Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Guilt

Work is a bit less stressful this year. You're in your very own place for the first time ever. Yet are you at peace?

No, you clearly are not. If you sit down for 5 seconds, undistracted by work, or a book, or TV, or the internet... a creeping sense of guilt sneaks up on you...

haven't phoned your mum/haven't marked those books yet/spending too much money/haven't started job-hunting/been out of touch with so-and-so/ignored a beggar/not doing enough for the kids/no exercise this week/need to take out recycling/watched Ugly Betty instead of the news/still haven't learned to drive/forgot to email back/political apathy/haven't flossed for a week...

Aargh, guilt. It's such a useless emotion. Why can't I be a fuck-it-all, devil-may-care hedonist? Sometimes I wish I was Catholic and could go to confession and get absolved...

Is it just me? What makes you feel guilty?

16 comments:

LC said...

Setting fire to the elderly.

Anonymous said...

Being at home when friends are away in Iraq and Afghan.

rockmother said...

Me not mailing you back last week - I've been feeling sooo guilty. Sorry! xx

Tim F said...

Work-related inertia, and eating crisps.

And laughing at what LC says.

Anonymous said...

Wanting to read rather than have sex.

Rosie said...

wanting to have sex rather than read.

Marsha Klein said...

Wanting to blog rather than read OR have sex!

Del said...

I have sex with books. Every time I try and turn over a new leaf, I get papercuts...

bedshaped said...

Reading whilst having sex.

Annie said...

LC - pah, you're not a proper psychopath, real psychopaths never feel guilt

US - aw, now you're making us all feel guilty. You paid your dues, hon.

No need for guilt RoMo - I know you're busy x

I feel guilty about crisps Tim (and LC, it's best not to encourage him.)

Arabella, us single ladies can only dream of that kind of guilt.

Now look what you started! Maybe you and Rosie could swap for a bit.

Blogging makes me feel guilty too Marsha, one day they're going to catch me at it at work.

Del, boom boom!

Bedshaped, it's more classy than watching TV, at least.

Anonymous said...

Leaving people in the lurch. I'm lazy that way.

David said...

Easy solution:

haven't phoned your mum/haven't marked those books yet/spending too much money/haven't started job-hunting/been out of touch with so-and-so/ignored a beggar etc./not a fuck-it-all, devil-may-care hedonist yet

My guilt trip:

Only seeing myself as I see myself rather than as others do.

Del said...

For real? Uh. Well, I feel guilty about wasting money. My family are very frugal and I'm not.

And just a general nagging feeling that I'm wasting my entire life.

realdoc said...

Giving people health advice which I totally ignore myself.
Absolution rarely clears the mind BTW so I wouldn't bother converting.

Annie said...

Billy - I try not to these days. The guilt is too much.

Greavsie - interesting. Sometimes I get surprised when I realise how people see me.

Del - ahh. The old 'wasting my whole life' feeling. I remember when my friend told me about travelling in a bus in India, and how relaxed they were about crashing on lethal mountain roads, because oh well, karma meant that if you died, you'd just come back again in another incarnation. Plenty more lives where those came from... if only.

Hi Realdoc, welcome back. Ha! I KNEW it! I will never take my doctor seriously again. I bet she smokes like a chimney really.

Bowleserised said...

Not phoning my granny, then justifying it to myself by reasoning that she'd only say: "Why aren't you married?" and "When are you coming to see me?" neither of which are easy questions to answer.