Of Flashlights and Hometowns!

In the approximately six years (at this point) of cell phone ownership, I have owned 4 cell phones. Two of which have had or do have flashlight functions on them. When I discovered the feature on either phone, BOTH TIMES I managed to flash myself in the eyes. A simple *click* or hand wave to activate the flashlight and then I look directly into the light.
Why?
Partly because I don't think it through while I play with the phone features. Partly because it's some weird reactionary habit I have with flashlights. No, really. When I have a flashlight I tend to turn it on and then look into it to see if it's working. Yeah, I know, it would be smarter to just shine to stupid thing at a nearby surface to see if it works, but that's not much fun.
Anyway, the reason I bring this up is to hopefully make my readers (or whoever reads my "Blog of Eternal Madness") smile at my senseless flashlight antics. The other reason is... Well... To try and make puns about seeing lights or something. I don't know.
Either way, it makes me also think about things that are habits for other people (and nuns. *ba-dum tss*)
I mean, I sometimes wonder what other people I know are doing at any given moment or what they would do with something silly like flashlight-glancing. This idea almost circles back into my writing oddly enough. Any author has written stories with shifting perspectives, but one thing I try to do is write the same scenario with a different character in place. (i.e. Rising Seas: Vladimir x forest critters vs Sinclair x forest critters)
I'm sure many other writers do that just to see how things work around.

The other thing that caught my mind lately was how I've met other people from what I consider my hometown, Bethlehem, PA.
Two people in the last week have come into my work place and, in general conversation, revealed that they are from Bethlehem (or nearby). Usually when I reveal my similar origins, they are amused and ask which part of Bethlehem. There's a little banter about then and now, considering I haven't lived there in five years AND the few times I visited I haven't ventured much into the city proper. 90-something percent of the time I've never met these people when I lived in Bethlehem. Complete strangers, the lot of them.
Without sounding pretentious, the worlds I build, the worlds that anyone builds, are living breathing things like a child's imaginary friend. Despite that I'm not very detail-oriented with my worlds and have only offered quick glimpses, I do wonder what the random strangers would be like in Vladimir's position or their outlook.
It's like that twenty year old question now of: What do the NPC Trainers in Pokemon DO before you arrive and after you leave? Don't they have lives or things to be doing?
It's just something to consider in all the madness we see day to day.