October 17, 2021:
He was surprisingly aggressive, even confrontational. As I replay the convo, it's as if he came with the specific agenda to kick my ass; and he ended by emphasizing that if he takes the position we'll be having future conversations where we air our differences even more forcefully.
And so the classic conundrum of work. Acknowledge the material constraints of necessary income, where you continue in a context which makes you miserable every day. Or tell the arrogant failure-to-be to go fuck himself, and live with your books and guitars under some capacious and nearby bridge.