WHAT'S SO HAPPY ABOUT LABOR DAY?

Essentially we're celebrating the official end of summer.  

Why are we celebrating this?  The end of summer means back to school, back to work, and no more white apparel.  The last depresses me the most.  Who came up with the "no white after Labor Day rule”?  I'm guessing it was a New Yorker.  Do you know how hard it is to sell white skinny jeans in September, even when they're on sale for only $48 from an original $175?  It also saddens me that it’s no longer appropriate for me to sport my light denim jean jumper.  This rule needs a little more explanation.  No white what? Shoes?  Dresses? Jeans?  Hot pants?  Spandex?   Is off white okay?  How about cream?  What about winter white? And how does this rule pertain to LA?

Another issue I have with Labor Day is this whole important things being closed.  What an inconvenience.    To quote my friend Dara's clever tweet earlier today, "It's called LABOR day, not Do Nothing Day."

Okay, I get it people need a day off.  But at least keep the important businesses open ... like nail salons.

I start a new job tomorrow, and for the past few days my mom has been bugging me, "Gabriella make sure you get your nails done before your job." To her this is the most important thing I could do before my job.  So I did it, partially to make my mom happy, and also because my hangnails were starting to hurt and the dirt under my nails were becoming offensive. 

After having a very difficult time parking, what else is new, I rushed up to my salon only to discover…….it's closed.  I almost cried.  Then I called eight different salons near my apartment, thank you iPhone.  Only to discover all were closed too.  Finally I found another salon, only to discover there was an hour wait.  Seriously?! You have less of a wait for a Sunday brunch than that.  I was starting to feel rejected. 

This felt a lot like Saturday night when I drove through four drive-throughs on the hunt for a shake, only to discover that two Carl Jr’s, A Jack In The Box and a McDonald's shake machines were all "broken".  I tried to fight it, but it didn't work. So, I went home and made a half-baked Quesadilla on whole wheat tortilla.  It definitely did NOT hit the spot.  I was not going to let these closed nail salons turn my nails into a half-baked quesadilla, which is what my nails would look like if I did them myself. 

After walking up and down Main Street for a solid twenty minutes in the hot sun, I finally found an open salon.  Thanks a lot Labor Day.   

Perhaps this Labor Day resentment comes from the realization that this is my first Labor Day in 18 years that doesn't mark the start of school.   This is the first year I haven't gone back to school shopping or had mandatory summer reading to finish, which I of course left to the last minute.  But what saddens me the most is this is the first time I haven't gone back to school supply shopping.  I love office supplies. I go gaga for a vast variety of brightly colored post-its in different sizes and shades of neon.  And don't even get me started on pens, pencils and highlighters, oh my!  

Do you know what's on my shopping list at the moment?  

"Swiffer wipes"

How depressing is that?  I am officially an adult.  And worst, I'm my mother. Because I swifter my floor 2-3 times a day, even though nobody sees it but me.

So I guess this is the "real world".