Not Entirely Unanalagous
Imaging being a child, perhaps 4 or 5, just old enough to really enjoy Christmas (or it's your first Christmas for some reason), and learning that Christmas Eve lasts, effectively for the entire month of December, but on rare occasions will spill over into January, and you'll be given 6 hours notice before Christmas Morning. How would you feel on December 1st? Today could be the day, but probably not. How about on the 15th? 20th?
Or, imagine that Disney World is going to open just for you, for 24 hours. Some time during a three-month period starting in June, but most likely within a few days of August 17th. And it could happen at any time, and the clock starts ticking right before you get your phone call. You obviously don't want to miss any of it, but it's not plausible to spend three months in Orlando waiting for it. So you pack a bag in advance. You talk to various Disney officials who can't tell you when it's going to happen, but maybe have a little more information than you do. You download airline timetables. How do you keep from going crazy, trying never to be more than 2 hours from getting on a plane?
Or, imagine that the second trimester of human gestation took an arbitrarily long time, but that the third trimester still takes about three months and you know when it starts. Some people are pregnant for not much more than about 6 months total, and other people, more like three years. How would you feel if you were pregnant for three years and were finally getting to the end of the third trimester?
Or, imagine the "Antici.......pation" line from Rocky Horror taking four days.
Finally, imagine being told that, in two days (on Monday), a magic pixie will probably just tell an elf the actual date (if The Big Moment hasn't already arrived, of course), and then the elf will tell you. Then, on Monday, being told that the elf only met with the pixie's assistant, the actual pixie won't be revealing the information until Wednesday. And then Thursday morning rolls around, and you're getting freaked that you haven't heard from the elf, and then you learn that the elf had her days mixed up, and the actual pixie appointment is not until Friday.
That, in a nutshell, has been my last few weeks.
Or, imagine that Disney World is going to open just for you, for 24 hours. Some time during a three-month period starting in June, but most likely within a few days of August 17th. And it could happen at any time, and the clock starts ticking right before you get your phone call. You obviously don't want to miss any of it, but it's not plausible to spend three months in Orlando waiting for it. So you pack a bag in advance. You talk to various Disney officials who can't tell you when it's going to happen, but maybe have a little more information than you do. You download airline timetables. How do you keep from going crazy, trying never to be more than 2 hours from getting on a plane?
Or, imagine that the second trimester of human gestation took an arbitrarily long time, but that the third trimester still takes about three months and you know when it starts. Some people are pregnant for not much more than about 6 months total, and other people, more like three years. How would you feel if you were pregnant for three years and were finally getting to the end of the third trimester?
Or, imagine the "Antici.......pation" line from Rocky Horror taking four days.
Finally, imagine being told that, in two days (on Monday), a magic pixie will probably just tell an elf the actual date (if The Big Moment hasn't already arrived, of course), and then the elf will tell you. Then, on Monday, being told that the elf only met with the pixie's assistant, the actual pixie won't be revealing the information until Wednesday. And then Thursday morning rolls around, and you're getting freaked that you haven't heard from the elf, and then you learn that the elf had her days mixed up, and the actual pixie appointment is not until Friday.
That, in a nutshell, has been my last few weeks.