the cycles of solitude
Wednesday, July 18th, 2007sarah glidden has made a really fucking good two page comic about how we imagine cities we’ve never seen, go read it here
no, seriously, go read it, it’s great. do it now!
sarah glidden has made a really fucking good two page comic about how we imagine cities we’ve never seen, go read it here
no, seriously, go read it, it’s great. do it now!
July 18th, 2007 at 11:17 am
i feel ya driver. this is the same schtick i pull and BLESS the kind people who put up with me! the resocializing phase is the worst’ it’s like some ugly gangly metal puberty.
i can’t type no more.
July 18th, 2007 at 11:26 am
Yup, you nailed it. I think sometimes I hole up because after a period of social interaction, people tend to start unloading all kinds of problems on me. I love my friends, but I resent playing psychiatrist all the goddamned time. Also, I’m fairly new to the Fart Party party, but I dig what I’ve seen. Thank you for doing what you do!
July 18th, 2007 at 11:42 am
It’s like this comic was written about me.
Just replace you, with a goteed man in a fedora and it’s about me.
The worst part is that every time I snap out of it it’s like the first day of high school. I know nobody and have no friends.
July 18th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
this particular comic … is me.
Tho i wouldn’t get a dog. i love them, but i fear they would die of sadness.
July 18th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
oh my god, this describes me exactly
July 18th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
There is also the possibility that all of us are just assholes.
July 18th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
people! be proud of your introvertedness! and then read this article about why introverts are rad.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/18/
July 18th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Yep that’s me too. But now the real test (although for what I don’t know; to see if you’re like me I guess): Does reading all these comments of folks saying they feel the same way just fill you with resentment and make you want to be alone even more?
July 18th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
I’m the same way. They say introverted people charge their batteries by being extroverted.. and vice versa.
Bad news kiddo, you’re an artist. Sucks to be you.
July 18th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
the worst part is trying to get along with your old friends again.
usually everyone is diferent, thinking diferent and doing diferent things. that’s tough
July 18th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
ADF- reading these comments neither fills me with resentment nor makes me want to be alone. I really dont give a shit about internet comments. and Gary, it doesn’t suck to be me, I really like my solitary ways, I’m like that by choice.
July 18th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
I always thought this type of behavior was par for the course for us freaks who hole up for days at a time and draw pictures in tiny boxes.
July 18th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
;_;
let’s all form circle and hold hands
July 18th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
This is a great little comic. I really like it, Julia. Well done.
July 18th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
..I like solitude too! Like superman, I have a fortress of solitude.. but unlike Superman, it’s 200 sq. ft. and it’s 120 degrees by the time I get home at 8pm.
Just sucks to be an artist (Unless you’re allergic to money.. then it’s TITS!)
July 18th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
awwwww! want to hug you or some shit right now. Like, dinosaur hug. Rawr
July 18th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Introverts Unite!
… or better yet, let’s not.
July 18th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
Everyone else is saying it, so here’s my hat in the ring:
OMG, I M TOTTLY TEH SAME WAI!
Heh heh. It’s true, but without the ‘netspeak. I love your comics. I should have gone back to your table at APE and bought more of your books.
July 18th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
pffffffftt…. ahhh
July 18th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
man, you write so damn well.. i love they way you can pour your heart out without getting sappy or overwrought then at the end write a sweet little punchline that nails the whole thing home and still gets a laugh..
rock on with your bad self (alone *or* in groups).
_m
July 19th, 2007 at 4:45 am
I’ve read your comic since the beginning, and let me tell you:
This particular “episode” is me. Never EVER have I seen myself like I did just now on today’s entry.
You should read the book “Party of One: A Loner’s Manifesto”.
While living alone, I bought a dog. It helps with the loneliness and keeps people away. You’ll never find a more silent, comforting, loving companion in all your life.
July 19th, 2007 at 7:18 am
Hate to do this, but I’m going to jump on the proverbial bandwagon and say, that is like me. I never make any attempts to organise any sort of social gathering, and when I am invited out I lie about being busy. One time I told people I was agoraphobic so they would stop inviting me out. Nobody believed me.
July 19th, 2007 at 8:40 am
I am the same way. Let’s all go hang out. And by that, I mean let’s all not call each other, ever. And then whine that we have no friends.
This is a good plan.
July 19th, 2007 at 8:50 am
that’s me as well - and i did end up getting a dog.
July 19th, 2007 at 9:19 am
That article Sarah posted made me feel better about telling people I don’t want to hang out or go to their parties or return their phone calls. God bless voicemail! Thanks Sarah!
July 19th, 2007 at 10:18 am
Trust in the fact that people like you…they really like you. Yeah, rejection’s a nasty bitch, but when you weigh the scales - people like me vs. people will kick me to the curb, the “liking/loving” side has more density.
That’s how it works for me at least. Sometimes it’s hard for me to believe it or trust it, but it seems to work.
I’ll shut up with the preaching now.
Julia, your writing is really fine. It’s not hard to see the progression and it is truly remarkable.
This old man likes you, by the way. Keep it up.
July 19th, 2007 at 10:23 am
wow, there’s a lot of “that’s me” comments on this comic- anyone want to defend the other side? the, er, normal side? I have a hard time believing everyone who reads fart party are “freaks who hole up for days at a time and draw pictures in tiny boxes” (haha calvin, that’s the whole lot of us DD’s)
and shelby, you better give me a big dinosaur hug when we’re reunited in NY. but wait till I’m drunk so it’s not so gay.
July 19th, 2007 at 11:53 am
sheeeit. it’s been “in” to be an introvert since that Donnie Darko movie came out
July 19th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
I’m not going to say “that’s me”, cause it ain’t. instead I’m going to say this:
I like panel 7. The wrapped around the leg thing is well drawn. I get a good feeling of “attachment” from that. well done. I like panel 4 too.
yet another good comic, even if everyone else is going all emo over it.
peter
July 19th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
and Amelie. i bet that movie is in every girl here’s top five.
July 19th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
yep, I’ll fess up, I love that movie. But I mostly just like her, she’s fucking adorable and I’d totally go lez for her.
July 19th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
let’s not forget American Beauty, Edward Scissorhands and The Passion of the Christ
July 19th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
My friend Kasey is just like this. It’s annoying as hell. Like for a week or two we’ll be best friends again, then she’ll just drop off the radar, and emerge again a month or so later. I love her, so I always welcome her back, I just hate it when she leaves again.
July 19th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
The 7th panel cracked me up. Nice one, Julia.
July 19th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
I can get this way, but its usually after a loooong series of social events that I really didn’t want to attend in the first place. I just can’t say no and I suck at making excuses.
July 19th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
If there’s so many of us introverts around, why does it always feel like everyone else IRL is so extroverted?
oh yeah, because all us introverts are inside, alone, on the computer.
as an aside, Julia, you seem like such a cool person in your comics, and you draw yourself as cute and lovable and innocent… and then you often curse at people who comment =p I’m not judging, I just find it amusing. It’s a real yin/yang thing you have going on.
July 19th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
i only curse at people who leave stupid fucking smiley faces on my site. I hate that shit. you can say anything you want, but whenever I see those smiley faces, it makes my asshole hurt.
July 19th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
ps- and I’m totally rotten on the inside.
July 19th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Well I just realized that I hate all of my fucking so called friends, so your team just scored another member.
Here’s to me, and fuck everyone else. I don’t know if that counts as introverted, maybe that is a title only “artists” can claim, but nonetheless, other people can suck my asshole. And while I’m at it, fuck artists too. They get to vomit and whine all over a canvas and pretend that the gross spreading of their own ego actually makes a difference in anyone’s life. Fuck them, fuck everyone.
Bet you can’t wait to come visit now, eh?
July 19th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
Julia,
i have no understanding of how “normal” people do it.. i have a great job where i spend tons of time traveling around by myself, then i go home and hang out with my kitties.
I’m pretty happy to spend days by myself, and i think that if i could take my library of books, comics and music to someplace sunny and warm with a beach, I’d never leave and rarely talk to anyone.
I’m good with people though, and i don’t have a problem connecting at least on a basic level. i have many acquaintances but few true friends.. of course my real friends have figured out that I’m a prickly old bastard who likes his solitude years ago. The really funny thing is most of them are the same way.
I have this thought of someday building a cabin up in Oregon out in the woods.. it would have a small studio apartment on the side of it so friends could come up and visit for weeks at a time without us having to put up with each other..
i think that pretty much sums up how i feel about people.. I like a few of them as long as they aren’t in my space all the time.
I’m not mad, not sad.. I’m just happy to be with myself most of the time..
_m
July 20th, 2007 at 10:06 am
I’m often lonely here in Maine, being away from my close friends.
HA! How’s that for breaking pattern?!
July 20th, 2007 at 10:35 am
Ok, I’ll play devils advocate, sort of.
I am this, but I’m going through one of those phases where I’m extroverted and am going out a lot and am sort of this. I defiantly get attached like that, and treat my friends like that, and then am not sure what to talk about.
J-bomb- your photos would suggest you get out more than you say you do, or that when you go out…you really go out. You should get a dog…and it should be a big malamute or husky that has a ridiculous amount of energy. I know my fair share of men who like to see a woman walking a large dog (not really sure why though).
A side note: Wtf with the stigma against drinking by yourself at home? I know there are some other people out there who read this that enjoy getting a bit knackerd in the comfort of their own closet apartment.
July 20th, 2007 at 10:44 am
I am not like this… I need to interact with people… I don’t necessarily need to be close, but I do find I am at my best when others are there… I think it’s the exhibitionist in me… It’s part of the reason why I married young, and do sales for a living… I am never alone, always with somebody who gets me and will laugh at my jokes (most of the time), could not be happier if I tried…
PE
July 20th, 2007 at 11:54 am
“J-bomb”? okay, you know what? NO. unacceptable. If you’re going to refer to me with a hiphop nickname, you should know that it’s actually “Tiny J” and no one but my brother is allowed to call me that.
you’re right though, photos suggest otherwise, but for that I refer back to the title of this comic which is called CYCLES of solitude, implying, you know, cycles! and might I remind you, people of the internet, that photos and comics are mere snapshots of events and in no way actually represent what goes on during the other 23 hours and 55 minutes of the day, during which I just sit and stare at a blank wall, sometimes repeatedly bashing my head against it. I also dont think there’s a stigma against drinking by yourself, sometimes one drunk idiot is all I can handle anyways.
and I hereby end this comment run, which has succeeded only in pointing out what a sad sack of self absorbed shit we all are. cheers!
August 28th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Wow! I’m not the only one in the world who actually ENJOYS being alone. (well, not *all* the time, just more than “normal”) If you ever come to central IL, mebbe we could go to Cafe Brio, sit across the room from each other and read the paper. Heh.
March 1st, 2008 at 1:19 am
You sound like Raskolnikov.
Kudos.
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:18 am
You’ve perfectly depicted how my life would be if I wasn’t still in school. I hate seeing people everyday, solitude kicks ass.
Also, completely agree about the smiley faces. When I was sixteen I broke up with my boyfriend because we were conversing via instant messenger and he responded to my expression of depressive feelings by making a sad face. I pretty much decided just then and there that he was an asshole.
Seriously, who does that?
May 25th, 2008 at 7:41 am
You posted this forever ago but I found your comic yesterday and can’t stop reading. You parallel many things that are the same in my life and its pretty rad to know I’m not the only ridiculous person out there.
June 18th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Oh man, am I the exact same way.
September 23rd, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Yeah I’m a lot like that too, part of it is choice, part of it is just all those lonely weeks my parents left me at home by myself when they worked…
Sob story, I know. I do have a dog though. She is fun. She likes cheese, like me. I don’t feed her that much. It makes her poop.
My social skills didn’t get much past 5 yrs old either…