James Baquet
Mark and his classmate Ming are chatting again in the common room of their dorm.
Ming: Hi, Mark. Remember those funny cards about work that we discussed?
Mark: Sure!
Ming: Well, my friend sent some more. These are about weekends.
Mark: Ah, the opposite of work! Let’s hear them.
Ming: Okay, the first one says, “Hope you had a terrible weekend so your Monday doesn’t seem so bad.”
Mark: You get that, right?
Ming: Does it mean that if your weekend wasn’t good, Monday will seem okay by comparison to it?
Mark: That’s right.
Ming: I see. Here’s another: “I can’t wait for the weekend so I can sit home and wish I had something better to do.”
Mark: Ooo, that’s deep. Do you know how sometimes anticipation is better than the real thing?
Ming: Maybe.
Mark: Like, you sit there all week going, “I can’t wait for the weekend. I can’t wait for the weekend.” Then when the weekend comes —
Ming: It’s kind of disappointing?
Mark: Right. I think that’s what this one means.
Ming: And then, all weekend, you keep wishing something better would happen.
Mark: Exactly.
Ming: Got it. Here’s the next one: “Let’s find a cozy little bed and breakfast where we can check our email.”
Mark: You know what a “bed and breakfast” is, right?
Ming: Like an inn or something?
Mark: Sort of. Usually, it’s actually someone’s home. You stay in one of their bedrooms, and have breakfast with the family and the other guests in the morning.
Ming: Sounds nice!
Mark: They usually are. So this couple is joking. They’ll go there, and instead of relaxing and enjoying the countryside —
Ming: They’ll check their email and do other work-like things! Funny!
Mark: Yes. Some of these don’t really make me laugh, but at least that one made me smile.
Ming: I think this one is sort of the same idea: “I can’t wait to get away from the city this weekend to the same place as everyone else from the city.”
Mark: Right! We want to “get away from it all,” and then discover it’s all there when we arrive!
Ming: I understand. How about this one? “I can barely wait to not even remotely take advantage of the many cultural activities our great city has to offer this weekend.”
Mark: Yes. Lots of people spend their weekend at home, even though there are lots of activities to enjoy.
Ming: So there really is something better to do!
Mark: Usually, yeah. But sometimes we’re so tired we don’t do them.
Ming: On that note, here’s one more: “Have a good weekend doing all the chores and errands you didn’t have time for during the week.”
Mark: Absolutely! Sometimes I can’t relax because I’m still catching up!
Ming: I know!
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