I Live at the End of a Five and a Half Minute Hallway
When the going gets tough, the tough seek to fill the gaping hole in their souls through the purchase of shiny objects. They purchase those Art Nouveau shoes with the flower heels from the collection that Prada did with comic book artist James Jean a couple of years ago. They buy a big purple velvet chair with yellow trim, delivered from the land of Craigslist by a pink-haired girl and her friend who was impressed to see that the chair matched the office drapes. They try to talk themselves out of buying cameo corsets from Louise Black in striped and rococo fabrics, because we really have quite enough corsets, don't we?
When the going gets tough, the tough go running. The tough are a little slower with their 10k pace than they used to be, but their time is quite respectable. The tough do pull-ups and push-ups. The tough do crunches in sets of 100. The tough don't want to think about how long it's been since they went to the Very Serious Circus School. The tough think about quitting. The tough step on a scale and frown, even though weight is not supposed to matter. The tough recall that their most reliable indicator of depression is when they stop doing the things that they used to enjoy.
The tough hear labored explanations about how the workmen will move the dishwasher back into the kitchen, but they will not hook up the water for insurance reasons. The tough wonder when someone will fix all of the baseboard that has been ripped up in the office and in the hall. The tough have delayed painting the front hall and the bedroom for yet another week. When the going gets tough, the tough get cranky. The tough would not mind a drink.
When the going gets tough, the tough are probably more snippy than they absolutely have to be with the sobbing crazy people. When the crazy people make appointments and show up in the tough's office, the tough are unsympathetic. The tough understand that you have an amazing new cryptography algorithm that is going to change the world, which you would like to patent, only you are afraid that the government will steal it, and which you will not make available to the public for reasons you cannot adequately explain. The tough can see that you have a few patents already. The tough appreciate that a professor of mathematics at Santa Clara University has confirmed that you may be on to something. But the tough just can't take you seriously because you've never heard of Bruce Schneier.
The tough expect that any day now, they will begin to burst into tears over a particularly upsetting mattress commercial.
Tough.
When the going gets tough, the tough go running. The tough are a little slower with their 10k pace than they used to be, but their time is quite respectable. The tough do pull-ups and push-ups. The tough do crunches in sets of 100. The tough don't want to think about how long it's been since they went to the Very Serious Circus School. The tough think about quitting. The tough step on a scale and frown, even though weight is not supposed to matter. The tough recall that their most reliable indicator of depression is when they stop doing the things that they used to enjoy.
The tough hear labored explanations about how the workmen will move the dishwasher back into the kitchen, but they will not hook up the water for insurance reasons. The tough wonder when someone will fix all of the baseboard that has been ripped up in the office and in the hall. The tough have delayed painting the front hall and the bedroom for yet another week. When the going gets tough, the tough get cranky. The tough would not mind a drink.
When the going gets tough, the tough are probably more snippy than they absolutely have to be with the sobbing crazy people. When the crazy people make appointments and show up in the tough's office, the tough are unsympathetic. The tough understand that you have an amazing new cryptography algorithm that is going to change the world, which you would like to patent, only you are afraid that the government will steal it, and which you will not make available to the public for reasons you cannot adequately explain. The tough can see that you have a few patents already. The tough appreciate that a professor of mathematics at Santa Clara University has confirmed that you may be on to something. But the tough just can't take you seriously because you've never heard of Bruce Schneier.
The tough expect that any day now, they will begin to burst into tears over a particularly upsetting mattress commercial.
Tough.