Saturday, The Day of Rest

Alas, the day has come. Saturday is finally here. The day of rest for the 9-to-5-ers. True to my Saturday routine, I am up at 7:00 AM (thinking it is Friday morning) in anticipation of my alarm clock awakening me from another crazy dream. It seems like my dreams these days reflect what I really would like to have said during work. Its a play-by-play retelling of the weeks events, most notable the awkward moment of the day, but it's Saturday so I will temporarily shelve the absurdities of work and focus on the day.

The streets of Harlem are quiet at this hour, but people are still stirring. New York is truly the city that never sleeps and as a young woman that's up by 6 and in by 10; I have always butted heads with him. WE definitely have a love/hate relationship.

However, Saturdays are when I am most in love with NYC. He allows me time to explore---the television shows I've missed, Central Park, random street festivals or simply walking around all day going from one adventure to the next.

Saturdays are my day to return the favor of sleeplessness to my noisy neighbors by hopping out of bed to turn on my i-pod to my Oldies playlist. This has been a family tradition for years....probably dating back to when my Grandma was a girl. Also, Saturdays are a day when we catch up with family. Oh, which reminds me that I should be getting my usual Saturday morning call from my mother any minute now......

Oh, by the way, my name is Alyce....(cellphone begins to vibrate..)

Staring at the nightstand, I hear the buzz of my cellphone and am waiting to hear the familiar , "I'll always love my momma, she's my favorite girl"

Yet, my stomach drops as I hear a different tune; the dreaded "you've got me workin', workin' day and night" signaling the end to my joyous Saturdays. The dilemma begins!

On the one hand I can pretend like I didn't here the phone ring at all.....yeah like this never even happened!

Yet, reality sinks in as I realize I am the "on call" worker for the weekend and if anyone calls out I have to come to work, no questions asked.

Muting the i-pod, I head to the phone and press the talk button.


" Hey Alyce, I hope this call didn't wake you."


"Oh, no of course not. What's going on Mr. Goldstein?"


"Well, unfortunately I have some bad news for you. Gabrielle won't be coming in today and I was hoping you would be able to cover for her. She seems to have.........a 24 hour bug. You understand. So make it there in an hour; I know I can count on my star player."


And with the ending of that conversation came the end of my blissful Saturday. By the way, Gabrielle's last name is Goldstein, as in the daughter of the boss, but better known as Gabrielle "Goldenchild" to us workers. She is known for the 24 hour bugs and will undoubtedly come into work on Monday without any residual symptoms of this bug......no sneezing, coughing or pale complexion.


Oh, well it was fun while it lasted.