New Orleans may be the funnest city in America, if not the world. Where else can you get round-the-clock music, incredible food, incomparable culture, and a party that never stops? A long weekend in NOLA provides a perfect BreakAway; you’ll come home feeling like you were worlds away, and for a long, long time.
Halloween, on the other hand, turned downright scary at times. Oh sure, the costumes were insane. But the crowds were even crazier—at times so thick and crushing you could barely move, breathe, or hear yourself scream.
So go to NOLA, by any and all means. But think twice about visiting during Halloween, Mardi Gras, and the super-popular times. You’ll find it easier to laissez les bon temps roulez!
If I were an Influencer and had lots of followers, we could have a little contest with this image. What is it? The winner would get, say, some lipstick.
So I’ll just tell you: It’s palms, an odd window, and a feeble solstice sundown struggling to shed light on an icy St. Paul. Thanks to the Como Conservatory, where a stroll always warms the spirits—especially in winter.
Covering BreakAways in the News remains a relatively quiet beat compared to, say, Trump. Yet the working world keeps predicting more potential for the idea, like covert prophets forecasting work/life balance atop balance-sheet profits. Here are a few recent stories that hit the Interns’ inboxes.
Everybody loves a quitter
Who knew? There really is an International Quit Your Crappy Job Day. None other than LinkedIn pays homage annually. And maybe you know a few people who impersonated Johnny Paycheck and sang “Take this job and shove it” on March 31. That’s the date, BTW. Oh, you didn’t know? Just as well. You need the money.
Anyway, this year’s blogger, Ozlem Brooke Erol, makes a decent case for jumping ship if you are miserable or the stress is eating you alive—and insists that “new doors will open up for you” if you “leave now and come out of a place of love and abundance, not fear.” Delusional? Sure. But such wild words could change your life.
Next PTO trend: FTO (Forced Time Off)
Well+Good recently published a post bringing fresh thoughts and stats about the dreadful trend of people working during vacation time. Like, 54% don’t disconnect when away. 50%+ don’t even use all their vacation time. Most people who work at “unlimited vacation” employers take even less time off than normal folks. And of course, the majority of people polled say work causes anxiety and keeps them awake at night. Hey, you need a BreakAway!
Bummer for us. Yet Big Pharma is probably okay with the surge in anxiety, depression, and insomnia. There’s a pill for all that.
Author Amy Semigran offers some solutions, like unplugging—including from SM—while away. The most intriguing, though, is a new-ish movement to institute “mandatory vacation” days. Makes sense—if The Management really cares about employee mental health, recruiting, and retention.
Forced time off. Brilliant. But…will the Boss will have to hire bouncers?
Assuming these stats are True News, here’s the latest on employer participation: 6% of overall employers offer sabbaticals; 28% of “small businesses” do; and 19% of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For are on board.
One can’t help notice that the story sponsor is an investment company. (One also often finds that behind the vacation-promotion initiatives hide various airlines, credit cards, and tourism bureaus.)
Yet it’s true: Your sabbatical won’t pay off without due diligence to money management. So if you follow some of the article’s common-sense tips and think big, you, too, may BreakAway. Someday.
It’s not all about the money, honey
Most Americans work 90,000 hours over a lifetime. So we do have time—a whole lifetime!—but what shall we do with it? While $ matters and remains the #1 reason people work so hard, one of BreakAway’s Five Five-Word Mantras insists: “It’s not a financial decision.”
It that sounds silly to you, consider: You’ve probably applied that logic to your love life, family planning, education decisions, and that fancy martini you had last Saturday. (Never mind the golf clubs or the botox treatment.) So hey, why not try that philosophy for getting away?
You may be more free than you thought. Just a thought.
First, the bad news: The bar you see here most certainly got shredded by the Cat-5 hurricanes that pounded St. John and the Virgin Islands in 2017. Now for the good news: A replacement recently opened, also in Coral Bay, and it looks even better. So are the pics in this article!
It’s called the Lime Out—named after the local-ism limin’, which means to go out and…party! The owners also own a successful eatery called The Lime Inn. Get it!?!
I love everything about St. John. So I emphatically recommend this establishment. To get there, you’ll need a boat. Or to swim well. You’ll also need an airplane to St. Thomas, a cab ride to the ferry station, a ferry ride to St. John, and a car ride traversing St. John to Coral Bay. Sound complicated? It is. But here’s the best news: It will be worth it.
NOTE: This post may be late today. Read on; you’ll understand…
Few feelings compare with the buzz of boarding a plane. You’ve planned, stressed, packed, and prepped. Then, finally…away we go! When flights run on time, that euphoria really takes off.
When a large, long shelf collapsed recently, a million mementos and countless photos came crashing down. Ironically, I had gone into that closet to clean and purge. Guess I was about 555 pounds too late!
The matchbook collection—dating back decades to the days when such things (and smoking) were commonplace—was to be the first to go. But once I dove in, I realized most of those memories had no other mental cue. Needless to say, I ended up saving a bunch. And getting lost in the cities, restaurants, resorts, bars, and other places I had been back when.
Memories are priceless. So is the art of getting away, whether for a quick drink or a RTW sabbatical. So those matchbooks aren’t all garbage, after all. Perhaps there’s a performance piece in my future where an audience member picks a random one out of a fishbowl and I must tell the story?
Don’t count it. But don’t throw away your memories, either!
My memories of playing and coaching sports, though fading, feature animated pregame rituals all about team and game. Sure, each player had their own routine. But few experiences compare to the upbeat team banter and camaraderie—which remains one reason why I am emphatically pro-sports for youth. That pre-game power was more than palpable; it was virtually electric.
It’s less like that these days. Now “virtual” and “electric” take on more literal connotations, as phones, headphones, and SM take over the minds and attentions of athletes.
An article by Timberwolves/NBA writer Chris Hine last week peeked into the locker room—and saw millionaire hooper studs with their heads down, staring at phones. Rather than shouts and slaps, there was silence (except for headphone noise). Rather than high 5s and clapping, hands were scrolling and tapping.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has noticed, describing some athletes as “unhappy” and “isolated.” Celtics superstar Kyrie Irving has stated of his fellow round-ballers, “People are dealing with anxiety, depression and other disorders that affect their well-being,” … “Some people can’t handle all of this, and we need to be mindful of that.” Wolves center Karl-Anthony Towns talks of having to deal with the “keyboard warriors”—rabid and rude fans that lurk and stalk from the cloud.
Beyond the NBA
While the NBA leads pro sports in SM attention—they have more Instagram followers than the other 3 big pro sports combined—the malady has, shall we say, gone viral. Strib writer Hine describes it as a “millennial condition.”
That’s certainly been my experience as a college instructor. Back in the day, the gathering of the students before class was a meaningful time of connection, chat, and even cornering students who had fallen behind or otherwise needed attention.
Over the years, that time has become evermore reserved and self-centered—to the point that teachers are often trained not to pressure students about their screen focus; you may feed into anxiety, sometimes called nomophobia, and make the problem worse.
Some sports offer hope?
All young athletes love their tech toys. Yet some sports remain more old-school, at least at times. After all, baseball games take hours and teams play and practice almost daily, but do you ever see players sneaking their screen into the dugout? Unlikely. A football player, meanwhile, would get thwacked by a coach. And an iPhone on a hockey rink would get smashed to smithereens, splashed with blood, and then eaten by the enforcer.
Of course, sports represent just one microcosm of the digitalia addiction conundrum. And the problem no longer just applies to millennials; I routinely see grizzled grandmas and grandpas stuck on their screens whether walking, dining, or driving (of course).
Thank goodness athletes must at least unplug to play the actual game. So far, anyway.
Here in MN, winters last long and test sanity. So we create curious pastimes that might strike Californians as crazy—like ice-fishing, snow-shoeing, and (of course) snow-sculpting. Some call me the Snow Whisperer.
This particular creation required fast photography action, or the flowers that dot the i would freeze and droop, just like we humans do. But faith pays; even the longest winters eventually end. As will this one. Someday…
What you see here is indeed a tiny house. For ice fishing, mostly. Similar castles dot Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes by the gazillions for months, and then must disappear by midnight the first Monday in March, as mandated by the MN DNR. We call it a bittersweet sign of spring.
To out-of-towners, this endless trend seems bizarre—further proof of our faraway, Minnesota-meets-Fargo quirkiness. To us (and, trust me, not everyone participates) the allure of the ice house is quite simple. And it’s not the fish (should you get lucky), the c-c-c-cold (most huts are actually heated), or the adult beverages (though the bar is often open).
No, it’s the art of getting away. And honestly, the experience can be beautiful, even magical. I have an interest in one and my shanty shindigs are always packed! Some gatherings chill, read, play games or music, do a date, spend the night. One Sunday sundown tradition with my brethren is singing familiar hymns in harmony. “Take it to the Lord in prayer…”
But usually, it’s a party. A Getaway party.
Meanwhile, on the East Coast…
Out East, tiny houses are popping up thanks to a venture called Getaway, as created by entrepreneurs John Staff and Pete Davis. Their vision for your less-is-more quest includes natural surroundings, eco-friendly digs, and an unplugging mentality. Any guests spotted using their phones are immediately, and aggressively, kicked out. (Kidding.)
“A day off for the always on”
Those seductive words appear as one of Getaway’s website headlines, and suggest the uber-busy lifestyles of their clientele: A day off apparently challenges the calendroid, while turning off devices evidently tests their digitalia addiction. Clearly, these people NEED that getaway! Or rather, they’re just like people just about everywhere.
Check out ongoing press, instagrammers, simple recipes, and T-shirts.
Let’s go!
I’ve long fantasized 68-hour retreats with BreakAway experts, good food, and parties (optional). Possible diversions from focus might include yoga, mindfulness, travel planning, and financial coaching. Everyone would leave with an ACTUAL plan. Or, at least depart refreshed and re-faithed.
Until then, ice fishing will do. As will Getaway’s tiny houses. Sign me up!
