The Benefits of Improving Vocabulary During Resturlaub

At the end of last year, I found myself in a bit of hot water with the HR department of my company, as I had a large number of unused vacation days as we approached 2014.  I must admit that this topic has always been very challenging for me.  As much as I like having time off, I come from a background where 10-15 days of holiday per year is the norm.  Thus, living in a culture where I automatically get twice that amount of days each year has proven not only to be rewarding, but also a considerable obstacle.   In the 7 years I have lived in Germany, I have yet to get my holiday planning in control.

OK, I fully understand that I work in an industry that is extremely volatile, and somehow, I have always worked in roles at companies where the pace is pretty frantic, and no matter how proactive you try to be, you always have to be able to react to the next challenge, problem, or opportunity.  Over the years, I have feebly attempted to justify the reasons as to why I never seemed to take too many holidays to colleagues, friends, and family.  Sometimes, my justifications were simply excuses, and sometimes it was clear that the time was not right to go off on holiday.

Quite a few friends have berated me about my work habits (long hours), my lack of vacations, and even my philosophy on the subject.  However, many of those same friends have later on found themselves in similar situations, where work suddenly takes precedence over other elements of life.
I also have friends who work in equally challenging professions, and they, too, have commented from time to time about their struggles to plan vacations around very busy work schedules.

In short, it is not so easy to go off and plan to 30 days of holiday per year, plus the national holidays that pop up every other month, as well as complete all the tasks that your employer needs you to finish.  Throw in a life that involves knowing people named "May" and "Hem," or "Com" and "Pletefuckingshambles," and I personally can fully understand that holiday planning is nigh on impossible.

Late last year I was particularly frustrated, as my HR department were really holding firm.  I had to  take my remaining days from 2013 by mid 2014, and likewise take all of my 2014 days during the same year.  Laugh if you want, because having to take 3 months off from work can seem like a very nice problem to have.  However, as I stated above, I work in an industry (that I very much like working in) where taking 3 months off is not really an option.

The key, of course, is planning. 

Gulp.

Right, I admit that I am not so strong in this area, but have recently realized that I simply had to sit down and do it: come up with a plan on how to take all my holidays from 2013 and 2014 in one year.  (For those of you who saw me during my vacations last year, I was taking holidays from 2011 and 2012)

I considered doing something a bit silly, like taking vacation "hours" at random points during the week.  For example, I could say, "hi, i am on vacation from 12.30 to 15.30 today," which is exactly when one of my least favorite weekly conference calls takes place.  I also considered taking every Friday off this year.

In the end, I came up with a bit of a compromise, including both ideas above, as well as some proper weeks off.  I submitted my plan to my boss and the HR department, and more or less got things sorted. It was kind of a good exercise, and it is kind of neat knowing that I have mapped out all my days off for the year.

Rather than dillydally, I decided to jump right on to the vacation trail and took this last week off from work.  It has been a quiet, relaxing, and productive week. I have done things that I wanted to, at my own pace.  This has included a bit of work, but again, on the terms that I wanted.  I have been able to plan (ironic, huh?) some of my projects and ongoing programs without too many distractions from customers or colleagues.

Additionally, I have had some down time where I could focus on  some of  "want to-dos" from my mental list.  Although it was not really a new year's resolution, I have recently looked for new ways to improve my German ability. 

While I am proud that I have been able to reach a certain level with the German language, I am constantly reminded that I am far from fluent.  I can switch happily from English to German with few problems, both professionally and in private life, but do recognize that I should be reading and writing more.  I have a tendency to write in English when under pressure, and all too often I tend to pick up a book in English as opposed to German.

A few weeks ago, I purchased a few grammar exercise books in my local bookstore in effort to do a little more self study.  These are perfect for when I am sitting on the train, or in a random cafe.  I can work on a few little exercises, and refresh (or relearn) my language skills.

I am still contemplating taking a proper German language course.  I took private classes for several years, and because much of my daily life is in German, verbal communication is rarely a problem.  (If you use it, you don't lose it).  That said, sometimes I think it would be beneficial to regularly do "intercambios" with native speakers, particularly those who want to improve their English.

Reading for pleasure is a huge thing for me, but reading in a foreign language for pleasure requires some effort.  I can probably read "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" in German without a problem, but a novel by Ian Rankin continues to be tedious, mainly because it takes longer to get through the vocabulary; there are always words that I have not experienced before.  Unfortunately, I do not always have the patience to sit down with a novel and a dictionary, looking up words every few minutes.

But, this week, as I quietly have toodled around the house, I have tried to make myself more aware of opportunities to expand my vocabulary, not just from words I read in print, but also things I see or think about.  For example, just across the garden that my balcony overlooks, they are constructing a new house.  There are all sorts of construction equipment and guys with hard hats around.  As a child, it was easy to be fascinated by any construction site, it was like seeing really big Tonka trucks in real life, just like the ones I was playing with.

I consulted my big picture dictionary and learned a few new words this week.  True, neither der Tieflöffelbagger nor die Planierraupe rolls off my tongue with ease, but I am glad to know both of those words, even if I won't necessarily be able to use them all that regularly. 

That said, I am going to enjoy the rest of today thinking of ways I can say "hydraulic shovel" and "bulldozer" next week when I return to work.

Here's to quiet, productive vacations.  See you out there. 

The Bottom Line

A few weeks ago during the Christmas break, we took a little day trip to a town about an hour away from Valencia.  I was sitting in the backseat of the car, collecting my thoughts and enjoying the ride.  My brother-in-law put a mix on the stereo, a mix of tunes that he had put together for a party a few years before.  I knew all of the songs, which was really no surprise considering that my brother-in-law and I come from the same era.  As I listened to the intro to one song, I kind of smiled at the memories; I hadn't heard the song in quite a while, and prepared to sing along.

"The horses are on the track," came a voice to my right, just as I was opening my mouth to say the exact same thing.

I turned in surprise to my nephew sitting next to me.  "You know this song?" I asked.

"Sure, Uncle B," he responded.  "I think it is a great song except for when the guy sings.

"Well, we can't all have a voice as good as yours," I commented jokingly, then went on to sing the rest of the song with my nephew, kind of a nice bonding moment.  This is probably the first time that he has expressed interest in my music.

Of course, the fact that he knows the song is no surprise.  Obviously he has ridden countless times in the car with his parents and listened to whatever they were listening to.   When I was his age, I, too, listened to whatever my parents were listening to, and as a result, I am fairly well versed in the likes of Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Tony Bennett.

That said, I certainly would not call myself a fan of those three singers, just like I would not expect my nephew to be a fan of Big Audio Dynamite.  Still, I think it is pretty cool, all the same.

Over the past several years, I have noticed that I do not listen to music nearly as often as I did before, and while there are a variety of reasons for why that is, it kind of took this brief moment with my nephew to remind me of what I am missing.  Sure, there are loads of excuses, such as being too busy or whatever, but those excuses are pretty lame.

True, I can remember (fondy, I might add) spending complete Saturday mornings sitting around the house doing nothing more than grooving to tunes, only to feel guilty half a day later that I had done sod all.  Sure, this was not such a significant problem for me 20 years ago.  Who hasn´t spent the better part of a day reading liner notes to a few records?  But now, I do home office, and perhaps it not so easy to explain away the work day by having to get up every 3 minutes and dance around to whatever is shuffling on my stereo?

Sigh.  Those were the days, eh?

I think I needed this catalyst from my nephew to sort of kick me back into gear.  For years, I proudly told anyone and everyone that I would NEVER become that guy that stopped going to shows, NEVER stop listening to music, or worst of all, to STOP allowing music to remain such a huge influence in my life.

Unfortunately, that is what I have become, or should I say, had become.

The bottom line is, the decisions rest with me, so here I sit happily on a Saturday morning, rediscovering some wonderful tracks, singing along (dancing optional) and preparing to say, "hey, I have spent the last four hours doing something really great."

It's not a bad start to the weekend, finding the starlight, keeping the faith, and realizing once again how important music really is to me.

Thanks for the reminder, Bubba, I almost forgot.