I don't know if this even counts as a confession, it's just… a moment, I guess? One of those things that really shouldn't stick with you, but it just does. Like a burr in your sock. I was in this quarterly review meeting, right? Super boring, the usual corporate blablabla about Q3 deliverables and next-gen synergy. Honestly, I mostly zone out, sketch little designs on my notepad, try to make the squiggly lines look like something cool, something I *used* to spend my time doing. But then I looked up, and Mr. Henderson, our department manager, he’s like, fifty maybe? He was leading the thing, going on about KPIs, and I just happened to glance at his hands. He had them clasped, really tight, underneath the table. I saw it because he kept shifting, you know? Like he was trying to get comfortable, but also trying to keep his hands out of sight. And they were shaking. Not like a little tremor, but full-on vibrating. Like he was freezing cold, or just… vibrating with something. It just hit me, like a really flat note, watching him trying to hide it. This guy, he’s been here forever. Like, twenty-five years? He’s got the corner office, the fancy titles, the whole nine yards. This is what you work towards, right? This is the… *goal*. And he looked so tired, so brittle. Not sad, exactly. Just… thin. Like a piece of paper you can almost see through. And I don’t know why, but it made me feel really weird. Like, is this what happens? Is this the prize? You get to a certain point and you just… shake? Quietly, under a conference table, while talking about profit margins? I think maybe it bothers me because I always thought, okay, I’ll do this for a bit. Get a steady paycheck, pay the bills, and then I’ll go back to what I *really* want to do. You know, make things. Paint. But years just keep going by, and the bills just get bigger, and the “bit” keeps stretching out. And seeing Mr. Henderson, with his visibly trembling hands, trying to be all composed and managerial… it just felt like looking into a very boring, very shaky crystal ball. Is that it? Is that the end of the road? Just trying to keep your hands still while talking about the bottom line? No fireworks, no dramatic breakdown. Just… *that*. It’s a bit depressing, innit? Don't know what I'm expecting, just something more. Or less. I just don't know.