I’m definitely have lower energy this Read than previous ones. I had to stand and score for a while after the lunch break just to keep my eyes open. That usually isn’t an issue until closer to halfway through. I’m not the only one feeling that way as many Readers mentioned similar issues today.
We are understaffed. We have the same total of 400 people physically at the Reading, but they were hoping to get 750–which is still a far cry from the 1500 or more that we used to have pre-COVID. They’ve already made it clear that they need to have people Reading from home even after the in person Reading is over.
Still, it’s good to be back with my friends as well as people who get history-nerd jokes. For example, I said something about being as radiant as the sun, and a guy at my table commented, “Look who thinks he’s Louis XIV.” We all laughed; these are my people.