So…how do you get through a bad day at work? A day where you are just really bored or something bad/frustrating happened, or where you just had a very hard time dragging your sorry butt out of bed?
Mony is a friend I met while working in the biology research lab. She played this game when she had a bad day or if I was complaining about a bad day. It really worked in cheering me up. I call it the “Would you rather…” game.
Here is how you play it. You take turns asking each other “Would you rather be at work or would you rather —–?”
Being scientists we always started out with a control. For example, “Would you rather be at work or would you rather be on an all-expenses paid trip to Hawaii during prime season?” Most everyone would choose Hawaii (unless you work in Hawaii – then you need to pick skiing or something as the option you’d rather be doing). This sets a basic threshold of things that are obviously better than work.
Then we’d ratch-it-up a notch. Mony’s favorite was “Would you rather be at work or eat a worm sandwich?” My Dad used to eat worms all the time to gross us out, so in a way, I’ve been desensitized by this. I’d always remind Mony that my Dad ate worms (to be fair he just put them in his mouth, he didn’t chew or swallow), and she’d always get all grossed out and gaggy – which is a big part of the fun of the game. Still, the answer to this one could go either way depending on how bad my day was.
Then we’d really take it to the extreme. The one that got Mony every time. The thing she’d always rather work than do was: “Would you rather be at work or at a Whitney Houston Concert?” Every time, no matter how bad the day, she’d scream, “Noooooooooo, not Whitney, oh God no….” Then she’d catterwaller “I wiiiiiiiieeeeeiiiillll, allllwaaaaays looooooouuuuooououououuuve yooooooooouuuoouooooooo, wiiiieiiiilllllll alllwaaaaaaaaassss loooovouvouv yououououououo!!!” her lips puffed out and quivering grotesquely. This always amused me to no end (and always will).
At that point, the day was much improved and all images of badness were replaced by Mony’s lip quiverring rendition of “I will always love you” Whitney Houston style.