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Fun-employed

Christine woke up as late as she pleased and took a long breath as she stretched all of her sleep addled limbs. The day was all hers even though it was a Monday. Even just this past Friday, that wouldn't have been true. Christine had just left her terrible job that had been kind of crushing her soul (or so she had said in her more melodramatic moments). She had needed out and now she was out.

This meant Christine was freshly fun-employed. She hadn't made plans for her first day off. It would be her first day off in over nine months because her ex-employer was not a big believer in vacation or personal days (or sick days come to think of it). Christine had just relished the idea of doing nothing all day. So when she finally decided she was awake enough to get out of bed, she went to her kitchen to make breakfast (even though it was closer to lunch time).

Christine realized she finally had time to make herself breakfast. She had kind of cut breakfast out of her diet so she could get just a little bit more sleep. Besides, coffee was breakfast right? Who cares that some of Christine's favorite foods were breakfast foods? Who had the time?

Fun-employed Christine. That's who.

As she ate her hearty breakfast of eggs over easy, bacon, and avocado toast, Christine did the whole Monday crossword. When she was done, she realized that that was the first time she'd done a Monday crossword on a Monday. Usually she'd sneak one in on the weekend, when she had a bit of time to herself.

After cleaning up after breakfast, Christine wasn't sure where to start with the rest of her day. Ultimately, the bad weather of the day encouraged her to stay inside and catch up on her beloved TV shows that she'd fallen behind on. She also sent a ton of live messages to her friends who watched the shows so that they could know she was catching up and they could talk about them once again.

For lunch, Christine decided to make lasagna that she would also have for dinner. She took her time with making it and decided to even try out adding in some new spices and some new vegetables as now she had the time to experiment as opposed to doing her tried and true (and most efficient) recipes. It was delicious and Christine snapped a picture and posted on her Instagram for the first time in months.

When it was getting close to dinner, Christine wondered if anyone would be up for after dinner drinks. She sent a message to a group of friends and got quite a few excited responses that yes, after a Monday, people were very excited to get drinks. And so, after another tasty serving of her lasagna, Christine met up with friends to get drinks.

She realized that she didn't have much to talk about. Everyone else was talking about what they'd done at work that day and how great or frustrating their day had been. Christine smiled and told them all about her day in paradise and everyone (even those who had had a great day at work) were envious. Christine smiled to herself as she listened to them bitch and moan about their jobs and felt slightly above it all.

Christine spent about two weeks in blissful relaxation trying out new recipes, watching TV, seeing friends, going on a few dates, touring new museum exhibits, going for long walks, and finally trying the new breakfast place around the corner from her apartment.

But when the third week was about to start, Christine realized she was getting bored. The relaxation had been much needed, but she also needed something to give her a bit more of a purpose and a focus in life. She spent the next week doing some volunteer work and applying for jobs that would treat her better than her last workplace.

By the fourth week, Christine had a few interviews and was feeling hopeful. One went very well, but she didn't get the job. One went awfully and, not to her surprise, she didn't get the job. However, the third one, which was for a social media manager at an animal rights group, went okay and she did get offered the job.

After negotiating a few terms (Christine realized she needed more vacation days), she happily accepted and by her fifth week she said bye to being fun-employed and hello to fun employment.

(Prompt by Kimisha Cassidy)

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