Playing Hooky
The last 30 days can be classified as THE most stressful days I’ve had on the CSS in a long time. I’ve never worked so many hours, had to oversee so many projects, appease so many people, witness so many adult-temper tantrums, and play mediator to resolve so many conflicts in such a short period of time. Money, deadlines, and emotions don’t mix - EVER. The entire experience was physically, mentally, and emotionally draining. Thank goodness yesterday was the end of it all! So guess what I’m doing today?
Playing Hooky and Going to the Spa!!
Yep, I’m staying home from work today and I’m going to spend the entire day rejuvenating my mind, body, and spirit. And guess what else? One of my girlfriends has, yet again, agreed to go along with one of my crazy, last minute requests. Ha! On my way home from work last night, the idea came to mind and I knew exactly who to call. It didn’t take much convincing either:
Single Ma: Hello, may I speak to Fab Friend.
FF Daughter: She’s sleep.
SM: Umm, it’s kinda important. Can you wake her up?
FF Daughter: Who’s this?!?
SM: This is SM, can you wake her up please? [preparing to be cursed out by FF]
FF: [groggy] Hello…
SM: Hey Girl! Wake up, I have something important to ask you.
FF: I’m up. You just leaving work?
SM: Yea, can you believe it! Let’s play hooky tomorrow and go to the spa.
FF: Ok.
SM: Girl, did you hear me? I’m for real! Let’s go to the spa.
FF: Dammit, I said ok. Which one?
SM: [pause] Oh…umm…[didn't think it would be THAT easy, I was prepared to persuade her but I hadn't thought it through to consider where]
SM: Umm, any spa. It doesn’t matter to me. We can do the Ritz, EA Red Door, or Jolie’s. Either one works for me. I just can’t go to work tomorrow. I’m exhausted!
FF: Ok, what time do you want to go?
SM: I’ll call to make reservations in the morning and let you know around 8:30.
FF: Ok.
SM: FF, are you awake!?! Are you really going to play hooky with me tomorrow?
FF: [shouting so I would be sure that she was awake] Girl, I told you I was up…shyt! LOL I already didn’t want to go to work anyway. Now I have a reason. LOL! But I’m tired so I’m going back to sleep. Call me in the morning to let me know what time you want to meet and where.
Bye. [click]
SM: [laughing and shaking my head]
Reservations have been made, timing has been confirmed, and we’re going to be Ladies of Leisure today. Ha! It’s good to have friends who are down for whatever - especially friends with comparable finances so money isn’t an issue.
~*~*~*~*~*~Work to achieve, not to acquire.
And always, BE FABULOUS!
This blog is the story of my life...a single mom who worked her way from nothing to financial freedom. Subscribe here and follow the rest of my journey.
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Have you read the Fabulous Financials comment policy lately?
Sometimes you just need a break!
You know how to work hard and play hard. Get your leisure on today. Have a relaxing time!
One more question if you don’t mind me asking…what does “CSS” stand for? In my line of work, that means “Cascading Style Sheets,” and I suspect that is NOT your field.
See, SM, even you need to call in sick sometimes for a mental day off
SM doesn’t call in sick dear. I just tell them I’m not coming. LOL!
Just kidding. I completely understand your personal situation. I hope I didn’t give you the impression that I didn’t. [-SM]
CSS = Corporate Slave Ship
LOL….the power of peer pressure tsk tsk tsk
LOL I know, I’m so bad! [-SM]
You are a bad influence! LOL If I ask one of my friends to do that, they would have told me…girl please Payday is Friday– LMAO
HA HA I know that’s right! Most of my friends would tell me that too. But I have two friends who are way more established than I, so they’re always poised and ready. All I have to say “would you like to go…” and I have their undivided attention. LOL!
Funny thing, neither of them are shoppers, so they don’t spend money frivolously. But both are always down for anything related to an “experience” or improving their quality of life. [-SM]
Have an awesome time! It’s great to have fab friends like that - I have a couple myself. Although they never try to persuade me to play hooky - I guess I’m the ringleader in that area, LOL.
Oooh, you’re a hooky player too! [-SM]
Single ma-
I hope you are having a fabulous day with your friend and with a good bottle of wine. I surely could use one myself. If only my flights didn’t arrive at 11pm nightly. But you can believe I will have my day soon enough.
Ah snap! Wine. I knew I was missing something. Hmm…oh well, maybe this weekend. [-SM]
I took a mental health day today too– no spa though! Hope you had a great time and are feeling refreshed.
I rarely take mental days and completely disconnect. I’m usually checking emails on the BB, fielding calls, writing ‘things to do’ notes for the next day, etc. But this one one was much needed. I was completely OFF and I’m so glad I did it. [-SM]
Dear fellow devotees of this site: Single Ma works hard for her money. I’m not saying that she never talks about it, because here and there she will mention when things are getting hairy at work. But I just wanted to illuminate it - many times we hear about people who are doing well, and they live lives of leisure, and there’s really no detailed conversation about how they got their leisure. Part of the reason I LOVE this blog is because Single Ma makes it plain - getting money can be, and often is, hard work! I am so proud of you, Single Ma - hope today was great!
Thanks SA. Most regular readers know how hard I work, but I didn’t consider the others. I guess reading the post as a stand alone can be very misleading, so your comment was timely and very accurate.
For the drive-by readers, it’s also important to note: I don’t “finance” fun with debt. It may not have been planned but always sufficiently covered with monthly cash flow. [-SM]
“You just need a break”? Seriously, didn’t this chick just get back from Hawaii and in her recent posts talk about how she is buttoning down and not spending money?
Yep, I just returned from Hawaii. I also went to Vegas and St. Louis this summer. And your point? When you WORK hard and make RESPONSIBLE financial decisions, you can PLAY hard. Stick around a little longer, you might learn something.
And no I did NOT say I was “buttoning down and not spending money.” You obviously don’t read very well. I said I was NOT “shopping” for the rest of this year because I purged clothes/shoes from my closet and don’t need anymore STUFF. There IS a very distinct difference between spending money on disposable goods and spending money on quality of life. If most of your income is dedicated to paying off debt, I wouldn’t expect you to understand that.
And by the way, I’m planning a trip to Paris and London in April…because umm…I should be due for another break by then. LOL [-SM]
I have been watching this site for a while and I must say your response to Mary made me have to declare my love for it! lol. hope your day was amazing!
SM, no of course not, your advice to me was perfect
Mental day is good for your body and soul as a restorative measure, I am so glad you enjoyed it.
Gosh, those haterz…I tell ya….Enjoy it!!!! it’s your life, your money…Luv your blog
I hope that you had a wonderful time. Good times with good friends is worthwhile indeed.
I hope you had a good time too. I would love to play hooky since I’ve been working almost three works straight. Next week, I finally get to go home. I’m playing hooky for the rest of the week.
You and your slaves are a bunch of idiots. Defend your poor choices all you want, but the bottom line is that if you want to do something, you do it, regardless of the financial cost, why can’t you just be honest about it?
Poor choices? You obviously admire my financial choices or you wouldn’t follow my progress - DAILY. Some people can’t pull off green, but you wear it well.
What have I denied or been dishonest about? I do what I want (within budget), when I want, and share my decisions openly on the blog. There is nothing to defend. I’m a grown ass woman and have no one to answer to but myself. If you can make choices, regardless of financial cost, good for you. My money is limited and I don’t pretend otherwise. [-SM]
It is like your choice to claim to be an educated woman and then resorting to your stupid “ghetto” language when you want to, i.e., “baby girl.”
Referring to a term of endearment that I use for my child as “ghetto” and questioning my education because of it? ROFL! This comment is so ridiculous, I won’t even justify it with a response. [-SM]
As for assumptions, you really shouldn’t make them. I own my home free and clear in a market that is 10x the cost of yours, I own 2 rental homes, I paid cash for my beemer, and have no credit card debt. I don’t whine about how hard I work to justify taking a break either.
I didn’t make any assumptions about you. In fact, I can care less about your finances. But you are obviously interested in mine. Therefore, I will not hesitate to correct one of YOUR assumptions or misguided comments. You were wrong and I corrected you. Simple as that.
I am not impressed that you’ve paid 10x more for your home. Nor am I impressed by how many rental homes you own or what you drive. If that makes you happy, good for you. Bragging about what you have and comparing it to others is such a poor man’s mentality, so I doubt what you say is true anyway. But if you are really credit card debt free, congrats!
—————
By the way, I see you’re using a fake email address in this comment. Be forewarned, I have your IP address, which is even better - Mary, KarenS, Carrie Stuart or whatever you’re calling yourself today. The next time you attempt to insult me (or my readers by calling them “slaves”), be honest about who you are so I can at least check your ass in private.
I just searched my blog and inbox using your IP address. LOL! I see you’ve commented on my blog using 3 different user names. Interesting. And your last comment was about a home you rented for 2.5 years and your landlord was crazy, you were a good tenant, took before/after pictures, then mailed them to yourself so they would be postmarked for proof in court. More interesting. But you own a home and 2 different rental properties? Hmm, ok. Oh and you’ve emailed me several times using your REAL email addy. LOL! Sloppy, sloppy. Warning: don’t start what you can’t finish. [-SM]