Such as and the Iraq and such as: Fumbling for a topic

I think I'm going through a mid-semester crisis (although it's past mid-semester, so it's technically an almost-the-last-quarter-of-the-semester crisis). I have been fairly certain for a while now that I wanted to write about current research on the formal teaching of grammar. Since Hartwell wrote his essay in 1985, I figured the last twenty-three years had to have produced some interesting material on the topic. Unfortunately, I think I'm getting cold feet. This often happens to me when I'm working on a paper. I get an idea for a topic, and the more I think about it and do research on it, the more committed I get to it; the problem is, once it comes down to actually writing it, I second guess myself, start thinking it's a bad idea, and run screaming back down the aisle. If I ever get myself straightened out, maybe Cheyney and I can start a self-help group for people suffering from topic-block. I think that all it will take is finding a really good source or two, so I'll keep looking.
I think another reason for my just-past-the-middle-of-the-second-half-of-the-semester crisis is that I've had some fairly "blah" tutoring sessions lately, many of them "assigned" sessions where the students are only there for the piece of paper. I used to have a fairly favorable view of assigned sessions, thinking they were a good way to introduce 1010 and 2010 students to the Writing Center. Now, since last Friday's encounter with the angry student who stormed out because I refused to just hand over a signed paper, I'm not so sure--plus, I keep checking under my car in case she's waiting to cut my achilles tendon.
Well, I guess it's time to commit to a topic and run with it--chain myself to a computer in the library until I've hunted down a couple of fabulous sources and get over it--and stop fretting about students who leave their assigned W.C. visit to the last minute.
Although, maybe I'll get myself some pepper spray, just in case.