I'm feeling a bit empathetically (or should I say empathically - they're both in the dictionary) overwhelmed with stuff happening to some people I care about now.

I stumbled upon a new blog entry by my childhood best friend wherein she thinks excitedly about the possibility of getting a new job, one better than her current one where she earns $8 an hour. I can't tell you how depressing it was to read this.

No, I don't devalue whatever she's doing that pays her so little or the direction her life has taken. But I cringe knowing that she has a husband, three kids, and house and car payments on top of the whole self-actualization crisis.

When we were younger, this is not where she was hoping to be right now. Who would want to be? Does she even have time to invest in herself and her own potential? She's capable of so much more, and I hate to know she's struggling.

And then there are other cases of this around me, and they also involve careers and taking paths less traveled. It scares the bejesus out of me. It's not even vicarious anymore.

What does this say about my current state? Am I this risk/change averse? That I feel sick from others' defeats? Am I this clingy? That the "we" has replaced the "he" or "she" in response to "Now what?"

Or maybe it's all related to my menstrual cycle. I'm kinda hoping it's that.