If I had my own world, I'd build you an empire.

A friend dropped this on me the other day:

"You really live in your own little world, don't you?"

I asked him what he meant by that, and he told me that in the few months he's known me, he's seen that I slip into a trance-like state with noticeable regularity. I'll tap out rhythms with my hands and feet, speak out loud to no one in particular, sing under my breath, or generally just glaze over and disregard the people and happenings around me.

We brought this to the attention of a few other friends, and none could deny that I exhibited the described behavior. While I agreed that I visit my own little world from time to time, I was taken aback by just how frequently, publicly, and noticeably I do it. For the rest of the day, I caught myself slipping into my trance at least a dozen times, and that doesn't count the times I didn't catch. I was caught redhanded drumming double bass in the cafeteria line, commenting on my own technique as I swung down the stairwell railings, even drifting into la-la land mid-conversation. I couldn't help but wonder whether this was "healthy" behavior, and rather more urgently, whether people thought I was crazy.

What do you think when you see someone tugging at his neck hair for an entire chemistry class, or rating commercials on a scale of 1 to 10 out loud for the benefit of an empty media lounge?