How busy are you?

[Davey]

after seeing this nice story, i was wondering about you people,, how Busy are you? do you think you are busy?
read this :

So you think you're busy? Well, that's nothing!

By THOMAS DILLON

For many Japanese, one word sums up their entire lives: "busy."

. . . Salaried men and women who log in 12-hour days and then return home just in time to turn around and head back to work again. . . . Housewives who dedicate every single nanosecond to helping their kiddies squirm through the legion of tests in the entrance exam years. . . . Children who never stop bouncing from school to clubs to cram classes and back again like balls in a giant pinball game.

Being busy is such a part of daily existence that to admit to the opposite -- to claim not to be busy -- is almost to commit cultural sacrilege. The average Japanese would never come out with such an admission. Indeed, for many people, the words "I'm busy" seem to be the natural rejoinder to, "Hi, how're you doing?"

Of course, this "busy fever" rubs off, and the longer they live here, the more foreign residents are likely to catch it.

Or appear to catch it. For many of us are also skilled in the delicate art of one-upmanship, as the following "busy" conversation shows.

"I tell you," I begin, "I am so busy that if I couldn't catch a nap on the train, I'd have no time to sleep at all."

"Humph," says my friend Sloth. "That's nothing. I'm so busy that the only time I have to sleep is at the office urinal. So I'm forced to drink tons of coffee just in order to squeeze in a few extra winks."

"Well, that's nothing," notes our other friend, Slug. "I myself am so busy that I only sleep during leap years. And even then only on Feb. 29th at my desk while waiting for my computer to boot."

"Impressive," I tell them. "But as for me, I am so busy that I never just walk down the street. I always sprint so I can save more time for working."

"Yeah, but that's nothing," says Sloth. "I'm so busy that I not only sprint, I carry my electric razor and shave while I run. That way I save even more time for work.

"Pshaw!" says Slug. "That's nothing whatsoever. I'm so busy that not only do I sprint down the street and shave, but with my other hand I also brush my teeth. And let me tell you, when you mix up the hands, it's hell."

"Maybe so," I say. "But I myself am so busy that I only have time to dine on instant food . . . and sometimes without adding water."

"So what?" says Sloth. "That's absolutely nothing. I'm so busy that I have to suck down my meals through a hose that I have rigged to the office fridge. That way I don't have to leave my desk."

"Yeah, yeah, tell me about it," says Slug. "That is total nothing. I myself am so busy that I don't even have time to eat. I just download images from restaurant sites and lick the screen."

"Oh yeah?" I counter. "Well, listen to this. I am so busy that I almost always disconnect the phone when I work. That way I can concentrate more on my job and keep my sanity as well."

Sloth shakes his head. "I tell you, that's nothing. I'm so busy that not only do I disconnect the phone, I use the cord to tie up my boss, then cram my cell phone in his mouth for a gag. Not only can I get even more work done, I stay saner too."

"Well," says Slug, "I have to say that's nothing. I am so busy I disconnect the phone in every building on the block, then tie up everyone I can with the cords. Then I put Disney songs on the company speaker and crank up the decibels so I can drown out every nonwork sound. And that's how I stay sane."

"OK," I say, "but listen to this. I am so busy I sometimes wear the same shirt and slacks for weeks. I don't have time to change."

Sloth almost spits. "Yeah, but that's nothing. I am so busy I haven't changed clothes since high school. When I want to clean up, I just dash in the shower as is. It's all wash and wear, you see."

"Guys," says Slug, "why, that's nothing. I'm so busy I don't wear clothes at all. A few years back I had a suit tattooed on my body, and now I never bother with clothing whatsoever."

"Well," I clear my throat, "I'm so busy that I can sometimes go for days and days without seeing my wife and dog."

"Oh yeah?" says Sloth. "Well, that's nothing. I'm so busy that I often forget which is which -- wife or dog. That's how seldom I get home. So I make them wear name tags to help me out."

"Ha," says Slug. "That's nothing at all. I'm so busy that my wife and dog up and left me years ago -- for this guy who sticks Post-its on their chins, one written 'wife' and the other written 'dog.' "

That silences us for a while until Sloth raises his hands and says: "Hey, don't look at me. I use cards with safety pins."

The ball goes to Slug. "I am so busy," he says, "that my high score on computer solitaire is only 6,600."

"Ha, that's nothing," says Sloth. "I am so busy that my high score is only 6,500. But I've hit it a thousand times."

"Boys, boys," I conclude. "What can I say except, 'That's nothing!' I am so busy that I can't even play computer solitaire. No, I have to deal out the cards by hand."

Hmm. Now THAT, they concede, is busy.

SOOOO.. how busy are you people?

 

[Tsuyoiko]

It depends what you mean by busy. I am not so busy that I can't spend far too much time on JRef!

 

[Mike Cash]

I work from 12 to 14 hours a day on average, six days a week. The remainder of the time is mine to do with as I please.

 

[lonesoullost3]

I feel like I'm super busy: Mondays I have class 8:40-4:30, then hw until 6, then dinner for about 30-45min, then more hw until 9:30, then Hall Council meeting (of which I'm chariman) until 10:30/45, then more hw until 12/1, then sleep. Same thing tuesdays (but different hall meeting). Ditto on wednesdays, but throw in an Operation DEEP meeting for about 1.5hrs (of which I'm project director). Thursdays are even worse - classes from 8:40 until 10 PM!!!!!! Then do hw until god knows what hour. Fridays are my finally relaxing days: class from 9-12...thank god!! After that I usually do a few hours of hw before finally relaxing. Throw in about 10hrs of hw over the weekend plus a few meetings and such.

 

[Ma Cherie]

Either I know how to balance things or I'm not so busy like I normally thought. I'm becoming apart of student organizations and possibly trying to start my own. My day usually begins around 9:30 am, my classes are in the mornings to noon. And after that, whatever assignments I have to complete I use most of my free time doing research or sometimes studying. After that, I normally just hang out with some friends.

 

[RockLee]

I still have vacation till the 20th, and everyday I bum around hoping my day will be exiting...It depresses me so much because usually when it's schooltime I yearn for a vacation, and in the vacation I yearn for school.Wish I lived in China or Japan...Belgium is so boring and expensive

 

[Ma Cherie]

Well, I think it's nice that Europeans have so much vacation time. I wished Japanese people and Americans valued that. There's nothing wrong with being busy, I like having responsibilities but in all honesty, there has to be a time for rest and relxation. Hell, I'm not really all that busy in all honesty. I still have all this free time, so I just come here to the forum or go to the gym.

 

[Duo]

hm free timeeee, my favorite of all, a lot of ppl think or wish or see as it being optimal to do something with free time, go places, do this or that, no one really takes time anymore to just stop a second, stop the pace of this fast world, where days flow endlessly and swiftly like a mountain stream, and to just sit back for a while and stop time in their mind and just lay back and think. Relax to some music, look at the sky at nite, sit on a comfy couch, take a lazy afternoon nap and just give your mind a rest from everything and just be a physical presence in this relaxed time-space frame that is your own and just belongs to you and your innerself where you can feel at ease and realize your existance without having to do some errand or work related or school related activity, or even hanging out with friends or watever, but something that is just for you. I see that we are busy constantly, wether we are here at the forum or reading a book, or at the gym or watever, as long as we dont step back for a second and take control fo time in our mind and actually realize that we are living and the simmple things like the blue sky, green grass etc, we are always in a busy state .
it is not just the body that needs a break, but the mind as well from all that thinking

 

[Ma Cherie]

hm free timeeee, my favorite of all, a lot of ppl think or wish or see as it being optimal to do something with free time, go places, do this or that, no one really takes time anymore to just stop a second, stop the pace of this fast world, where days flow endlessly and swiftly like a mountain stream, and to just sit back for a while and stop time in their mind and just lay back and think. Relax to some music, look at the sky at nite, sit on a comfy couch, take a lazy afternoon nap and just give your mind a rest from everything and just be a physical presence in this relaxed time-space frame that is your own and just belongs to you and your innerself where you can feel at ease and realize your existance without having to do some errand or work related or school related activity, or even hanging out with friends or watever, but something that is just for you. I see that we are busy constantly, wether we are here at the forum or reading a book, or at the gym or watever, as long as we dont step back for a second and take control fo time in our mind and actually realize that we are living and the simmple things like the blue sky, green grass etc, we are always in a busy state .
it is not just the body that needs a break, but the mind as well from all that thinking

Wow, that was very insightful. ☝

 

[Flashjeff]

Well, I'm employed by the Federal government where I work a standard eight hours a day, Monday to Friday with my evenings, weekends and holidays free. I guess I'm just lucky to be in a situation where I'm not burning myself out as the Japanese are reputed as doing, and have spare time to veg out in front of my TV, cruise to favorite places, sit on my front porch and watch the world go by, enjoy a good night's sleep, or log on to JREF!

 

[Kara_Nari]

I would love to be busy.
In New Zealand I was always very busy. I would go to class from 9.30am ~4pm, Work from 5pm~Midnight, we would go out after work every night, then on the weekends I would face paint usually in the day and then work from 4pm~midnight. Luckily my homework only consisted of Sculpting, there was no theory. Also I lived within 10 minutes round trip of both school and work. So I didnt need to spend much time travelling. Then just before I came over, I moved in with some friends and then my days would be about an hour extra each side for travel. But anyway, I still had a goodtime and lots of fun at the same time.
Now I miss all that money, and fun. Stupid going from $800 a week to $80. But then I wasnt thinking I would be in this position quite as long as I have been.
So these days I spend a pitiful 2-3 hours a day working. I hate it. If my weeks had a bit more structure I would love to do volunteer work, but unfortunately that plan flew out the window.