I cut work yesterday, because I didn't feel entirely well and was going to leave at 3p anyway, and I spent the day both relaxing and running a couple of errands that I've been putting off, so I felt both rested and productive. What did you do the last time you played hooky?

-- Kymm (hedgehog@hedgehog.net), June 21, 2000

Answers

Actually, I took a mental health day last Thursday, and it did me a world of good. I went to the gym early, drove downtown and had the oil in the car changed ( to get free parking and a needed service done ), took the streetcar to the downtown core, went to the Spoken Word ( nothing but audio books etc. ), went the the World's Biggest Bookstore, ( motto ' We have romantic mood lighting, but then someone comes along and changes the light bulb ), had an excellent Thai lunch, attended a free concert in the Timothy Eaton Church, collected the car and sat in my backyard, admiring all the work I did and reading one of my purchases quite contentedly until dark. Much better than dealing with the demands of a typical work day.

-- Don (don.elson@sympatico.ca), June 21, 2000.

I actually haven't done that in a lo-o-o-ong time. The most memorable hooky day I ever played was when I was temping at Blue Cross Blue Shield back before speech replaced sign language. Instead of work, I spent the day on the Boston Harbor Islands sunbathing and reading. It was heaven.

/Robert

-- Robert (rbdimmick@earthlink.net), June 21, 2000.

I took the day off yesterday to go shopping at Potomac Mills, which, according to my mom, is the "biggest tourist attraction in Virginia."

I was way more exhausted afterwards than I ever am at the end of a workday.

-- Catherine (catcoicrit@earthlink.net), June 22, 2000.

The idea of taking a day off when I have work to do stresses me out far more than work ever does. Although, with Diablo II coming out next week, the idea of taking off a few days so I can have the computer to myself for eight solid hours is pretty attractive...

-- Colin (ethilrist@prodigy.net), June 22, 2000.

The last time I played hooky, I was able to persuade my girlfriend to do the same. We made lots of love, had a long lunch, with fresh baguettes and different cheeses, grapes, and crisps. Then we went back to bed and smoked a couple of joints. Without our noticing, the whole day passed, the sun went down. Feeling deliciously decadent we decided to get up and go outside so we could buy some Belgian beer, but we were so hazy because of a surfeit of cannabis and orgasms that we decided not to confront the outside world at all. Our legs were wobbly, we were giggly, our limbs were loose and heavy. I felt like I was made out of smoke and plasticene, the whole flat smelt of sex and drugs. It was a great day. Time seemed to fly and to stand still at the same time, we slept, we dozed, woke up cuddling, slept again, made love, showered, waited for the other in bed, and the whole thing started all over again. Wonderful.

-- Pale Blue (paleblue@darkblue.2ndmail.com), June 22, 2000.

Okay, I guess that beats buying jeans and paying my SAG dues.

-- Kymm (kymmz1@yahoo.com), June 22, 2000.

I slept 'til noon. Sleep is always great. Then I showered, and spent the day at the zoo. It was a gorgeous day. Caught a movieearly evening with my b-friend. It was a nice "me" day!

-- Audrey (alsnyder@ius.edu), June 22, 2000.

I called in *cough*sick*cough* just a couple of weeks ago.

My first order of business that day was to roll back over and go to sleep. I slept till at least 10:30, which I never do, not even on the weekends. I spent the rest of the day cleaning my home office and working on craft projects. It sounds like work, but it's what I wanted to do and doing what I want is what to do on a mental health day.

-- Colleen (triggirl@yahoo.com), June 23, 2000.

I had sex.

Deal with annoying Kmart customers all day, or have sex? Customers? Sex? Hmmmm. That was a tough decision.

-- Katie (mrkite@apci.net), June 23, 2000.

I skipped a board meeting for a charity project I'm doing so that I could sleep. I'd been up for forty hours, working for thirty-eight of those, and absolutely couldn't face the prospect of having a bath, washing my hair, putting on makeup, dressing up and taking three cocksucking, motherfucking buses to some meeting which didn't really require my presence.

Sleep wins out over almost anything.

-- Jackie Danicki (nein@freeuk.com), June 24, 2000.

I haven't actually taken a bogus sick day since I started at this company, in September 1997. I even feel guilty when I take legitimate sick days.

This isn't normal - before this job I don't think I'd ever taken a legitimate sick day. It's been nice to know I like this company so much, but now I'm starting to wake up and wish I could avoid the office, and so I know it's time to move on.

-- Jackie (jackiec@diaryland.com), June 28, 2000.