Cruisin'

I will be here (that is, on this ship and not looking longingly from the Manhattan shore) in a little less than a month.

Something struck me these past few weeks--I'm weary, I'm fried, I'm swerving towards burn out. I need a short stretch of time to recharge. And two weeks ago, I felt determined to find an opportunity to reclaim myself. I admit that I feel guilty taking vacation. My boss doesn't seem to take vacation and I am fearful that it might appear a weakness should I perhaps want to take one myself. I've thrived on that notion for a very long time and have forsaken a lot of earned vacation time over the years in order to be a good corporate citizen. I now know this was a mistake.

My friend Hollaback once said to me, "The company will never love you back." She's right, of course. I have confused the value of personal loyalty with necessary business decisions. Not taking my vacation will hardly elevate my value as an employee. So, fuck it, now I'm taking it.

I announced to Fang that we were taking a vacation. I planned it--a cruise to Bermuda from Manhattan in April. I had planned for late April but a financial quarterly forecast interfered. So I moved it to the second week of April.

We booked our room and here, Fang prevailed. We don't vacation often but when we do, he goes big. He wants spacious comfort, amenities and expense be damned. We booked a full suite on the top level at the front of the boat. As usual, all I was concerned about was size of the pool.

I'm excited now and looking forward to the trip. And so ready to go, go, go.