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congrats to spanky. and poor linville. bummer. Frig that BS, man!!

I spit on them for u.

Feel better? (oh, i kid. i kid.)

Linville, I am beginning to think you are some kind of superhuman. Who can work this much? Darn, you need a vacation!
Spanky, you won the Chinese lottery! I would've offered $5. (I know, crappy of me. You are a better man.)

Rev's right, Linville - I work insane hours as well, and due to the nature of my job I can't often take week long (much less two week long) vacations, those have to be planned a year or more in advance, and even then, half the time some crisis manifests and I have to cancel.  I can't even begin to count the cruises and vacations my wife and her Mom (and the kids, when they were younger) have gone on without me while I stay at home slaving away.  The four day weekend I started this past Thursday only came about because I've reached the maximum amount of vacation hours my employer allows us to accumulate, so my boss grudgingly had to let me go on Wednesday evening.

Of course, as I'm of Scotch / Irish descent, my luck is terrible, and this four day weekend started on the exact same day that my wife and her Mom left for a three-week jaunt to Shreveport, New Orleans, and home to Texas, so I've spent it alone - Which isn't that terrible, as I have have two dogs, two cats, 30 adult hens, 3 adult roosters, and 50 baby chicks to care for and talk to (they don't answer, but they sure do perk up and look at you when you're talking, even if it is nonsense).

I'll be leaving in a few hours for an event at Fort Lewis (Seattle, WA) that I'm honestly dreading, but when you accept a nomination to be a member of the Board of Directors for an Association, you accept that you may be called on to give the occasional speech, and returning home tomorrow evening, but all in all, I highly recommend a three or four day weekend at least once per quarter - It may not be a vacation, but it is certainly a pleasant break in the routine of the daily grind, and enough time to decompress.

Best,

- b2g

Charon , Fire , thanks for the thoughts whilst I had to work Friday evening way too long (midnight, when I left) Appreciate you guys, really I do.

They stopped the Friday evening job at 11:30 due to safety considerations my input was unless an episodic event was going to happen my old company would always stop at 16 hours but this was the new company and they eventually did the same.

I would have rather just had it get completed,  because I had to come back for 5 hours on Saturday and it took my desire to do anything for the day..... Eventually got it all complete .


Revolution, Of course you are right in that my work and play, part of life is not properly balanced. (Need Vacation.) I do push myself too often as you have noticed, nothing wrong with that, maybe I will finally listen so thanks....I need to get things balanced for my own mental health.....having switched companies and the work being extra for a while it is so easy to get caught up in just conforming to it.....

The way companies are short staffing now days just creates extra work and they expect it to be done or they will get someone else but I do have a plan...and I also could go into other reasons that it happens but well not now, K.

I am thinking I will maybe take a mental health holiday off next week. Hmmm and maybe some other plans for some long week ends, like B2G mentions.

anyway my friends I hope the day is as beautiful for you where your at as it is here. 

---

Not connected with anything but saw this and felt it had some wisdom....

So let me add this just as food for thought randomly..........ok.

10 Little Habits that Steal Your Happiness
[img=500x0]http://i0.wp.com/www.marcandangel.com/images/10-steal-your-happiness.jpg?resize=500%2C332[/img]
You ultimately become what you repeatedly do.  If your habits aren’t helping you, they’re hurting you.  Here are a few examples of the latter that will steal your happiness if you let them:

1.  Focusing on everyone’s story except your own.
Don’t be so satisfied with the success stories of others and how things have gone for them that you forget to write your own.  Unfold your own tale and bring it to life.  You have everything you need to become what you are capable of becoming.  Incredible change happens when you decide to take control.  This means consuming less and creating more.  It means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and deciding for you.  It means learning to respect and use your own ideas and instincts to write your passage.
If you want your life story to soar to new heights, you’ve got to clear a path, reduce the time-sinks and burdens weighing you down, and pick up the things that give you wings.  Keep your best wishes and your biggest goals close to your heart and dedicate time to them every day.  If you truly care about what you do and you work diligently at it, there’s almost nothing you can’t accomplish.

2.  Waiting for the perfect moment.
Don’t buy into the myth of the perfect moment.  Moments aren’t perfect; they’re what you make them.  So many people wait around for the stars to align to do what they’re here to do.  The perfect moment, the perfect opportunity, the perfect state of being, etc.  Wake up!  These states of perfection are myths.  They do not exist.
Your ability to grow to your highest potential is directly related to your willingness to act in the face of imperfection.  You will come to succeed not by finding a perfect moment, but by learning to see and use life’s imperfections perfectly.  Read The Power of Now.

3.  Working for nothing more than a paycheck.
Work without interest is imprisonment.  Even if you aren’t super-passionate about your work, you’ve got to at least be interested in it.  When you design a lifestyle in which your work is something you suffer through daily strictly to pay your bills, you end up spending your entire life wishing you had someone else’s.
Think about it.  This is your life; your work will fill a large percentage of it.  It’s not all about the money; it’s about you.  Ignore the propaganda, especially from people who say, “Don’t let your work define you.”  Reverse this message and mediate on it:  “I will do work that defines me.”  When the essence of who you are defines at least some slice of the work you do for a living, that work generates fulfillment.
Bottom line:  Interest in your work puts quality in your output and happiness in your mind.  Don’t settle for a paycheck.  Shuffle around until you find work that interests you.

4.  Harboring feelings of hate.
As Martin Luther King Jr. so profoundly said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”  Truth be told, when we harbor feelings of hate, it eventually gets the best of us.  It takes control of us.  We forget why we hate, what we hate, and whom we hate – we simply hate for the sake of hating.  And then, naturally, we begin to hate ourselves too.
Everything and everyone you hate rents permanent space in both your head and heart.  So if you want to eliminate something or someone from your mind, don’t hate.  Instead, disconnect yourself, move on, and don’t look back.  Read The Mastery of Love.

5.  Holding tight to worries and fears.
Someday when you look back over your life you’ll realize that nearly all of your worries and anxious fears never came to fruition – they were completely unfounded.  So why not wake up and realize this right now.  When you look back over the last few years, how many opportunities for joy did you destroy with needless worry and negativity?  Although there’s nothing you can do about these lost joys, there’s plenty you can do about the ones that are still to come.
You will find that it’s necessary to let some things go simply for the reason that they’re heavy on your heart and soul.  Let go of them.  Don’t clamp shackles to your own ankles.  It’s incredibly easy to enjoy more of your life right now, no matter what the situation.  It’s just a matter of letting go of the layers of nonsense that are weighing you down.
Let go of your worries and fears, of your rage and jealousy, of your need to always be right and control others.  Let go of your pretentiousness and your need to have everything your way.  Underneath all these layers of nonsense there is a happy, productive person.  When you start peeling them off and simply appreciating everything for what it is, life can be wonderfully fulfilling.

6.  Dwelling on difficulties.
A bad day is just a bad day.  Choose not to make it anything more.  Times of adversity will inevitably affect the conditions in which you live and work; yet you don’t have to let it affect who you are and where you’re headed.  Take note of the setbacks and adjust to them, but don’t expand on them by making them a bigger part of your life.
Every day brings new lessons and new possibilities.  There is always a way to take the next step forward on the path you’ve chosen.  Events may be terrible and inescapable at times, but you always have choice – if not when, then how, you may endure and proceed onward.

7.  Constantly seeking fleeting contentment.
There are two variations of contentment in life – fleeting and enduring.  The fleeting type is derived from instants of material comfort, while the enduring type is attained through the gradual growth of your mind.  At a glimpse it might be difficult to decipher one from the other, but as time rolls on it becomes vividly obvious that the latter is far superior.
Enduring contentment sustains itself through life’s ups and downs, because through them your mind remains confident and at peace.  On the other hand, when life’s fleeting changes have the ability to ruffle your mind into a frenzy, even the most elaborate physical comforts won’t make you any happier for very long.  Read Stumbling on Happiness.

8. Trying to make a big difference all at once.
If you want to make a difference in the world, start with the world around you.  Making a big difference all at once is usually impossible, and the process of trying is extremely stressful.  However, instantly making a difference in a few lives is entirely possible and usually fairly easy.  You just have to focus on one person at a time and start with the one closest to you.
Work to make a bunch of small splashes, and let the ripples spread naturally.  If you want to change a person’s mind or mood, sometimes you have to change the minds or moods of the people around them first.  For instance, if you make one person smile, their smile just might make others smile too.  In this subtle way, you can touch the masses with your thoughtfulness without stressing yourself out.

9.  Holding on to someone who hurts you.
Sometimes you have to walk away from people, not because you don’t care, but because they don’t.  When someone hurts you time and time again, accept the fact that they don’t care about you.  It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it’s necessary medicine.  Do NOT strive to impress them any further.  Waste not another second of your time trying to prove something to them.  Nothing needs to be proven.  Do not act with any thought of them ever again.  Read 1,000 Little Things.

10.  Over-amplifying the importance of physical attractiveness.
Infatuating yourself with someone simply for what they look like on the outside is like choosing your favorite food based on color instead of taste.  It makes no sense.  It’s innate, invisible, unquantifiable characteristics that create lasting attraction.

Just as some people enjoy the smell of mint, while others prefer the scent of cinnamon, there is an undeniable, magnetic draw that attracts you to the qualities of certain people, places, and things.  Sometimes it’s even the scars your soul shares with them that reels you in and creates the very hinges that hold you together in the long run.
Photo by: Georges Petrequin

I have to say, I probably dwell on 5 and 8. 

Grest stuff, Linville

I've never had a problem with #4 but I admit I have with #9.Thanks for posting.

HI Gang
Just a thought for today: 

Good Thought Revolution.

Another one.....