Monday - the weekend's grumpy neighbour
Monday. For some reason, I am always mildly surprised when it turns up at the beginning of the week. I somehow feel that after the heady hedonism of the weekend, Monday, with its sensible, responsible demeanour, might just pop its head around the door of Sunday night, take a look at the carnage, decide that now's not the time for a visit and that maybe it would be better to check back in once everyone's managed to pull themselves together a bit more, or at least make it out of pyjamas and into proper clothes. That's what a good neighbour would do.
But no, here comes Monday thundering down the footpath and knocking on the door to get its casserole dish back at the crack of dawn, all the while making unnecessarily snarky remarks about your bed-hair. Oh Monday, you are a miserable git. If Saturday and Sunday are the cool, hip couple who always invite you to their BBQ, then Monday is the annoying neighbour who mows their lawns before breakfast and has Crazy Frog on high rotation on their stereo.
It's a little like how I feel about the passing of summer into autumn. It hasn't really started to happen yet. Usually, it's when I see my first fallen leaf, right around the time I start making sure to have a cardigan with me, the end of daylight savings time, the end of "cider season".
If the arrival of Monday is a weekly disappointment then the arrival of autumn is the annual version. Even though everything I know about how the world works tells me that summer is a temporary state, I manage to trick myself every year into believing that the long summer days will continue. The rest of the year is an aberration and summer is just a return to the norm of how things should rightly be and will therefore remain. And then there is a chill in the air, a slight rising in power consumption as the heat pump works harder to maintain a comfortable ambient temperature in my grossly under-insulated rental home, and the footpaths will soon be littered with the kinds of horse chestnuts that you shouldn't eat (why are there so many of those "useless" trees and so few of the edible fruit-producing ones?)
This year I am making the attempt to prepare myself beforehand so it's not so much of a shock to have to say sayonara to summer. After all, there are some things that are good about the change of season and cooler temperatures, not the least of which is "snuggliness". And of course there is always the A-pear-calypse, as fruit trees everywhere go freakin' mental.
So how do you feel about the inevitable change of seasons? Do you experience denial or do you look forward to the gradual slide towards winter? How is Monday treating you so far? If you need a little cheering up at the beginning of the working week I recommend four or five (or as many as you can get away with) Man in the Box episodes.
» Follow NZStuffBlogs on Twitter and get fast updates on all Stuff's blogs.
Sponsored links
Newest First
Oldest First
Mondays are always pretty wretched.. theres always more work on mondays, the day you don't want to come to work in the first place.
However currently I feel that way about every work day.. perhaps its time I get a new job.
Winter isn't quite like Monday for me, because instead of crashing in suddenly it announces its arrival with ominous portents. The nippy mornings, the fact that it's no longer quite light yet when I wake up. The end of daylight savings.
It's more like when some bad neighbours move in next door. You think they look a wee bit dodgy, but you try not to be judgemental. Later, you see some skanky looking chicks arrive for the housewarming with boxes of alcopops and then before you know it there’s drunken screeching, bottle throwing and hip hop blasting out of their stereo at 2am when you have to get up for work tomorrow.
Mondays, those little slices of death, how I loathe thee.
I love autumn, its my favourite time of year: warm enough to still do and enjoy things outside, but not blistering hot (and no need to reapply the sunscreen every 15 minutes!), and deliciously cool in the evenings/early morning so no problems sleeping. You just have to look for the silver lining like wearing boots, lovely soft merino, and red wine! :)
I absolutely love the image in the first couple of paragraphs.
I'm glad someone else is having a case of Monday-itis! Mine is particularly bad today (and my working week starts on Sunday, yet I still have Monday-itis).
I get far too used to warm summer mornings and am rudely shocked when I wake up to that autumnal nip in the air. In some ways it's quite nice because it's the time of year when even though it's chilly in the morning, it will warm up later on...but gosh I'm such a summer person. Winter: PAH. I'm in total denial that summer is nearing it's end. I'm also NOT a fan of the shorter days. Yuck.
Autumn is birthday season - it's the time of year when I get presents and cake and there are balloons (none of those naff ones on sticks, proper helium balloons!) and it's the time of year when I get to cuddle lots more because it's not too stinking hot to do so!!! So it's not ALL bad.
I'm just as sad to see summer go, but there's nice stuff about the rest of the year too.
As for Monday, I tried super politely to tell it to come back at another more convenient time this morning, but it wasn't listening. What a surprise.
There's a time on Sunday afternoon - about 5'ish - when it sinks in that you haven't won Lotto, and have to go back to work the next day. It's a depressing moment and can only be staved off with several large vodka tonics or similar.
I am hanging out for winter. I love winter - winter food, winter clothes, fires, hot baths, warm slippers etc. That said, I am talking the mild, almost frost-free winter we get in Tauranga, not the bone-achingly cold one you probably face in Christchurch.
Yes Monday is here again!!! So rude, back on the slow crawl to Friday when the smile returns to the workers faces, dread Sunday nights as well, knowing you have to get up early again.
Parents don't want son's killer in town
Million-dollar view, shame about the house
'Naughty' toilet traps terrified toddler
Trap for burglars catches policeman
Brothel scares and stresses neighbourhood
Degrassi star died five years ago
Daily trivia quiz: February 18
Banking on return of blue magic
'Naughty' toilet traps terrified toddler
Bid to scrap race relations office
Wellington earthquake fear: No way in or out
High cost of living mars return to NZ
Cathedral repair bill intimidating
Which theme is worse: Bones or NCIS?
I know what you mean about there being some good things about the change of seasons. While I love Summer, and it is defitiely top of my list of favourite seasons, Winter has its moments too. For one thing, I get more sleep in winter, as I tend to go to bed earlier, and snuggle in and watch tv or a movie. And I enjoy those cold days in the weekend where there is nothing to do except read, watch a movie, and have lots of soup and toast! So...while we may all miss the summer...lets at least put a positive spin on it as much as we can!