July 6, 2009 at 2:58 am
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Recharged on the 4th of July
July 6, 2009 at 4:21 am
I hope it was a relaxing time. I've been following your adventures with the HP netbook, and reading the twitters!
I really enjoyed the comments I got back from my two guest editorial whilst you were away. Some of the comments on header-blocks for code got me thinking in several different ways. A really helpful lot on SSC!
Best wishes,
Phil Factor
July 6, 2009 at 6:48 am
Steve,
You were gone? Really? Oh, ah, just kidding. 😉
No, really... you were gone?
It IS really good to get away and not have to check in. There's a big difference between having to check in to work and wanting to when it's on your own terms.
Welcome back.
July 6, 2009 at 7:10 am
I read a Swedish report the other day that stated that one should take 4 weeks of semester with no work in between or the health could be at risk. They wrote that the stress levels we carry around without knowing or knowing about takes time to let go of and that our body can only handle so much stress without an increased risk for a heart attack once you've reached 50+ years. What you do on this time they said didnt really matter as long as it was not work related. You could go out and play as much sport or exercise as you wish.
I am taking 4 weeks this summer. Then again, I live in Europe, Sweden and here most people has at least 5 weeks of semester, many have 6 weeks a year. And oh yeah, forgot to mention, most people get cash (~70-80% of salary) if you are sick too, except for the first day of the period you are sick. Seeing as many of you in this forum live in usa, maybe you should put some pressure on your boss or yourself if you are the boss and ask yourself, if the Swedes can do it, why can't you?
July 6, 2009 at 7:50 am
4 weeks? Wow, i took an extra day and 4 days off seemed great this time, although must say coming back in to work seems rather nice too, coz i like what I do and in some ways am 'wired' to the stress too. 4 weeks is fantastic, definitely not the norm here in the States - even if you have vacation which you can if you accumulate, got to think about whether or not it is wise to be away that long, they may figure out how to get along without you!! Trust levels are poor to say the least in corporate environments here, the economy making it worse. I must also say what ranks higher than any benefit is *awareness* - self care, a clear idea of what matters and what doesn't, and giving everything what it is due - there are definitely times at work that make you long for a long vacation but not all of us can enjoy that, a lil' bit of awareness goes a very long way as a substitute.
Thank you Steve for being back 🙂
July 6, 2009 at 8:13 am
I think it's good to get away and recharge. Not sure about 4 weeks, but perhaps that's cultural. It's been a long time since I've taken this much time away, and I've forgotten how nice it is. Not sure I'll be doing it again too soon, but it was good.
I'd like to think I get a good balance in life here, getting away from work with other activities and breaks. However it is good to be back.
July 6, 2009 at 8:33 am
I have to agree, 3-4 weeks is a long time and don't get me wrong, I like my job, but here it's custom for everyone to take at least 3 weeks semester during the summer. However, let me tell you about last summer. First I had 4 weeks I think in total. I first went to Spain with 6 of my friends for a week, then I did a little of this and that on my apartment as well as taking myself the time to enjoy my city Stockholm with friends, then I travelled to a laid back town in Dalarna (in Sweden) where my parents and little sister still lives and helped them a bit with the house and spent several days out in the sun with our boat in the lake speeding to some islands with my family and a friend and then I still had a few days of free time left. This time which too you are very long, well it ain't short, went by quite fast and enjoying life and friends with no real time limit was nice.
This summer I'm not sure what I'll do yet, maybe some last-minute trip to some other country, I will visit my fokes in the country and maybe help out a bit and have a nice time as well. I'm planing right now, reading about hardware and software to prepare, to build myself a NAS which I think will take a little time lerning ZFS and OpenSolaris. And well, time does fly, working weeks is over in a heartbeat for me, as are semesters. I'll probably go some fishing too.
I will have my batteries charged for sure 😉
July 6, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Four weeks leave is standard in Australia. It is quite common for people to take it all at once especially if they want to travel overseas. Australia is so far from the rest of the world that to go overseas can take a day or more of travelling each way. I agree with IceDread that a longer (complete!) break from work is better and you do feel recharged when you go back. I find that I only really start to unwind about 4-5 days into a holiday so longer is definitely better for me!
Cheers,
Nicole Bowman
Nothing is forever.
July 6, 2009 at 4:38 pm
My brother-in-law as a Lt Colonel in the USAF stationed at the USAFA his last few years in the Air Force. The General he worked for required everyone to tale at least one 2 week vacation every year. Joe would normally take one week here, couple of days there. When he took the full 2 weeks, he said he actually relxed on about day 10 and went back to work later actually refreshed.
Guess I should try that myself.
July 7, 2009 at 7:41 am
Loved the video!
There's a reason Harrison Ford and Will Smith are stars 😎
Keep up the good work.
July 8, 2009 at 8:26 am
Thanks, and I agree. Doing this stuff on camera is hard. I'm amazed at how often I make mistakes.
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