Saturdays...

For the past 20 years or so I have had a serious dislike of Saturday. I know. Strange, isn't it? Especially when one considers how much we look forward to quitting time on Friday. I spent much of yesterday watching the clock. This past week had a particularly long feel to it, so of course I was more aware of the time than usual. What I wanted was for the work week to be over so that I could delve into my weekend and enjoy myself.

I fool myself just about every Friday. I so look forward to the weekend only to wake up to the cold harsh reality of Saturday morning. Saturday is no vacation, friends. Saturday is laundry day. Saturday is clean up the house day. Saturday finds me clearing out the refrigerator only to fill it again. Saturdays are frustrating. They are often lonely and my morose mood is only enhanced when the weather is chilly and grey, like today.

Saturday does bring one thing that I enjoy: my radio show. For two hours every Saturday evening, I hide within the soothing voice of Garrison Keillor while listening to A Prairie Home Companion on NPR.

Still - getting there is often a struggle. You see, I really have to have the evening meal ready by the time the show comes on the air - otherwise I'm cooking/serving/cleaning up while trying to listen. That doesn't work out too well. Especially if I am wanting to relax and/or escape.

There is another problem, as well: I am the only person in my house who truly appreciates the program. Therefore, there are typically a few stressful moments while everyone is jockeying for position. Do I just keep the radio in the bedroom and go back there to listen? Do I try to listen to the radio over the almost never-ceasing din of the television? Or...should I don headphones and stay in the living area with the rest of the family (whoever may be home at the time) only to feel like an intruder when I laugh at something no one else can hear?

Yes, Saturday is usually a disappointment. I guess it is just one more thing I need to suck up and get over.

Don't waste your time protecting..your time.

Listen carefully, dear ones who take the time to read this blog...
Time is -not- our most precious commodity.

It is not our time that needs to be guarded, protected, and kept safe from waste.

It is our hearts.

A Ditty Bop

Oh you unfortunate few
Nobody's listening to me
It came at a time when I just started
To say something interesting

Bubbling thoughts I've been thinking a lot
But I don't write them down with a smile
More of a frown as I'm looking down
No pen in my pocket no pockets to fill

Far too long ago my chances were slim
I'm knocking the door but they won't let me in
Configuring why takes the whimsy from whim
You're all blocking the door won't you please let me in

Oh you unfortunate few
Stuck in your special place
I'm here on my own though I'm not alone
It feels like a miserable place

At first you remember but then you forget
And once I'm forgotten you can't get me back
I'm knocking the door but nobody hears
I'm banging it down won't you answer it please

And nobodys asking for more
Nobodys looking for anything
Nobody wants me to say a thing
Nobody misses the missing

Ascend or descend
Upon a plot with the same ending
My timing's no good
But it saves me from troubles ahead

But you might not be figured with eyes
Might not be figured with ears
Might not be something to figure at all
Until you are actually here

I've gone back on my words which constantly change
I believe what I mean at the time when I say them
I'm climbing a wall of infinite height
I couldn't go through, though try as I might

They're telling fictional distractions
Fictional stories
I have heard enough of these
Is anybody missing me

Posts About Time

Obviously I have been thinking about time, lately. There is a lot to be said on the subject. I did not intend to start this series with this particular thought, but the following quote grabbed my attention and caused some serious thought:

If you never say no ~ what is your yes worth?

Wow. I am one of those people who tends to say yes about 98% of the time. It gives me a sense of value to know that I am either needed or wanted in some capacity.

Still...If I never say no, what is my yes worth? People tend to expect me to say yes all of the time so on the rare occasion when I say no, it is not received well. Suddenly, I am uncooperative or sullen. In other words, some people take me for granted.

Now then: If I start to say no more often, there will be some benefits. First, my yes will be more valuable, because people will truly appreciate when I take time out of my day for them...for whatever reason...by saying yes.

Secondly, saying no sometimes will free up more time. This new found free time can be used in whatever capacity I choose! I have become much more aware of wasted time. Time spent waiting for things to happen, time spent sitting around instead of doing, and other things of that nature. So, the idea of freeing up more time appeals to me.

Of course, this begs the question: Do I actually want to say no to anything/one? It is a choice I would have to make. I would have to weigh the pros and cons of a yes or a no.

I like the idea of not being taken for granted. Yet, I wonder if the newly gained free time by saying no would be taken up with my deciding whether or not to say yes.

The Answer to Voltaire's Riddle

Time

Nothing is longer, since it is the measure of eternity.

Nothing is shorter, since it is insufficient for the accomplishment of your projects.

Nothing is more slow to him that expects, nothing more rapid to him that enjoys.

In greatness it extends to infinity, in smallness it is infintely divisible.

All men neglect it, all regret the loss of it; nothing can be done without it.

It consigns to oblivion whatever is unworthy of being transmitted to posterity, and it immortalizes such actions as are truly great.

Time is man's most precious asset.

A Riddle by Voltaire

What, of all things in the world, is the longest and the shortest, the swiftest and the slowest, the most divisible and the most extended, the most neglected and the most regretted without which nothing can be done, which devours all that is little, and enlivens all that is great?