Observations From a Birthday Week Vacation in the Second Year of Covid-19

As you may or may not know, I have taken this week as vacation from work.  I usually try to take time off around my birthday, because why not?  Last year, I had planned to do so, but then we were sent home for "two weeks, probably" after March 13, so I was home anyway, without any work that I could easily do, working from home.

Anyway, this year I have been working in our building on Tuesdays and Thursdays since this past August, and of course working from home (as much as I can in my job, which is a challenge), so I decided to return to my tradition, and I also decided to take the entire week as vacation.  I have the time available to me, and really - where I am going to go anywhere soon?  

Since this is the last work day of my vacation, I thought I would share some of my observations from this past week.

OK, this first part is something I've thought all of my life, but this past week has only made me a firmer believer:

1. WHY are Americans so stingy with time off?  First of all, generally most people don't get a lot of vacation time, or holidays off, and then when you actually want to try and take that time, you're looked at like someone who just ate a baby!  I know, I know - the Protestant work ethic, American productivity, blah, blah, blah.  Excuse me, but that is just a way of justifying the crappy treatment most people receive from their employers.  You ask for even a day off, and it's like the company will dissolve because you are not there - even if most of the time, your presence is either not acknowledged at all, or you are generally dismissed as unimportant.  God forbid you take time for YOURSELF - I mean, they're already being so generous, what with evenings and weekends for your interests.  And yet, in other countries, where people have been receiving much more generous amounts of time off, somehow it's all still standing in spite of that.  I know some people LOVE their work, and love to be at work, but Work Is Not Life.

2.  This week I had two meetings scheduled related to my work.  One was with the person who is our new supervisor, who also happens to be the CEO of the place.  This is until our current supervisor comes back from sabbatical, or at least that's what they are saying.  In any case, we are not allowed [seriously, not allowed] to reschedule our meetings with him (he can, we cannot).  And this one was for a "Performance Discussion," which is what our annual reviews are now called. (Puh-leeze.)

So, OK, I figured having to go to that meeting on Tuesday morning was something I could do and then go on with enjoying my time off.  WRONG.  Nope, after being told in the meeting that he could not figure out why I was still employed because he saw no reason for my position to still exist, and that I would need to amp up my goals in order to continue to have a job - well, let's just say that threw me for quite the loop!  And as you may imagine, ruined my happy mood and mental health big time.  So much so, that just yesterday afternoon, I started to talk myself out of worrying about it since I am supposed to be on vacation.  And once again - when your time off is not really time off, that's just not fair.  If we had not been doing Zoom meetings all year, I would have not been able to meet with this guy during my vacation - the meeting would not have been possible (trust me, I would have claimed to be in Lichtenstein or someplace if I had to).  But no, since we could meet, we had to meet.  I was also supposed to meet with the consultant hired at work so that she could advise me on being more of a team player.  That was supposed to be yesterday.  I sent her an e-mail saying something had come up unexpectedly and I could not possibly do it until I was back at work next week.  (Technically it was the truth - bad mental health had come up - but even so, I decided I needed the rest of my vacation to be free from work stress and so that meeting was just not gonna happen.)  Jesus Christ in a dress, is there no escape from work anymore???

3.  Moving on from the ugly stuff, in truth, I am really glad I took a week of vacation.  Even though the weather has been not that great, I have enjoyed being able to be at home and [for the most part] not have work crap hanging over my head.  I have been reading, knitting, and being lazy, even if I had other plans that didn't end up happening.  (Admittedly they might have, had I not been so depressed/upset/thrown off for a couple of days, but there you are.)  Would it have been nice to be able to go out to breakfast for my birthday?  Yes, but since I hadn't planned on it, there was no disappointment there.  And I like being at home and on my own schedule.  So although there were no particularly special plans for the week, it's been a good one.

4.  I had a *very* slight reaction from my second Covid vaccine shot.  I felt fine for the rest of the day when I got it (this past Monday), and then overnight that night I woke up with chills and a low fever.  I felt a little bit crappy when I woke up on Tuesday morning, but by lunchtime I was fine.  I'm absolutely sure that whatever the reaction is, it's still better than coming down with the virus!

5.  This morning we had an "international" kind of car trip, stopping at a few places.  First up, The Tim wanted to go to the Asian market for some things, so we stopped there first.  Then we stopped at the Italian bakery where they have ZEPPOLES every year on March 19th for St. Joseph's Day, so we'll have those for dessert tonight.  Then on the way home, we stopped at a Middle Eastern lunch place where the make the absolute best grilled falafel sandwiches ever!  We brought things home, put away what needed to go into the fridge and enjoyed our sandwiches.  It's been years since I've had one, and I am happy to say, I was not disappointed.  So we're definitely eating well today.  😀

I can promise you, we got only one for each of us.  Such a treat, and so worth it!

All of which means that the good news is, that vacation week is ending on a good note, which is how it should be.  And I'm grateful for that, since I'll have plenty of time next week for other feelings and frustrations.

Here's hoping that your week was a good one, or that if not, it's ending on a good note like mine is.  Have a good weekend, and remember to try your best to enjoy whatever you can, whenever you can!