Things I Don't Need to Hear While Working on My Thesis

1. Screaming.
   
2. The evolution of any Pokemon character.
   
3. Howling or whining from animal or kid.
4. What do you have in mind for dinner?
   
5. Obtuse, patronizing statements about my progress.
   

As a writer (or for that matter as an artist), I've learned to inoculate myself against the sorts of statements/judgments/pronouncements people make about my career choice. I've learned to keep breathing when, in the middle of the chaos that can be the creative process, someone makes demands on my work that have nothing to do with what I'm trying to create. I've learned to shrug off helpful platitudes that do nothing but add to my frustration. But every once in awhile, someone drops a mind bomb that completely flattens my tires. And then, I have to spend time I don't really have trying to manage my psychology so that I can work. I don't need that at the moment, especially when my life right now is all about having to choose between personal hygiene and the luxury of sitting down to write anything.

Addendum: Or should I say the luxury of personal hygiene and the necessity of writing?