Because We're Not North Enough To Be NOVA, We're Just Stuck Between the North and the True South

I've been out of work for like 5 weeks now how do you think that will feel. Beautiful day try to enjoy it

 

Still on vacation in ME. It’s horrible I tell you. Wake up when ever. Go out for breakfast and dinner everyday. It’s rough.

 

Somebody's gotta do it

 

Haven't had a vacation in right at 7 years.

 

Don't know what to tell ya about that. I know there have been life issues in the way. I always made time for at least a week vacation at the beach even when I was working stupid long hours but we all have different jobs. I'm not exactly on vacation right now anyway

 

Rite rite. You got a line on anything yet?

Nice! Enjoy it while you can.

Damn skippy!

Hell, I’m right there with ya..

2006 was the last real vacation for me. Nothing since.... I just take time off and do the staycation. Get out if I can, but at home for most of it.

 

My Daughter set me this pic. A friend took it of her yesterday on the highway. Little shit is having more fun than me.

 

Guess I should rephrase that, I haven't had more than 2 days off work in a row in 7 years.

 

Whatever works best for you everybody is different. I at least hope they are letting you bank your time. I don't usually use all mine unless it's use or loose then I am damn sure not loosing it for anybody. Love my vacations we already have a week at Nags Head paid for in September

 

Yeaaaahhh.... dat blows.

Nice!

I haven't even been down there for a day trip in the last 2 years. Need to fix that this year.

Same here... use or loose time. I’m not giving back money paid to me.

 

Ours used to be use it or lose it, and it was like work to get those last days in before the year rolled over.
Now what we dont use is a payout every February. Now we get to plan vacations and I don't stress not using days. That vacation payout money bought bumpers on two different years.......

 

How goes it, James?

The only thing we can sell back is sick time. And thats to a certain dollar amount of what you make, then they hit you with a bonus tax (40%) on it. So you are better off to use them unless you need the coin.

Our vacation time is Calendar year.. so like you said... every nov-dec there is no one here in the dept. because everyone is trying to burn there remaining time.

 

It's going.

Ha. They left my 192 hours of sick time in from the old system. I can't get a payout for it and I can't use it for myself, only for family members and only after ive exhausted all of my other PTO hours.... I'll never see that money. .....

 

That was why I was pretty sick the last few weeks at the airport. I let them pay me for my vacation time but I wasn't handing them money back if I didn't have to so burned as much sick leave as I could.

 

There is no such thing as vacation time at my job. You don't get "paid days off" or anything like that. So if I am not working I am not making money.

 

Same for me leaving my government job. They don't payout sick leave. I still had about 100 hours in the till when I left. Used a good bit going to doctor appointments before my surgery.

Sounds like it might be time for a job with better benefits. Unless, you're self-employed, then that's the cost of not having to work for someone else.

 

Benefits are amazing and the pay is quite nice as well. It's part of the job for the no vacation thing. Wouldn't matter where I am employed if I keep the same job the same rules apply. There are definitely perks that cancel that part out. Just tied to a phone and laptop 24/7.

 

I was the acting FSO at my last job in NM and had to be available 24/7 for the alarms. I hated it. It was a big reason I went for the job that brought me out here.

 

Yep everybody has to figure out what works for them best there's not really any right or wrong. What do you have to do if you wanted to take a week and take a trip or maybe take Caleb to Disney World or something? Just save up to suppliment the pay loss or something?

 

A quick update on my cancer situation for those following along.

I had a CT scan of my chest, abdomen and pelvis done yesterday. The CT shows no other abnormalities, so there isn't anything big enough to detect hiding anywhere. The final pathology report still hasn't come in yet.

I have a couple options for future treatment. I can just do monitoring for years and years, or I can do chemo or radiation and a shorter monitoring period. With just monitoring, the statistics say that I have a 25-30% chance of it coming back. If I do the chemo or radiation, the statistics of it coming back drop to less than 5%. That all assumes the final pathology report doesn't find anything else. If they do find something else, I pretty much have to do chemo or radiation treatments.

After I start the new job, I'll have to find a new primary care doctor and get referred to an urologist and probably need to at least speak to an oncologist as well to decide on the best course of action.