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Personal Space and Changes Through Life
Jan. 16th, 2008 09:44 amLast night ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
beowabbit and I were talking about large music festivals, which led to me talking about the festival camping I've done. I started out all "OMG it's sooo much fun!" And it absolutely was. I lived in packed tent cities for days on end, showered or bathed communally, and figured out that the best way to deal with incessant all-night drum circles was to join 'em. I've loved certain music festival camp-outs, like the Grassroots Festival in Ithaca, so much that I cried when it was time to go home. But I had to stop and remember that I was 29 the last time I did that, and in the many years since then, my relationship with personal space and privacy have changed quite a bit.
Specifically, I need considerably more of both, and have developed a strong distaste for over-crowded accommodations or floor/couch crashing after parties. It would pretty much take a forced evacuation to a hurricane shelter to get me to sleep in an open roomful of people. Ifbeowabbit and I got hopelessly and impossibly stranded overnight at a party and there wasn't a private spare room available for us, I'd probably hunt down a blanket and go sleep in his car.
I was admiringderspatchel's apartment because it has two full bathrooms. Two! Less sharing required, and less sharing of facilities/space is good! To me. This is a way in which I've changed as I've gotten older.
I have a lot of friends who are planning to room at Arisia (a convention in Boston this weekend) with three, four, five, six other people in a hotel room. One shared bafwoom for all. Just the thought of enduring that makes my hair stand on end. 15 years ago I likely wouldn't have minded it. I had fewer major issues then with packed clown cars or sleeping in armchairs. Now...DO NOT WANT.
Poor Wabbit is sterling in putting up with me and my idiosyncrasy. He needs his privacy too, but for him, I've observed that it's more about his time than about bodily space, mostly. I think he would be unhappy if everyone were pressuring and demanding all of his time, but I think he could drift peacefully to sleep in a packed bed (so long as he liked everyone there). We're going to Arisia too, but are staying elsewhere, where the elbow room is more generous.
So, when we were talking last night, I had to conclude that maybe I wouldn't still love festival camping as much if I tried it now. At least, not unless my tent had a functioning zipper and a No Vacancy sign. Maybe I'll just have to find out sometime.
beowabbit and I were talking about large music festivals, which led to me talking about the festival camping I've done. I started out all "OMG it's sooo much fun!" And it absolutely was. I lived in packed tent cities for days on end, showered or bathed communally, and figured out that the best way to deal with incessant all-night drum circles was to join 'em. I've loved certain music festival camp-outs, like the Grassroots Festival in Ithaca, so much that I cried when it was time to go home. But I had to stop and remember that I was 29 the last time I did that, and in the many years since then, my relationship with personal space and privacy have changed quite a bit. Specifically, I need considerably more of both, and have developed a strong distaste for over-crowded accommodations or floor/couch crashing after parties. It would pretty much take a forced evacuation to a hurricane shelter to get me to sleep in an open roomful of people. If
beowabbit and I got hopelessly and impossibly stranded overnight at a party and there wasn't a private spare room available for us, I'd probably hunt down a blanket and go sleep in his car. I was admiring
derspatchel's apartment because it has two full bathrooms. Two! Less sharing required, and less sharing of facilities/space is good! To me. This is a way in which I've changed as I've gotten older. I have a lot of friends who are planning to room at Arisia (a convention in Boston this weekend) with three, four, five, six other people in a hotel room. One shared bafwoom for all. Just the thought of enduring that makes my hair stand on end. 15 years ago I likely wouldn't have minded it. I had fewer major issues then with packed clown cars or sleeping in armchairs. Now...DO NOT WANT.
Poor Wabbit is sterling in putting up with me and my idiosyncrasy. He needs his privacy too, but for him, I've observed that it's more about his time than about bodily space, mostly. I think he would be unhappy if everyone were pressuring and demanding all of his time, but I think he could drift peacefully to sleep in a packed bed (so long as he liked everyone there). We're going to Arisia too, but are staying elsewhere, where the elbow room is more generous.
So, when we were talking last night, I had to conclude that maybe I wouldn't still love festival camping as much if I tried it now. At least, not unless my tent had a functioning zipper and a No Vacancy sign. Maybe I'll just have to find out sometime.
