Drug tested today as part of a job application process.

Collection centers are grim places, filled with the kind of cheer better suited to a DMV.

Big bureaucrat energy aside, I’ve never gone into one without feeling like I needed to explain myself.

They’re a system designed for a specific purpose, leaving little room for humanity on the part of clients or staff.

A lot of places get me to do that.

Start blathering that I’m just here for the employment screening, or that I just haven’t had time for a haircut lately, and of course I’ve been flossing regularly no matter what my mouth looks like.

It’s partly my big dumb brain, as the default setting for my ‘tism is either apologize or explain, and it’s usually stuck somewhere between the two.

But it’s also the nature of systems to get us to justify ourselves, explain why we’re coloring outside lines clearly drawn for our benefit.