The Island

While Kristy and the kids are in Arkansas and I'm busy studying and working in Fort Worth, I thought I'd conduct a little experiment and observe the differences between living with my big family and living on The Island of Constant Solitude.

Everything seems frozen in time. Without the constant movement of big family life, the world around me seems to move in slow-motion. The peace and quiet of The Island is nice, but I have a feeling I will tire of it soon and begin to go stir crazy. In this way The Island is like Vegas in that it's a nice place to visit, but living there doesn't work out so well.

My brain moves at half-speed. This might sound strange to some of you who are more thorough in their thinking, but on The Island I am much more aware of what I'm thinking about. Usually, I'm so busy doing and saying that I'm barely aware of my thoughts before I act on it or say it. It's like watching something happen right before it happens. Right, I'm weird, I know.

Inspiration knocks on my door. On The Island, I become very inspired. I'm not sure why, but a lot of new ideas begin taking shape when I'm alone. Right now I really want to reorganize the entire house, complete with pictures on walls, a chart for the kids, and a couple of bookshelves. Ideas like these come in droves.

Nostalgia is at its height. Memories from yesteryear come flooding in on The Island. I am often reminded of people I haven't seen or heard from in years (speaking of which, has anyone seen Pete Smit?). And the slightest thing will throw me back to the significant events of my formative years (like the time I fell in front of Brad Olivier's Volkswagon Bug). Usually a photo album or old video will make its way out during these times.

My surroundings get ignored. On The Island, the thermostat is lower, the lights stay off, I forget to eat, and the trash piles up. I think this is mostly a bachelor phenomena that hasn't made it out yet, but it really has nothing to do with saving money. I simply forget about them. I've heard many bachelors talk like this, can I get an amen?

I go to bed earlier. Kristy is a night owl of the most tenacious kind. Our entire family (for now) is made up of morning people and she is still undeterred in her efforts to stay up late. But consciousness stops around 9 or 10pm on The Island.

More tomorrow.