A random post for today. I was thinking about how much I miss having a break. Yeah that thing people do, they go on a ‘holiday’ or ‘vacation’. Yeah, well it’s been years since I got one of those.
So I am going to complain for a moment, but typically I love to travel.
I tend to save up all my vacation time and blow it in a big mass, taking some epic trip and being gone for 6 weeks or so.
When I travel I like to stay in a place, someplace small, residential, definitely not touristy and definitely not trendy.
I love small spaces, winding streets. The kind of area nobody vacations in.
I dont stay at hotels, always renting a flat in some district. I want a kitchen and a full home to call my own for a few weeks.
Now I don’t go to the tourist traps. I may go to a museum or two, but I prefer sticking to walking around, seeing little corners of the world that nobody except locals know exist.
That is the perfect trip for me.
Oh I always like to be near water. If I can walk to a water feature or river all the better. If I can see it from my flat, well I am in heaven!
I will seek out parks or botanical gardens to visit, opting for places I can just exist and enjoy the moment. Calm and peaceful will always win me over.
And yes, I do enjoy the city, I love the people, the sights and the sounds. But I don’t want to be caught in it 24-7, so I am not a trendy person, I’m a nerdy person.
I have never been to a club. I have never been to a bar.
But I have been to libraries, cathedrals, and galleries all over the world. I have seen ancient monasteries and gardens once home to royalty. I have seen viking graveyards with wagon wheel tracks dating back before the modern era, and I have visited catacombs under Paris that were as morbid as they were beautiful.
Those are the spaces that thrill me.
So back to the point.
I WANT A VACATION!!!!!!!!
In all fairness Covid threw a wrench into everyone’s travel plans. And that was ok. It gave me three years of being home, taking care of my Mom when she was dying.
Those were the best three years of my life and I don’t regret a moment of it.
But that’s the past. Covid lockdowns are a memory, international flights are back up and running…..
And that’s where I get cranky. See I have been asking for a vacation from my job since the lockdowns officially ended.
I keep getting told NO, that I need to finish a project first. But the problem is my boss is slow walking the project for whatever reason… which means my ability to travel keeps getting pushed further and further away.
And I get closer and closer to just wanting to snap the head of someone.
So it’s been 5 years since I had a vacation. My last trip was Christmas 2018.
Now to throw shade, my boss has taken vacations, and is starting to ask me about when I plan to go on vacation….. As if almost to tempt me to put in a request to be denied.
Most hilarious part is that I work remotely. I could just leave my desk and take my laptop and work anywhere. And to be honest I just might try it.
And if that wasn’t enough, I have to work at least two days a week when on vacation. Why? Because nobody can do my job. So I have to reserve a few hours each week to clean up any needed items so I can continue on my vacation.
You better bet that goes on my timesheet!
I just want a moment to unplug, to be me, to sit on some stone steps somewhere and watch the world go by.
A day, a week, or more, I don’t care.
I just want a moment to breathe.