3:23 pm: I’d buy that for a dollar.

The clock beside me ticks audibly. This troubles me, considering its digital display and remarkable lack of moving parts, but I pass it off as sleep depravation. Vaguely-formed artifacts shift noticably in the shadows at the edge of my vision. I’ve been awake for several hours past my usual bedtime, thanks to being embroiled in some online drama of the highest degree that I won’t recount here. My eyes feel like soft-boiled eggs bathed in a light vinegarette marinade. The bottle beside me is practically screaming out at this point, but I resist; when I drink, I drink heavily.

This is it, isn’t it? Like suddenly realizing that you’ve been hit by a train about six years after you were dragged into hospital in a coma, it occurs to me that the entire internet is saturated in this kind of material. We’re surrounded by drama; conflicting personalities, self-righteousness on both sides of the fence, blind certainty. Allegiances won and lost, virtual hangouts built up and torn down, social circles formed and disbanded.

In the middle of it all, there’s a little chalk circle on the ground. Apathy, neutrality, not really giving a damn about petty squabbles and futile power-games. I’ve sat in the middle of this circle for years, observing the world go by, watching the rise and fall of power-struggles across the imaginary landscape of the internet. Once an active participant in the many battles, now I live out my days in apathetic neutrality. Lethargic indifference.

You can all go fight your own battles, and contest your own territory. This is my circle, and I’m staying in it. But don’t think for a second that I won’t fight back if you step over that chalk line.