anorak mode

Anorak mode is the state of being fully locked into your niche obsession — tabs open, notes accumulating, completely unreachable to the outside world. You've gone so deep into your specialist subject that normal conversation is impossible and frankly unwelcome. Time stops, hunger is ignored, and three hours disappear into researching the livery history of a specific British Rail diesel class. Anorak mode isn't a choice so much as an inevitability — it's what happens when the interest takes over. Friends and family learn to recognise the signs and know not to disturb you until it passes (or until dinner is ready twice).