Vacation (page 1 of 3)

It’s vacation time Vacation and silence Silence and absence Absence and latency Latency and silence Silence and vacation Vacation and absence It’s vacation time

I wrote these few words on July 12, 2010, and I can post them again today—nothing’s changed...🙂

Vacation time, time for friends and adventure. On the deserted beach, seashells and crustaceans. And I hear the train whistle, I hear the train whistle.

Those lovely summer camps, thanks mom, thanks dad. 😎

It’s vacation time Vacation and silence Silence and absence

That vacation?😉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN59oMMIyW0

Hi Dolma, nothing changes, yet nothing is the same on an individual level. Fifteen years already—time flies by without telling us. Our aspirations aren’t the same anymore; sometimes we wish they’d stay that way, and we fight for it.

Among the big dates, I remember 2008. For several years now, I can’t really talk about vacations because retirement age has kicked in. I hesitate to even say it, given how tough the debate is these days about whether we’ll go back to 62.

But clinging to illusions about longevity and trying to believe in them is a great morale booster—no need for happy pills.

Anyway, once again, I’ve gotten pretty serious about climbing, and I’ve got high hopes for some big routes. The secret? Surrounding yourself with friends who push you, challenge you, and don’t let you wallow in nostalgia for the past. The results are there: sure, we can’t pull ourselves up on a single finger in an overhang anymore, but foot technique in climbing is like riding a bike—it sticks, and you quickly rediscover those incredible sensations. Just like when you started, you’re still amazed that climbing shoes can hold on to almost nothing—or at least, not much.

The thrill of leading a climb, far from the last piton, gives you this feeling of invulnerability, maybe even eternity—a real sense of youth. After eight months of relatively consistent training, I wouldn’t say I move like I’m twenty again, but the joy is definitely there. I feel it almost as raw as my first big route—wow, that was a long time ago. It was at Mont Aiguille; I must’ve been seventeen or eighteen. I remember it vividly, even if it wasn’t a super difficult route. The rock wasn’t even that solid on the east face. They say great loves can fade or lose their spark over time, but the real, intense, unforgettable ones that sweep you away soar beyond the years and stay intact—or even become more sublime.

So, I’m heading out for some beautiful walls with the same emotion and apprehension I had at twenty, even if my wife gives me that slightly exasperated look, thinking (but not saying), *When will he realize he’s not that age anymore?*

Anyway, Dolma, I hope you have a wonderful vacation—maybe on that Atlantic coast we’ve heard so much about on this forum.

Vacation time is all year round.😉

July and August are just school holidays... The best time to work!😛

Obviously, for those who do 8 travel journals a year, it's vacation all year round 😛

You should complain to Martine A. 😛 ( You still seem to have a few gaps in math, though...)

Who's Martine A?

Maybe a minister from the Jospin government?😉

The only policy that’s really changed my life for the better! 😊

The only policy that truly changed my life for the better!

By letting you travel so often ;)

Yes!

I can’t remember how I managed with 5 weeks off!

Well, I can also partly thank some Macron government for restoring the right to phased retirement for civil servants—something the private sector has had for ages! 😛 But since I’m now forced to work until 64, it all balances out in the end... 😕

Hopefully, they won’t change this before I turn 61! !🏴‍☠️

How I managed with 5 weeks, I don’t remember anymore!

Some people deserve a slap! 😛

Up until last year, throughout my entire career, I got by with 25 days of paid leave per year and not a single RTT. That dear A. simply forgot about certain professions…

The right to gradual retirement, a huge perk granted for ages only to the private sector!😛

With the employer’s agreement, which means very rarely.

This dear A. simply forgot certain professions...

I chose my job for the advantage of paid leave... Precisely because I’d tasted the joy of 5 weeks off...

Maybe a passion-driven job would make me forget about leave, but then we’re no longer talking about making a living!

With the employer’s agreement, which is to say, very rarely.

True, but it did exist.

If unions fought for workers’ rights instead of turning their struggle into some interplanetary or unrealistic mess, maybe workplace well-being would move in a better direction...

I think few people ask for gradual retirement due to lack of information (for those who can afford it financially).

And then, unions can enable a form of gradual retirement that employers can’t oppose: the strike...

I had barely started working when I found out that the departmental secretary of the CFDT was playing tennis with the deputy director general of services. It’s a nice name, comrade, a really nice name you know...

It could just as well have been the CGT, Solidaires, or FO... 😏

Maybe, but I doubt it. Solidaires didn’t exist back then.

It’s crazy to think we’re privileged in France when it comes to time off. And yet, when I was younger, even double the amount wouldn’t have been enough...

Yeah, we can’t complain. And once you’ve tried it, you can’t do without it anymore!

Unless you’ve got a really passionate or super social job, but I don’t know any of those. You can’t have it all!

I did a little research, and if what I read is correct, in the United States, only 15 days of vacation per year are granted at the employer’s discretion! In most Asian countries, it’s 5 to 10 days per year depending on seniority. More fortunate, Austrians get 38 days. Topping the list for public holidays: Colombia with its 18 days.