Do you get them? How often do you take them? Do you wind up more stressed out than you were when you left? Do you like to go away for a long time and forget you're employed, or is it better for you to just take a mental health day here and there?

If you had three months off with pay, what would you do? Where would you go?

-- Anonymous, May 10, 2000

Answers

I've been itching to get out of Providence for a long time. I get three weeks of vacation a year but I am never allowed to take it all at once. Most of my vacations have involved going to visit the same friends in the same cities... New York, Philly, and Pittsburgh. Last summer I took a road trip and went to two punk fests but I'm considering giving that a miss this year.

My current plan is to save up as much money as possible (which I am failing at miserably) and when I am financially capable, quit my job and travel for three or four months. I'd take a road trip across the US and a rail trip across Europe. I'd stay with my various readers and college friends who have moved far away.

Back in MArch I made a commitment to myself that this would happen in the fall, but my credit card is maxxed out and I have $20 in the bank. I dunno how my friends who work minimum wage jobs manage to travel so much.

(answer, they don't own cars and they can quit one minimum wage job here and get another one in any other city)

-- Anonymous, May 10, 2000

I get about 30 days holiday, plus Bank Holidays, and a week between Christmas and New Year, which I think is a pretty good deal really.

At the moment my father is quite ill, and living in another part of the country, so most of my holidays are taken visiting him for long weekends. This obviously isn't really a break for me, but last year I went on holiday to Cornwall for a week, with my SO and a group of other friends. I found that after just a few days, I was slowing down, and that lots of my usual aches and pains, and fluttery panicky feelings were subsiding. I think therefore that you need at least a week off work and away from it all to feel fully refreshed.

If I had 3 months paid leave, I would spend a few weeks relaxing at home, and then head off to somewhere near the sea.

-- Anonymous, May 10, 2000

I get three weeks.

Last year I took off a week when we moved and a week when we went on a trip, and a few days here and there. I carried over some days too. I guess I don't like to take more than a week at a time - that feels too much like I'm squandering my precious time off. A week feels like a good time to be gone.

I used to take a week to go to this hot springs place, but didn't last year. I don't know if I'm going to do it this year. I feel like a lot of my vacation is spoken for: we visit my mom at Christmas, and there are a few other days we have plans for already. He wants to visit my mom in the summer and see some other friends in San Diego, and a bunch more stuff that involves activity. I like having a stretch of time without anything I have to do.

Travelling ends up being stressful for me, a source of frustration for my spouse. Right now we are talking about a trip to Las Vegas, which is supposed to be his Christmas present, and I feel like I can barely get it together to decide when I can go.

If I had three months with pay, I'd probably spend at least 2 weeks at the hot spring place, then the rest of it just messing around at home.

-- Anonymous, May 10, 2000

I get 25 days a year, 3 days of which is taken between Christmas and New Year, plus about 10 statutory holidays a year. Working in England rules in this respect.

Since I've been here, I've had one 3 week trip to NZ, one 3 week trip to NZ and Malaysia, one 1 week trip to South Africa, and one 2 week trip to South Africa. All the other odd days have been spent pootling around England or going to Paris for the day. I'm got two weeks left this year, but one week will go in NZ in June, and the other will go in NZ before Christmas as part of a three week trip.

However, next year I'm firmly resolved to take no long-haul trips, so I can go for lots of four-day weekend trips to European cities. And hopefully a shopping trip to New York.

If I had 3 months off without pay, I'd have a month in NZ, a month in Australia (haven't been there yet), and a month in South Africa.

I completely unwind after one day on holiday. I'd rather go to one place and stay there than tour around - that to me is too tiring for a holiday - our honeymoon involved lying in the sun in Malaysia for two weeks.

-- Anonymous, May 10, 2000

I get three weeks vacation and somewhere around 8 holidays and 2 or 3 personal days. We're really not supposed to take more than 2 weeks at the same time, but for special circumstances it can be arranged (getting married, going on a trip to India, etc).

So far I've taken no vacation since September beyond a day here and a day there. I'm saving it all up for September this year when I'm getting married and taking a two week trip to Europe (week in London, week in Paris). This will be my first trip out of the US and I'm really looking forward to it.

On a normal year (one where everyone we know isn't getting married including us) we go on a week to Florida in the winter, and then another week vactaion either in the summer or the fall. One year we were saving money to buy the house so we rented a cabin on a lake in the Adirondacks (with the dogs) and swam, fished, and ate barbeque. It was cheap, relaxing, and fun. Last September we went to Arizona to visit with my aunt and to go to the Grand Canyon. Amazing trip.

If I could have three months off with pay? You know what? I'd stay home. There are so many projects I'd like to do at home that I can't make any progress on because I work a full time job. Three months off would give me time to garden, to read, to reorganize and to relax. I could ride my bike and play with my dogs. That'd be a great vacation!

-- Anonymous, May 10, 2000

I work contract, so I have no real vacation time, but I can take off as much as I want (can afford). My last vacation was the first two weeks of January. I visited Ireland and England. I was able to stay in homes and see both places with natives.

I'm itching to get away again. I don't know where and I don't want to go it alone (a drawback to single life, no travel companion).

-- Anonymous, May 10, 2000

I traveled alone to Spain in March for 15 days and when I returned my friends at work told me (about 3 weeks later) that I looked drawn and haggard when I got back! Travelling alone can do that to you! Actually, I wasn't alone all the time. I spent a week of that time with my 23 year old daughter who took the ultimate "vacation" (a year off to be a vagabond all over Europe, Israel, and Egypt) That week was the most fun - sightseeing with her in Granada and sleeping on the ground in a pine grove in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. The part by myself was enjoyable.....I visited museums etc, but it would have been more fun to share with a traveling companion. The last 5 days I was by myself and also suffering from the effects of drinking spring water in the mountains. I think if I had 3 months off with pay I would like to rent a cabin somewhere in the woods or by a lake and really unwind. Well, I'm pretty much unwound anyway though. I don't get uptight over much. Would have to be able to take my cats with me though.

-- Anonymous, May 10, 2000

I get ten days of vacation a year, four personal days, and ten paid holidays.

I save several days to take between Christmas and New Year's Day.

I take the other days around holiday weekends, stretching the weekend out another day.

Holidays are for working, Marc Chagall said. A favorite vacation to me is staying home from work and writing.

An unfavorite is going somewhere with the family.

When the kids were home I was so ill when I went, the family would go to a bluegrass festival, or camping, in the keys, without me.

Ill is a Southernism. Pronounced eel.

Someone ill is so hateful he can't stand himself.

If I had three months paid vacation I'd write three books, just as I do when I work full-time.

But I'd be more relaxed.

At first. Then, I'd sense the sand slipping through the hourglass, and piss and moan about why do I have to go back to work.

What I need is one of those five-year genius grants, but I'm not likely to get one, as I'm not a genius, to the people handing them out.

The Vincent factor.

I stole the last year of my NDEA fellowship, to stay at home and write.

I mortgaged our house, in Delray Beach, and took 2 1/2 years at home, to be a writer.

I lost another house to the defense drawdown, in Panama City, went belly-up, and lived in a trailer, with low expenses, for 2 1/2 years.

So I've had long stretches at the house.

We were dirt poor, I was frantic to find a job, it was worse than working.

I write every day, and the writing doesn't take a vacation. Wedging my life--work, family--in and around that is a juggling act.

What Roland Kirk called the urgency. It rises up, unbidden and unstanchable. When it does, you have to heed it.

After 30 years, the rhythm is peristaltic. I bet one side of my brain is bigger than the other.

I wake up thinking about the writing. I go to bed thinking about the writing. In between, I write as much as I can, and stay employed, and married.

It beats watching television, playing golf, or monitoring the value of your investment portfolio.

Life's a bitch and then you die. Make a good prom theme.

Soldier on. Anything you have to do, you have to go on and do yourself.

What are you going to do? Quit? Sell out? Turn bitter?

-- Anonymous, May 10, 2000

I get 2 weeks. I'm renting a house on the Outer Banks in N.C. at the end of June. I chose this type of vacation because I can bring the dog with me. I had to kennel her last year, and it broke my heart. I felt like I was leaving the good kid home. Seven weeks and counting down!

-- Anonymous, May 10, 2000

4 weeks and I feel like I've died and gone to heaven. I work for a financial services company, so I get all stock market (not bank) holidays AND 2 additional floating holidays.

I go to school full-time & work full-time, so I usually use my vacation to study at the end of the semester. What's left over I use for long weekends & for an extra day off when I have a lot of homework.

If I had 3 months off! What wouldn't I do! My God, I do so much. I'd go to France to work on my french. I'd reorganize all my files, work on my sewing projects, READ, READ some more, exercise, etc....

-- Anonymous, May 11, 2000