Is it just me or is this a rough year for a lot of people? It just seems that everywhere I look, everyone I speak with, there's frustration and depression and despondency. Is it just a Bad Year? Is it that everyone I know is at a Bad Age? Is it that since *I'm* feeling frustrated and depressed and despondent, I see more of that than I would otherwise?

It's kind of nice---misery loves company and all that---but it's strange. Very, very strange. Also provides a neat excuse for skiving off my Serious reading. I've Anna Karenina waiting for me...all 817 pages of it...but I have a terrible feeling I'll be cuddling up with a cozy romance tonight. Fictional, alas.

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