Irma van Straaten

RANDBURG, JHB—After running a thousand errands, working hours of overtime, and being stuck in seemingly endless gridlock traffic , millions of South Africans were disheartened to learn that it was, in fact, only Tuesday.

"Tuesday?" Ferndale resident Christeen Erwee said. "How in the hell is it still Tuesday?"

Tuesday's arrival stunned a nation still recovering from the nightmarish slog that was Monday, leaving some to wonder if the week was ever going to end and others to ask what was taking Friday so damn long."Ugh," said Erwee, echoing a national sense of frustration over it not even being Wednesday at the very least.

According to suddenly depressed sources, the feeling that this week may in fact last forever was further compounded by the thought of all the work left to be done tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and, if South Africans make it that far, possibly even Friday.

Fears that the week could actually be going backwards were also expressed.

"Not only do South Africans have most of Tuesday morning to contend with, but all of Tuesday afternoon and then Tuesday night," eConsultant spokesman Laurence Scott-Parkin said. "If our calculations are correct, there is a chance we are in effect closer to last weekend than the one coming up."

Added Scott-Parkin: "Fuck."

Reports that this all has to be some kind of sick joke could not be confirmed as of press time.

Isolated attempts to make the day go faster, such as glancing at watches or clocks every other minute, compulsively checking e-mail, hiding in the office bathroom, or fidgeting have also all proven unsuccessful, sources report.

The National Institutes of Standards and Technology, which oversees the official time of South Africa, is flatly denying that it has slowed or otherwise tampered with the progression of time.

Bussiness owner Andre Laas released a statement addressing widespread speculation that it might as well be Monday for all anyone cares.

"We understand this day has been tough on many of you, what with meetings mercilessly dragging on and an entire stack of files still left to organize," Laas's statement read in part. "Yet we urge South Africans to show patience. The midweek hump is just around the corner, and we have strong reason to believe that Saturday will be here before you know it."

"Go about your lives as best you can," the statement continued. "Do not, we repeat, do not take a sick day, as it'll make the rest of the week that much harder to endure."

In the meantime, citizens are doing their best to cope with the interminable week, though Tuesday is still hours away from ending.

"The more I try to speed it along, the longer it almost seems to take," said Irma van Straaten, a Johannesburg-based businesswoman who has been waiting for today to be over since it first began earlier this morning. "Honestly, today could not have come at a worse time this week."

In the meantime, the latest wristwatch consultations indicate that it is somehow still Tuesday, if that makes any sense at all.