Thank God it’s Friday! So we all say as we gleefully change the display profiles on our various social media accounts signalling the joy that Friday brings; or whisper to a colleague who is quick to sense that we are in a rather happy mood today; or sit at our desk listening to the tic toc of the wall clock placed conspicuously at a strategic location in our office; or watch the timer on our desktops, laptops, and our wristwatches in anticipation for the close of work.
But seriously, I often wonder why we even bother at all. I don’t get the excitement that surrounds
this particular day of the week. I stumbled on a quote that describes Friday as “the golden child of the weekdays, the superhero of the work week and the welcome wagon to the weekend”. As this anonymous writer rightly puts it, Friday is definitely the welcome wagon to the weekend or the call-up party ushering us into days that could either be as busy as the week we are leaving behind or a very restful one where we get to put our feet up and simply bask in the euphoria of doing absolutely nothing aside from eating, sleeping and having a TV series/movies marathon (that is my ideal weekend).
This is often not the case for most of us that enjoy such. I have come to realise that the weekend has enough activities of its own most of which are not necessarily productive or exciting as such. Yes I know T.G.I.F affords us the freedom of letting loose, and the excitement creates these illusion that Monday is very far away. However, 48 hours after the whole shenanigans of screaming T.G.I.F, we are back right were we left of – with the same unfinished task we left 48 hours before under the disguise of T.G.I.F. or back to the same nasty colleagues we wished we didn’t have to face any more or a deadline we had hoped would be pushed further down the calendar to enable us deliver at a time that is best convenient for us.
Realising today is Friday, I began to take a mental note of my weekend to-do list and all I could do was wish I had more than 48 hours. This is because the only time I feel truly relaxed is when my weekend runs to 72 hours. Only then can I honestly say that I have rested and be happy to face the new week ahead. If you are wondering what manner of things I have on my to-do list, here is how a typical weekend will normally pan out for me (at least for now). First is a quick dash to the community centre for some exercises in the form of swimming, after which I would go home to do a proper house cleaning and clearing of the junks which have been accumulated within the past seven days. The cleaning would also involving scrubbing of kitchen and bathroom tiles and floors top to bottom. Then I would have to do my laundry before making a quick dash to the grocery store to pick up a few essentials. If I am in a ‘cooking mood’, I could decide to have a home-cooked meal which means preparing something that will last me for at least two days. By the time I am done cooking, I am probably very tired and just want to settle in for some prime time television, catchup on the latest celebrity news or updates of ongoing events in the world.
This eventually leads me to Sunday morning when I get up the same time I would 
on a week day. I go to church and will often stay back after service to chat and catch up with friends or go for that lunch date that I have been postponing for weeks. I would get home around 4pm or 5pm very beat. With barely enough hours to get ready for the week ahead, Monday morning slowly creeps in on me.
So can someone please tell me what all the fuss about Friday is about? For me its the day that reminds me of my personal to-do list, errands that I need to run, phone calls that needs to be made, friends that I need to visit, books that need to be read and TV series that I need to catch up with … and of course the occasional birthday dinners, bridal showers, wedding and another parties thrown by family, friend or an office acquaintance of which courtesy demands I make an appearance. For such weekends, I never get a quarter of my to-do list done anyway, but will simply roll it over to the following weekend.
Categories: Lifestyle
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