Spring Break

I mentioned it earlier but never fully announced the fact that I got a new job! I am so excited about it. It's in the same field that I have been working in, but it's a serious promotion -- in title and salary. I'm so ready for this new step in my career...

...Well, I will be ready on Monday, when I start.

I finagled a full week off for myself when I was determining my start date for the new gig and my final day at my former place of employment. I highly suggest this to anyone who is transitioning into a new job. In my field, employers often want you to give as much notice as possible when resigning. They want you to tie up as many loose ends and do as much work as possible before you leave, even if that means that you work at your former job right up until you start your new position. On the flip-side, new employers often want you to start as quickly as possible. Unless you work somewhere really magnificent, neither your old boss nor your new boss is going to think much about your well-being during a transition. They are going to think more about all the work that needs to get done.

"Oh, you should give only two weeks' notice so that you can have some downtime before starting your new position."

OR

"Why don't you start whenever you feel rested and ready to take on this new work and responsibility?"

Those are two statements said by no boss ever.


Having gone several months without having taken vacation time, and realizing that I likely will need to work several months in my new role before it is acceptable to take a vacation, I thought that it was acceptable for me to take five business days as a stay-cation. And as I said before, I highly suggest it.

Back in college, I remember writing some persuasive essay on how American culture is sometimes considered to be overworked. (Although, I imagine that opinion varies from country to country. Some people perceive Americans as thoroughly lazy... I guess "to each his/her own.") Seriously, though -- I know so many people who never use all of their allotted vacation time and end up losing it at the end of the year; so many people who stay at the office for much longer than the time for which they are paid; so many people who bring work home with them and let it affect their family time. I really enjoy my career and the field in which I work, but I strive to keep a healthy work/life balance. At the end of my life, I am not going to look back and say, "Gosh, I should have worked more and spent less time with my loved ones."

So take your vacation time, people! And don't be ashamed to do it! Everyone deserves some downtime.

1. Spring
2. Sitting outside in the warm sun on my patio, sipping decaf coffee, and throwing the ball around for my dog.
3. Knowing that I can do the same dang thing tomorrow! Whoop-whoop!