The longest thread ever

[YmoBeThere]

Four more days.

But 7 on the calendar? Then where to?

[-jk]

Bud is fine! Mrs. Womble and I haven't had a chance to devise rituals vis a vis The Head, but we have some pals visiting on Monday, cocktails will be served, nothing like alcohol to ignite creativity.
We have had a few delivery people look at the head and quickly glance away, I guess it creeps them out (which is why we have it outside, and not in our house). It has a definite Stephen King vibe to it...

How waterproof is the plaster? I’d hate to see her melt away like the Wicked Witch.

-jk

[wilson]

But 7 on the calendar? Then where to?

Chillin for a few weeks, RV adventure kicks off on June 28.

[bundabergdevil]

Chillin for a few weeks, RV adventure kicks off on June 28.

Nice. I'm jealous. Where are you going this summer again?

I've taken a few sabbaticals, I guess you'd call them, from work. One was to do a drive from DC to Alaska and back one summer. One was to be a ski bum for a year while my then GF, now wife did Americorps at 30. I miss extended time off and not sure when I'll do it again.

I told an old boss about all my time once and she said, "I've never taken more than a week off at a time in 30 years." That is not my cup of tea and I'm wondering what sort of life engineering I can do in the next 3-5 years so I can take the kids on month+ long trips when they get to a certain age. You know, for them

[YmoBeThere]

[wilson]

Nice. I'm jealous. Where are you going this summer again?

I've taken a few sabbaticals, I guess you'd call them, from work. One was to do a drive from DC to Alaska and back one summer. One was to be a ski bum for a year while my then GF, now wife did Americorps at 30. I miss extended time off and not sure when I'll do it again.

I told an old boss about all my time once and she said, "I've never taken more than a week off at a time in 30 years." That is not my cup of tea and I'm wondering what sort of life engineering I can do in the next 3-5 years so I can take the kids on month+ long trips when they get to a certain age. You know, for them

This summer is Colorado (etc.).

I can’t stress enough the value of extended time away from work like this. It’s truly one of the great luxuries of my profession, but also needed for an annual mental & emotional reset.

[ClemmonsDevil]

This summer is Colorado (etc.).

I can’t stress enough the value of extended time away from work like this. It’s truly one of the great luxuries of my profession, but also needed for an annual mental & emotional reset.

I'm taking 2 weeks off and we arw going to the Pacific NW and then 4 days in DC with friends who are back in DC after being out of the country for 2 years with work. Wife can't do the DC leg because of work so just kids and I for that part.

[YmoBeThere]

Rainy weekend for us...

[budwom]

How waterproof is the plaster? I’d hate to see her melt away like the Wicked Witch.

-jk

I think it may be clay, and we're going to find out because we expect rain this weekend...

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Rainy weekend for us...

Rain overnight for the first time in weeks it seems like.

[bundabergdevil]

This summer is Colorado (etc.).

I can’t stress enough the value of extended time away from work like this. It’s truly one of the great luxuries of my profession, but also needed for an annual mental & emotional reset.

Yeah, I’m with you. I don’t understand the folks that work straight through their lives (assuming they have the ability to take more time at different junctures). But, to each their own.



Sounds like a fun summer you got planned!

[bundabergdevil]

Rain overnight for the first time in weeks it seems like.

Same. Been dry, now it’s wet.

[budwom]

Yeah, I’m with you. I don’t understand the folks that work straight through their lives (assuming they have the ability to take more time at different junctures). But, to each their own.



Sounds like a fun summer you got planned!

There's a point at which some people seem to lose the ability to take time off. This runs counter to everything I believe in...

When I first joined the huge company for which I worked 25 years, I got the usual lousy U.S. two weeks of vacation time; meanwhile, our colleagues from France and Germany would come over in the summer and take month long trips to the National Parks...they all got 6-7 weeks of vacation...

In this day and age, do companies still get away with hiring young and presumably talented people and still give them squat for vacation time?

p,.s. there were some guys at work who retired on a certain date, but their last day at work was months earlier because they had accrued humongous amounts of unused vacation time...appalling!

[bundabergdevil]

There's a point at which some people seem to lose the ability to take time off. This runs counter to everything I believe in...

When I first joined the huge company for which I worked 25 years, I got the usual lousy U.S. two weeks of vacation time; meanwhile, our colleagues from France and Germany would come over in the summer and take month long trips to the National Parks...they all got 6-7 weeks of vacation...

In this day and age, do companies still get away with hiring young and presumably talented people and still give them squat for vacation time?

p,.s. there were some guys at work who retired on a certain date, but their last day at work was months earlier because they had accrued humongous amounts of unused vacation time...appalling!

Yes, most companies still have pretty measly early vacation packages. I’ve seen some companies move to include sabbatical time after a certain tenure but it’s often 5-10 years of service and I recall this mostly with big consulting firms.

You add that with the shift to 401(k) and other portable vehicles and you don’t have a lot of incentive to stay for life at a company anymore. I’ve made this point when I left two F100s to the older folks surprised I was leaving...they were all still in the pension programs and hooked into golden handcuffs.

If you can afford it and plan for it, the in between time is nice recharge time. My personal ambition has always been stronger than my professional ambition so it makes sense but I know some folks are wired to climb that ladder.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

If you can afford it and plan for it, the in between time is nice recharge time. My personal ambition has always been stronger than my professional ambition so it makes sense but I know some folks are wired to climb that ladder.

As someone probably closer to the end of "recharge time" than the beginning, I agree. It's a great opportunity to sort of take stock and assess your interests.

[ClemmonsDevil]

My wife grew up pretty much destitute in a one-room trailer with a wood stove for heat. She is a driven lady. We bet on her career because of her drive, ability and the fact that nursing offers many more paths to advancement than Respiratory Care. And she didn't disappoint. Our kids are 2 years apart in age exactly and we couldn't afford childcare when they were small so my wife worked nights and I worked weekend days for 10 years. What this meant was I was off every Monday through Thursday and my wife was off almost every weekend. Each of us would take the kids on these little two to three day getaways with just a parent and both kids. And once a year we would go a big week long family trip. We have raised some savvy little travelers who have explored virtually every city within a five or six hour drive of our home. They have been to DC, Savannah, Charleston and Atlanta probably close to 10 times at the minimum and maybe up to 25 or 30 times at a maximum. This has been particularly amazing for me because my children absolutely do not have a preference for which parent they are with. Our kids are now 17 and 19 and if we are just going to Target or the grocery store one of the kids will want to go with us.

My wife still struggles to get time off of work, being in hospital Administration upper management. But I have had a job for the last 10 years where I was either paid to travel and I could set it up for the kids would travel with me over the Summers, or I am just off for a week and I work from home so we can take those little two to four day trips and I don't have to take time off because I can answer emails wherever I am.

[budwom]

Yes, most companies still have pretty measly early vacation packages. I’ve seen some companies move to include sabbatical time after a certain tenure but it’s often 5-10 years of service and I recall this mostly with big consulting firms.

You add that with the shift to 401(k) and other portable vehicles and you don’t have a lot of incentive to stay for life at a company anymore. I’ve made this point when I left two F100s to the older folks surprised I was leaving...they were all still in the pension programs and hooked into golden handcuffs.

If you can afford it and plan for it, the in between time is nice recharge time. My personal ambition has always been stronger than my professional ambition so it makes sense but I know some folks are wired to climb that ladder.

Yes, I similarly chose to limit my professional ambition, just didn't want to have them send me to live in places I hated...but I found a very happy landing spot which worked for a few decades...

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Yes, I similarly chose to limit my professional ambition, just didn't want to have them send me to live in places I hated...but I found a very happy landing spot which worked for a few decades...

Everything is about how you prioritize things. At times in your life, financial growth might be the most important. Or job security. Or where you live. Or family quality time.

There aren't any wrong answers to these things, but taking time to consider how you feel and whether you might need to make adjustments is very healthy.

[Bostondevil]

OK, Debbie Downer here, I haven't been able to take significant amounts of time away from home since 2007 because of Arrow's wide and varied need for medical treatment. Right now, he's doing PT once a week, which in the grand scheme of things is easy, but it's still once a week so I have to plan trips around his PT appointments this summer. (It will drop to every other week in July.)

Bright side - I have become the Queen of finding things to do nearish to home for a few days. Up until 2018, I managed to come up with a late summer 1-3 day trip every year during that last week before school started that was fun for the whole family. Massachusetts schools start after Labor Day while most of the surrounding states have gone to starting the week before, so that last week of summer was often the perfect time to explore New England with the kids. One year, for a variety of reasons, we decided we really only had one day for the trip, so, I organized a "24 hour vacation". We went to the North Shore, dinner at the Clam Box, one night at this wonderful Inn in Rowley (with a pool open late enough for an after dinner swim), breakfast at the Village Pancake House, a visit to Halibut Point State Park in Rockport, a stop a Cranberry Handcrafts (it's not a vacation unless Mom visits a yarn store) across the street from the playground with the WWII era tank in Hamilton (General Patton's hometown), lunch at Sonic Burger in Peabody, and topped off by a round of mini-golf and go-cars at Castle Creek Adventure Land in Salem (they have ice cream too.)

One year we took "The Downeaster" all the way to Freeport and stayed there for a couple of days. Best clam chowder I've ever had was on that trip. I don't remember the name of the restaurant but I remember exactly where it was in Freeport, should I ever go back.

https://amtrakdowneaster.com/

[ClemmonsDevil]

OK, Debbie Downer here, I haven't been able to take significant amounts of time away from home since 2007 because of Arrow's wide and varied need for medical treatment. Right now, he's doing PT once a week, which in the grand scheme of things is easy, but it's still once a week so I have to plan trips around his PT appointments this summer. (It will drop to every other week in July.)

Bright side - I have become the Queen of finding things to do nearish to home for a few days. Up until 2018, I managed to come up with a late summer 1-3 day trip every year during that last week before school started that was fun for the whole family. Massachusetts schools start after Labor Day while most of the surrounding states have gone to starting the week before, so that last week of summer was often the perfect time to explore New England with the kids. One year, for a variety of reasons, we decided we really only had one day for the trip, so, I organized a "24 hour vacation". We went to the North Shore, dinner at the Clam Box, one night at this wonderful Inn in Rowley (with a pool open late enough for an after dinner swim), breakfast at the Village Pancake House, a visit to Halibut Point State Park in Rockport, a stop a Cranberry Handcrafts (it's not a vacation unless Mom visits a yarn store) across the street from the playground with the WWII era tank in Hamilton (General Patton's hometown), lunch at Sonic Burger in Peabody, and topped off by a round of mini-golf and go-cars at Castle Creek Adventure Land in Salem (they have ice cream too.)

One year we took "The Downeaster" all the way to Freeport and stayed there for a couple of days. Best clam chowder I've ever had was on that trip. I don't remember the name of the restaurant but I remember exactly where it was in Freeport, should I ever go back.

https://amtrakdowneaster.com/

Not a downer at all. It is fantastic commitment to family AND fun. Good work!