February 10th, 2002. Becoming strange.

Outside of being in prison or in the military, being away from home allows you a high degree of freedom. Not just to hang out late and be as sloppy as you please, but also freedom from being the way you were back home. Though this might be regarded as a good thing in most cases, there is a point that is often overlooked.

Being away from your friends and family means that you are away from all the normal checks and balances that regulate your behaviour. Here`s what I`m talking about:

Just today, I wanted a sandwich and so put a few pieces of bread in the toaster oven. I proceeded to stand there and stare at the bread in the toaster for the next 3 minutes or so. Occasionally, I`d open it up and peek inside at the toast, even though there is a window on the oven door that lets me see exactly what`s going on, without touching anything. But I like to see for myself, just in case the transparent glass window is deceiving me.

I also get impatient while waiting, so I stare at the toaster oven really hard, with hopes that it will only take 2 and a half minutes today, even though it took 3 minutes yesterday, and the day before that and the day before that. Chalk that up to being an optimist.

Maybe I`ll have better luck tomorrow.

If I were to do this back home, it would take all of 5 seconds before someone sauntered up behind me and asked what the hell I was doing. That`s what family is for.