Possumblog

Why, if this is Thursday…

…that must mean it’s time for The Axis of Weevil Thursday Three! ::restrained applause::

We’ve covered so much together over the years that coming up with new and interesting questions to ask is something of a difficulty.

Okay, well, so that’s not true.

Thank goodness for such an excuse, though, because it leads us right into this batch of questions. Today we’ll be dealing with those things we tell ourselves in order to keep from doing what we should be doing. Take a moment to answer the questions below, either in the comments or by leaving a link to your blog, and tell us, please:

1) What is your favorite all-around go-to excuse for not doing things that you really just don’t want to do?

2) Is this excuse a one-size-fits-all sort of thing, or do you have one set of excuses for work, and another for social situations?

3) What is one of the lamest excuses you’ve ever heard?

There now--if it’s not too much trouble, or if you’re not having to go wash your hair, or if you don’t have a roast in the oven--take a minute or two and fill us in on your answers. As always, the game is open to everyone, so no excuses for not playing.

AS FOR MY ANSWERS…

1) Generally it’s either wife, kids, or wife/kids. Which is not only my excuse for NOT doing the things I DON’T want to do, it’s also the thing that usually KEEPS me from doing the things I WANT to do. Not that I don’t love them all dearly, because I do, but when a person’s ideas of “fun things to do” drift toward the dangerous, grubby, or a combination of the two, there’s not really a good way of including the family in that.

2) No--my work excuse is that I’m busy. This works as an excuse due to a finely-honed ability to appear harried. Part of the success of this ability is actually being harried. It also helps to have a well-established understanding of the best time to go to the restroom, to always be seen carrying Important Things, and walking as if I had somewhere to be. My other favorite excuse is, “I forgot.” Again, convenient, in that I actually am forgetful.

3) Oh, I hear so many, but one of the more comical ones was one offered by the girl from whom My Friend Jeff bought his family’s previous house several years ago. He’d asked me to go with him to look it over, and I pointed out the doors on a couple of the kitchen cabinets had some areas where the door stiles had separated. The homeowner's excuse? “Uhm, well, those doors close together so tightly that it’s made the wood separate.” Gosh, just like global warming makes the earth colder! Anyway, that was pretty lame--it was obvious they’d just warped a bit--it DOES happen, after all--no use to try to pretend any different.

So, there you go.

Posted by Terry Oglesby at October 19, 2006 08:15 AM