Friday Randomness
Today is the first day of my sabbatical. My company has a newish policy, that every employee has to take a month of paid time off every four years. This is my month, so I can’t look at my email or do any work of any kind. It’s kind of weird. My regular routine is to wake up, come downstairs, get the paper, and check my work email. I’m in California and most of my coworkers are on the East Coast, so often things have started up by the time I wake up. So this morning I woke up, came downstairs, got the paper, and….looked at Facebook. It’s not so much that I’m DYING to know what my coworkers are doing without me. It’s more just a weird thing to not be allowed to even check.
Another weird thing right now is that Maya is in New York, and we’re not. My parents’ graduation gift to her was a trip anywhere she wanted to go (in the U.S.), and she chose New York. They love New York, so they were happy with that choice. So they flew from Portland, she flew from San Francisco, and they met up there. So far they’ve walked a lot everywhere, seen a Broadway play (Book of Mormon) and done some shopping. It’s weird to wake up in the morning and see her bedroom door open, and know that she’s not here. Not bad, just weird.
So, what are we party animals doing while she’s gone and I’m not working? Today it’s supposed to be 100F or so, so we’re thinking of seeing a couple of movies. We’ll go see the new Woody Allen movie, and then if we’re so inclined, we may movie hop over to see Boyhood again.
Also, we’re eating foods that she doesn’t like. I don’t cater to anyone’s preferences too much around here, but at the same time I don’t generally make items that I know someone dislikes. Last night was linguine and clams, which was delicious. Tonight will either be steak or fish, I’m not sure which. Tomorrow will be steak or fish, whichever we don’t have tonight. Then she’s home on Sunday.
As for my sabbatical and what to do with all of this free time, I have some other plans around the house…organizing my mess of a closet, a little gardening, that sort of thing. But I think I’m going to ease on in, take it kind of slowly, and see how this month off goes. I do wish that my company provided us with spending money along with the time off. Like, “Here’s $5,000, go to Hawaii for a week. Then maybe drive up the coast and see what you see.” But they didn’t.
3 Comments
Ally Bean
I’ve never heard of a company forcing a sabbatical on an employee. Of all the things that a company can ask you to do, this one sounds great to me. Your downtime plans sound smart: a little bit of lollygagging, a little bit of doing. Although I agree that if they gave you the funds to go to HA, then it’d be perfect.
Ted
So far, so great as far as activities go! I enjoyed our hike, and today’s lunch with your sister and her family was fun, too.
Nance
Ally, this is quite common in NEO, especially during the Recession. You might know it by another name, Furlough. In DC, it was common during the Sequester, where they made it a verb and several of my blogfriends who worked on government contracts or in government jobs “were sequestered” or “got sequestered.” Not sure if it is still happening at my beloved Plain Dealer newspaper, but there were rounds and rounds of forced furloughs. All unpaid, which made for some budget creativity on the part of the employees.
Jules–Even after years of retirement (is it three now?), I still wake up somewhere between 6:30 and 7:30, put on coffee, and read the paper, then get online for a bit to browse. I love the leisurely mornings after thirty years of being On Go right away. Your strategy during Maya’s absence (and what a lovely grad gift, btw!) sounds so nice.
Enjoy your furlough/sabbatical/Date Time. Think of it as a preview for Maya’s being away at classes or for your eventual Empty Nest. And stay cool! One hundred degrees is about 20 degrees warmer than our projected high today.