It seems like only yesterday the crazy train wreck that is Britney Spears was being carried out of her Los Angeles home strapped to a gurney and with a heavy police escort, after she had effectively held one of her sons hostage for the best part of four hours. But the miracle - Britney in a psych ward, being mentally evaluated and getting treatment - was not to last.

Less than two days later Brit Brit was released from hospital and immediately managed to sneak out of her house and off to a weekend in Santa Barbara and Palm Desert, doing God knows what with that shady paparazzi friend of hers, and probably giving him enough shots and compromising video footage to provide a long, rich and happy life for him and his wife (because yes, that guy is also said to be married). So in case any of you were wondering how mental illness can be cured by a 36 hours hospital stint, the answer is - it can't, and those doctors who released Britney are probably more insane than she is. No metaphor here.

So Brit is on the loose again, back from her weekend adventures and back in Los Angeles. And what is she doing? Well, the usual: driving around aimlessly, visiting gas stations, getting into trouble in the middle of the street. And here comes the big question that I've been asking myself for a while now: is normal normal when you're not normal? OK, that needs some further explaining: my dilemma is, is it a good sign that Brit is back to her old tricks when so much has happened?

I mean, I know her brain might not be functioning according to the same principles as yours or mine, but even so - she has been through a lot. She's had a breakdown, she lost custody of her kids completely (something she doesn't seem to be worried about in the slightest, by the way), she was under a lot of strain... there was pressure of more than one kind - all this must have taken a toll on her, right? And in that case, shouldn't she be displaying some symptoms, like, say, exhaustion, desire to rest, a more intense sense of privacy and... say... shame?

Not our Brit though. The popwreck has been acting, if possible, even more strangely lately. She went out for a spin in her car, got a flat tire and when she realized she was stuck in her car in the middle of the road surrounded by the hungry pack of paparazzi, she calmly stepped down, abandoned her car right where it was and jumped into one of the paparazzi cars for a ride home - after which she came out again, this time in her assistant's car, and headed for the Four Seasons Hotel - apparently she is allowed in there once again. So, lets' see that again: gas stations, flat tires, paparazzi and hotels. Yes, Britney's back to... "normal" - and that in itself should send alarm bells ringing. But does anyone out there truly care about this? Apparently no.