[sliverstorm]

I can't tell you where to go or what to do, but if you just hate what you do, might as well try to find something different.

Many people in this world do not enjoy their jobs, but you appear to have the resources and the freedom to try to find the job you like.

P.S. Here's an idea. Have you considered going back to school for a Master's, if you don't already have one? That could give you more personal time to explore side projects (as well as hopefully working on something cool for your degree), handily explains 2-3 years of gap in employment history, and you come out with a degree. Thus allowing you to hedge your bets in case you have to rejoin the corporate world later.

[skurry]

I applied to SJSU, they have a Master's program with emphasis on mobile development. But after the budget cuts they seem to be really struggling, bureaucratically. I haven't heard anything from them other than "we received your documents, we'll process them within a week". That was two months ago. I haven't really followed up with them and asked what's going on, which I guess is a sign that I'm not really passionate about that idea...