I don’t really mind Mondays

By Jake J. Nho

Do you hate your Mondays like everyone else? Why do you suppose that is? I mean, most of us have to work for a living and it really is not a good thing that you hate going back to work ― on Mondays.

I have found a solution for this ``problem” ― I work through the weekend. This way, I am not really getting back to work and it is just another day in the office.

It wasn’t always like this. When my daughters were younger, we would go on weekend trips, get out in search of good food, relaxation and excitement. But, owing to the nature of my work, I was normally in the office on Sundays.

Things have changed since then. The older one, Seung-hyun, is now in college and the younger one, Seung-joo, is in high school, devoting her life and time to getting into a university of her choice.

For my part, I have been working on a project that requires a lot of time and attention, plenty of emails to contributors in foreign countries who unfortunately are in different time zones, thus making communication difficult.

In doing the project, it has naturally been essential that contributors come in on time since it is an ongoing situation and while I try to give myself couple of days of breathing room, it sometimes does not play out as I planned.

So the weekend is an excellent time to catch up on things, getting back-up materials just in case the promises ― some people say promises are made to be broken but I beg to disagree ― are broken.

The weeks go by really quickly with me keeping the promise of delivering the packages of articles every Tuesdays and Fridays and I remain faithful to keeping to this commitment.

It is not only that I am a man who keeps promises but the fact that once mistakes are made and schedules are delayed, the whole scheme collapses and there is no going back from there.

And I believe there is a God since every time things were looking somewhat futile, something else that I had arranged as a contingency came through.

I do not know if there is a foreign idiom of the same meaning but we have a saying in Korea that “there is no law that says you have to die.” I think this is true.

So I basically labor on as my daughters do on weekends.

The feeling is different since I do not have to be in a suit and tie and Seung-joo does not have to wear the school uniform. But the basic form of business is the same.

I remember this one time a long time ago when I went to a video rental shop and ran into someone who was taking out about 20 Chinese martial art movies on a Friday.

I asked the man who owns the store why would that person rent so many videos and how he can watch them all and he explained that people do it all the time.

They spend the weekend lounging around, watching the videos and ordering delivery services like jjajangmyon ― Chinese black bean noodles ― or fried chicken or pizza.

This really blew my mind, to be able to decide in your head that you are going to spend a good part of the next 48 hours simply vegetating, and I am quite sure over and over again on weekends.

There are many ways to spend a weekend in an admirable fashion and I know for a fact that people do, like going hiking or playing golf or just spending some quality time with the family.

For better or for worse, the alternative has been “work” for me, and I am not complaining: I chose to do it and I am sticking with it, for better or for worse.

At the end of the day ― Saturdays and Sundays ― I call home and ask if there is something I can bring back home, like Chinatown food from Ho Lee Chow or spicy chicken ribs from Nolbu ― restaurants that the family likes. My wife insists that the children have no time to go out for dinner.

And I head home, quite proud of myself that I had gotten the day’s work done and am making a delivery of “fine” cuisine for my wife and the children. Life is pretty good, even if you have to work through weekends.

Then Monday comes rolling around, but I really don’t mind.

Jake J. Nho has been working in the media for 27 years as a journalist and marketing executive. He can be reached at jakenho@hotmail.com.