So, it's 1:00 AM, and Roommate's ex-friend just rung the doorbell twice and is persistently knocking. If I wasn't such a night owl and this situation so hilariously far-fetched, I would be unbelievably pissed off right now. Apparently he let her in, because I can hear them talking right now, and it looks like it's going to be a long night for Roommate!
What I want to know is what causes this utter collapse in adult behavior in a seemingly well balanced person? Besides the obvious mental health reasons that might cause such things, it does seem that we all occasionally engage in irrational behaviors, even against our own better judgment. I assume it is just such an situation that is likely afflicting Roommate's friend.
I can't be too judgmental, because I must admit that I also engage in periods of insanity. For example, I am normally incapable of waking up before 8:00 AM on my best days. but I have been known on Saturday, that day that we all worship for the blessed opportunity it affords of sleeping in, to wake up at 6:00 (even after only 4 hours sleep if I've been out late), don my snowboarding clothes, and then pay upwards of 50 dollars to groggily freeze my ass off on a chairlift in search of snow. To many people, I imagine, that would seem largely irrational.
Another example if my own insanity is that, I will, despite all known medical and nutritional advice, eat a Crown/Apollo/Astro burger -- topped with pastrami and cheese -- as well as an accompanying order of onion rings and a milk shake (preferably of the candy bar variety). The total caloric count of such a meal is probably somewhere in the low to high 3000s. Am I aware of the health effects of such a meal? Yes. Does it really taste all that good? Not by the end of it. Am I aware of the self-loathing that I will endure for consuming such a meal? Marginally. But do I eat it anyway? Yes.
I would consider myself a rational person, of perhaps average intelligence, but given the evidence of my own bouts of insanity, I must wonder if it is a necessary part of the human condition that we occasionally exercise whatever craziness lies dormant in us. Who knows what triggers it's release? I'm not really sure. I do, however, believe that such insanity should at least be exercised with at least a modicum of decorum, so as to NOT keep people up at 1:30 AM.
So, I think we should all pledge to let our crazy out very carefully. That way, the people around us know if we're really hurting, or if we are just having a moment. I say that because I'm pretty sure that attention getting behavior like Roommate's friend is mostly a request for a little extra attention.
We all need moments of insanity to remind us why we are considered sane. You may be asking a little much by creating an ethical code of insane behavior. Generally, insanity results in the inconvenience of as many people as possible... as for the ex-girlfriend, she should stop watching movies with Hugh Grant as her expectations of drastic relationship measures are a little too intense for reality.
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree, anonymous. I hope I made it apparent that I'm working from a very loose definition of insanity and irrational behavior -- basically, I'm talking about people who should know better, but have some momentary lapse. It's something we all do from time to time. What I find most intriguing is when we decide to expose our irrational behavior.
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