Time Please !

As we stand on the threshold of a midweek holiday I realize that I now prefer these to the weekend extenders. Diminishing marginal utility kicking in for the 3rd day of the weekend - perhaps !

On slightly deeper reflection it seems that this may be to do with the way I am wired. I am apparently not built for speed - maybe for durability & clearly the way life is racing past makes me long for that midweek speed breaker. I had barely recovered from the 2011 New Year party when the 2012 NY was upon us & this year seems to be whizzing past at an even more accelerated rate - Jan end looms already ! The slower I get the faster everything else seems to be moving.

Obviously some of this has to do with work - by design this involves us doing more or less the same set of things again & again day in & day out. While this makes perfect sense it's hardly the best recipe for renewal or engagement. Apparently the guy who won the "Best Job in the World" - a paid position to live in luxury on an Australian Tropical island paradise quit after a while because he was bored. That workplace sage Dilbert says that left to themselves no one would want to do their jobs - if they did then one wouldn't have to pay them to do it ! This sameness of most work days tends to accentuate the sense of the days rushing past while I am standing still.

That can't be all though - obviously there's some role played by the way I over organize life. I have heard exhortations to stop & smell the roses. For me this would involve a Google search to find the nearest place where roses abound followed by a Google Maps search for the best route there. This would then be followed with a quick scan of my friends for anyone who has smelt them & their opinion of the value of the experience. If all this checks out then a weekend plan would follow to leave in the morning, not too early so it doesn't mess with the kids' karate classes, pack a bunch of snacks, carry water & dress appropriately (we may have to walk in the sun or it may be cold..). The moments before the departure as always would be tense - getting the kids ready & into the car on time is usually an effort (never stopped to think that the roses would still be there even if we delay a bit) & then the departure. Who has the time & the patience for all that - wouldn't it be better to watch a show on roses on The Discovery Channel ?

I get the feeling that it may be time to take a stand & what better way to stand than to stop running ? I heard someone asking for the world to be stopped so he could get off - while I am perfectly happy to stay on for the rest of the ride I do want to halt the game for a while. While we were kids the accepted method to do this was to say "Time Please" - I'm saying that now.