 PM  
Blogger lisahgolden said...
Thank you so much for posting this.
10/2/10, 11:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...
thank god, it's not just me.
mrs. jp
10/3/10, 4:02 PM  
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