Yeah, there were some things I only learned while working with the siding of my house. There were some problems related to the shape of an old house - there aren't sharp 90 degree edges nor exactly straight lines any more, and I realized that if I had did some things in a different way, the work would have been easier for me. But since I learned that only in the middle of the process, it was kind of a too late =) Well, but I got the main work done in a satisfactory way, and gained some experience, so that's the way to go.

Ah, yes, I agree with you about participating in the political process. I realize I was somewhat vague with my wording - I think my hermit-reaction has not been that much about the general political process, but more about daily social interaction =) I recognize this as a survival strategy I learned in childhood : safety is when there is no-one around and I don't need to talk with anyone. So I have a tendency to walk away from social interaction... I understand that it is not always a healthy strategy, maybe not the best possible thing to do. But I allow it to myself to some degree, as I need my personal space to breathe and to regain my energies. I try to write in more detail later on, if and when I happen to feel like that =)