How are you feeling lately?

People have been saying that for eons.......Yes parts of the city proper are below sea level, the mighty Miss River is the problem due to the levee systems not able to handle huge storm surges, but again that's been the case for as long as I can remember. Believe me the Corps of Engineers will not let the city drown, the tourist value of that city is massive....and besides Venice has been dealing with water for eons too.

For one thing, the CEO of my company is a crazy-ass who keeps forcing everyone to come to office even though the layout is inherently too cramped to allow even a modicum of social distancing. We had three people test positive on the same floor in just the last week.  But there will be no change in attendance norms, not unless the state CM (equivalent of Governor in US) forces this maniac's hand by enforcing lower attendance in private offices. These aren't the first cases of covid either.  There was a similar wave of covid cases within a short period of time in Dec (during which I got the virus).  All told, at least ten people so far have got covid just in our Mumbai office (no idea about the many other locations but I heard two showrooms got shut due to covid cases so...). 

If all that wasn't bad enough, since Tuesday, I have been unable to go to office because I have started breathing heavily when I walk up stairs or walk briskly (or talk at a reasonably loud volume for more than a few minutes).  I have terrible weakness and am forced to spend several hours in bed. For perspective, I am 35.  And I used to play tennis before covid lockdowns began.  I can run up stairs when I have to and often did when I was in a hurry to catch a train.  It is so demoralizing to feel as if I have suddenly aged a lot.  And I did everything I was supposed to, to take care of myself and family.  I am never not without a mask when outdoors or in office and I haven't shaken hands with anyone since March last year.  

I did everything, that is, other than leave an organisation run by a psycopathic idiot.  To tell you all the truth, with a public holiday coming up on Monday, I am simply waiting in the hope that new govt enforced norms will come about by tomorrow, taking the decision out of my hands.  Else I propose to ask for work from home at least for a couple of weeks and if I am not given that, to just leave. I know the thing about a 'gap' in your resume and I've been there, done that and wouldn't advise it to anyone.  But I can't let my health deteriorate any further in the prime of my life because of recruiters' silly and cruel fixations on things like 'gap'.  Maybe, if an organisation wouldn't understand why I would have to leave in such a circumstance, then it's as or more cruel than the one I am in and not worth being part of anyway.