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Irrational Fear
Monday, August 07, 2006
I know it is irrational, i'm fully aware...but the worst part is, it doesn't make it any less scary...although it does make it about a million times more annoying.
Anyhow, this story goes back a few weeks, well almost over a month now really, but we'll go with a few weeks and ignore my not so successful efforts at being a good blogger.
So, a few weeks ago I was walking home from the train station to my apartment, it was later in the evening, so not so light out anymore. It is not a very far walk at all, about a 4 and a half minute walk, 5 if you walk slowly cause it is a beautifully sunny day and you are just happy to be outside. As a I was walking, I saw an animal walking along a branch in a tree, kinda thought to myself, "stupid cat, you keep walking up then you wont be able to get down and you are gonna start crying" (although i'm not sure if that really happens or it is just an excuse for firemen to be in movies?). A moment later, the animal jumps nimbly onto the power lines beside the tree. At which point i thought, "ha, braver than i thought", however as it kept walking i quickly realised it was indeed not a cat, it was a possum! I was thrilled, I finally saw my first Australian Possum! People kept telling me they were everywhere but i hadn't seen a real live one till now. But as I was walking on the sidewalk almost underneath it, I found myself thinking what if it falls, or even worse, what if it jumps down and attacks me, so I kinda skirted around it.
The next night, saw him again, or her, in the exact same place. And again I kinda skirted around his little spot on the wire. The night after that when I was walking with my roommate there he was yet again, however, this time he moved suddenly and scared me...I didn't see him till he jumped. Uta was quite amused at least.
Now, I am at the point where walking alone down a semi-dark street at night, I'm not scared of people, nor alien abductions, i'm scared of possums, jumping down from wires or trees and attacking me. So scared in fact that I now walk in the middle of the street (it is only small with one lane, so i can mostly do that) cause there are no wires there. Logically, i'm fully aware it is likely more scared of me, and it hasn't tried to attack me yet. I really have nothing personal against it, just an irrational fear.
Anyhow, this story goes back a few weeks, well almost over a month now really, but we'll go with a few weeks and ignore my not so successful efforts at being a good blogger.
So, a few weeks ago I was walking home from the train station to my apartment, it was later in the evening, so not so light out anymore. It is not a very far walk at all, about a 4 and a half minute walk, 5 if you walk slowly cause it is a beautifully sunny day and you are just happy to be outside. As a I was walking, I saw an animal walking along a branch in a tree, kinda thought to myself, "stupid cat, you keep walking up then you wont be able to get down and you are gonna start crying" (although i'm not sure if that really happens or it is just an excuse for firemen to be in movies?). A moment later, the animal jumps nimbly onto the power lines beside the tree. At which point i thought, "ha, braver than i thought", however as it kept walking i quickly realised it was indeed not a cat, it was a possum! I was thrilled, I finally saw my first Australian Possum! People kept telling me they were everywhere but i hadn't seen a real live one till now. But as I was walking on the sidewalk almost underneath it, I found myself thinking what if it falls, or even worse, what if it jumps down and attacks me, so I kinda skirted around it.
The next night, saw him again, or her, in the exact same place. And again I kinda skirted around his little spot on the wire. The night after that when I was walking with my roommate there he was yet again, however, this time he moved suddenly and scared me...I didn't see him till he jumped. Uta was quite amused at least.
Now, I am at the point where walking alone down a semi-dark street at night, I'm not scared of people, nor alien abductions, i'm scared of possums, jumping down from wires or trees and attacking me. So scared in fact that I now walk in the middle of the street (it is only small with one lane, so i can mostly do that) cause there are no wires there. Logically, i'm fully aware it is likely more scared of me, and it hasn't tried to attack me yet. I really have nothing personal against it, just an irrational fear.
