It’s 10:48pm as I’m typing this. In little over an hour, it will be Monday, and how all of us office slaves dread it. O to wake up and have to drag one’s half-asleep carcass off to work! Such misery! Such inglorious morning lament!
But does it have to be this way truly?
This morning I woke up, sunlight bursting through the windows into my eyes. I could barely stir and the first thought that came into my mind was, “Ugh. Monday. Work. Ga.”
Then I woke up a bit more, and realised it was really bright. I looked at the clock and it said 10:00am. No way! Did I oversleep? Late for work! Panic. Arghhhh!!!
Then I woke up a little bit more, and realised, “Hey, waitaminute. This can’t be right. Last night was Saturday night. This can’t be Monday morning then, can it?”
(Okay, no one ever accused me of startlingly brilliant observations, certainly not this early in the day.)
Finally it dawned on me that it was Sunday. Sunday morning. One more day of weekend. Hurray and hurrah! I was so gleeful I almost went back to sleep but decided not to push my luck. (I might’ve woken up and discovered it was Monday morning this time. Arghhhh!!!)
Today has been perfect. Truly. But it got me thinking. Why does it have to be this way? Why only the weekends? Why is it so terrible come Sunday evening and Monday draws ever nearer?
See, I’ve fallen into the trap of believing that relief and recreation comes only with the advent of Friday evening and the call of the factory bell signalling my release from my cubicle. Why can’t everyday be full and fulfilling?
I couldn’t think of a reason. It must be me then and how I have been thinking that the weekdays suck and the weekends rock. Why not have everyday rock? (And sometimes the weekends can surely suck too; I can’t control everything that happens, nor should I attempt to.)
So, I’ve decided to wake up every morning with a smile on my face and to look forward to the day, whether it’s a day at the office or a day spent doing nothing at all. I’ll be thankful either way, for what I have and what I am able to do. I am fortunate, blessed. And if something turns up to sour my day? Doesn’t matter; it’ll pass sooner or later. In the long run?
53 Comments
Aaah my dear friend, you’ve learnt the secret of truly living each day. It’s hard to see the silver lining sometimes, but that’s when it’s useful to have friends who remind you of them if you can’t see the silver lining yourself.
Having said that, nothing beats being able to sleep in till 10.00am.
that’s a very good approach to life… choosing an attitude. but not for those who hates their job… not for those who knows there will be pile of stuff on their desk… not for those will be bombarded with a barrage of “have you done this?” as soon as they stepped into the offce… sigh…
that’s life… if i am a full time blogger… then i will certainly be able to wake up with a smile everyday :P….
i reckon the new place is going on well for you… sunshine on your face and all…
you know i have a friend that hates mondays - and one monday we were driving home from work and i said “Monday is over, is ok…”
and he still complain :” well but 7 days from now it will keep coming back!!”
hahaha what kinda remark is that? so i think he was just having a really bad day and happens to be on Monday - I hate Mondays toO! but your right, mondays come n go, and Friday is my favourite day…we ll just make the best out of everyday
keep blogging, keep reading blogs.
welcome to the monday blues..its a crap feeling to suddenly realise when you wake up its time to go to work..but oh well..be like me..take half an hr and surf blogs..then get back to reality..it works..well for me at least..
Yes, I agree with you. Rather than waking up disgruntle before we even start the day, it would be less stressful if we wake up with a smile to greet the day - knowing that at least, we still have a job to go to and the money to put food on the table. A good one.
Ahh..welcome to my world, dear. Everyday is a new day for me, and i try as much as i can ingat to tell myself..”Today’s a beautiful day.” It is beautiful when i’m in the train and the morning sun is shining all that come its way, me included! Hehe..;o)
Enjoy your week ahead ya! *hugs*
Hello! I like Mondays because I see it as a new week of new beginnings and new experiences. But I remember it wasn’t always like that. Like you, I realised I can’t control a lot of things but I can control how I choose to react to those things. Have a good week!
Smile, even when you don’t feel like it, and guess what? soon you’ll be feeling good! Beam, say a nice thing or to, soon you’ll be feeling wonderful!
monday blues? never had that for a couple of years already. got nice boss & good colleagues, even though i’m not in my dream job, having the former is good enough for me
hey kenny,
does this means u’ll aso be goin out on weekdays soon like i suggested (being the only time i’m normally free)
yea… rub it in my face and remind me dat i still have one more day of work to plough through before i can finally sleep to my heart’s content without worrying bout waking up early and making it to work on time…
hahaha… wishful thinking for me… yea Monday morning blues are really up to us i guess… for me Mon will be Mondays but the one i LOATHE the most is Fridays were i know i still have to work on a Sat (namely first and last week of the month) cos everyone will be telling me “yay, it’s Fri” n i’ll b like
so my Mon Blues is mostly due to the fact that I still haven’t gotten enough time to rest (how to when I rush so much things in between the weekend eh?
)
*ooohhhh*… forgot to add..
fortunately i’ll only hv to work through ONE more Sat AND Sun as i’ll b leaving and joining a 5 days week company *closes eyes and prays hards… pls, oh pls…*
Wake up grouchy oni on workdays when I ran out of non-iron work clothes.
I guess the blues is likely to be less effective if there’s 2 days off previously
Lyrical Lemongrass
My dear, trust me, I had to learn it the hard and long way. Even now, it’s easy to get caught up in the moment and lose sight of what’s important. I still get lost sometimes in the quagmire of the buzz and the noise of it all.
But, that, as choirgirls are wont to say, is what friends are for. To remind you that, “Hey, it ain’t no biggie. No big deal at all. Just like you, Kenny.”
If you read my older blogs (archived from their prior incarnations elsewhere in cyberspace), you’d know I had found it once to be morbid and cynical. But that path leads to, well, a shitty life. I rather be happy.
I choose to be happy.
P.S. No, nothing beats being able to sleep in till 10.00am. Well, maybe sleeping in till past noon, but that’s about it.
zewt
If we were full time bloggers, well, that’s a scary thought. Would we bring peace to the world or more comments than one could count?
I guess I don’t really hate my job despite my constant bitching and I actually appreciate having one which actually helps others in a real way, i.e. getting into a better position in a better company with better pay (but not necessarily always all three; one would be pretty good already).
Of course, if I had a choice, I’d be doing something else. Wouldn’t most people? Well, maybe not Neil Gaiman or Dave McKean or Tori Amos, but I’ve used the three of them as examples to death already.
Maybe what we can do till we get our “perfect” job is to like what we have and work to be the best at it. I still feel like such a slacker so I know there’s plenty more I can do.
Till then though, I’m not going to make the same mistake I used to. I’m not going to miss out on my own life. No way, no how.
Why can’t we work on Saturdays and Sundays and have the weekdays as holidays instead?
aaargh! monday morning horrors! with lots of milo and a bit of luck..it will all be over soon! love the masks…
wherre u got them?
sulee
I actually had the same realisation as your friend — that Monday may be over, but it will come back again, and again, and again — except I think I took it slightly differently.
(Now, anyway. I used to think just like him.)
This just means there’s no avoiding Mondays. Or any other day of the week for that matter. Unless one is dead, and that’s hardly something to cheer about, is it?
So, if I can’t avoid it, then I best deal with it. Or better yet, celebrate it! Monday means there’s only FIVE more days to go till the weekend! Woo-hoo!
Denial? Maybe. But better than whining, methinks. Tried that, got me nowhere fast. And aren’t shortchanging ourselves if we limit our fun & games to only two days out of a whole week? Why not all seven days & nights?
I think it’s incredibly cool that I’m even still breathing. And I’m serious about that.
Maybe from now on, Monday will be my Grateful-For-Everything Day.
*sings “i’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day / when it’s cold outside i’ve got the month of may / i guess you’d say / what can make me feel this way?”*
Joe with lots of cravings
Half an hour to surf blogs? Are you sure that’s enough?
*sniggers, sniggers*
Gina
Thanks! I may not earn much but realising I can put food on the table and a roof over my head is a great feeling when I stop and think about it. Simple stuff are the best, really.
Waking up with a smile. Perfect. Try waking up with a song in your head, and it’s heaven…
spiffy
What a wonderful description of your first look at the day! I often pondered how you could bear the hour’s journey from home to work, and now I know. Good on ya!
*hugs all of you*
Paprika
That’s the spirit! I’m amazed at how you put it:
“I like Mondays because I see it as a new week of new beginnings and new experiences.”
If all of us could think this way, imagine the spurt of energy at the start of each week! Productivity would shoot up and everybody would go home so happy and full of praise from their bosses that Reproductivity would probably shoot up too!
Uhm, yeah. Better stop while I’m ahead. LOL
Tunku
Great advice, and guess what? It works!
sc
Happiness comes from contentment, they say. You’re living proof of that. Too often we don’t see what’s right in front of us and keep looking for something better. There’s always going to be something better out there, and you know what, it always disappoints.
Cos the challenge lies within us to work with what we have. I’d admit in a heartbeat that too often in my past I’d moved on from one job to the next, one bad relationship to the next doomed one, and it’s never the relationship or the job, it’s me.
So now I am gonna work hard to make it all work. I love my life!
asstha
Going out on weekends? Definitely. Just not within the next couple of weeks, what with Gosia & Manuel’s impending honeymoon here, an engagement dinner and Henny’s birthday do (apparently “intimate friends only” = 40 plus guests exc. their partners + Kenny as bartender).
Five day work week? They don’t really exist; work always finds a way to creep up on you. I was actually bitching about it on Saturday when I got calls all morning long from candidates but then I realised, you know what, Kenny, deal with it. Stop whining and being such a baby.
And so I did. Mostly. Still like being a baby sometimes. Heh.
But we will so go out one day, cos I still need clothes that fit. But let me warn you, I’m a super-stingy-chinapek-cheapskate. Also, if I find something I like, I’d buy it on the spot without trying 99 other stores to find something better. Too lazy.
(Plus what I said a comment above about working with what’s before me? Applies here too. Heh.)
Tummythoz
I did run out yesterday! And had to iron like five for this week just before bed. But that got me sweaty so I showered again. But that me too fresh to fall asleep immediately so I read a chapter of my old favourite, Peter Mayle’s “A Year in Provence”…. and that’s a great way of living in the moment, non?
Jason
Actually, sir, I believe it makes things worse for most people. Tasted the sweetness then have to let it go? Such beautiful misery… LOL
Vern
I believe in some alien culture they did implement that. Then the entire race died out from hunger. Apparently two days a week weren’t enough for growing crops or something like that.
Yessirree. Thatsawhy we work so much. To avoid famine. Uh-huh.
Vince
Milo. Nice. Neslo? Even better.
Masks? Not mine. Photoshopped ‘em for an earlier banner. This one’s missing another tribal mask to its left. Amazing what you can google these days… Uh-huh.
oih… kenny… don rain on my parade woncha? i hvn’t even started at the new place yet…
*pokes pokes pokes*
hmmm… u trying to sing a rendition of “My Girl”?
I’m like that too but as I said in my email. I’d hard to please. I know I want something but I don’t know how to describe it so I end up walking around for hours and when I see it I know that’s what I was looking for all along.
If something is just so-so then I’d prolly walk around first cos I always ended up finding something more similiar to wat I wanted in the first place but end up unable to buy it unless i wanna break my already fragile budget…
take my very first tattoo. it took me 2 years plus to find something i like. i always known i wanted a spider (but being unable to draw), i searched high and low but still couldn’t find the design i wanted (but dunno how to describe)
finally my fren told me why don’t you just bring your borders to the tattooist and maybe he can help you figure it out. we went der and i told him i wanted a tribal spider but i dunno how to decribe it. he showed me a few pictures and it was all a no to me.
finally he showed me a cover on the book and it was exactly wat i had in mind. I ended up doin the tattoo that very same day and the tattooist was a tad worried dat i jumped on the spider design too soon but u know wat? i never regretted it. for it was exactly wat i was looking for all those 2 years
P.S. I’ve turned dis into a mini-blog again hvn’t i… >_
Hahah…I actually am thankful that I am able to wake up to a brand new day. For I have lived to see another day. Surely that day is not to be wasted. Hence, I enjoy life and make the best of whatever that comes along my way. Didn’t use to be this way….changed when my dad passed away.
I’ve had a lovely Monday
Everyone goes: strangle. What’s in a name, eh? Good for you, throwing off the yoke of cliched Monday Blues and being happy in the moment. There isn’t anything better than sleeping till 10am!
nyaha!
Just like me. My mind also sometimes go blank as to what day it is. Our mind must be so tired or too relax (?)to forget that.
It’s good to stay positive like you. I always dread Sunday since it means the coming of Monday…and WORK
Friday and Saturday is my favs of the entire week since there is something to look forward to…Friday looking forward to Sat and Sat looking forward to Sun. 
geez your right, your words just inspired me to love and appreciate Mondays, is everybody came to work n talk about how their weekends went, isnt that great!?
I will love Mondays from now on…
Kenny,
Everyday is weekend for me because I am a stay-home Mom. Like WMW, I am also glad that I am healthy to enjoy another new day.
i havent finished my story..thats just the warm up..and surf whenever you can! haha..oh yeah i opened up another blog..yes..using ur blog as advertising..
http://www.belowthetigger.blogspot.com
Hi Kenny,
Attaway to go ma man! Wow! That’s absolutely positive. Just smile when one wakes up. To be honest, to be happy or to be grouchy is a split second decision. One can be happy even burdened with all the troubles in the world. Frowning won’t rid of the problems…right? Ok, I will try and smile when I wake up..he he. Cheers.
asstha
Aiyo, sakit lah you poke here, poke there, poke wrong place then die lar me…
As for singing a rendition of “My Girl”, well, let’s just call it that — a rendition…
Interesting anecdote about your tattoo. I don’t have one myself (none that anyone of you will be privy to anyway, hahaha) but I guess it’s the same way with meeting a stranger and knowing they will be friends or lovers for life. One just knows.
I believe that, and it’s been amazing allowing myself that sense of freedom and confidence to move on my instincts.
Regret? We don’t have time for that, do we?
P.S. Mini-blog, maxi-blog, it’s all good so long as you don’t pad it too much. Wocka-wocka-wocka…
wmw
No, that day is surely not wasted. I agree some times it takes something drastic to shake us up from the way we are, but it doesn’t always have to be that way.
Thanks for sharing, dear.
Msiagirl
“Strangle”? Sounds kinky. Iffy. And all the —y’s.
What’s in a name? Everything and nothing as the good and confusing sages used to say.
Let’s all be happy in the moment and not get caught up in what never was and what never will be.
Vern
Reverse “nyaha!” and you get “hanya!” or, in English, “only!”
Okay, not making much sense here, but why do I always have to, eh?
alice
Hope things are better with you now. Sometimes we do need our minds to be empty, whether from fatigue or other reasons, doesn’t really matter.
Peace of mind, that’s the key.
tigerfish
“Friday looking forward to Sat and Sat looking forward to Sun.”
Wow, I nearly got confused there, but yeah, I know exactly what you mean. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyday we could look forward to the next day? And love whatever day we’re in at the same time?
sulee
Promise, ya? Now we can sing our version of “I Love Mondays…”
mrshbt
Can’t wait for the day I can be a stay-home Dad. Anyone who loves working and has plenty of cash wanna get hooked up with me? Auditions start Friday.
LOL
Joe with lots of cravings
Curious and curiouser. What is below the Tigger? Hmm…
Kak Ruby
I don’t know many people who have as great and genuine a smile as you do. You put us all to shame with your ready warmth and humour. Indeed, frowning won’t rid us of our problems, so why not smile instead?
No…reverse “nyaha” and you get “ahayn”…
ok.. you’re contagious.
1 week simply moves too fast now to actually worry if monday’s around the corner for me …
I mean, like theres totally not enough time to even consider the possibility, in this short hastening frame of my life - exactly how I’m gonna to sleep with all the male celebrities I want!
—
Vern
Contagious? Me? Say it ain’t so!
G
O you crack me up! You can’t be possibly as vapid as you make yourself sound… not that I’m saying that that is a bad thing, LOL.
But so true about how one week moves so fast — all the more reason to find time, some way, some how, to pause and breathe and simply be again.
—
It’s Wednesday today, you guys. Ask yourselves, “Are you counting the days till the weekend, or are you just happy it’s Wednesday?”
Live in the moment. Not live for the moment cos that sounds like an easy excuse not to work hard or plan for the future, but whatever preparations we make, let’s not forget to live right now, in this very moment…
P.S. Ain’t it wonderful to almost sleep in but not quite, so you’re fresh and actually start the day better as you get in earlier than normal by some weird twist of traffic gone right? Me in a great mood today, fersure…
—
Oh, you are challenging my vapidity, aren’t you?
—
Are you tempting me to new heights to soar, darker depths to this vapid nature of mine? Do you question this shallow indulgence of mock sentimentality and sheer sensual spontaneity?
—
Oh, you are the contemporary siren of now.
Silence your cries! I have heard you enough through the flickering nights of darkness and neon.
Shush, and let my pray to you in silence and deep reverie.
Shhh …
—
Hahahah… well, at least it works for me!
sounds like the secret…:-)
G
Hah! How quickly you move from plotting your latest celebrity-bedding strategems to penning lines poetic and alliterative…
Is it any wonder I love reading the comments you guys leave more than the darn entry itself? Amazing how everyone eventually goes off into such different tangents…
—
Jason
Glad it works for you! Er, what does? Not some new-fangled sex toy or procreational position, is it?
*scrolls up to find his comment*
Oh. You meant that. Uhm, okay. Glad for you anyway…
Eliza
And which secret is this?
(Is it just me or is everyone getting cryptic with their comments? Curiouser and curiouser…)
Honestly, i love Monday! I can’t wait to start my work coz i knew that if i didnt get my things done, i won’t hv a enjoyable Friday… so, better work hard on Monday n relax a bit on Friday
very good approach… let me work on that too… not miss out on anything in life.
Wednesday was great! Went for a head cracking English test(gasp!), then went over to Low Yat to check out some stuffs, off to Midvalley after that..bought meself a pair of new blue heels and caught a Korean movie which was hilarious and touching.
In other words..i skip work. Shhh… Heheh.. ;o)
Jackson
That’s a great attitude to have! I’m getting all my work done this couple of days too, so I can take my honeymooner pals around town and down to Malacca this weekend with an easy heart and a fresh mind.
Sounds like the right kind of mantra to me: “Work hard on Monday & relax a bit on Friday.”
zewt
Yeah, as Steve Tyler would sing… “I don’t wanna miss a thing….”
spiffy
I was wondering how you managed to get so much done on a worknight till I read your last sentence. That’s how la…
LoLzz…of cuz la…me not Superwoman, can zoom to so many places after work. Heheh..;o)
Super-spiffy?
Super-spiffy eh? Kewl.. i have a new nick now. hahah… =D
Kenny,
If today is Monday, I’ll tell myself that weekends are coming soon. That motivates me a bit actually.
Kok
It is Monday again! What a week we’ve had! I’m not so sure about the weekend — I’m pretty exhausted from it, been a host cum tourguide to Gosia & Manuel around KL, PJ and Melaka… some touristy sites but mostly makan places.
Looking forward to some rest actually, any day of the week would do!
Whoa! Damned inspiring post dude. Needed that. Thanks!
Yuri
Anytime, bro, anytime. And you must know how much you have inspired me yourself, with your dedication to your passion and your guts to follow it. If only we were all as brave as you are…
Let’s catch up over drinks some time, yeah? Cheers!
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