The upside of being an introvert (and why extroverts are overrated).

And for 20 minutes or so after arriving, despite the usual nerves, I did just that. But small talk with stiffbacked strangers at a swanky cocktail party is by far my least favorite part of my job. Send me to a famine or a flood and I'm comfortable. A few rounds of the room at a social event, however, leave me exhausted. So now and then I retreat into the solitude of the bathroom, watching the minutes tick by until I've recovered enough to go back out there.