Some of our friends and relatives have gotten in the annoying habit of arranging birthday parties and other special occasions for Sunday afternoons. This past week, my wife's sister in law invited us to her son's birthday party, which is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. It's easy to see why Sunday outings don't always sit well with everyone, let alone those that don't begin until the late afternoon. Many people leave their errands for Sundays. Others consider it a "family day" to spend with their kids. Still others, like my wife and I, reserve Sundays for rest and relaxation. And then there are folks who go to sleep at 9 p.m. or earlier. Of course, the main reason why people take issue with Sunday get-togethers is the fact that they have to go to work the next day. If the party ends at 8 p.m., that leaves you with little time to do much once you get home. You might grab something to nosh on, shower, and watch a little TV, but before you...

Waking up early for work is hard enough already. But doing so when it's raining outside getting up an even more arduous task. If you ask most people, they'd agree that the sound of rain is soothing -- the perfect complement to a dark room and warm, cozy bedsheets. While this makes for a good night's rest, it can put us at risk of oversleeping, causing us to start the day off on the wrong foot by being late for work. I woke up this morning around 5 a.m. As soon as I heard the gentle rain hitting my bedroom window, I was almost lulled right back to sleep. I always enjoy a Saturday or Sunday morning shower, though. To be sure, it's a welcome treat on days where I don't have to go to work or wake up very early to run errands. Thunderstorms, however, are a different story. I'm a light sleeper, which means that the sound of thunder wakes me up in no time. While I'm usually able to go back to sleep, sometimes the persistent rumble of thunder becomes t...

Few things are as satisfying as waking up and realizing it's Friday. It means the long slog is finally coming to an end (for this week, at least). At last, we can see a light at the end of the tunnel. But for most of us, this feeling is long gone by late Saturday/early Sunday. That's when it hits us: we'll have to go back to work in only a matter of hours. However, I try to make the most of the Friday euphoria while I still can. As I've stressed in prior posts, sometimes we derive more enjoyment out of anticipating something than actually experiencing it. Fridays are no exception. I even begin to get giddy Thursday night. After working hard all week, it feels good to know that two days of rest, relaxation and leisure are upon us. I only wish weekends could be longer; three days would be ideal! What do you think?

It's hard to believe it's Sunday already -- the first Sunday of October, no less. The week -- not to mention the year -- has flown by! Sunday happens to be the day of the week on which I'm at my laziest. The feeling lasts all the way through Monday afternoon. In fact, I don't feel like I'm in all-out work mode again until Tuesday morning.  There's nothing that puts me in a lazier mood than being all cozy in bed while watching a good flick or reading an absorbing book. Adding closed blinds and the sound of rain compounds the feeling tenfold.  Other than Sunday and Monday, I get bitten by the lazy bug on Friday afternoons, though not as badly. Most people do very little after lunch on Fridays in light of the fact that the weekend is upon them.  Laziness can also set in when I get home from work. It isn't always easy to cook or wash dishes, let alone hit the gym, after you've worked all day.  I try my best to do as little as possible on S...

Don't you just love Fridays? There's nothing like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel after a busy week. As I noted in a recent post, sometimes the "edge-of-your-seat" feeling that comes over us when the weekend draws near can be better than experiencing the weekend itself. I know for a fact that I feel a whole lot happier on Friday evenings than I do Sunday mornings. Just knowing that you'll be off the next two days is far more gratifying than waking up Sunday and realizing that, while you have the day to relax or do whatever else you need to take care of, you'll be off to work again in less than 24 hours. I'm not sure if you're the same way, but to me, Sunday doesn't start at 12 a.m. It starts whenever it is that I wake up, whether that be 10 a.m., noon, or 3 p.m. In other words, it could be 4 a.m. Sunday morning and I'll still think it's Saturday night. This always creates the illusion that the weekend is longer, even thoug...