Drink
“Give strong drink to him who is perishing, and wine to those who are bitter of heart. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.” - Proverbs 31:6-7 (as shared by an officemate)
At the height of work-related stress, instead of breaking pencils, I’ve developed a habit of standing in the middle of our section and announcing “inom”.
Relief will then come in the form of sympathetic colleagues who would turn from their monitors (bless these good souls) and join me for a round or two of whatever is available — wine, beer, brandy, or tequilla.
Nothing needs to be discussed, serious talk is unnecessary, getting drunk is never the goal (but always a possibility).
The motion of passing the “tagay” around is more than enough — the movement of filling the shot glass or re-filling other people’s glasses could normalize the blood pressure in no time. I could not recall how many times a simple acknowledgment of a rough day or a screwed up moment has saved my sanity.
Others smoke. Some eat.
I, on the other hand, fix a mug of coffee or, if things get a lot rougher, sit down with a bottle of spirits.
You’re welcome to join.
Cheers!
