A Day Called 'Frustration'!

You know those days in one's life when hardly anything goes the way you want and when you wonder why you bothered to get out of bed in the morning. They are not tragic days or days of great sadness, and in terms of serious setback they rank very low and I would not even pretend they come anywhere near, but they do end up with you trying to pull your hair out and fuming as you stomp around in less than righteous anger at the frustrations of that day. Well, I had one such day a little while back and this was it:

 

I decided after lunch on that day that I would take a break from my work to get a long-overdue haircut. I work for myself, so in theory I can do this anytime. I stress the 'in theory', as it's seldom that straightforward, but alright, it's nothing out of the ordinary.

 

As I was on the point of leaving the house the phone rings and, not wanting to lose a possible job, I answer it. However, the caller drones on and, though it is about a possible job, it does not result in anything and I put the receiver down, irritated at the needless delay it has caused me.

 

On checking my change, I find I don't have enough cash to pay the barber and there's nothing for it but to make a stop at a cash dispenser in the high street to withdraw a few readies.

 

So I drive off to the high street where all the cash machines are, but, as luck would have it, I cannot find a parking-place even after two passes down the length of the street and I am forced to use the local car park where I have of course to pay a parking charge and then walk all the way back to the nearest dispenser.

 

On arrival at the nearest dispenser I see a message on the screen informing me that it is out of service. As it's starting to get a bit late in the afternoon, I decide to phone my barber and find out what time he will be closing on that day, as he is in his late sixties, works alone and closes earlier than the normal business hours. However, as try to make a phone call, I find that my mobile phone is switching off at each attempt and I realise it's out of charge and that I cannot use it.

 

With little cash, no working phone, I decide to drive to the nearby supermarket where I can do a quick shop and get some cash-back at the till and then head for my barber's in the hope that he hasn't yet shut up shot.

 

At the supermarket, madness befalls me and I take a large trolley which requires a refundable fee before it will be released and, still gripped by some sort of lunacy, I make for the gardening section to load up with a bumper-size bag of compost, only to find there isn't any of the supermarket's usual, just smaller bags twice the price, and so as my blood begins to boil I drop that and content myself with a couple of items which I didn't really need anyway but which will enable me to get cash-back at the till.

 

I join the queue at a cash-desk - well, when I say queue, it's composed solely of one little old lady - and when the moment of payment arrives she asks for a cash-back of £50, the maximum. When my turn comes I too ask for cash-back but I am duly informed that that is the last bit of cash available for the day and that instead I can use the cash dispenser in the supermarket, which is what I do, realising at the same time that I could have done that in the first place and not bothered with the handful of groceries. But there you are, we are always wise after the event or at least we are not to know that at the time.

 

By now, of course, it's getting late and I realise it's too late to go for my haircut, as I will have to pay to park and the chances are that the shop will already be closed, so I decide to admit defeat and leave it for today. There can surely not be two days like this one in the same week, can there? My laughable ill-fortune is however not over for the day. There is more to come to crown it all and assure my complete frustration!

Before returning home, however, I drop by the petrol-station to fill up. On arrival there, all the pumps are busy and so I join the queue to await my turn. Eventually my turn comes and, having filled up, I go into the shop to pay and join another queue there. On coming back out, I see an uninhabited wilderness before me: not a single car to be seen on the forecourt and all the pumps available for use. It seems the congestion only occurred for my benefit and once I had been through the mill everything cleared up again. Nevertheless, to disprove this cockamamie theory of mine I decide to linger at the forecourt for a moment and see when the next car comes. After waiting in vain for some time, with the forecourt still deserted of all life and with my theory of my supernatural persecution confirmed, I start up the car and just as I am heading out I spot in my rear-view mirror one car and then another entering the forecourt. Theory empirically proven!

The final indignity comes when I get home and realise that I have forgotten to collect my anti-cholesterol pills from the self-same supermarket in which I had been earlier on in an attempt to get some cash for the barber's. As I'm too drained of energy by now and weakened by frustration, I decide it is best left for tomorrow when, hopefully, Sod's Law will have eased up and allow me to get something done. Today nothing can be done, at least not without maximum frustration and loss of the will to live!

This has been a day to forget. Over and out....

Are you an Early Bird or a Night Owl?

Are you the kind of person who rises at the crack of dawn, full of energy and vim and raring to go, eager to get down to the day’s business?  Do you begin to noticeably slow down in the late afternoon, run out of steam at the onset of evening, and shut down completely by around nine at night, with just enough strength left to drag yourself off to bed, completely and utterly drained?

Or are you the type of person who grudgingly hauls himself out of bed somewhat later in the morning, sluggish and dull-eyed, good for very little, and then as the day wears on you build up a head of steam that keeps you going through the day, into the evening and well into the night, long after the early riser has retired for the day?

Early Bird kit

In other words, are you a so-called ‘early bird’ or a ‘night owl’? A day-time person or a night-time person? An early riser/retirer or a late riser/retirer? Do you greet the dawn or welcome the dusk?

For my part, I definitely come within the second category and have always been thus, as far as I can recall. I have difficulty in getting up early and when I am up it takes me some while to become fully ‘functional’, but once I get going, my energy levels gradually begin to rise and then stay high throughout the rest of the day, into the evening, and on into the night, long after the early riser, who started the day off with a bang, has retired to bed for the night, dead to the world.

But there is a very real problem with my particular ‘modus vivendi’ or energy pattern, and the problem is that it is not generally facilitated by society. The way society is structured patently favours the early riser, and nowhere is this more evident than in the world of work. Working hours are geared to suit the person who rises early and is fully functional from the word go. Most employees have to be at work between the hours of 8 and 9 in the morning and must be ready, often after an exhausting commute to their place of work, to go into action as soon as they arrive at work. By the time they start to visibly slow down, it’s pretty-well time to clock off for the day anyway. There are of course exceptions to this (for example, top executives and night/shift workers), but by and large this is the working pattern that is universal in today’s society.

Inevitably, those who, like me, have difficulty in keeping to the predominant work pattern, find life as an employee well-nigh impossible, where punctuality in the morning is of the essence, something which was always a problem for me when, as an employee, I worked a 9-5 day. Of course, though the hours of work were 9am to 5.15pm, to be precise, the actual time taken up in work-related activity was much greater, as I had to get myself ready and get to work in the first place, so there might be up to two hours spent in preparing myself and then commuting to work, and of course there would be another hour of travel at the other end of the day to get back home. So the work-related day was more like 7.30 am to 6.30 pm – 11 hours! Personally, I found it an exhausting and  soul-destroying routine, though I recognise that many people do not see it that way, especially.. yes, you've guessed it... the early birds.

Let's see what the late late late film is about

Another social disadvantage to being a night owl or late riser is the stigma attached to it. We're usually branded lazy or work-shy or given a number of other unflattering labels. Yet I feel this attitude is due to widespread ignorance of the fundamental differences that exist between human beings in terms of energy levels, what we today call ‘biorhythm’. I firmly believe that whether one person is an early bird and another a night owl is determined by their biorhythm. In other words, that it is an innate genetic characteristic that allows one person to effortlessly rise early in the morning and prevents another from doing the same. I believe we’re all hard-wired from birth with a certain biorhythm that stays with us throughout our life and determines the way we function physically. This does not mean of course that an early riser cannot push himself to go on working into the evening or night or that a late riser cannot force himself to get up early for work. But it does mean that doing so is going against the grain and is costly to both in terms of mental and physical well-being. The stress and strain of trying to fit into a behavioural pattern that is not natural to the person has repercussions on his health, simply because he or she is going against their natural biorhythm.

Today, having already been self-employed for many years, it is a long time ago since I had to force myself to follow a daily pattern of functioning or working timetable which is alien to my physical and mental make-up. And as an autonomous worker, I am able to structure my own working day, subject to certain constraints of course, to match my personal biorhythm. This means that I may sometimes have to work into the evening, but, being a night owl, this is no great hardship for me and is certainly a zillion times better than having to step into immediate full-blown action first thing in the morning. To each his own, as they say, but it is still the case that society discriminates against the night owl in favour of the early bird. Perhaps this is how the saying “The early bird catches the worm” came about. Well, I have a new saying: “The night owl catches the mouse.” And that is a much more substantial meal !

Causa Absentiae II

Me hard at work

Once again I find myself in the unenviable position of having to inform my countless loyal fans out there (yes, you know who you are) and readers of my blog (well, there's me and my shadow for starters) that the current lacuna in my blog posts is due to a very heavy workload (that's me opposite slogging away - dashing fellow, aren't I?) which leaves me no time to enlighten and entertain my large and dedicated following with my lavish servings of the thinking man's pearls of wisdom. 

But at the first opportunity I will be back with a new post in my continuing crusade to explain the world and everything in it to my readers and bring some light to bear on love, life and lederhosen! And the Universe, of course. So be patient, don't despair, the wait will be well worth it, as I will once again titillate your intellectual palate with more gems of penetrative observation and scintillating commentary, and maybe a bit of plain gossip... if you're lucky. 

Me rushing to an
appointment!

In the meantime I must dash, duty calls and work beckons and there's no time to lose if I'm to earn my meagre crust of bread. But in spite of the crushing workload, I have, as you can see, taken time out to inform you, my avid followers (wherever you're hiding), and set your minds at rest. Now how many other bloggers would bother to do that? Not many, I bet. My followers may not number in the thousands or hundreds, and may even struggle to reach double figures, but the handful of acolytes I have are worth their weight in gold - I can't afford to lose a single one of them!

Oh, and one other thing while I'm about it... err... never mind, I'll leave it till my return, I don't have the time and it can wait.

Causa Absentiae

This is just to inform my many loyal fans out there (yes, you know who you are) and readers of my blog (me, myself and I) that the current gap in my blog posts is due to a very heavy workload (that's me opposite slogging away) which leaves me no time to enlighten and entertain my large and dedicated following. I have several ideas in the pipeline for future posts but have not yet had the opportunity to fully develop them, let alone put them on here for your edification and delectation.

So I'm just letting you all know, every man jack of you, that I will be back with another apocalyptic post very shortly and that you should be patient and not despair or worry yourselves sick over my brief absence, understandable though it is. Let's keep hope alive, shall we?

 

In the meantime I must dash, duty calls and work beckons and there's no time to lose if I'm to stay viable. My upcoming post will more than make up for the time lapse and the crushing vacuity of this post, once I've had the time to bring it to fruition, of course. And one more thing, please don't flood this site with appreciative comments, singing my praises and all that, the shock of it all would be too much for my system. After all, I've sort of got used to the unbroken silence...