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Monday, January 18, 2016

#MicroblogMondays: Blue Monday?

Today is supposedly "Blue Monday," the most depressing day of the year. As this article explains, Blue Monday came into being in 2005, proclaimed in a press release by a British travel company (! -- no doubt looking to boost its sunspot vacation business), based on some dubious scientific calculations that included factors such as the weather, after-Christmas debt levels and failed New Year's resolutions.

I'll admit, the day after my birthday last week, I went into a bit of a funk. Up to that point, I was still basking in the after-Christmas glow -- but once the happy birthday calls & Facebook posts ended, it was hard to feel like there was much to look forward to for the next while. People have been asking why we don't go away somewhere (after all, we're retired!! we can!!) -- but we did some work on the house and bought a new car just before Christmas, and may have some more expenses coming up in the next few months (including Oldest Nephew's wedding this fall). My answer is that my sunspot vacation is sitting in my driveway. ;)  Plus the Canadian dollar has taken a nose dive in recent weeks, making any southbound travel a lot more expensive -- a friend recently posted about her trip to the bank to buy some U.S. dollars for her own sunspot vacation. All I can say is OUCH. :p 

As Mondays go, however, today hasn't really been all that bad. True, there's a local cold weather alert -- as I type, it's -9C outside (15F), with windchill values around -18C (-1F) -- although the sun is shining,  which helps a lot, in my book!  But I slept in this morning, spent some time at the mall this afternoon (found some cute Valentine-themed T-shirts to send to the Little Princesses), and just finished a nice cup of tea while sitting on the sofa listening to a podcast. Things could be a whole lot worse.

At any rate, I now cannot get the old Foreigner song out of my head -- with a slight change in wording, it becomes, "Blue Monday, blue day..." ;) 

Are you having a Blue Monday? What's your favourite pick-me-up to beat the winter blues at this time of year?

You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts here.      

10 comments:

  1. Brr. Cold! Not really a Blue Monday here, but a SLOW Monday. I came in because it's a deadline day for students, but no one seems to want any extensions, so I sort of feel like it was a waste of my time...

    My favorite blues-beater? A cup of tea, like you. Preferably loose leaf. :)

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  2. Definitely blue around here- hubby has gastro, and daughter has a nasty cold, so I've had no sleep at all. It was a PA day, so I had to entertain daughter at home all day, and it was too damned cold to really enjoy any outdoor time. It's beena very long day!

    My favourite way to beat the blues is a good workout, followed by a hot shower. I would say a cup of tea with a snack and a good book is a close second. :)

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  3. Heh heh! The radio station I listen to talked about this yesterday. It's Blue Monday in NZ at this time of year, because traditionally it is the date that most people head back to work after a summer break of 3-4 weeks! Not for me though - and yesterday was a beautifully calm, warm day too. I guess there might be advantages to being unemployed.

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  4. Tea is the great redeemer - nothing puts me in a better mood than a chai tea latte :)

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  5. Well, it wasn't a Blue Monday, but I did forget about a chiropractor appointment, raced over, but I was half hour late and had to reschedule. I even put it in my calendar. Normally I don't schedule appointments on a Monday because I usually forget stuff on a Monday for some reason.....

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  6. Sounds like the kind of weather we're having here in New Hampshire. *shiver*

    Wow, I hadn't thought of that Foreigner song in years - now I can't get it out of my head! LOL!

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  7. Sounds like it was a lovely Monday on your end. Sick on my end (damn cold virus), so a bit blue with having to deal with that. Should follow your lead and indulge in tea.

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  8. Sometimes I think it's the power of suggestion at work. You're told it's a hard day by the media and then it feels like a hard day. If I hadn't known, I wouldn't say that I was any blue-er than usual.

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  9. Thumbs up to you. Well written and well described.

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  10. My Monday was kind of hard. I went back to work and I felt pretty disoriented and like I didn't have a grip on what I was doing. I'D love to go for a sunny vacation, if it was possible. Although it might not work that well anyway because the "blue" bit is in my mind and it goes everywhere with me. So might as well just shuffle on through the snow.

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