I, as always immediately began running through the consequences of this decision in my head. If this, then that. Except these if/then thought processes ran through at least one hundred different scenarios. I followed the logical outcome of all the foreseeable forks in the road as far as my mind could take them. Admittedly, executing this thorough analysis while driving a motor vehicle is probably more akin to driving while intoxicated than I would like to believe, but this is the way my brain has always worked and I never learned how to stop it.
Once again I had managed to arrive at my chosen destination by some form of teleportation, because I have absolutely no recollection of the roads I must have driven along to get from the mall to my place. However, I was there. I quickly grabbed nearly all of my clothing, leaving only old Halloween costumes, and four of my five suits behind. I was also smart enough to grab as much food as I possibly could. Fortunately for me much of the food I had at the time was neither frozen, nor did it require refrigeration. Of course the assortment of snack foods and desserts would really only provide me with calories not any sort of nutrition. But at that point I didn't have time to try to put together balanced meals.
Having gotten all of the aforementioned items into my car I once again hit the road. This time being careful to drive along roads unfamiliar to me. I figured if I went places that I never went to it was likely that no one would be looking for me there. I happened across a Bank of America branch I had never seen before which I was quite grateful for. I felt safe enough to make the stop and empty one of my checking accounts. Banks aren't really inclined to give people ridiculous amounts of cash. I was promptly informed that if I wanted to close my account they would only be able to give me a cashier's check, which for all intents and purposes can only really be used to open another account at a different bank. Conveniently for me the teller I was dealing with was easily flustered and she actually answered me when I asked what the largest amount of cash was that they'd allow me to withdraw. Something makes me feel like that was a against teller protocol...
I walked out of the bank $10,000.00 richer, at least considering only the wealth I carried on my person. Then I proceeded to pick a random direction and drive, stopping only when my body cried out loudly enough with hunger pain to force me to eat, or when nature called loudly enough. I didn't sleep that night, I drove. Seemed like a good idea at the time, and whether it was or not, my brain was so ridiculously over-active that night there was no way I'd have slept if I had chosen a place to lay my head.
I had clearly decided to run. I had not really made this decision consciously. I had merely started running while I was deciding whether or not to run. This forced me to adhere to the following logic: "Well, I've already started. Why stop now?" Which may not be the strongest of arguments when considering drugs, sex, or any type of detrimental activity. However, I'm willing to accept the faulty reason behind the argument because I feel that it's justified in the case when those sentences really should read: "Well, I've already started running for my life. Why stop now, when that just means I'll be killed?"
So, taking the "Why stop now?" attitude with my current situation I decided that I needed to determine the best possible way to continue on this course. However, there's not really any useful information regarding running for one's life taught in any university's aerospace engineering curriculum. So I really had no idea what I was going to do.
I decided a severe change to my appearance could only help me hide. Having grown the long shaggy hair and beard that comes from two years of grad school taking over one's life to the point that one has little time to consider doing anything other that class, work for class, research, or preparation for research, I decided to shave. I went to the first barber shop I saw in some small town I only visited because my hunger pains had been strong enough to knock out Ali in his prime. I told the kind old man to take everything down to the skin, "Shave it all off." I told him. "It's high time for a change."
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