38. Friday!

Who hasn’t picked up and used the phrase “thank God it’s Friday” at least once? Or heard someone else say it?

I haven’t really used that phrase, because Fridays aren’t really anything special to me. Sure, it signifies the start of a weekend, and most people are just too glad to get off work after a whole week of slaving away. So Friday is a respite from the stress of work. Whether it’s stress because there’s a lot of work and it’s really tiring, or because the work is ho-hum and boring and it’s really tiring, or because you hate your job and it’s really tiring, or because you hate the people at work and they’re really tiresome, people just want to set it aside and take that much-needed weekend break to recharge their batteries and get ready for the next week of work.

For people who do shift work at a place that is open 364 days a year, 24/7, and get the odd days off on weekdays, then Friday is nothing special. In fact, it just gets busier at places like these, because people who are off patronize and populate these places–restaurants, fast foods, malls, shopping centers, movie houses–these are weekend haunts of people who “work” during the week.

So why am I so glad it’s Friday?

I left work last night thinking it was already Friday. I also thought I was off on Saturday and working on Sunday, so I thought today would be Saturday and I was off. So I called the store after getting home from work last night, asking if my day off was Saturday or Sunday, and found out that it was Sunday–which was confirmed by my calendar at home, which said I worked Saturday, not Sunday. So I was all set to work today–which I thought was Saturday. And because I usually meet a student on Saturday mornings, but she was sick last Tuesday, when I was supposed to meet her as well, I called her up to find out if she was well enough to meet me today, which I thought was Saturday.

She insisted it was only Friday. I said, “No, it’s Saturday today. Yesterday was Friday.” She must have found that amusing, told me to hold on for a second, and I heard her calling one of her children to ask what day it was. And she told me again “It is only Friday.” So I got very confused. My mind was not comprehending this. So I checked my old reliable computer for the correct date and it said “9/2/2011”  and gave me a bubble that said “Friday, September 02, 2011.” How can I argue with my computer? I was totally embarrassed and so apologized to my student and told her I would see her then tomorrow.

I had to jump back into bed and lie there for a couple of minutes just to clear my head. It is only Friday! I checked my calendar. It is only Friday! I checked my clock that has date and time. It is only Friday! Ha! I have an extra day! I thought it was Saturday but now it’s actually only Friday, so I have gained a day! While I don’t look forward all that much to working, because now I have two more days to work before I’m off on Sunday, I actually have another day to write and accomplish other things. Because it’s only Friday!

I will call my student again tomorrow before I leave the house to meet her, in case it’s actually still Friday or it’s already Sunday.