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Under the Sun Cynthia Oi |
Losing sight of the goal
while racing through lifeInstructions detailed the seven steps to convert a frozen concoction of noodles and chicken to a reasonable facsimile of the dish depicted in enticing color on the package.
The first of them seemed a no-brainer, but I suppose that somewhere in the reach of the microwave world, there's a zapping novice who really needs to be told to "remove tray from carton," although more likely, it was some legal shirt's idea to include that.
In any case, seven steps were too many. A six-minute, medium-level initial zap, followed by stirring, followed by another four-minute phase on high and a two-minute "resting" stage tipped the product into the reject column. We're talking 12 whole, entire, complete minutes for alleged fast food. Who's got that kind of time these days, I muttered, chucking the darned thing back in the supermarket's freezer case.
"I sure don't," chirped a woman gliding by, an infant snuggled to her chest in one of those huggy packs. I smiled sheepishly as she pushed her cart swiftly through the aisle. In comparison to a mother with a child just past the swaddled baked-potato stage -- and more kids at home, judging from the stack of Lunchables and yogurt pops in her wagon -- my complaints about time constraints seemed petty.
I like my job, but in newspapers, work hours invariably stretch past 9 to 5 Monday to Friday. Something is always going on and if you skip a day of reading and watching, you never catch up. Even on leisure jaunts around town, your news antenna have to be active and recording.
What with household chores and other tasks that take up a day of the weekend, I bet most people are left with less than 24 hours to kick back when what they truly need is an extended spell to flush away the rush of life.
Few Americans, however, get that kind of time off. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans are allotted a scant 8 days of vacation after a year on the job, 10 days after putting in three years. Even workers who do earn longer leaves aren't getting away from it all because there is too much to do in the office and fewer people to do it.
Meanwhile, Europeans and Australians draw down a civilized 4 to 5 weeks of holiday. What do they know that we don't? They know that working isn't the goal, that it makes no sense to toil away for a paycheck if you don't have time to relish what the money buys. Having a nice home with a great room and spa tub does no good if you haven't a few hours to watch the sunset through the floor-to-ceiling windows or soak long enough for your skin to wrinkle.
A colleague who took a couple of weeks off recently sounded apologetic when calling to tell me. She wanted time off not to sun at the beach or laze in bed or read a good book or go to movies, but simply to restore some order in her home. Chaos had overtaken the house when unexpected events threw a monkey wrench into a schedule already crammed with daily demands -- mostly tied to earning a living.
The American work ethic has been so warped that we've come to believe that there is no value in sitting around contemplating your navel, that being productive can only be measured in dollars rather than rewards in spirit and emotional vitality.
Life has become a mad dash of obligations and imperatives. So much so that 12 minutes has stretched past a reasonable prep-period for a lunch of chicken and noodles.
Well, I intend to get off the clock for a couple of weeks to unwind and relax. I may even do some slow-cooking.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Cynthia Oi has been on the staff of the Star-Bulletin since 1976. She can be reached at: coi@starbulletin.com.