Vacationforce

So we're all pretty psyched about vacationing together. That's kinda weird, but w/e. But you're not so pathetic that meet is your only vacation this summer, are you...?

For me, YES. I don't have much PTO these days, so any vacations I plan on taking will have to be a weekend affair, or a day trip. That's ok though. I'd like to go back to Boston and see some god-damned whales, and get to Frankenmuth for Oktoberfest.

Most amazing jew boots

My vacations are basically hosting people in Boston this year. I've been taking long weekends a bunch. One or two days every month. I'm going to Niagara Falls in August and I'm taking the week around Thanksgiving as well (two official holidays + 3 work days = 9 days off with weekends). I'm tentatively also thinking about traveling for a long weekend in October, but haven't made firm plans for that.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Bunch of trips to Montreal, as per usual. Planning on a week stay down in Texas at some point. Possibly Portland, OR for a weekend. The usual, for the most part.

How ya doing, buddy?

I've been thinking about whether or not I'm going to take a vacation next year. I'm currently saving up for a down payment on a house and travel is an expense that I can easily cut down in my budget. After next April, I will accrue vacation hours at a faster rate, so I may just buydown hours when I'm nearing the maximum that can be accumulated.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I try to make sure to visit a few different places every year. Usually turns out to be Maine, Austin, and often one other place with my girlfriend (not including occasional trips to visit the fam in NH). This year I won't be participating in my 'one other place' vacation, though I DID go to Austin once already earlier this year on an impromptu business-related whim.

Otherwise, I couldn't possibly be happier living in NYC. If anything, it makes my vacations all the more special because it gives me time to decompress and enjoy nature and, in general, fresher environments. If I were to move anywhere it would be Austin, but at the moment my life and career are here and here alone.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I would love to see myself at least being able to take 3 weeks off for vacation--one week for time well spent with significant other, one week for meet week, and the other for family. I feel terrible that what most people entitle themselves to or consider "a. Necessity" is simply only a luxury for me. But alas, 'tis only my fault for not having a job with income enough to value those things.

I don't have PTO and the status of when I would have such things is uncertain, but it seems I'm forever on that track between working and saving up for school and moving, being transient and all that. So I've pretty much come to peace with playing my "time off" based on when I can take those opportunities.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Three days camping in Whistler, four days in Harrison Hot Springs and three days in the Okanagan is on my list right now.

Otherwise, just on and about here in Vancouver.

FELIPE NO

This year, we've got all of this on our roster (some already done, of course):

May: Acadia National Park
June: The meet in Maine
July: 5 days camping in Maine (we spend a lot of time in Maine, okay)
August: 17 day road trip to see the Badlands, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Parks (camping in the parks, staying in hotels while on the road)
September: More camping in Maine, possibly Vermont

We want to throw a trip to Rangeley Lake, Washington DC, NYC and a few other places before the end of 2011.

This has been an extremely busy (and expensive) season. We rarely do so many things in one summer. Don't ask me how we both managed to get enough time off.

Really, most of these vacations are "local" in that it takes no more than 6-8 hours to drive to these places. We usually take a Friday and a Monday off and make a four day weekend of visiting these places. This makes it a lot more manageable, but driving to some places could take up a whole day.

For example, we camped near Niagara Falls in late summer last year and only took a half day on Friday so we could drive out. We ended up at the campground at 9pm and had to set up camp in the dark. Not fun.

Usually, we have the meet and our camping trip to Sebago Lake, ME as the major summer staples. We're already planning out next summer with a major trip to San Francisco and Vegas to see the Grand Canyon and Yosemite.

We want to do all these things before settling in and accepting the fact that kids will fuck up our lives as we know them. I feel like we don't have a lot of time left, so I'm pushing to see the nation.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I... don't get to do a lot of 'vacationing', to be honest. I'd love to go back up north/home for a weekend or something to visit with friends, or maybe spend a weekend by the pool with my mum in the Muskokas, but I don't know if that's going to happen just yet.

I am, however, flying to Boston tomorrow for a few days. I've never flown before, and am slightly freaking out. (Even though I know there's nothing to worry about.)

Jam it back in, in the dark.

My vacationing prior to the maine meet was mostly to California to visit family. This was mainly due to my income. Now, I've got a higher income, I can afford other trips so I'll be planning a trip to Brussels in the next couple of years, and sweden, and then probably New Zealand.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Vacation, Sick Days and Severance Pay

Arizona law does not require an employer to provide vacation or sick days whether the time would be unpaid or paid. However, employers who are subject to the Family Medical Leave Act must comply with the FMLA. Arizona law allows employer to require employees to use accrued time or forfeit it. Arizona has no law governing the payment of unused vacation time when the employee terminates. Neither Arizona nor federal law requires the payment of severance pay.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Those of us moving into a house together next year were going to do a road trip to somewhere in Europe over the summer, so we're good and ready to hate each other's guts before the start of the next semester. But nothing solid planned yet.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I'm finally going on a vacation actually away from my home province in quite a long time.

I'll be heading back home (Newfoundland) for two weeks in august, then my wife and I are heading to seattle for 5 days to go to Pax Prime. So I hope that will be an enjoyable experience.

I'll pretty much have three weeks guaranteed off over the christmas holidays, so I'll heading back to my home province, but I want to do zero travelling over the holidays. I just want to relax and spend a quiet christmas in my own house.

Last christmas, I spent Christmas over at my parents which was nice for a few days because its been a long time since my parents have had all their kids home for christmas at the same time. Its been almost ten years, so it was good to get that out of the way because I know how much it meant to my mom. The year before we spent christmas with my wife's grandparents, so this Christmas will be no travelling whatsoever.

I do want to go somewhere possibly in late october/early november because my work will dramatically slow down during that time. There is literally no hope of me even going anywhere at all this summer except the 2 1/2 weeks off I have in august which is devoted to going back to newfoundland and seattle. My permanent summer schedule with regards to work because of this incredibly busy highway project is a 6 and 1 schedule (6 days working with one day off).

So if anybody has got any ideas of going anywhere in late october/early november let me know. It will be easy for me to get as much as 4 days off if I work 24 days straight. I would love to go home, but to travel all the way out to east coast for 2 days (I'd lose two days travelling) would be an incredible waste of time and money. I promised skills I'd give him a visit in Winnipeg but his work schedule is beyond hellish. At least one good perk if I travel, is I can stay at any starwood (sheraton) hotel property real cheap because of my wife's discount.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Given my rather limited allotment of time off my job gives me (though that may change next year once my seniority kicks up a notch), I've foregone Meet this year to spend a week in New York City with my sister, this time on a more leisurely itinerary and less frantic subway hopping to every point of interest.

This will happen starting next Saturday. So for those in the NYC area, we can arrange a small get-together for dinner or some other group activity like I had when I last visited in 2008.

FELIPE NO