Amongst my friends, I jokingly refer to weekday evenings as “school nights”. Not only do I have a set schedule of studies and practice to attend to, I also have to go to bed early. Not entirely because of work the next day, but because I prefer to wake up early and type out a few words on this blog. I guess you can say it’s a bit neurotic to force myself to such a routine. All I can say, is that it feels weird when I have to deviate from the schedule.
Such as last evening. Instead of eating dinner at home then commencing piano practice, I went out with some friends to a burger place at the main drag of West Portal. It was a particularly warm day so the ambiance was quite nice to be sitting outside and taking in the small town atmosphere. They’ve chained Christmas lights between the light poles so it was rather festive for a random February evening. The burger place was right next to a record store that constantly played music, adding to atmospheric flavor.
See, I’m not so strict with my routine that I can’t break it for these random excursions. The lost time for piano practice and reading can be easily made up later. Quality time with friends, that’s something to grasp at the first opportunity. I even thanked them afterwards for coming out of a school night. One of them is doing his doctorate program, so it actually was a school night for him. There was homework waiting soon as he return home. NERD!
I guess that’s why people adore Fridays so much. They can go out and deviate from their regular work-life schedule without a care. Friday nights are their proverbial oyster. As for me? I also have a set routine on Fridays: I visit my friend’s kids and have dinner at their home. Not all that exciting from certain perspectives, but it’s quality time with people I cherish nonetheless.
The setting for a wonderful evening.