All Work & No Play Makes Johnny a Dull Boy

re·cess (noun)

: a short period of time during the school day when children can play

:a usually brief period of time during which regular activity in a court of law or in a government stops

:A temporary cessation of the customary activities of an engagement, occupation, or pursuit.

Why is recess only for children and those who are in the judicial system? How is that fair? What about that secretary at the doctor's office? Why can't they have a recess? Why not that plumber down the street who just was knee deep in his work or the government workers within the cube farm constantly on their phones and computers and lets not forget the chemist who is stuck in a quarantined room testing?

By now you get my gist, we need recess. I'm not talking about going on a "break" where you are required to come back to work within 15 minutes or a lunch break where you have a half hour, if your lucky. I'm speaking of the good old fashioned recess where everyone (including the CEO, president..etc) plays a low-intense activity together. What does it matter what the game is? 

I know your thinking about if someone gets hurt... liability issues and who pays. Oh, give me a break... Why is it always about money and who has to pay. Accidents happen, yes. But, there are ways that it can be worked out and shame on you for automatically thinking negative! What about all the positives? Growth of morale, less stress, better health, happier, mental break and lets not forget about pure joy.

I know your thinking what if no one wants to participate. Again, with another negative thought, shame on you! I bet you there will be people who will want to participate. A pick up game of four-square or volleyball, maybe even a little badminton? Count me in! 

Stop with the structure and routines. Get off of Facebook, turn the phone off and go play for an hour. The Spanish had it figured out with their idea of siesta. Granted they created it because of the intense heat, but the concept is the same. A recess to regroup. Some would regard recess as a waste of company money, time and personnel. I don't believe that. We are humans, not robots and we need to regroup after recess.

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Another Year, Two More Countries Traveled

“Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

It's been awhile, hasn't it? I fell victim to procrastination and got caught up in the vicious cycle of "work". My apologies, however don't worry I'm back up and running. (for the time being) I'll have you know that this year was a big travel year for me. I celebrated the beginning of 2013 in the one and only New York City with my best friend and we traveled to Italy in May/June. I couldn't pass up celebrating my birthday in another country and Italy of all places. Despite financial woes and career changes, I managed to successfully balance my budget and hop on a plane at the end of May. 

Getting to Italy was a fiasco. Weather delayed several flights, including mine and eventually my flight was cancelled. I was supposed to connect to Copenhagen, Denmark and then to Rome, Italy. I had worked overnight the day of my flight and lets just say flying with no sleep is not a very good idea. I got off around 10:00 AM and my flight was after 6:00 PM. Being the paranoid traveler that I am I headed to the airport once I grabbed lunch. I got through customs and that whole ordeal and started to wait. The PA system announced our flight was delayed and eventually they canceled our flight around 8:30 PM. 

I won't get into details, but lets just say the airline wasn't ready for the cancellation either as they us a phone number to call to change the flight or ask for a refund. I called as soon as it was given out and I was number 12 in the cue. It took me about an hour and a half to talk to someone and gather my luggage. Frustrated, hungry and tired... I had enough. I went back into the long line which I had been waiting in for about 2 hours and by that time a bus load of more frustrated customers arrived from JFK who were on the plane which we were supposed to get on to travel to Copenhagen. Luck must have been on my side that day (minus the cancelled flight) because unlike many of my fellow travelers I got a connecting flight to Munich, Germany and then to Rome. Some people missed 3 days of their cruise because they couldn't get a flight to Copenhagen. My new flight had been delayed for about an hour because of the weather and was set to depart in a half and hour. My connection flight from Munich to Rome was set for 2:30 PM the next day, our delayed departure put us in Munich at 2:00 PM. So, you know who was rushing about? This girl and I did in fact catch my flight, barely.  

Despite the rocky start, I finally caught a cab and met my best friend at our hotel. We ventured to the Spanish Steps for dinner and walked around a bit. We visited Rome, Pompeii, Venice, Verona, Milan and Florence throughout our adventure. We mostly traveled by a high-speed train and buses. To sum up our days in Italy... we saw a movie in Rome, bought REAL leather in Florence, went shopping in Milan, hung out with Juliet on her balcony in Verona and dined with rich in Venice. Less than 7 days and we traveled to 7 different cities. On the final day we had to travel from Milan back to Rome and I had to catch my flight back home. But, I had a stop first. 

I had a 13 hour layover in Copenhagen, Denmark and had scheduled a 3 hour tour in the city. I arrived in Copenhagen after dinner time and slept on a couch I found until my tour at 8:00 AM. I tell you the truth, I was a little uneasy about going on a tour of another country by myself. But, I had a blast and my tour guide was fun and knowledgeable. Did you know that it took Germany nearly 2 hours to overtake Denmark and that most of the streets are named after battles that they had lost? 

A great travel year for me in 2013, but 2014 brings a brand new year and new adventures. And, for those of you who know... this year will truly be life changing for me on the career front. I'm planning on traveling to Lima, Peru sometime after July to see my best friend. And, after February we decided to look west for a travel destination. A place like Nevada or California. But, who knows what the future will bring and what we finally decide. 


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