--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was so much unpleasantness in the…" description: "\"“There was so much unpleasantness in the workaday world. The last thing you ever wanted to do at night was go home and do the dishes. And just the idea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be2/joshua-ferris-4070_sooner-or-later_there-was-so-much-unpleasantness-in-the_138181.jpg" --- # There was so much unpleasantness in the workaday world… ![“There was so much unpleasantness in the workaday world. The last thing you ever wanted to do at night was go home and do the dishes. And just the idea that part of the weekend had to be dedicated to getting the oil changed and doing the laundry was enough to make those of us still full from lunch…” quote by Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be2/joshua-ferris-4070_sooner-or-later_there-was-so-much-unpleasantness-in-the_138181.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be2/joshua-ferris-4070_sooner-or-later_there-was-so-much-unpleasantness-in-the_138181.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be2/joshua-ferris-4070_sooner-or-later_there-was-so-much-unpleasantness-in-the_138181.jpg) > ““There was so much unpleasantness in the workaday world. The last thing you ever wanted to do at night was go home and do the dishes. And just the idea that part of the weekend had to be dedicated to getting the oil changed and doing the laundry was enough to make those of us still full from lunch want to lie down in the hallway and force anyone dumb enough to remain committed to walk around us. It might not be so bad. They could drop food down to us, or if that was not possible, crumbs from their PowerBars and bags of microwave popcorn surely would end up within an arm's length sooner or later. The cleaning crews, needing to vacuum, would inevitably turn us on our sides, preventing bedsores, and we would make little toys out of runs in the carpet, which, in moments of extreme regression, we might suck on for comfort.”” [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote depicts the drudgery of daily chores and the desire to escape routine, highlighting how mundane tasks can feel oppressive. **In simple terms:** Everyday chores feel burdensome and oppressive. Key Takeaway Find small joys or breaks to offset routine chores. Themes routine burden escape comfort regression Mood frustrated resigned humorous Type observational humorous reflective When to use this quote - home life - caregiving - hospital settings - personal downtime Key Concepts mundane tasks psychological coping habit formation Questions to Reflect On - How can you reframe chores to feel less oppressive? - What small comforts can you introduce into routine tasks? A Different Perspective Finding relief may be limited by external responsibilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Sooner or later](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sooner-or-later/) [Suck Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suck-comfort-1566831/) [Unpleasantness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unpleasantness-1399674/) [Unpleasantness Workaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unpleasantness-workaday-1566829/) [Workaday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workaday-1280780/) [Workaday World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workaday-world-1566830/) ## Related quotes > [We live in a world where the more you're working, the more things you do. It's a workaday world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-pacino/we-live-in-a-world-where-the-more-you-re-working-the-more-things-you/) [Al Pacino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-pacino/) > [“What they were after wasn't further complexification or sophistication of existing methods, but unprecedented technology. Wasn't the kind of thinkin' you get from workaday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/what-they-were-after-wasn-t-further-complexification-or/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Comedically, unpleasantness is great fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teller/comedically-unpleasantness-is-great-fun/) [Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teller/) > [Maturity is the capacity to face unpleasantness and frustration, discomfort and defeat, without complaint or collapse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/maturity-is-the-capacity-to-face-unpleasantness-and-frustration/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [Habit does much to reconcile us to unpleasantness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/habit-does-much-to-reconcile-us-to-unpleasantness/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) > [We have to learn to be kind to ourselves. In the long run avoiding unpleasantness is a very unkind thing to do to yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/we-have-to-learn-to-be-kind-to-ourselves-in-the-long-run-avoiding/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [To postpone unpleasantness is human; to forget it is divine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/to-postpone-unpleasantness-is-human-to-forget-it-is-divine/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Trade-offs have been with us ever since the late unpleasantness in the Garden of Eden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/trade-offs-have-been-with-us-ever-since-the-late-unpleasantness-in/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The place we want to explore unpleasantness in the real world is in art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teller/the-place-we-want-to-explore-unpleasantness-in-the-real-world-is-in/) [Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teller/) > [The expectation of an unpleasantness is more terrible than the thing itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-bashkirtseff/the-expectation-of-an-unpleasantness-is-more-terrible-than-the-thing/) [Marie Bashkirtseff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-bashkirtseff/) > [The whole secret to mastering the game of golf - and this applies to the beginner as well as the pro - is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-palmer/the-whole-secret-to-mastering-the-game-of-golf-and-this-applies-to/) [Arnold Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-palmer/) > [“It hardly needs to be said: sooner or later secrets have a way of making themselves known.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/it-hardly-needs-to-be-said-sooner-or-later-secrets-have-a-way-of/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [As much as I want to stay on the team -- I love Chicago, I love the Bulls -- at the same time, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luol-deng/as-much-as-i-want-to-stay-on-the-team-i-love-chicago-i-love-the-bulls/) [Luol Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luol-deng/) > [The universe is simmering down, like a giant stew left to cook for four billion years. Sooner or later we won’t be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-bloch/the-universe-is-simmering-down-like-a-giant-stew-left-to-cook-for/) [Arthur Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-bloch/) > [Unchecked, the new tolerance will sooner or later put many people in chains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-a-carson/unchecked-the-new-tolerance-will-sooner-or-later-put-many-people-in/) [D. A. Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-a-carson/) ## More by Joshua Ferris > [“Using a wide variety of media, we could demonstrate for our fellow Americans their anxieties, desires, insufficiencies, and frustrations--and how to assuage them all.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/using-a-wide-variety-of-media-we-could-demonstrate-for-our-fellow/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [If someone were plucked from the group and given those responsibilities, they might find themselves growing more aloof, just by virtue of that promotion.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/if-someone-were-plucked-from-the-group-and-given-those/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [“I was already at one remove before the Internet came along. I need another remove? Now I have to spend the time that I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/i-was-already-at-one-remove-before-the-internet-came-along-i-need/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [“One thing we knew for certain- despite all our certainties, it was very difficult to guess what one individual was thinking at any given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/one-thing-we-knew-for-certain-despite-all-our-certainties-it-was-very/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [To conform is to lose your soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/to-conform-is-to-lose-your-soul/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [We loved killing time and had perfected several ways of doing so. We wandered the hallways carrying papers that indicated some mission of business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/we-loved-killing-time-and-had-perfected-several-ways-of-doing-so-we/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [“For a long time thereafter I stared almost steadily at the bright and ostentatious VERIZON sign on top of one of the tallest buildings—the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/for-a-long-time-thereafter-i-stared-almost-steadily-at-the-bright-and/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [“Of course I alienate myself from society. It's the only way I know of not being constantly reminded of all the ways I'm alienated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/of-course-i-alienate-myself-from-society-it-s-the-only-way-i-know-of/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [“That was the last time she was allowed back at the Bennigan's. From then on, she started drinking at the T.G.I. Friday's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/that-was-the-last-time-she-was-allowed-back-at-the-bennigan-s-from/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [I've always thought things were absurd. It would take a lot more effort for me to see things as reasonable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/i-ve-always-thought-things-were-absurd-it-would-take-a-lot-more/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [“...she had the conviction of the newly converted, which wouldn't last forever, but would for the moment brook no discouragement or allow for second-guessing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/she-had-the-conviction-of-the-newly-converted-which-wouldn-t-last/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [“I swore never to use the emoticon ever… until one day, offhandedly and without much thought, I used my first :) and, shortly thereafter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/i-swore-never-to-use-the-emoticon-ever-until-one-day-offhandedly-and/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [I think one of the ways you avoid being angry is to avoid being angry at the people in power. They might do crappy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/i-think-one-of-the-ways-you-avoid-being-angry-is-to-avoid-being-angry/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [“Without monstrous distortions, I was slowly learning, without lies and hypocrisy, one cannot have the idealized American life I so longed for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/without-monstrous-distortions-i-was-slowly-learning-without-lies-and/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [“We hated not knowing something. We hated not knowing who was going to walk Spanish down the hall. How would our bills get paid?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/we-hated-not-knowing-something-we-hated-not-knowing-who-was-going-to/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) [Explore all 114 Joshua Ferris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) ## More Sooner or later quotes > [Unchecked, the new tolerance will sooner or later put many people in chains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-a-carson/unchecked-the-new-tolerance-will-sooner-or-later-put-many-people-in/) [D. A. Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-a-carson/) > [The universe is simmering down, like a giant stew left to cook for four billion years. Sooner or later we won’t be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-bloch/the-universe-is-simmering-down-like-a-giant-stew-left-to-cook-for/) [Arthur Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-bloch/) > [As much as I want to stay on the team -- I love Chicago, I love the Bulls -- at the same time, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luol-deng/as-much-as-i-want-to-stay-on-the-team-i-love-chicago-i-love-the-bulls/) [Luol Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luol-deng/) > [“It hardly needs to be said: sooner or later secrets have a way of making themselves known.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/it-hardly-needs-to-be-said-sooner-or-later-secrets-have-a-way-of/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [The whole secret to mastering the game of golf - and this applies to the beginner as well as the pro - is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-palmer/the-whole-secret-to-mastering-the-game-of-golf-and-this-applies-to/) [Arnold Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-palmer/) > [“Sooner or later, however, we must realise there is no station in this life, no one earthly place to arrive once and for all.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hastings/sooner-or-later-however-we-must-realise-there-is-no-station-in-this/) [Robert Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hastings/) > [“The instinct to survive is human nature itself, and every aspect of our personalities derives from it. Anything that conflicts with the survival instinct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/the-instinct-to-survive-is-human-nature-itself-and-every-aspect-of/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Never tear your woman down or never let her cry because sooner or later she'll be saying goodbye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-tear-your-woman-down-or-never-let-her-cry-because-sooner-or/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What you don't ever catch a glimpse of on your wedding day - because how could you? - is that some days you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/what-you-don-t-ever-catch-a-glimpse-of-on-your-wedding-day-because/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [Once upon a time we were just plain people. But that was before we began having relationships with mechanical systems. Get involved with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/once-upon-a-time-we-were-just-plain-people-but-that-was-before-we/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [Sooner or later they are going to live in a New York City where gay marriage is not only legal, but it's common and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-weiner/sooner-or-later-they-are-going-to-live-in-a-new-york-city-where-gay/) [Anthony Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-weiner/) > [“It is idle to talk always of the alternative of reason and faith. Reason is itself a matter of faith. It is an act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/it-is-idle-to-talk-always-of-the-alternative-of-reason-and-faith/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [You put together two people who have not been put together before. Sometimes it is like that first attempt to harness a hydrogen balloon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [We will defend ourselves, and we have full rights to do so. If the authorities try to destroy us, we have the right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-udaltsov/we-will-defend-ourselves-and-we-have-full-rights-to-do-so-if-the/) [Sergei Udaltsov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-udaltsov/) > [I think writer's block is simply the dread that you are going to write something horrible. But as a writer, I believe that if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/i-think-writer-s-block-is-simply-the-dread-that-you-are-going-to/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) [Browse all 1,702 Sooner or later quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sooner-or-later/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There was so much unpleasantness in the workaday world. The last thing you ever wanted to do at night was go home and do the dishes. And just the idea that part of the weekend had to be dedicated to getting the oil changed and doing the laundry was enough to make those of us still full from lunch want to lie down in the hallway and force anyone dumb enough to remain committed to walk around us. It might not be so bad. They could drop food down to us, or if that was not possible, crumbs from their PowerBars and bags of microwave popcorn surely would end up within an arm's length sooner or later. 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