This is weird. Writing an article has never felt so good. To be honest, the first idea for writing was the four-letter word C.A.S.H. given that we are living in a world where money DOES matter. It is useless trying to sweeten things up by muttering 'Money is not everything' (mum used to do that) since unfortunately it is. Whilst being sure that such a crisis is effecting the whole world, I am 100% sure that Malta is currently undergoing one of its very worst dilemmas. We are at that point where you have to 'cling' to your job, even if it involves cleaning loos, as earning your personal income has nowadays become a sort of privilege. Wages are scarce; you literally eat what you earn (that's what we say in Maltese), skipping from monthly paycheck to another and you are left wondering, in the end, whether you are ever going to pay all your loans and electricity bills. Forget expensive holidays. I had to give up my one-day visit to Gozo as well.Whilst this reality is not breaking news, what amazes me is the lack of effort from the part of employers to make you feel at home. For heaven's sake, they are not 'awarding' you money as a gift or Christmas thought..they are just giving you your much-deserved due after days of incessant back-breaking and nerve-wrecking labour. I considered myself very religious before experiencing work and perfected the art of creative swearing. Forget the thought of ever being congratulated for coming up with an innovation, yet you are always scolded when you forget to phone Mr. X or write to Mrs. Y. This is especially applicable to the sedentary jobs in tiny cubicles where the word 'physically active' comes across as a word in Yiddish. The one thing youths are active in today is sex (on Saturday nights- when you are not working at Mc. Donalds for extra cash). I'm NOT pessimistic. Pessimists swallow pills like Smarties and complain about everything. I DON'T swallow pills like Smarties and I only express my grief for a deteriorating reality which other people just entirely ignore.So stop a second..and think a bit. Say: 'Why should I torture myself in order to earn my living?', 'Is it not true that everyone, bosses and employees alike, are eventually going to perish?', 'Is it not true that we are meant to work in order to live and not to live in order to work?', 'Why should I give up my hobbies, my values and principles to satisfy someone who has not got any notion of them?'And that's why I am writing. Not merely to 'kill' the overwhelming boredom', as previously specified, but also as therapy. Writing has always been my dream, yet, reality impedes me from finding time to do it. So while I am in my office, I can remember that there is always a tiny corner on the internet where I can express my feelings without being judged. Looking forward to write again,Rob