So, how great is Kromm anyway?

[Walden]

Agreed. Get well soon.

[Kromm]

New entry posted in the GURPS thread of my DW.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by xlyce

Good luck with long Covid, a friend of mine went to 2/3rds time and put in her retirement for next spring because of it. She is in her 50s, and in Canada too.

Thank you, and I empathize strongly.

After my first bout with COVID-19, back in November 2022, I had the classic morning cough and – more concerning – brain fog, eyesight issues, insomnia, and motor-function deficits (trouble typing). Worst of all was the fatigue; I had to take naps for the first time in my life, and was forced to an earlier bedtime. This endured well into summer 2023. I was just noticing some improvement when I caught COVID-19 again in September, and now I'm back where I was. In practical terms, I function best at 2/3 to 3/4 of full-time, but I can force 4/5 if I sacrifice the rest of my life in order to work.

Unfortunately for me, I've been a contractor since 1995 and was supporting two people on modest pay up until 2018, so "retirement" isn't a word in my vocabulary. If I could, I probably would. Not because I dislike my job (I'd almost certainly continue to write for GURPS), but because, to quote a hobbit, I feel "like butter scraped over too much bread."

[Kromm]

New entry posted in the GURPS thread of my DW.

[Kromm]

New entry posted in the GURPS thread of my DW.

[Farmer]

Yay for Video Meetings!

Hope you're feeling better, too.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by Farmer

Hope you're feeling better, too.

Thanks for asking. I'm trying to push through but keep getting whacked on the head, figuratively speaking. Detailed answers to "What do you mean?" are confidential, as they involve others who aren't on these forums, private matters in my personal life, or are work-related but behind my NDA. However, in vague generalities, I could sum up November 2022 to present thusly:

• Bad case of COVID-19, just not hospital bad.
• Long COVID during everything below.
• Eviction by new building owner who wanted to occupy apartment.
• Court to fight eviction – an expensive loss.
• Desperate search for new apartment.
• Expensive move.
• Major personnel changes at work.
• Forest-fire smoke retriggering long COVID.
• Injury.
• Bad news about mother's health.
• Milder case of COVID-19, retriggering long COVID again.
• Project-related setbacks at work.
• Series of small surprises with apartment: water, brickwork, etc.
• Life partner getting sick (not COVID) and going on medical leave.

I'm leaving out a lot, including the most personal stuff. I know the world has it worse, especially in the past couple of weeks, but I've been avoiding the news because my brain can't process it.

Anyway, I aim to work a little less to create breathing space.

[Farmer]

Originally Posted by Kromm

Anyway, I aim to work a little less to create breathing space.

That is so much to deal with, mate :(. I think your plan is a good one. We all need an opportunity to breath and to recharge, even if it's not as quick as we would like, to at least be heading up a little more often than heading down.

I hope that space forms for you and that a lot of those things continue to move behind you. It's the sum of all the things that seems to be the hardest, so if a few things less are in front, it's often easier to get past them.

15,000 odd km is a long way, but like I'm sure the rest of the community would agree, shout out if there's anything that I can do. You've given so much over such a long time that I reckon most of us feel like we know you and you're more like part of a bigger family than anything else.

[Kromm]

My choices seem to be "Work as usual, go crazier" or "Let work take second place, recover." Psychologically or neurologically (the test can't tell), I'm what's often called a highly sensitive person, so even if my list strikes others as lots of minor stuff adults are supposed to take in stride, it's overwhelming for me. I find one big problem I can attack far easier than 10 nuisances that most people wouldn't even notice.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Kromm

My choices seem to be "Work as usual, go crazier" or "Let work take second place, recover." Psychologically or neurologically (the test can't tell), I'm what's often called a highly sensitive person, so even if my list strikes others as lots of minor stuff adults are supposed to take in stride, it's overwhelming for me. I find one big problem I can attack far easier than 10 nuisances that most people wouldn't even notice.

The trouble with a bunch of little problems is its harder to focus on solving the issue since there are multiple issues. Also you just feel like it shouldn't be a big deal and hence may not give it the attention it deserves. It gets even worse if your support structure sees just the one issue and blows it off or doesn't offer you the support as they only see that one rather than the long string that is wearing you down.
So dont feel bad about it.