I have not taken a vacation day all year. I planned on one today and darned if I'm not getting a stupid cold. Guess Murphy never takes a day off does he?

 

you better get on it soon or you may change your mind he hee

 

Taking a 5 day weekend myself. I hate to take time off, seems like nobody does a thing while I'm not at work, so when I do go back, I spend a week trying to catch up. This is nice though, already enjoying my first day...Jay

 

Jmatteau, I know exactly how you feel. I have days to burn, but it seems like more of a headache to take a day off, because it is hell when I get back. I can't relax when I take a day off, because all I think about is how much is waiting for me when I return.

 

I relax, and love it. I do not take many days off, but I have way to many sick days built up, so my boss told me to burn some. This is great, but like I said, when I get back to work Wednesday morning, it is gonna be a mess. But hey, when I get everything back in order, it is back to easy street, and next year, I can take 2 weeks off. Man, is that gonna be a mess. LOL........Jay

 

I wish I was in your shoes, then. I'm the only one where I work that knows how to do what I do. I have no back-up. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I know how you feel.

About tens years ago, I booked the few days between Xmass and New Years as vacation. I got so sick during xmass that I could barely move. Spent the entire holiday period on my back - sick. Used approx. 4 days of vacation being sick.

The corker is that I had not taken a sick day in the preceeding ten years.

Mind you, in the ten years since, I've only taken one stretch (3 days) of sick time.....

Oh well.....

 

My vacation started today at 10 am CST. Will probably last until early to mid April

 

(Other Bower here)
That goes for me, too. At least I like to think so, that way my job is secure!
We're going from Xmas to after New Years too. Slow time for me, but very busy for Bigger Bower (Sears Delivery, ugh). His boss will have to find another driver for the holiday returns.

As to the original topic, unless I have something really debilitating, I go to work (I don't work with the public, so no fear of spreading a bug). I figure I'm going to be miserable anyway, I might as well get paid for it.

 

You guys are lucky. I have to work on Thanksgiving and probably on Christmas. But I got 4 weeks of vacation time on my first year on the job.

 

I have had jobs where I was the only technician and there was no one to do my job when I went on vacation. I still went for two weeks a year, but the stress leading up to the vacation was extreme. Now that I am a little older (50), I find many things that are more important to me than living my whole life around my job. Lighten the load, get an older paid for pickup and get rid of that payment sucking thing in your drive way. You don't need to be a slave to the world. If your kids want to go through college, let them figure out how to pay for it. Lighten the load, quit worrying what is or isn't getting done while you are gone. Learn to leave work at work, when you walk out the door at night leave it there. And if you seem to be the only one that can do your job then maybe they need to start cross training someone else. I have some great guys on my crew but in no way have I allowed a situation to develop where business is crippled without any one of them. And I still take a couple months off a year and just leave the business to my brother. I usually go back home to Alaska and completely get away from it all. Brother takes his time off in smaller chunks but manages to get maybe 6 weeks or so too. He is gone to New mexico deer hunting for 10 days right now.

About 11 years ago I stressed out on the conventional workaholic lifestyle. I just shut down my business and moved to my cabin. I eliminated everything that wasn't paid for and could live quite happily on just a few hundred dollars a month. For about 3 years I got up everyday and did just what I felt like doing. Wow! what an enlightenment. I would have people from the city ask me what I did(for a living). They would be totally envious of my lifestyle until they realzed that I had given up all the expensive enslavements, well except for my snowmobile but it was paid for too. I still thank God for letting me get to the point where I questioned the sanity of the ratrace and took a few years to unwind and reprioritize my life. I am pretty sure I wouldn't still be around if I hadn't.

 

Good for you!

My last few jobs I was "enslaved" trying to get things paid for, working stupid hours for stupid pay. Until this summer. Any time off I spent at the beach with the woman and the dog, playing in the sand and surf. I realized there is more to life than work and getting ahead. So, I got a new job working Tuesday to Friday, 7:30 to 6:00. I get 3 days off, and on long weekends, I get 4 days off. As it happens, I am actually getting better work, and farther ahead than I could have imagined. I'm not too burned out after 10 hour shifts, I still have time to play with my dog, do "husbandly things" around the house, and do whatever I feel like.

As for getting sick, I usually get sick like clockwork around Oct 17 - 20th every year. Wierd. My fiancee usually gets sick on the last day of work before her Christmas break.