My cat, Sushi, still hates me. She’s hiding from me, under my bed, to be precise. When she feels a little bit social, I would take advantage of it and pour Betadine on her stitches and then she goes back snarling at me. Then she would then hide under the bed again, out of my reach.

Her sister, Kimchi, on the other hand, is almost back to normal and is taking advantage of my mommy guilt by begging for more wet food.

Later on Sushi sort of forgave me, but I think it’s conditional, because she got hungry. She finally got out and joined her sister but she’s still haughty, like she would rather die than beg for food. “No, hooman, I’m not yet forgiving you but I’m hungry,” she telepathically told me. Meanwhile, Kimchi has no shame and pulls my heartstrings by meowing like she’s in so much pain and dying.

My entire day was unproductive because I was troubleshooting personnel issues. Things were simpler when I just handle writing stories and editing. But managing people… It’s a whole different ballgame. Much of the stress of this particular job of mine is managing people and dealing with egos. I remember a microbiologist told me (can’t remember if she was my mom’s research assistant) that the reason she chose this field is because microorganisms are more predictable than people. They also don’t bite back or tear you down.

So I find that journalism is 10-20% writing and the rest is human relations. A big chunk of that is mind games or battle of wits, especially when dealing with big people or difficult interviewees. That’s why I always recommended to junior journos and journalism students 48 Laws of Power (full version, not the abridged) to be able to know how to deal with egos and cunning people. It also applies to people who deal with investments or trying to win consultancy contracts.

So it’s kind of double whammy if you’re in my position–managing people and balancing quality with limited resources. Should you let go of this resource because he is a poor performer and risk not being able to hire again due to budget constraints (because 🤦🏻‍♀️ pandemic)? Or you grin and bear it? It’s a constant battle. You deal with egos when pursuing stories to meet your KPIs, and outside of your KPIs you have to deal again with egos, culture, and self-esteem to keep the peace and have a fully functional team.

How to stay sane? Drink tea and move on.