And on the Seventh Day, She Rested

[lilmissnever]

After seven years at the Mysterious Workplace, you are allowed to take a sabbatical, which is three months of paid time off. Not many people achieve this milestone and some of us are such workaholics that we put off our sabbaticals for years, or we don't manage to take them at all. One of the lawyers made no less than three separate attempts at

Comments

[ilcylic]

I'm glad you're enjoying your sabbatical, even if other people think you're crazy. You gotta do what makes you happy. :)

[lilmissnever]

I wanted to spend my sabbatical doing something I absolutely could not do while I was working. Given that training takes up about 3/4th of a full-time job, I think this counts.

[elusis]

Good for you, lovely.

It's possible I may have the until-now-mythical "academic summer" next year. I'll still have clients but perhaps I can get up to something more than cleaning out my in-box and listing a few bits of clothing on eBay.

<3

[lilmissnever]

Dance, maybe? I recall that you used to enjoy dancing a great deal. I am inclined towards physical things, but I am also a pretty good example of "my idea of fun is not most people's idea of fun," so I am sure that your mileage may vary. You have been working several jobs at once for a while. A little sustained rest will probably be good for you.

Did I mention that I did the couples therapy thing? It was brief and intense, but I am surprised at how effective it was.

[elusis]

Dance has disappointed me a lot since moving here. It bums me out.

I did start doing "Barrelates" classes during the last couple of months of this summer, but have had a hard time scheduling them around work. It would be good to spend a summer just moving and getting stronger.

You did NOT mention! I'm glad it was helpful - you clearly found a good therapist - and I hope the effects continue to be salutary.

[lilmissnever]

I recall that dance turned out to be weirdly political. That is disappointing indeed. I'm glad you've found a thing that you like and I have nothing but sympathy in the "trying to make it to class while managing a grueling work schedule" department. I don't know how I will manage even a fraction of this when I get back to work.

I knew that my therapist was a good match for me. I was pleasantly surprised that my therapist was a good match for my partner-in-couples-therapy. I am profoundly grateful for whatever works.

[uke]

“...[T]he Very Serious Circus School... had literally been run into the ground by clowns.”

That one's a keeper.

[lilmissnever]

People used to wander in and out of the Very Serious Circus School more or less at random. No one had any idea of who was in what class and whether or not they had paid. Things are very different under the rule of the tech millionaires. Now you sign up for classes on a website with an unreasonably complicated pricing structure and a lot of rules about prerequisites. It's a little like college.

I have just been invited to take Mongolian contortion by my stretching instructor. My first class is on Tuesday. I am a little afraid of how much this is going to hurt, but I am happy that my instructor thinks I'm ready. In fact, here is a story in the Winnipeg Free Press about a woman who trained as a contortionist as an adult.

I will probably never do a full contortion act, but I think it will be very helpful for doing bendy things while up in the air.

[angel_boi]

Congratulations.
I'm duly impressed.

FWIW i long for time off so i can spend it sweating, filthy and slicing up my hands on unfinished metal at the shop.
none of which will surprise you.

[lilmissnever]

I feel like I'm still a couple of months off from being able to perform again, but at least it's an achievable goal right now.

I wish you vast swaths of time for metalwork. It sounds soothing.