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On Saturday, I did something which I have not done in a long, long time. I took Saturday off. While this is relatively unremarkable, there have been many times that the 6th day has been an unproductive bender of laziness, but I have not actually said to myself "I'm not going to do anything on Saturday," that is just mearly the way that it has turned out.
This time I did. I trapped myself in my basement, a place with poor cell reception, an internet feed that cuts out, and an atmosphere conducive to sitting on your ass watching movies, reading and sleeping. Not only did I take work off, I didn't check my email, my grades, my phone messages (in fact, it was off for most of the day). I didn't talk to anyone except a few people in the services industry, my roomates, their significant others and of course, the lovely creature that I spent this "Saturday of Nothing" with (which is what made the day truly special).
I loved it. It was marvelous. Comic books, movies (especially ones with subtitles), pancakes, fresh fruit and chinese food, shopping trips, naps, the list goes on and on (and gets better). And yes, I'm aware that sounds like a pretty packed day, but none of it was planned. The whole concept of the day was to plan nothing, and allow the day to pull us in the direction it wished. At no point were we obligated to do anything at all. A little tired? Nap time. Hungry? Go out for food. Bored? Do something, anything you want. It was like being a baby, only I could read.
A year ago, had you told me that I was going to do this, I would have said "My god! That sounds like some kind of hedonistic hell! No work? No school?!? But what will you occupy and entire day with?" No longer will I listen to the limp-wristed Dandy of a year ago. He is a fool. I admit, I didn't know if I was going to be able to fill the whole day. But as it turned out, we didn't have enough time to do everything we wanted.
Beyond the pleasure of it all, it was refreshing to be the absolute master of one's own temporal destiny and organization, which is rare for my and my like.
But now, it's back to the schedules, meetings, classes and other demands on my person. While I loved taking a day away from it all, I have to admit, to step back into my office and sit down at my desk gave me a sense of agency once again.
"Saturday of Nothing" will return eventually, however....
This time I did. I trapped myself in my basement, a place with poor cell reception, an internet feed that cuts out, and an atmosphere conducive to sitting on your ass watching movies, reading and sleeping. Not only did I take work off, I didn't check my email, my grades, my phone messages (in fact, it was off for most of the day). I didn't talk to anyone except a few people in the services industry, my roomates, their significant others and of course, the lovely creature that I spent this "Saturday of Nothing" with (which is what made the day truly special).
I loved it. It was marvelous. Comic books, movies (especially ones with subtitles), pancakes, fresh fruit and chinese food, shopping trips, naps, the list goes on and on (and gets better). And yes, I'm aware that sounds like a pretty packed day, but none of it was planned. The whole concept of the day was to plan nothing, and allow the day to pull us in the direction it wished. At no point were we obligated to do anything at all. A little tired? Nap time. Hungry? Go out for food. Bored? Do something, anything you want. It was like being a baby, only I could read.
A year ago, had you told me that I was going to do this, I would have said "My god! That sounds like some kind of hedonistic hell! No work? No school?!? But what will you occupy and entire day with?" No longer will I listen to the limp-wristed Dandy of a year ago. He is a fool. I admit, I didn't know if I was going to be able to fill the whole day. But as it turned out, we didn't have enough time to do everything we wanted.
Beyond the pleasure of it all, it was refreshing to be the absolute master of one's own temporal destiny and organization, which is rare for my and my like.
But now, it's back to the schedules, meetings, classes and other demands on my person. While I loved taking a day away from it all, I have to admit, to step back into my office and sit down at my desk gave me a sense of agency once again.
"Saturday of Nothing" will return eventually, however....
posted by Chris at 8:15 PM
1 Comments:
y'see what a year can do?
you start taking saturdays off, and eventually...
not so limp-wristed a dandy anymore
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