Everybody's Working for the Weekend

When I first came to America the biggest culture shock to me (even more than having to pay an exorbitant price for health care) was the paltry vacation time and long working hours. Don't get me wrong - I like this country and it's a great place to be - I just believe working people should have more paid time off to relax, enjoy their families and basically live their lives. When was the last time you took time out to explore this wonderful continent? That ,in my book, constitutes true freedom. How is it possible to do all this with the average one to two week vacation time allotted to each person a year?

No wonder we're all rushing around like blue ass flies trying to get everything done before we even think of taking a break. After your boss reluctantly gives you one week off (there's no way you can take two consecutive weeks the office is way too busy for that) you then have to squeeze your whole life into seven days. Do you visit family? (That's more stressful than work sometimes!) Stay at home and do some DIY? (that wouldn't really be a vacation!) Go abroad? (way too expensive) Rent a Winnebago and travel cross country?

Go camping at the beach? Go to Disneyland? After allotting time to pack, organize a cat sitter, taking the dog to the kennels and driving/flying to your destination you're down to six days. It takes at least two days to unwind once you get there (more for some people) so now you're down to four. With four days left you begin to worry that you haven't much time left so you better make the most of it. If you're anything like me you'll frantically try and utilize all the free facilities or engage in all the activities you never get to do. Take a sauna, then down to the beach to catch some rays, splash around in the ocean (but not too deep in case there are sharks - I never got over Jaws!) rent a bike and ride it on the beach, rent a canoe for an hour, have a margarita at the tikki bar, then out to dinner in your best revealing summer dress to show off that lovely tan (unless, of course you're peeling from a sunburn - then you'd want to cover up!) In the end you're exhausted and not really, truly relaxing at all.