Update.. Aug 30, 2007

Happy Thursday everyone!

I am sitting in my cube, as I do every time I write an “update…”, and thinking of this coming weekend. That is really all that is on my mind, not the past, not the present, not even the far off future, just this coming weekend. I have tunnel vision, and my cross hairs are squarely laid on this weekend.

This weekend is a three day weekend. It is Labor Day baby! This is a great holiday, and I am really looking forward to it this year. But before I delve into what my ultra-cool-don’t-you-wish-you-were-doing-it-too plans, let’s really look at what this holiday is.

Labor Day was originally conceived by the “Central Labor Union”, to give the “working man” a day off… they thought this up in 1882! These guys beat down the doors of Congress and got an actual law passed, giving the “working man” a day off. I love this idea, and I think these men were true pioneers. Visionaries even! Personally I think that it is good to give the “working man” the day off. Although I do think it is pretty ironic what the “working man” means. In this case the definition seems pretty hit-and-miss.

If you are like me, and have a desk job (whether or not that is in a cube or you have an office – complete with DOOR) you are awarded a free day off. This is a good group to be in, and in the world of “the haves” versus “the have nots”… I consider myself proudly standing with “the haves”. Now if you are a not lucky enough to have a desk job you can still stand with “the haves” if you work for the government… those government employees get all kinds of holidays and Labor Day is no exception. If you work for the Postal Service (which is no longer part of the government) you get a day off. I would say sixty to seventy percent of the adult population will be granted a day off.

Who wont be getting a day off? Anyone in the service industry! These are the “working men” that get literally screwed on this holiday. They stand on their feet all day long… in malls, in restaurants… even at the car wash! They are working, they are laboring, and they are without a day off. What do they get to do on Labor Day? Well, if you work for a retail giant like Target, you get to enjoy the sales that are put in place and the abnormal crush of customers that aren’t ever present on a Monday. You get to work maybe a longer shift than you would have otherwise, and BONUS you get to clean up more crap out of the dressing rooms then you have ever seen on a Monday. If you work at a restaurant, you will get to experience a higher volume of not just customers… but of full-family customers! Kids of all ages, from high-chairs, to boosters, to just plain screaming in the booth next to their parents… these people are here to enjoy THEIR day off, and you are there to labor… to take the order, bring the food, and clean up afterward. You may just find yourself waking up on Monday morning, and what is that you hear? What is that humming noise outside? Don’t worry that is the lawn care service outside in the blazing September heat working! This is the group I used to count myself a member of… I never mowed lawns, but I did work in the mall, I did wait tables, I did “labor’ for years watching others enjoy their holiday, and now after all of that… the holiday is mine to enjoy… to relish… and to do whatever I want and get paid while doing it! I wish everyday was Labor Day!

This Labor Day has me traveling. I will be in New York City for my sister’s birthday! I cannot wait. I am so excited… I can hardly contain myself. All of the plans are set, all of the necessary arrangements have been made and it is nearly time to leave town and start to really have some fun. My sister has never been to the Big Apple, personally I think it is a place everyone should visit, and more than once. I love to go to New York with people who have never been to New York. I love to observe how they take it all in, and sometimes it is almost like watching a new baby find its thumb for the first time. That thumb has been there throughout the baby’s life, but they are just now finding it… and now that they know it is there it is there, they are going to wiggle it, they are going to stare at it, and they are even going to try to eat it. The same is true with NYC, they always knew it was there, but now that they have found it… they want to experience all that they can.

That is all for now… I still have some packing and stuff to do, not to mention the fact that I am at work and need to actually look like I am doing something for a couple of more hours, before I try to sneak out early.

Peace, love, and baby thumbs!
Martha