GORDON LIGHTFOOT | Culture
TIME WARP
Jolene Gilbert, a 45-year-old “team administrator” from Wellington, says the long Labour weekend she just had “feels like a distant memory,” as she was reportedly battling just to get to Friday.
“You know, you always think about how nice it will be to have a short week. It’s like the icing on the cake at the end of a long weekend,” she said, as if this were a totally original thought she’d just had.
“But then you soon realise that there’s just as much stuff you need to get through, but with one less day to get through it! Before you know it you’re exhausted and you’re wondering how is it only Wednesday?” she said, exasperated by her reality.
After clawing her way through Thursday, Jolene feels like she won’t even be able to enjoy her “Friday vibes” this week.
“I’ve got too much to get through! Why does everyone always want something from me at the same time??” she said, while frantically refreshing her emails.
Coworkers confirmed that Jolene has been muttering versions of this since Tuesday morning, pausing only to stare at her screen and sigh dramatically. “She’s just been in this loop of disbelief,” said colleague Aaron. “Every hour or so she’ll go, ‘How is it still this week?’ and then make a coffee.”
Despite the tough slog, Jolene says she’s trying to stay positive. “It’s fine. I’ll survive. Just a couple more days,” she said on Thursday afternoon, visibly shaken after realising there were still two unread calendar invites for the next morning.
Asked what she’ll get up to this weekend, her answer was “I’ll be in recovery mode after a long week, which I know was actually a short week but it didn’t feel like it.”
More to come.
