Thoughts

Holidays, I think you will all agree with me here, are great. For some you may see your family, at others people give you things, and in certain situations you may even have paid time off work. If you have ever thought about how genuinely enjoyable the holidays are, and wondered where the universe finds balance, wonder no more.

A free vacation day, drinks on the boat, a wonderful meal of turkey and mashed potatoes, stocking stuffers, you name it. You only hear about the positive side of the holidays. The negative side is nothing more than the first day back at work (oh, and the credit card bills).

I mention the first day back only as it is the worst, though you will often have a few coworkers who took an extra day or two of vacation. They are outliers.

The proverbial whistle blows at 8am. Time to get to work? No. Time to ask and be asked how your holiday was. Each person you sit near has to know. The guy to your right just heard you tell the guy to your left how your day was, but it would then be a) impolite of him not to ask you and b) then he would not get the opportunity to tell you how drunk he got out on the lake. Each person you pass in the hallway, when conversation is nothing more than "Hey" or "How are you?", today is "Hi, how was your weekend?" Suddenly we are best friends. Suddenly you are under the assumption that I am curious how you did or did not spend your time.

Me? Oh, no. I do not ask. Well, I ask the first person I see in the morning, beyond that I am fearful that we have already had this conversation. You think it is weird when you pass the same person in the hallway twice in one day? Is it appropriate to say "Hi" two times? Or how drastically could their condition have changed in the past hour, does this chance meeting warrant another "How are you?" Try asking them how their long weekend was a second time. You have only had this exact conversation with 150 other people today, why can't you keep them straight?! That is why I stay out of it.

I love having a day off from work as much as the next guy. If only I could lock myself in my office and be left alone until that first day back has passed.

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