The alarm clock screams you out of a conversation with your best friend about Bill Gates and how if he didn’t have to go to College to become this successful, then why did you? Especially since you’re not using your degree in your current job and Bill gets a yacht but you can’t even afford a RC boat for your kid. And then, in half wakefulness, you wonder just how much your dreams reflect your subconscious, because … well … you don’t have a kid who wants a boat.
You slam the clock into silence while it blinks 8:00am. Blinking back at it: “Why 8am? You’re late for work!” The panic hits before you remember that you’ve been given the day off.
But… There’s an alarm, but there’s no work to wake up to. This is prime sleep-in territory right here, and your sinister alter-ego must’ve anticipated the torture you’d experience in this very moment. There’s no other explanation for that alarm. Your head returns to its warm and welcoming indentation in the pillow.
You close your eyes and Bill Gates is standing in front of you, explaining that there’s just no room in his entourage for a person with a Physical Education degree. Your counterpoint rests on the fact that 85% of today’s college grads do not use their degrees in their career fields. He rolls his bazillion-dollar eyes. You can feel the vessels in your neck expand and tighten with your blood pressure. And your heart is pounding in your ears – except it’s a loud buzzing pounding that sounds a lot like….
THAT STUPID ALARM CLOCK AGAIN.
This time you’re full of frustration. That’s it. You throw back the covers and try clear your mind and it comes to you.
You’re staring at a blank-slate of a day. Nothing to do but enjoy the fact that you have nothing to do. And sleeping ’til 8am is late enough. You planned to get out and do something with the day.
So, this is what you do: [finish the story in a comment]
oh i am so not good at these kind of things that demand creativity from me. i even cheated at choose-your-own-adventures, for crying out loud!
but i can’t shake the thought that no college degree hasn’t set me any further ahead in life than an unused one, so… ?!?!
and, i think 8 AM is definitely far too early to get up on a day off. so all my creative juices have to say about what i’d do is… move out to the couch. pop in disc 1 of The West Wing, and cuddle up with a cozy blanket. if you fall asleep mid-episode, start it over and try again. and slowly see how far you can get in the boxed set while resting as much as possible on your day off.
Perfect! See? You can do this. it’s not so much about creativity as it is about what you’d do to make the most of a day off.
You turn to Bill Gates and ask what he wanted to be when he grew up. Did he really plan on being the richest man in the world one day? Was it his tech savvy or his business skills that brought him to where he is now?
In an instant, the look on his face changes. He is no longer the intelligent, confident man who can buy anything he wants. Instead, you see the faint flicker of child’s dream lost in subordinated debt and hostile takeovers.
He puts his head down, this wealthy man, and suddenly seems so vulnerable — like a lost child in the woods.
He sighs, then whispers, “I always wanted my Dad to build a fort for me so we could play pirates…”
From the corner of his eye, a small tear drips down his cheek.
The man who can buy anything never had the one thing he has always wanted.
Suddenly, the alarm clock goes off again. The dream is over, but a Voice whispers in your ear, telling you about the people who can’t even buy their next meal. With a newfound energy, yoiu sprind from bed, get dressed, and , before you know it, you are serving breakfast at the homeless shelter. A short man, whose body bears the weight of restlessness, approaches for a meal. He has a goatee and is wearing sunglasses. You say something to him, but he ignores you. You watch as he sits down in the middle of the crowd and, as the morning goes on, you realize that he is ignoring everyone — because he can’t hear them. Graciously, you write a note, praying that the man is literate. When he sees the note, he smiles, grateful that someone has made an effort to reach out to him.
When he speaks, you realize that he has to feel his voice because he can’t it, “Used to write all the time,” he says. “But that was another time. And another life. Now, I’m just grateful to have a good breakfast today. Mind if I take some pancakes for wife and son? We’ve got a big day today.”
Go ahead, you write. What are you going to do today?
“My wife has a job interview,” he tells you. “So me and my son are going to build a fort…”
Love this. thanks for writing today
After such a vivid dream, I’d probably be prompted to wake up, fire up the computer and write it down, even if it IS a day off. Then if I felt like sleeping I’d do that, but given that I still live in New York and my days here are numbered, I’d get a subway card and get moving — to see those last few things (and shop at those last few stores) while I still can.
I’ve been known to wake up – hit some writing – and then take a mid-morning nap! It’s a GREAT way to start the day.
Mandy: One of these days I’ve GOT to tell you about…THE TAMPON!!!
I don’t think I wanna know!!!
[covers her ears and runs screaming in the other direction]