Friday, July 23, 2010

Thank Someone It's Someday

The whole concept of Thank God It's Friday kind of cracks me up. In Dubai, the standard work week and deity are different (Sunday through Thursday and Allah, respectively), leading its office drones to proclaim TAIT! As a waitress, my work week runs from Tuesday through Saturday; since Monday is traditionally a nothing-doin' kind of day in Stratford (come for the theater, stay for the mind-numbing dark days!), most of the bistros close. This tends to result in the bars in town having boozy Sunday nights, as all the waitstaff in town shamble out to get epically drunk, a by-product of having to deal with demanding elderly customers and psychotic kitchen staff all week.

However, even though TGIF doesn't apply to me and my service-industry brothers and sisters, I appreciate the idea of a marker for the end of the work week. When I was in elementary and middle school, ABC used to run the TGIF Friday-night lineup, which was a great way for tweens to blow off some steam at the end of a hormonally fraught week of school. It was like, science, sex ed, horrible lunch period of existential despair and unpopularity, French, math, interminable Guantanamo Bay bus ride, Boy Meets World. Ahhh. The comforting world of Cory and sexy Topanga, narcotizing the week away. Bliss.

There's even a restaurant chain devoted to the idea of making Fridays into a celebratory casting-off of the work week. Granted, I hate T.G.I.Fridays and its plastic food, but they've absolutely been able to expand the concept of the Friday night treat over seven nights: oversweetened daiquiri slurries paired with jalapeno cheese poppers have, for a large segment of the population, come to represent the "dinner" in the "dinner-and-a-movie" algorithm that is a wholesome Friday night. Or, in the case of some lucky Sydney office workers, a productive Friday afternoon.

I look forward to Friday, even though it's not the end of my work week, because everyone else seems so relieved. My parents kick back with a couple beers, my sister visibly relaxes, my friends regale me with stories about their work week. Some of my favourite websites leave little Hansel-and-Gretel treats to peruse over the weekend. Fridays means dinner out, a chance to stay up late and be on our own time. Friday at 5:01, the whole weekend is ahead of you, shining and glorious. I love that feeling of possibility. Maybe it's a movie night, or a date. Maybe it's a trip to the cottage for the weekend, or the city. Maybe it's a barbecue on the back deck, taking the kids to grandma's for the weekend, a whirlwind trip to Vegas, or simply just a chance to grab some takeout and watch some DVDs. May I suggest some Boy Meets World? It pairs very nicely with the start of a weekend. I know from experience.

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