PEOPLE

I’m not a misanthropist, however, I really don’t like being around people, especially when I’m either relaxing or trying to do something. I often wish, during my walks, that a zombie apocalypse had just ended and everyone else would disappear. No joggers. No dogwalkers. No moving cars. Nobody, not one person. I kind of miss the covid era for that, the peace and quiet around the university, when I could just explore around campus and in the dark halls of the buildings and not hear a word or feel a presence. Of course, a few people were there, but one or two people in the span of an hour in a building isn’t bad, but it doesn’t seem like that will ever be again. I feel annoyed seeing people on hiking trails. Ruins the “nature”. Of course, people talking to me is one thing, but I am more talking about the feeling that there’s another living being anywhere around. It’s draining, which is exactly what I was trying to avoid. It’s freeing to be able to look around for miles and not be able to see another person, or even just be alone at home for a week, similar feeling on a smaller scale. I never mind the little animals; cats and squirrels and such, they are fun and make me happy. Humans, dogs, cars, they do the opposite and annoy me. The 10th was a strange day. It was 60 and dark, which is great, but I was walking around 3/4pm. No people out, which was great, but the cars moving and roaring and taking up space and being full of people made me unhappy every time I saw yet another one. Just move out of my way as quickly as possible, I don’t trust them and never know where they’re going. Same with the yapping dogs, they make me feel unsafe. I wish they didn’t exist either. The worst of all was some guy on a really loud dirtbike, blaring hiphop shit even louder than his vehicle. Why did we get rid of pillories, again?

I’m not likely to do well without the comforts of the city. I like video arcades and malls and once a month or so to get fast-food. I live and breathe American suburbia but often wish I could experience it just without all the noise and presences. I think it’d be fun to have a ghost town the size of any Cleveland or Detroit or Dallas and explore it with no human hassle. Of course any space will get colonised by people, especially one like that. Seems like an impossible thing, I’d love to live somewhere I would love to go outside a lot, but where nobody else ever does.