Take On Me: A Friday Chat

“We’re talking away, I don’t know what I’m to say”

MEGAN: Well, it’s Friday, a blessed relief at the end of the what has felt like the longest week in the entire world.

NICOLE: I still have the weekend to get through! I missed a few interim deadlines on projects this week, which means I have to catch up on all of that.

MEGAN: My weekend looks pretty okay work-wise, except for Sunday, which will be full of work that I’ve either put off due to general malaise or my own inherent procrastination. Personally, I try to avoid opening my computer on the weekends unless I have to, but it seems it will be inevitable. I’m glad to have the distraction, I guess. Do you normally work on the weekends?

NICOLE: Define “work.” I try not to do a lot of freelancing work, but I’m also working on my novel on the weekends, and I’m doing housework and preparing for the week. Plus the people who need Monday content generally get it written on Sunday night.

MEGAN: Hmm. I guess “work” is basically anything I do for money, so by that definition, I do work on the weekends/all the time/when I’m not sleeping. I’m still transitioning to being comfortable with freelancing full time but I’ve had day jobs for the majority of my career so my weekends feel precious to me in a way that I just can’t shake. I’m trying to manage my time better so I can give myself chunks of leisure during the week but I’m not quite there yet.

NICOLE: I’ve gotten my actual freelancing schedule down to 9–5 (plus a lunch break) on weekdays and maybe two hours on Sunday night, if everything goes well. That comes out to about a 40 hour week. (I consider my lunch “paid.”) But that assumes that everything goes right and nothing gets delayed or held up or derailed by current events.

MEGAN: I work nights three days a week, so that sort of derails any sort of 9–5 schedule for me. But Mondays and Friday nights are the nights I try to cram in the sort of after-work bullshit that I used to like doing so much, like watching TV for hours and buying stuff. I’m convinced that regardless of what I’m doing for money, I will always find time to buy stuff. It’s my biggest problem, but I’m okay with it.

NICOLE: My biggest unscheduled chunks of time are on weekend mornings, so I often end up binge-watching something or reading “for fun” from, like, 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on a Saturday. But go back to that night schedule thing. How does it work with sleep?

MEGAN: LOL what is sleep, who needs it, not me, I run on rage!!! Just kidding. Sort of. The night shifts I do are from 7–1am, so if I play my cards right, I can stop working at 5:30, take an hour or so to feed myself and then back at it. I’ve convinced myself that I don’t really need that much sleep and I am learning that that is a falsehood that I’ve invented to make myself feel better about working so much. After the night shift is over, I have to read for a half hour or so in bed to clear my head. Usually I fall asleep with my Kindle in hand and my glasses on the floor by 1:45 or so, and I’m up at 8. It’s not ideal, but it’s fine for now.

NICOLE: The phrase we’ll keep repeating to ourselves for the next few years. Have you gotten to the point where you’re just like “I can’t read the news anymore?” Actually, no. The news I’m fine with. I might be at the point where I can’t read Twitter anymore.

MEGAN: The news isn’t the problem. Twitter is the problem. Facebook is the problem. I’m thrilled that people are mad and are having feelings and whatever else, but it’s too much. I don’t want to tell anyone how to process their feelings about this very unfortunate turn of events, but a part of me wishes that people would do so privately.

NICOLE: I really appreciate getting to hear so many perspectives, because I learn a lot that way and I get out of my little bubble, although my little bubble is kind of inside a larger bubble that’s predominantly liberal, so even with that I’m not seeing a lot of political perspectives that I don’t share. But it’s overwhelming.

MEGAN: My bubble is also pretty liberal and while I do value the various perspectives I’m seeing, I think what’s actually the worst part about this for me is the Takestorm. We are now living in a sea of horrific Takes about this, with no end in sight.

NICOLE: It’s like we’re in the Take On Me video where the outline of a person reaches out and drags us into internet land, where everything is made up of outlines and sketches.

MEGAN: Congratulations, you have just articulated one of my worst nightmares more succinctly than I ever could have!

All glib joking aside, I think the one thing that’s really resonating with me now is that we all just have to take care of ourselves and each other. That’s all I got. And that’s all I’ll try to do for now until some other solution presents itself for me.

NICOLE: Agreed. And I love that Team Billfold is sharing so many of their own thoughts and resources and ideas for us to take care of ourselves and each other. The rest of the internet may be terrible, but I love what we’ve made here.

MEGAN: It truly is a very nice corner of peace. Be good to yourself this weekend, bud!

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