Pretty Well Said Wesley Crusher.........

"I have two often-conflicting monkeys on my back: Monkey number one is Creative Monkey. He occasionally digs his claws into my brains, and refuses to let go until something wonderful comes out. I love him.

Monkey number two is Pragmatic Monkey. He regularly wraps his prehensile tail around my neck and only eases his grip when I'm doing the things I need to do to support my family. I don't necessarily love him, but I'm glad he's here.

From time to time, I can satiate both monkeys, like writing. More often than not, though, I can only satisfy one monkey at a time, and when push comes to shove, Pragmatic Monkey always wins; with a family to support, I just don't have the luxury of turning my back on him.

For the last few years, I've been luckily enough to to strike a Balance that makes both Monkeys happy . . . but for most of this year, Pragmatic Monkey has been squeezing the life out of me, and in an effort to make him happy, I've ended up taking on far too many responsibilities, and given away way far too much of myself to other people. I've rarely seen Creative Monkey, let alone felt his wonderful claws in my brains, and that's got to change. I miss him."