Even at the time, I knew it was foolish to excitedly look forward to the annual Christmas and New Year break. That’s not because it was bad or I didn’t enjoy it, but simply because it was so fleeting. Throughout December, I couldn’t help but count down the days, despite the more logical and rational part of my brain telling me that it’s futile and – thinking further ahead – will bring about the old daily routine again.
That logical and rational part, it appears, actively hates fun and relaxation, instead opting to focus on a sense of perpetually impending doom and gloom. For once, I decided to ignore my own advice, however, and be a normal person for once, enjoying my anticipation and enjoyment of a week-and-a-half long holiday period, like everyone else does. You know what, it worked.
I largely felt happy (or at least as happy as a formerly depressed, stoic and emotionally stunted logical thinker can be) and relaxed. The lead up to Christmas held very little in the way of disappointment and the actual days away from the old routine were largely positive. That is until the cold symptoms took over.
I’m just about recovering from what I’m sure I’ll forget in future but presently label as the Great Cold Catastrophe of Christmas Day 2017. It’s taken over two weeks now and the final few sneezes have become few and far between, just in time for me to settle back into the format of five-day weeks.
This is probably sounding like a massive work-bashing, which I don’t wish it to. I don’t mind my work. Heck, I even enjoy it from time to time and – like the vast majority of us – understand that if I wasn’t doing it, I’d either be doing something else (potentially worse) or penniless (way worse). To be honest, the work’s fine; it’s the getting-up-and-going-to-it-everyday that bores me. You know, like everyone else.
Of course, now on the other side of Christmas and New Year, in the absence of some new routine-breaker to look forward to, the cold, rational, logical part of me is stoically celebrating some sort of victory at being right, while also annoyed that I’m back in a constant rut until the next holiday comes along. As it happens, the first Bank Holiday of the year is currently twelve weeks away. Whether I’ll factor in some time off before then is anyone’s guess.
These musical bits have often been a bit hit and miss. I’ve catalogued 100 so far: 50 from 2016 and 50 from 2017. The original idea with these was to publish my lists of 50 at the end of each year, but quality control and end-of-year laziness got in the way both times. Chances are I’ll give them their own section on here sometime in the near future (possibly after a revamp) but time will tell.
This year, I’m cutting back to fortnightly so I’m not scrabbling around trying to find something half decent every Tuesday night. That also means I’m planning 25 of these and taking Christmas off (again). The first of them begins with what sounds like a robot trying to speak to us through the medium of a variety of differently sized milk bottles.
Hookworms – Negative Space
Jamie Walsh 
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