Thanks - I currently also try to work up some courage by thinking that there should always be a way to make the task interesting. If it is something repetitive, it should be possible to create an abstraction for it. Unfortunately politics often get into the way, for example, I probably won't have any luck suggesting alternatives to Java (not even scripting languages for Java). But still...

Today I talked to a startup, and I could probably freelance for them. Less money than usual, but hopefully more interesting - I feel reasonably positive about it at the moment. Although in my heart of hearts I know that in the long run, only my own projects will really make me happy.