So many things happening today, a Friday, Cinqo de Mayo Day, or in japan, Kodomo No Hi (Children's Day), or Revenge of the Fifth Today (A Star Wars day that comes after May the Force be With you day- May the Fourth). Or it can just be the end of the work week for some people, the start of the weekend, time to relax or get crazy, do something other than sit at home. And yet, here I am sitting at home on a Friday night writing in this blog. Whereas in previous years I would feel bummed and lonely and anxious to do something and be suffering from major bouts of FOMO (Fear of missing out), though, I feel perfectly at home on a Friday night.
The Japanese name for Friday is "Golden Day," whereas Tuesday is Fire Day, Wednesday is Water Day, etc. I'm not sure about the actual origin of why it's called Golden Day, but for all my life Friday night seems to be just a way for the economy and the world to suck money out of its unsuspecting citizens. Bars are busiest on Friday nights selling alcohol to workers who need desperately to wipe clean the memory of their horrible work week, travelers are busiest on Friday night getting elsewhere for the weekend (heck, just look at the traffic from LA to Las Vegas every Friday), clubs are hopping, movie theaters are full, anecdotally drug dealers sell most of their product on Friday nights, restaurants do the most business, birthday parties, etc. etc. When in reality, weekends aren't that special- they're another day of the calendar, the weather's not necessarily nicer on Fridays, we don't get paid more on Fridays, yet a disproportionate amount of wealth gets done on Fridays.
Not being active on Friday is the epitome of my personal go-against-the-stream philosophy, or contrarian. It states that if everyone is against something, that's when you should get it because it's at the best value, or when everyone wants something, that's when you wait because you would get the least value. It works in so many walks of life, to buying stocks at their lowest, picking up fantasy baseball players, etc., etc. It's hard to go against what the masses are saying (and all the cool kids are doing) and it takes a certain amount of conviction (see last post) to carry out the philosophy, but it does pay off in my opinion. Sometimes you can't get around doing something that everyone else is doing (like buying health insurance, finding a place to live,
Top 5 contrarian things I do:
1.) go to work/ get off work at non-peak hours, run during rush hour and get on the roads after the rush is over.
2.) live slightly off the ideal locations but still close enough to commute over/ live comfortably.
3.) Don't drink alcohol
4.) Don't buy name brand items.
5.) Travel during non-peak seasons (avoid summers, holidays).
Top 5 things to avoid on Friday:
5.) traveling. LOTS of people both on the road and on flights, better to book a ticket on a random weekday if it's a tourist destination.
4.) trying to get to a downtown location for a concert.........it's murder on the roads.
3.) Drinking on Friday nights......cops are all over the roads if you drive, and all bars/ clubs charge their max rates and get away with it.....instead of Happy Hour rates, you get Unhappy Hour rates.
2.) Don't hold a wedding on Friday night. Actually, do hold a wedding on Friday night.....it's Saturday nights you want to avoid that are the peak times.
1.) If you're in LA, don't try to find parking.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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