Hello, Vacation Leave Credits!

Dear universe, please remind me how did I get through until the fourth quarter of this year without taking any vacation, at all? Alas, I remembered that last summer I frolicked in La Union and got transported to the Spanish era in Bataan. Then, I recall that those were trips taken during legal holidays. Technically, no difference taken from my credits. Zilch.

Today, I received a dreaded report. I only consumed 23% of my planned vacation leaves. What on earth happened? One word. Work. And my boss wants me to present action steps to ensure that before we say goodbye to 2011, I'll wake up on a clean slate. Vacationed and rejuvenated. But that is only on my mind. Just a fantasy. I don't know how to translate it to the real world. 

If money and time were no object, I would be here today for the next three weeks. 

Maldives, my dream destination. (Photo: Thanks, Google)

As a kid, the highlight of my school life is the promise of summer holidays. I couldn't wait for summer to roll by and see the beautiful blooms in our garden and the school's boxed plants. Hello, Flores de Mayo?! Back then, vacation meant you will have longer hours to play, read more books and just be carefree. 

Now that am an adult, vacation is determined by leave credits. It is measured by your length of association. The longer you have worked in the organization, the more days you're paid to do nothing, aka vacation. But your vacation should never derail, hamper, or supersede your deliverables. In simple terms, it's spelled as work responsibility. 

As it happens, all my planned days off which should have not interfered with work schedule had gone out the window. Instead, work interfered with my plans!

Going back to my question, how then am I supposed to take a vacation? Share me your thoughts, if you care.