holidayhusker , I say this with the utmost sincerity. You need to get a hobby outside of VT. Here are some suggestions:
1. learn a foreign language, its culture and people,
2. learn a musical instrument,
3. learn about (and get involved in) the stock market,
4. write poetry (which also involves reading poetry),
5. exercise regularly. Establish a set of goals, e.g., lose 20 lbs in 6 months, bench press 150 lbs (10x), bicep curl 50 lbs (10x), run 1 mile in under 7:00, run 5 miles in under 45 minutes,
6. volunteer at a homeless shelter, crisis center, children's mentor organizations, literacy programs, etc., or
7. Draw, paint, sculpt, make pottery, in other words, do something artistic.
Bottom line: Do something constructive with your life, man.
I guarantee you'll be happier, stress-free, and improve significantly as a person.
I don't even know why you keep coming here on VT to be a punching bag for other people.
Right now, I'm focusing on jazz piano. It pretty much swallows up most of my free time during the day as well as an hour or two right before sleep at night. I visit VT only during breaks and I don't even read 99% of the threads and posts.