I doubt if I could ever make money at it (I'm too disorganized to figure out how to do that) but I do think research is fun. When I find the answer to someone's question (which doesn't always happen, I admit), I feel like I've won a challenge with myself. My problem is exactly what you said....getting faccinated with researching and not getting anything written. In college, I once wrote a four page paper with four pages of footnotes!! I just couldn't bear to let any of that information go. The professor thought I was a nut case, I'm sure. I'm thinking of retiring from working for the city (I work in a library, though I am not a librarian--not employed to do research at all these days) but considering seeing if I could work part time at a nearby university, because I think I would miss being close to a large library after all this time. It's one of those things, I guess, that you either like to do or don't. I have zero patience for creating a model, but I can spend hours rumaging through an archive. I am always sad when someone posts a question and, when I ask if they checked their local library, they say "no, I just checked the Internet." Librarians live to be asked questions...now days you can call in a reference question, or send it via email. There's really no excuse not to exercise the library's services, unless you just don't have access to one (and if you have a computer, you have access). Not everything is on the Internet...really. Especially not the experience that's sitting inside someone's head because they have spent a life time fine tuning their ability. Just a thought. It's off to take Mom shopping. In the rain. Sigh.