Fatigue
Except for the remnants of an annoying cough and some morning congestion, I think I'm nearly recovered from the plague. Pramas, on the other hand, has been as sick as I've ever seen him. Eleven days and counting, and we're finally able to get him in to see a doctor tomorrow. I blame his prolonged illness in part on his stubborn insistence on going out in the rain and HAIL last week to bring packages to the post office. If anyone has gotten something in the mail from him recently, World of Aldea comps, perhaps, know that he made himself sicker doing that. Personally, I decided that people could wait until I was recovered because self-employment in the game industry doesn't come with health benefits and I'm not willing to risk another bout of pneumonia. Now we know who is more dedicated... I'd prefer to have Chris healthy.
Being physically run down only further contributes to a general malaise that I've been struggling with. Back in 2004 The Onion spoofed Nation's Liberals Suffering From Outrage Fatigue, but I do think that's seriously what I've got. Outrage fatigue. Not a day passes without an affront to human dignity, and I can barely form an opinion on one scandal before news breaks about another equally egregious debasement of every value I hold.
Hyperbole? I wish.
Being physically run down only further contributes to a general malaise that I've been struggling with. Back in 2004 The Onion spoofed Nation's Liberals Suffering From Outrage Fatigue, but I do think that's seriously what I've got. Outrage fatigue. Not a day passes without an affront to human dignity, and I can barely form an opinion on one scandal before news breaks about another equally egregious debasement of every value I hold.
Hyperbole? I wish.
Dear N.,
I know exactly what you mean about the outrage fatigue. For example, I've been reading blogs by various Iraqis since the war started, and most of them have made the distinction that it isn't the American people destroying their country, it's just the current American government. But lately, they've been getting (understandably) more and more outraged, wondering why we continue letting our government get away with all this b.s.
My reaction? Complete feeling of helplessness. Before I can even BEGIN to figure out how to work on changing one of my government's outrageous behaviors, I've already been distracted by the next one. Maybe we should call it "outrageous interruptus"...
As for Pramas, I couldn't find a way to respond to his blog, but it probably will interest you just as much - perhaps he didn't hear at GTS about the recently-added GAMA membership benefit, the health insurance plan! All I really know about it is that it's specifically intended to solve the problem of, "self-employment in the game industry doesn't come with health benefits" - but I imagine that's all I NEED to tell you... More info available from GAMA, of course.
But since it's presumably too late to help him with the current illness, I sure hope he gets well soon.
John Brock
GAMA volunteer (GTS & Origins)
Chalking on up for the good guys, though, the Nigerians have collared Charles Taylor, and appear to be--at long last--ready to turn him over to the Sierra Leone war crimes tribunal.
Otherwise, yeah, I sometimes feel like I'm in a (Prairie Home Companion's) Ketchup Council ad.