Busman's Holiday
I had wanted, oh how I had wanted, to finish up my manuscript before we got into the car and drove on down to the beach, as I am not in favor of working on vacations. I believe in vacations, I really do, I believe in them with all my heart, and so I resisted buying a laptop for years, being under the impression that I would at some point find myself working on vacation, which is, as far as I am concerned, Wrong.
Yeah, well, never name the well from which you will not drink. I'm currently sitting in the beach house, typing on the laptop, while my child is down with his brothers at the beach. Right this moment it's not so bad -- I'm blogging; that's not work. I mean, you know, it's writing, but it's not work. Not really.
But in a little minute here I'm going to work. Really work.
I decided, though, that instead of whining about having to work at the beach, I would instead be all happy that, though I had work to do, I was at least at the beach while I did it. So that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
We were wondering about "busman's holiday," though. I wanted to know, if I take my work to the beach, is that REALLY the same thing as a busman's holiday? Cause a real busman's holiday occurs if you're, oh, let's say, a doctor, and you're attending the opera in Paris, and somebody has a heart attack and they call for a doctor and you're it and you save them, then that's a busman's holiday. Or if you're a teacher, and for your vacation you go and lead historical tours at the museum, that's a busman's holiday. Or if you run a shrimp boat, and for your vacation you go fishing, that's a busman's holiday.
But Sam says that me writing at the beach counts as a busman's holiday, and so it is. Cause I write, and I'm writing for my vacation.
And where does the phrase come from? The 1890's, apparently -- the idea is that when on vacation the bus drivers take buses.
Anyway. I'm working this week, and I'm being cheerful and even grateful, but it's for Just This Once and I am most certainly Not Making a Habit of it.
Oh! And for those of you following the saga of the Bear's Retreat Aventure, we found a contractor -- known to many of our friends as reliable and good -- who is making the house ready for us; when we get back from the beach it should be ready to move in.
Now if the contractor went on vacation and spent his week fixing up a beach house, that would be a busman's holiday.
Yeah, well, never name the well from which you will not drink. I'm currently sitting in the beach house, typing on the laptop, while my child is down with his brothers at the beach. Right this moment it's not so bad -- I'm blogging; that's not work. I mean, you know, it's writing, but it's not work. Not really.
But in a little minute here I'm going to work. Really work.
I decided, though, that instead of whining about having to work at the beach, I would instead be all happy that, though I had work to do, I was at least at the beach while I did it. So that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
We were wondering about "busman's holiday," though. I wanted to know, if I take my work to the beach, is that REALLY the same thing as a busman's holiday? Cause a real busman's holiday occurs if you're, oh, let's say, a doctor, and you're attending the opera in Paris, and somebody has a heart attack and they call for a doctor and you're it and you save them, then that's a busman's holiday. Or if you're a teacher, and for your vacation you go and lead historical tours at the museum, that's a busman's holiday. Or if you run a shrimp boat, and for your vacation you go fishing, that's a busman's holiday.
But Sam says that me writing at the beach counts as a busman's holiday, and so it is. Cause I write, and I'm writing for my vacation.
And where does the phrase come from? The 1890's, apparently -- the idea is that when on vacation the bus drivers take buses.
Anyway. I'm working this week, and I'm being cheerful and even grateful, but it's for Just This Once and I am most certainly Not Making a Habit of it.
Oh! And for those of you following the saga of the Bear's Retreat Aventure, we found a contractor -- known to many of our friends as reliable and good -- who is making the house ready for us; when we get back from the beach it should be ready to move in.
Now if the contractor went on vacation and spent his week fixing up a beach house, that would be a busman's holiday.
<< Home