According to an article I read during the weekend, the best way to fend off depression and stress is to turn Facebook off for a week.
I more or less agree.
The last few weeks have been pretty heavy:
. lots of work to do to try and pay the bills
. lots of offices to visit and calls to make to settle the succession taxes and relative documents
. not many highlights on the human front

But I’ll leave my bureaucratic odyssey and the general fact that human beings tend to suck for another post (if ever), and concentrate on the overworked/underpaid situation, and the stress and depression thereof.

I’m currently writing at a rate of 30.000 words per week – this without taking into account the translations and the blog posts.
This – combined with the various daily chores and the rest – leaves very little time for anything else. It turns into a sort of continuum, with the added drawback that every cent one makes vanishes instantly to cover bills, overdue payments and basic survival needs.
Sisyphus and all that stuff, you know.

In such a situation, even the silly mindless chatter of the social network can become aggravating.
So, yes, turning off the socials is a good idea.
Go for a walk, too.
And read something completely different from what one is writing, also.
I just finished reading Firefly Gadroon, by Jonathan Gash – a mystery in the Lovejoy series.
As far from what I am writing as anything could be.
It was like taking a vacation.

And taking a vacation would be a good idea – and Saturday I did, and I gave a lecture during a local cultural festival. It was good, and refreshing. I even sold a handful of my books.

So, it’s a harsh time, but I’m getting through.
In the meantime, you might notice the posts on this blog become somewhat erratic. This is basically because I don’t have time for my blogs – and it hurts, because this used to be one of my safety vents.

But things will look up, hopefully. One more week of madness, and then my rhythms should slow down a little.

See you on the other side.