Crisis ahoy

With MetroHom:

"Have you ever been filled with this general sense of malaise?" MetroHom asked me over lunch the other day.
"How do you mean?"
"You know - when you can't really pinpoint it, and you're not really unhappy about anything in particular, but at the same time, you realise you're not really happy about things either."
"That's awful, MetroHom," I said sadly.
"Can we go bet a brownie? I think that'll make me feel better."

With Delta:

"MetroHom said he has this continuous feeling of malaise," I reported to Delta that evening.
"How do you mean?"
"You know - he can't really pinpoint it, not particularly unhappy, but not particularly happy either, that kind of thing."
"Sounds like a mid-life crisis, that."
"Hmm, you might be right. He has been thinking about buying a new apartment after all.

With Doobs:

"So MetroHom is going through a midlife crisis," I told Doobs as we sat in a cafe, gazing at the rain outside.
"How do you know?"
"He told me over lunch the other day. And then we had to go get a brownie."
"But how do you know it's a crisis?"
"He's looking to buy an apartment."

Back with MetroHom:

"So that feeling of malaise you were telling me about the other day - I think that's a mid-life crisis," I explained, putting on my best didactic air.
"You think so?"
"Sure, the symptoms are typical."
"Ooh, now that it has a label, that's got me feeling better already. I'm all cheery again now."