Find your Day-Off

In 1994 I was borderline illiterate and I had a mullet. Sure OJ was on trail for murder but I was lost somewhere in Grade 4 and in need of some serious guidance. I had Nirvana cranked up, was quoting the Simpsons, and could wear baggy jeans with the best of them, but I was far from all-there.

It was a Monday morning, and I was up early trying to throw together something that seemed closer to a weekend’s worth of completed homework rather than the ten minute once-over that I had left myself with. I was heading to school as a Jack version of Zack Morris, ready to be Saved by the Bell at Andrew Davidson Elementary. But I didn’t get far. There was no bagged lunch, no school bus, and no kiss good-bye from Mom. In fact there was no school. How could a Day-Off sneak up on a ten year old? What was wrong with me?! It's one thing to butcher the English language while bright red in front of a class of jackass nose-pickers, it's even understandable to sport a little party-in-the-back-business-in-the-front from time to time (don’t judge me, I looked bonafide badass), but to show that kind of misplaced scholastic ambition at the age of 10… to try to go to school on a Day-Off... Intervention time my friends, hard core, unapologetic, tears and hurt feelings kind of intervention. And that was it, a Monday morning in the year of Tarantino’s Pulp and Sony’s PlayStation, I vowed to clean up my life and evaluate my priorities.

In 2009 I was heavily overweight and I had a skullet - kidding, I was Awesome. I had just bought tickets to the Kings of Leon Concert, I owned a 1983 Cutlass Supreme, and I knew that I was 521 hours away from the next Statutory Holiday. Priorities were as they should be; Days-Off were never a surprise. If you have been anywhere near a desk, have to lift heavy objects, 'deal' with customers, are familiar with the terms 'task force' or 'efficiency', need to answer the phone by announcing who you are, 'punch-in' or 'punch out', only get lunch during a 'break', use anything remotely close to an agenda, clean things, file papers, or document stuff, get dirt under your finger nails, use a computer for non-porn related internet searches, commute, do research, or hold conference calls that are not associated with a prank of some sort, you can sense when a Day-Off is near. The sub-conscious priority break down is usually something close to:

1) Wedding Anniversary
2) Last Possible Day to File Taxes
3) Expiry Date on Condoms
4) Next Day-Off

Now, when weekdays blend into each other and create a sad Office Space style montage of cubicles, coffee mugs, and jammed-up photocopiers, set to some annoying Top-40s peace of garbage song that gets played 3 to 7 times a day on your office neighbor’s crackly radio, you are well aware of the next day when you don't have to have anything to do with that circus act. Days-Off don’t sneak up on me any more. The Day-Off is priority, the Day-Off is planned for, the Day-Off is not mistaken for just another piece of the puzzle; there are no puzzles on Days-Off, Days-Off are a puzzle-free zone!

So when I wandered down the sidewalk with nothing more than the goggles around my neck as an accessory to the boardshorts I wore, I knew exactly what I was doing. This simple idea had found its way into my head a few days before. I had been doing my best to get from the pillow to the desk, but was getting bogged down by the extra features. Getting to work was not an easy process. There was a lunch that needed making, hair that had to be carefully tussled, I required just the right EngiNerd costume, and those were just a few of the big ticket items. What really triggered this new scheme of mine was the complexity of the simple trip; all the things that I Needed in order to survive the office place. It wasn’t just the awkward balancing of the bags I was hauling along like a Sherpa, it was the mental checklist that I had to confirm, verify, and make sure of before embarking on the voyage (which was an 8 minute drive through a low traffic area). It was cumbersome, tiring, and excessive. What if I didn’t need the prep? What if instead of three bags there were none? What if it was just me and that’s all I needed? These were the thoughts I was having as I carted myself and all my work stuff from the car to the office. What if I was just Free?

It’s the simplicity that is so liberating. I get out of bed, put on the boardshorts, pocket my Lake Card and earplugs, pull a pair of goggles over my head, and I walk out the door. That’s it. It’s beautiful. It’s just me and the Day-Off.

I’m not some swimming fanatic and I think that’s what I liked so much about the idea. A Day-Off needs to be a change from the usual routine, otherwise it gets lost in all the ‘Common’ and ‘Normal’ of that Work-Sleep-Work-Sleep habit. I’m also not a lunatic, so doing something a little nuts is refreshing.

The activity breaks down like this:
1) Walk to the Lake
2) Swim to the Island
3) Lie in the Sun
4) Swim back to the Beach
5) Walk Home
6) Have a nice warm Shower

Where the Greatness of the event shines through is in everything that doesn’t fit in the above list. ‘Everything’ like walking barefoot and feeling the warmth of the sidewalk, the moisture hiding in the grass, the softness of the sand. ‘Everything’ like swimming away from the beach without worry for all the Stuff that you didn’t have to leave behind. ‘Everything’ like participating in life without a locker’s worth of equipment or some loud, heavy machine or any number of other Things that separate you from what you are doing. ‘Everything’ like feeling the sun warm your skin while you lie on the dock. ‘Everything’ like the calming sound of the churning water that is both noise and silence at the same time. ‘Everything’ like walking in the middle of the surrounding Summer without the distractions of a cell phone, iPod, or giant To-Do list. ‘Everything’ like being in no rush. ‘Everything’ like letting your mind wander. ‘Everything’ like really feeling the Day-Off. ‘Everything’ like the Freedom of it. And wow was that warm shower ever worth the ice cold shock of the freezing lake water.

I’ve gone again two or three times since the trial run, and every crazy swimming episode is as good as the last. It’s become my new favorite Day-Off activity, and at this point I can’t decide what I like more, the actual event, or the bewildered reaction people offer up when they hear about my little adventures. For me it’s being able to go swimming without any help from my fleet of gadgets or support from my usual survival crutches (car, sunglasses, freakin’ shoes), but it really has nothing to do with the swimming. It’s all about the Freedom. It’s all about the Freedom, the Peace of Mind, and the Simplicity that is hiding from the day-to-day slog. Sometimes I need a reminder that the good stuff doesn’t need to be structured with rules, or scheduled out, or accessorized, or rushed. That sometimes a Day-Off doesn’t need to be jam packed with a bunch of catch-up chores and race-around errands. That sometimes you need to strip all the excess away to find out what you have been missing. That sometimes a little bit of crazy is just what you need.