Vacations are a pain in the you know what.?ÿ Literally.?ÿ More than about a hour in a car seat or airplane seat and pain is hitting me in the right hip joint area.?ÿ Gets more intense unless I can get out and walk around for about 10 minutes.
Wife has limited mobility due to her atrial fibrillation/congestive heart failure.?ÿ So wandering around together in a museum or zoo or simply shopping is not on the list.
The older one gets the more stuff required to be toted along, including half a pharmacy shelf.
Thus, we do our relaxing as we find we need it instead of scheduling it six months ahead of time.
Much of my relaxing comes about by serving on a variety of community support boards.?ÿ Had the annual budget meeting for the cemetery district last evening.?ÿ Had the annual budget meeting for the township board last Thursday evening.?ÿ Had the September meeting of the School Board on Monday evening of this week.?ÿ Will have the September meeting of the Education Service Center Board next Wednesday evening.?ÿ Had to miss the September Water Board meeting this week because it was at the same time as the School Board meeting, but, I already have my assignment for next month's meeting.?ÿ That is to search through over 60 years of annual meeting minutes plus the last 15 years of regular meeting minutes to find any policies that were adopted and then forgotten about.?ÿ Am currently working on two funding requests to support our County 4-H Foundation.?ÿ The County Commissioners contact me routinely for advice.?ÿ All three of them.?ÿ Sent them a little email this morning with copies going to the Sheriff and the Road and Bridge Director.?ÿ Someone took care of the situation prior to 3:00 this afternoon.?ÿ I know this because I was in the right place at the right time to witness that corrective action had already been taken.
I take 2 weeks off on Christmas/New Year and 1 week during the Holy Week (Easter). Read, watch movies, go on a long drive to a resort outside of the city.
One thing I don't do is play golf. I walk during work so I definitely won't walk for leisure.
Actually the past year has been a kind of forced holiday for me.
@ric-moore Hey Ric, if you ever need a mandolin player, let me know!
At least twice a month,?ÿ I walk into the office early in the morning, put an automatic reply on my email that I am out of the office. Turn the computer off, grab the truck keys, and go do a fun/enjoyable survey for a day or two. The ringer on the phone is set to silent and if a call has to be returned, it's done in the way home. If the call isn't important enough to be returned before I pull into my driveway, it's just not that important. It can wait a day or two more. It helps the attitude and takes my mind away from "work".
Dark thirty is nigh.?ÿ Just returned from communing with two pastures full of cattle.?ÿ Provided some nifty treats in the catch pen areas to prepare them for some traveling and new thrills.?ÿ In the first pasture is Mr. Old Enough To Be Your Daddy, the herd bull, who will getting a free ride to the other pasture rather soon where he has no known relatives.?ÿ Then Mr. Well Hello There Beautiful Do You Mind If I Sniff Under Your Tail will arrive to entertain the gals in the first pasture.?ÿ Meanwhile most of the young males will be taking a one-way ride to the sale barn.?ÿ The teen-aged females with raging hormones will be relocated to a pasture with no bulls across the fence.
Definitely no thoughts about survey issues while doing this.?ÿ Did stop to sample a pear fresh from the tree.?ÿ Nope, better wait until closer to the first frost.
What do you do to get your mind off of work?
Go skiing
I've been a tinkerer since I was a kid -- my dad taught me the rudiments of making stuff and fixing stuff -- and a frustrated machinist my whole adult life.?ÿ A few years ago I realized that if I was ever going to get more serious about machining I'd better do it before I lose the visual acuity, strength and stamina required, so I revamped my garage shop, brought in a metal lathe and milling machine, and have been having fun with those ever since.?ÿ I also do some woodworking, but I lack the patience to do fine furniture (though I did make a coffee table a year or so ago at my wife's request), so most of my wood projects are more functional than decorative.?ÿ But the garage is my happy place.
We also travel a bit, pre-Covid we'd go international for a couple of weeks every few years, and every year we spend a week or so in the Yosemite high country.?ÿ Add in an occasional long weekend on the coast, or a road trip to visit relatives, and I'd guess that I'm away from the office (and the garage!) about 3 or 4 weeks a year.
I find myself wondering if surveyors practice self-care and get their minds off of work from time to time
?ÿ
I grew up surveying. Never had a break, til I got a fully upgraded Javad! No lie. ????
N
@jim-frame agree - Relax is a garage w resources to fix stuff before it gets tossed, a dog that is happy to see me when I get home.?ÿ
type A??s don??t need to relax and can still have patience to play golf and fish.
@flga-2-2?ÿ ?ÿI've been retired for near 24 years and still look for Geodetic Monuments.
JOHN NOLTON
Despite living out in the boonies as a kid, I grew up in a busy household.?ÿ My sister and I had an adequate number of things to do outside of school days and school activities.?ÿ We always had plenty of chores to be done before and after school.?ÿ Plus, there was a huge amount of farm work to help with.?ÿ Being on the go, was how we lived every day.?ÿ I remember spending many evenings following my parents to the various activities in which they were involved.?ÿ No baby sitter/child care in our household.
If I'm not overcommitted I am worrying about something.?ÿ Worrying is bad.?ÿ Busy is good.
For 30 plus years I surveyed by day, played a wide variety music at night, and skied often. I was constantly turning off one side of my brain, day and night. For 8 years, just surveying. I take "micro breaks". Don't take your phone in restaurants with family. Whenever present with family, focus 100% on them and FORGET all the deadlines you are missing. Read history books and put yourself in those settings! Alas, I've had complex solutions come to me in the middle of the night, so really we are doomed to be obsessed until our last breath anyway
I go down into the basement, close the door and work on my stained glass projects.
Woodworking is my outlet and been slow to get things completed with today's workload.?ÿ This is a nice reminder that I need to insert some more breaks from the chaos to enjoy the build.?ÿ?ÿ
@nate-the-surveyor Livin' your best life; Livin' that Javad life.
My youngest daughter worked one Summer learning the art of stained glass and really enjoyed the experience.
Video games, I volunteer, walk my dog, read, cook...I'm easily distract, oh look, a butterfly!
T. Nelson - SAM
I go arrowhead hunting quite often. Also go to the mountains every 2 or 3 weeks for a 5 day weekend. A lot of hiking to waterfalls and Mt Mitchell.
Bouldering and snowboarding, but that is getting tough out here on the west coast.