When I'm bummed, I go shopping. I don't know where I learned this, but it's definitely a pattern of mine. It's a fun distraction, it keeps me busy, it might reward me by looking good in something or touching something soft. I don't medicate with food; I medicate with cashmere.

As some of you may know, my current job isn't my Dream Employment, and I've noticed I definitely start to look at clothing as ways to fill some holes in my life. Shoot, I think, today blew chunks, I DESERVE those shiny shoes or pretty sparkly things. I'm going to give myself a present, because *I* love me, even if no one else does.

But you know what? All it means is, I have too much really nice stuff and my problem doesn't go away. My closet is not alive. It does not love me. Buying more stuff just adds to clutter in my head and makes me feel stupid and guilty when I inevitably have to weed stuff out.

So even though Big Tech is really Big Trauma right now, I am doing my best not to shop. That doesn't mean I *won't* shop - just that I want to be very aware that when I buy something, I need to think if I'm just looking for the shiny to distract from the shinola underneath.

Thanks for listening.