today's epiphany

I've finally figured it out. OK, maybe that's overstating the case, but I think I have isolated one of the reasons I've been in the dumps for what feels like weeks. Here's my theory:

The half-drafted dissertation is like a half-assembled set of bunkbeds from IKEA. There you are, surrounded on all sides by a jumble of large, unwieldy objects that are meant to fit together somehow. The directions are all but useless; your only tool is an allen wrench with all the strength of a teaspoon. You're far---FAR---from finished but with slats of wood splayed every which way, it's also far, far, far too late to stop now. Worst of all, there's no way to hide this unfinished job (e.g., under the bed or in a closet). It's going to sit in the middle of the room, staring at you, tripping you up and bruising your ankles every time you walk by. It's so obstreperous, so looming that you want to work on it all the time just to get it out of the way. Equally so do you want to ignore it with every last ounce of strength left to you.

Yeah, so that's the mid-dissertation slump. Hope you like the illustration. This entire image is an homage to "The Pager," episode 5 of season 1 of The Wire.