Overworked??

There's something about taking time off, on a regular day which doesnt seem appropriate to me.
As a child in primary and secondary school, I prided myself on winning the "Full Attendance" Certificate at the end of each year. As the name clearly indicates, this certificate was awarded to students who came to school each working day of the academic year. Perhaps, it was an incentive installed for students who otherwise would be tempted to play truant at times. But for me, it was a matter of personal pride to march up to the dias each year and claim my prized certificate. Now in retrospect, it seems to me that, that had been an obsession.
Of most of my other weird qualities as a child, Mom distinctly remembers this one. Of course part of this discipline was inculcated in me, by her...but I do remember there being times, such as when I fell and had to get stitches on my cheek. It was an accident that required me to be away from school for a week or so. The pain of the fall or the stitches did'nt come close to that of having to miss school. The Auntys' from the neighbourhood, could not understand this syndrome in me, as most of them tried to show me the good side of bunking school, but I was adamant. That "Full Attendance Certificate" had to be won!!
In High School, things did'nt change that drastically either. When most of my friends were enjoying their newly found freedom to 'bunk classes', I was attending them, most of the time. Even though, what I did inside the class, during a lecture, came nowhere close to jotting down notes. Instead my in-class duties included signing the attendance sheet for my 'absent' classmates. However; I was more 'in' than 'out' of most of my classes in High School!
In Architecture School, things did change a bit more, although only in the last 2-3 years when there was too much work to get done. I did begin to bunk classes now - but only when pre-decided by the whole class, to mass-bunk the day! So you can still comfortably presume, I had'nt got too far yet from my 'sincere' attendance days. After all, if people mass-bunked, then obviously there would be no classes held and I would'nt miss anything. So I figured it made sense to stay back at home and work, if I didnt go to school. I still remember the vaccum I felt, after defending my Final year Design Thesis. There was actually nothing to do, and I could'nt handle that, honestly.
Working in Mumbai as an Architect, is no different than studying to be one; you work more hours than you sleep! So the one year of work/ fellowship that followed my undergraduate years, was pretty much like an extension of school.
In Architecture School in the US, life again took the same beaten path it did in Undergraduate school; more studio hours, less sleep, lots of work!
Now I am in the Working Phase of my life. Everything is smooth and my ship is sailing very well. Except, there are days when there's nothing to do, like today!
In big cities, big offices (such as ours) handle big projects (such as airports) which have big time frames (such as 5 - 10 years). That just means, that the pace of work is never uniformally structured or disciplined. Its super fast at times and absolutely slow at others. The problem with me is, I feel the latter more than I do the former, obviously on account of my 'regular attendance' background. It's not like I dont take time off to vacation, I do, quite regularly too at that. But, there's always this feeling of wanting to get back to routine when I am away from work.
As a child, I always wished I was in my parents' shoes - go to work in the mornings and come back home at night and then watch t.v/ read/ meet friends. No homework to do, no projects to work on, no models to make, no all-nighter's to pull through. It seemed like on the other side of the fence, lay this beautiful world where there was time for the pleasures of life. Little did I know that by the time I made the transition, I would be so used to over-work that the normal pace of work would seem slow to me.
I know for a fact, that the five years of my undergraduate life and one year of graduate life, were the most hardworking years of my life! I may have not come too far from them, in terms of time, but I will not be surprised if, even after some more years, I still think that. That does'nt mean that I will not work harder and achieve what I want to in the future...It just means that nothing seems tougher now!!!

When we were growing up, our parents told us that adult life is not as easy as it looks.....For some weird reason, I beg to differ!!!