I'm against it.

Stuckitude sucks. As you know, I'm in a major stuckitude place job-wise right now and it's driving me batshit. I thought I was stuck in other parts of my life, but I learned that I really wasn't stuck just comfortable.

I've felt stuck for a few years now. I have no idea what to do next. I keep coming back to the thought that I've lived in the same city for 16 years, and I keep seriously thinking about wiping the slate clean and moving to another city. There's got to be a less drastic solution, though.

There are some ways that my life is "stuck" that are beyond my control, and I've had to find ways to make my life enjoyable and find happiness despite it.

About things that I can control, I'm usually the kind of person who just realizes all of sudden, I'm going to make a big change. Often dissatisfaction brews for a while beforehand and I'm not really sure what to do. Then, one day, bam, I just know.

*sprays WD40 on rainbaby*

Good points, ducky. Maybe I should just get a haircut.

Cut it all off, baby!

Ran across this hairstyle gallery online. Anything look good to you?

I suppose Stuck's other side of the pillow is Stable.

But I'm acting out in unstable ways, so if I was less Stable/Stuck, maybe I'd be less of a bad risk taker. On the other hand, that stuff could also be viewed as a constant in my life, so I'd just loose stability without gaining freedoms.

I have the new city fantasy too, matildaben. Perhaps it comes from moving so much when I was younger - college here, college there, job here, travel. . .now I'm just. . .here and I've been here a long time. I should travel, but $ prohibits it to a large extent.

Thanks for the WD40, mike9322 - that cheered me.

I was feeling some major Stuckitude in 1999. I quit my job in San Antonio (I'd been with the company 15 years) and moved to Seattle. All I had was a bed at Bro#1's place and a few bucks from my cashed out 401k. I have no regrets - none, zero, zip, zilch, nada.

Now that you've got her oiled up, mike, are you gonna rassle her?

I shall now quote Al Swearengen: "Change ain't lookin' for friends. Change calls the tune we dance to."

Dance, rainbaby. Dance.

When you have invisible friends on the internet your local social capital is less important. Moving cities is less of a wrench.

One of the least happy people I have met recently had the world at their feet and a lifestyle that would seem a fantasy to most people I know. Sometimes what you bring to the party determines it's suckitude. She also had 9 day constipation, which may have contributed to her mood.

A change of location is a good way to get a new perspective on life. I know Americans don't have *real* holidays, but you could always go an extended holiday by giving up your job and touring the world until the money runs out. I met someone who was doing this (she has two months of her four month trip left, which she will be spending in Canada and the USA) and she in turn met this guy who has a nice picture blog. Click here for an image of them jumping.

*real* as in longer than two weeks, not in the same continent holidays. Not your fault necessarily. Apart from amberglow.

Stuckitude. I'm not currently in stuckitude, but when I am, I just try to do something new for my senses. Some kind of new food/beer. Change my walking route. Listen to birds & bugs through the day. Go hear some live music at a local dive. And i forgive myself for Stuckitude and try to ride it out since it's usually one corner of my life anyway.

I'm in Stuckitude in every aspect of my life, including but not limited to work, housing, my twenty-year bachelor's degree plan, and especially my inability to find Creativity Time or maybe even bust into something creative as a day job.

Oh, and I've only begun preliminary groundwork on cooling off my relationship. Saturday was the big night but we got stuck going out with a bunch of people, and I could exactly say "Let's be friends" at the restaurant in front of everyone.

Stuckitude sucks.

BREAK FREE!!

I was supposed to carry the Stuckitude Banner for the Stuckitude Parade, but we got stuck and stayed in.

I totally can relate to where you're coming from. Be good to yourself, write a lot, and take long walks if you can.

It's not a rut... it's a groove.

Chewie's point is interesting, but it makes me wonder if there's a difference between short-term stuckness that can be resolved that way, and long-term stuckness where your whole life really needs a radical overhaul. The latter is how I've been feeling.

On the other hand, if I look back objectively on how much things have changed in the last one year, or five years, there's actually some change there. So it could be that the stuckness is just a feeling, more so than a reality. On the other hand, it's a very telling feeling.

Deborah, was meeting the Mister a direct result of that move? I just keep thinking that I'm not going to meet my better half while my life is stuck like this, certainly not in this used-up town, and maybe if I shake things up, it will create a space for a good LTR to fall into.

No and yes. I had decided in March 1999 to move to Seattle in early 2000 (had a scary vision of being at the same job 30 years in the future, dying at my desk, etc.). I bought a computer and started at MSN chat in May 1999, met the future mister (online) in June, got serious with the mister (online-wise) in September and moved up my move date to December (that was our first face-to-face meeting).

What's cool about it is that I had resigned myself to being single. I was fairly okay with it and had fun getting "un-lonely" by having a lot of online friends. And then there he was. It really does happen when you're not looking.