Fish or cut bait.

I need to either do my hour of research-reading now, or bail on it and assume I'll do it this evening. It's getting later and later and I just can't motivate myself to read about adaptive monitoring of field sites or ecosystem functioning research.

(It makes me think of the "story" SpongeBob's grandma gave him, when he was trying to be grown up: "It's on Routine Adaptive Maintenance." "Uhhhh, yeah....no pictures. Just like I like it.")

I have to say I am once again envious of all the people who are getting to run off to fiber festivals and such things. (Yes, I know, in 3 weeks or so I get a couple of days off for mid-fall break, but still). Part of the envy is being able to be around people who do fibery stuff, who care about it. To not feel like so much of a Lone Wolf Scout. (I think I talked about that before? Apparently back in the Depression (and earlier), in really isolated areas where there was no Scout troop, people could be "Lone Wolf" scouts, apparently doing all the badge-work and stuff by mail). Part of it is just the thought of getting AWAY for a few days, of not having to think about work-things or life-things or stuff like that.

I'm trying to put down the figuratively-too-heavy-stuff-I'm-carrying, seeing as none of it really has a direct impact on me and my life, but it's kind of hard. I'm going through one of those phases again where lots of people around me just seem to be having a hard time with different things, and it makes me kind of sad. Some of the stuff is little stuff, some of it is really big scary stuff (no, I can't really talk about it here. None of it actually involves me, and I feel like I'd be breaking confidences to discuss it).

At the same time, I have a number of people who are running around acting like it's (figuratively) the end of the world because they broke a fingernail, and they wonder why I don't immediately leap forth, full of sympathy and pity for them.

So, I admit it: I broke down, broke my "no yarn buying until (maybe) mid-fall break" plan, and ordered a skein of the new Regia sock yarn (it's sort of an ombre color, like the Mega Boots yarn is) along with the Norah Gaughan book I'd been lusting after from Jimmy Bean's Wool. And they sent me an e-mail telling me they'd shipped it out today. (I like it when places do that.)

This is one of those times where I have to actively resist (a) spending lots of money on 'comfort' purchases and (b) starting a boatload of new projects just because I feel sad and new projects are one way I self-medicate.