A tough time

[der meister 3,182]

"Hey, how are ya?"

 

"How's it going?"

 

Both are really typical questions, especially in a workplace. They're not really questions, just quick, informal greetings. I know this, and yet I always feel compelled to actually answer the question, perhaps to not be perceived as a liar. Lately, though, I'm not sure how to respond to those questions. I'm not trying to be difficult, but the simple question, "How's it going?" is enough to make me pause these days. It feels like everything is crumbling and on the verge of collapsing like a dwarven bridge in Moria, the solid stone proving to be nothing more than a façade. It's a tough way to live. I don't hate my job, but I hate the situation I'm in. I feel set up to fail; my boss is retiring at the end of June next year and is already checked out, but it feels like every decision he makes is the wrong one, and it's incredibly stressful. There's no clear definition of what my job is, so he frequently tries to add additional things to my plate beyond the job that I agreed to take, so it feels like a hovering Sword of Damocles, even when I successfully push back on it. It's exhausting, and it's affecting my life outside of work pretty dramatically.

 

Because of that, I find myself struggling to do what had once been simple things, such as writing articles for the VHL, recording for my YouTube channel, or editing any of the books I've written. Even this article has taken me almost half an hour, whereas I used to be able to bang these out like nothing. 200 words? It's a pittance. But 200 words when it feels like everything around me is on fire is a borderline daunting task. It took me 3 days to write my media spot this week, which is crazy to me. 

 

Despite this length, I should probably talk more about the V, though, right? DC is in a bad way, and I'm disappointed my player is not contributing more. It seems like any time our offense clicks, we give up way more goals than usual. It's an odd pattern. I didn't expect to be hoisting a Cup this year, but I didn't expect us to be quite this bad. Still, rebuilding takes time, and I'm here for it, world on fire or not.

[BOOM 8,725]