It's really frustrating because there are actual experimental results that need explaining. Particularly in cosmology and quantum gravity, but there are also open questions regarding neutrino flavors that don't conform to the standard model. But even more simply there is real work being done on such things as quantum computing and superconductors. Not to mention even more basic and practical things which are still not characterized well like the mechanics of piles of sand or grain (yes, really).

I left physics in 2008 in part because I was in the same boat as you and had gotten disillusioned with both string theory and particle physics. Now I kinda wish I had stuck it out and focused on more practical, less hyped-up areas.