I'm definitely an introvert. I teach and I'm an academic advisor, both of which I love, but they are both things that I "perform" and find very draining. Once I get home, I don't talk much, but my husband is an introvert, too, so that's ok.
Totally agree. Sometimes I manage to make it a mission to do a specific thing that is more social, but I have to really make it a goal/task. Not to say that I don't enjoy it, but it's work of a sort.
I agree about the small talk. I've sort of learned to start some small talk with my students because "it's my job", but in other situations I don't really care if I seem standoffish. Your comment about saying things you regret reminds me of The Bloggess. Do you read her blog? She does the same thing. She's also a humorist, so she writes about her incidents in a funny way, too.