isn't it ironic?

Does any other night of the week ever feel quite like Sunday night?  There is a certain almost pleasant sense of melancholy about seeing the end of another weekend arrive.  Sunday night is when all of the things I have been putting off all weekend reach a point at which they can't be put off anymore if I'm going to get them done before the work week starts.  So, right now the house is warm and slightly steamy and suffused with the smell of fresh laundry.  The last load just went into the dryer.  I'm about to haul out my book bag and clear out the massive accumulation of extra bits of paper and other crap that build up in there over the course of a week.  I need to figure out which fountain pens I will be carrying around with me this week and make sure I have the proper ink bottle or catridges to be certain that I don't run out of ink in the middle of a shift at work.

I'll need to put the fresh, crisp sheets I just took out of the dryer on to the bed.  And I need to remember to scoop the cat boxes because I won't have time to do it before I leave in the morning.

There's something about Sunday night that feels like the sense of mingled anticipation and dread I used to feel looking at the first blank page in a new notebook the night before the first day of school.  I ventured out through the gathering dark and biting cold earlier to get groceries, something I normally do in the dead of night when I get off work.  It was actually kind of nice to be doing it at a time when there were actually other customers there.

I dunno, one forgets, sometimes, when you work second shift and all your friends live in the computer that being out among other people can actually be sort of fun.  (Especially when you're in a good mood and not in a hurry.)  All around me, people were doing the same thing as me, buying bread and sweets and breakfast cereal, coffee and frozen pizzas and produce.  Shopping for groceries in the middle of the night when the store is deserted and there's no one around can make you feel like the loneliest soul on earth.  Conversely, shopping with lots of other people, couples, groups of kids from the dorms, that makes me feel a little less existentially alone, you know, just another animal coming to the watering hole.

Maybe it's just that so much of my life has been so deeply weird that when I do something normal, it seems like this extraordinary treat.  Paying the bills on time?  Ooooh!  How exciting!  Sunday evening grocery shopping?  Whoa, dude, look at all the people here!  I guess a lot of people shop here.  Who knew?

What do you do on Sunday nights?  Any particular rituals or things you do to get ready for the week?  Or is Sunday just the night you groan and say, "Here we go again…"?  Anybody got anything extra special planned for the week?