Two Questions

There are two questions that people often ask me:
1. How are you?
2. You there? (every single day of my working life)

How are you?

People ask me this out of concern. It's no longer the chit chatty 'how are you? wazzup?', but it's more of a serious 'how are you?' (as in really, how are you ). Well, I'm okay. I'm getting by. I can't say I'm happy at work (but who is?), I'm always tensed and stressed and tired, but still I count my blessings. I eat, chitchat and shop around with my girlfriend on weekdays, I look forward to the weekend so that I can sleep till 1pm, I go out with my regular Saturday (and sometimes Sunday) girlfriend and do the usualy girly stuff.

I read books, I surf the net, I give myself a few minutes to cry on some emotional days (then I'd abruptly stop), I watch ten minutes of tv every night before I go to sleep, I wallow in self pity, I feel proud of myself for what I've achieved so far, I wonder what I'm going to do with my life, I miss my family, miss my friends, miss the old times, I think about my unedited book, I think what business I can do..

In all, I'm okay. Really. I've learned to be a tough cookie here. Soft and doughy (not really a good adjective to describe oneself) on the outside but tough on the inside.

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You there?

I am asked this question every single day. Nothing wrong with these two words, but if you read it on IM (instant messaging) every single day, it does get to the nerves. The more I see these two words, the more I tend to stall my reply 'Yes, I'm here'. Let the other person think I'm not at my desk, and maybe they will just forget about it and leave me alone.

Of course, my friends are exempted from this 'practice'. Afterall, their question would be in a friendly context. And their question would mean they want to chitchat once I confirm I'm there, rather than pass me more work.