Open Forum

Did y'all see the new poll on the homepage? 

This year I made it a goal to use all of my vacation time, and ya know what? I did! I took a few vacations with my partner, I spent a little solo "staycation" time. I even took some time off just to go have lunch with a friend randomly. Sure, there were times that coming back from being away was challenging (holy moly what an email inbox nightmare!) but also, the time away from screens and meetings was really good! I've set it as a goal for next year, too. 

@Leanne Jaggs @Melissa Mitchell @Dennis Evashenk @Arnie Grahl - I feel like I haven't heard from y'all in a hot minute, so I'm putting you on the spot. Unless you're on vacation, that is... ;) ​​​​​

------------------------------
Stay awesome,
Quinn
------------------------------

Hey Quinn,

I am still alive but have just been crazy busy. Our youngest (11) has just finished Primary & have had so many end of year activities as such a special time. Not sure where the time has gone but crazy to think another year nearly down. We are meant to be in our summer month, but New Zealand has had more rain in the last 6 weeks since the early 1700's! This week hasn't been too bad, as at least swimming in our pool at night, as so sticky & muggy.

I am certainly going to be using all my holiday time, as OMG in about 2 weeks time, I am getting on a small cruise boat with my Mum & Dad & sister-in-law & we are off to Antarctica!!!!!!! Going to be away from 8th Jan to 3rd Feb & there won't be much screen time, as won't be a lot of internet........lol I will however have lots of stories when I return....promise......

So my goal, is to make the most out of 2023, now the world is opening back up. I so miss travelling, so have a feeling 2023 will be my year!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Merry & safe Xmas. Will get back to better posting when back in Feb, as oh yes, got conned to be my Rotary Clubs President again.......haven't done this for many years & funny, after being a District Governor too. Lots of laughs though.......

------------------------------
Leanne Jaggs
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-21-2022 14:53
From: Quinn Drew
Subject: So, HAVE you used your vacation time?

Did y'all see the new poll on the homepage? 

This year I made it a goal to use all of my vacation time, and ya know what? I did! I took a few vacations with my partner, I spent a little solo "staycation" time. I even took some time off just to go have lunch with a friend randomly. Sure, there were times that coming back from being away was challenging (holy moly what an email inbox nightmare!) but also, the time away from screens and meetings was really good! I've set it as a goal for next year, too. 

@Leanne Jaggs @Melissa Mitchell @Dennis Evashenk @Arnie Grahl - I feel like I haven't heard from y'all in a hot minute, so I'm putting you on the spot. Unless you're on vacation, that is... ;) ​​​​​

------------------------------
Stay awesome,
Quinn
------------------------------

Oh my gosh - a cruise!? How fun! I can't wait to hear more about it and see the fun & gorgeous pictures!

I'm so glad you're getting to kick off your goal of making the most of 2023 with a bang! :)

------------------------------
Stay awesome,
Quinn
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-21-2022 15:03
From: Leanne Jaggs
Subject: So, HAVE you used your vacation time?

Hey Quinn,

I am still alive but have just been crazy busy. Our youngest (11) has just finished Primary & have had so many end of year activities as such a special time. Not sure where the time has gone but crazy to think another year nearly down. We are meant to be in our summer month, but New Zealand has had more rain in the last 6 weeks since the early 1700's! This week hasn't been too bad, as at least swimming in our pool at night, as so sticky & muggy.

I am certainly going to be using all my holiday time, as OMG in about 2 weeks time, I am getting on a small cruise boat with my Mum & Dad & sister-in-law & we are off to Antarctica!!!!!!! Going to be away from 8th Jan to 3rd Feb & there won't be much screen time, as won't be a lot of internet........lol I will however have lots of stories when I return....promise......

So my goal, is to make the most out of 2023, now the world is opening back up. I so miss travelling, so have a feeling 2023 will be my year!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Merry & safe Xmas. Will get back to better posting when back in Feb, as oh yes, got conned to be my Rotary Clubs President again.......haven't done this for many years & funny, after being a District Governor too. Lots of laughs though.......

------------------------------
Leanne Jaggs

Original Message:
Sent: 12-21-2022 14:53
From: Quinn Drew
Subject: So, HAVE you used your vacation time?

Did y'all see the new poll on the homepage? 

This year I made it a goal to use all of my vacation time, and ya know what? I did! I took a few vacations with my partner, I spent a little solo "staycation" time. I even took some time off just to go have lunch with a friend randomly. Sure, there were times that coming back from being away was challenging (holy moly what an email inbox nightmare!) but also, the time away from screens and meetings was really good! I've set it as a goal for next year, too. 

@Leanne Jaggs @Melissa Mitchell @Dennis Evashenk @Arnie Grahl - I feel like I haven't heard from y'all in a hot minute, so I'm putting you on the spot. Unless you're on vacation, that is... ;) ​​​​​

------------------------------
Stay awesome,
Quinn
------------------------------

I know.......I am super excited........ Daughter not so much, as she is already getting upset as getting very close now. 

Will share some of my fun Feb when back.....even writing that seems crazy.....

Happy New Year all, back in mid to late Feb.

------------------------------
Leanne Jaggs
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-27-2022 14:30
From: Quinn Drew
Subject: So, HAVE you used your vacation time?

Oh my gosh - a cruise!? How fun! I can't wait to hear more about it and see the fun & gorgeous pictures!

I'm so glad you're getting to kick off your goal of making the most of 2023 with a bang! :)

------------------------------
Stay awesome,
Quinn

Original Message:
Sent: 12-21-2022 15:03
From: Leanne Jaggs
Subject: So, HAVE you used your vacation time?

Hey Quinn,

I am still alive but have just been crazy busy. Our youngest (11) has just finished Primary & have had so many end of year activities as such a special time. Not sure where the time has gone but crazy to think another year nearly down. We are meant to be in our summer month, but New Zealand has had more rain in the last 6 weeks since the early 1700's! This week hasn't been too bad, as at least swimming in our pool at night, as so sticky & muggy.

I am certainly going to be using all my holiday time, as OMG in about 2 weeks time, I am getting on a small cruise boat with my Mum & Dad & sister-in-law & we are off to Antarctica!!!!!!! Going to be away from 8th Jan to 3rd Feb & there won't be much screen time, as won't be a lot of internet........lol I will however have lots of stories when I return....promise......

So my goal, is to make the most out of 2023, now the world is opening back up. I so miss travelling, so have a feeling 2023 will be my year!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Merry & safe Xmas. Will get back to better posting when back in Feb, as oh yes, got conned to be my Rotary Clubs President again.......haven't done this for many years & funny, after being a District Governor too. Lots of laughs though.......

------------------------------
Leanne Jaggs

Original Message:
Sent: 12-21-2022 14:53
From: Quinn Drew
Subject: So, HAVE you used your vacation time?

Did y'all see the new poll on the homepage? 

This year I made it a goal to use all of my vacation time, and ya know what? I did! I took a few vacations with my partner, I spent a little solo "staycation" time. I even took some time off just to go have lunch with a friend randomly. Sure, there were times that coming back from being away was challenging (holy moly what an email inbox nightmare!) but also, the time away from screens and meetings was really good! I've set it as a goal for next year, too. 

@Leanne Jaggs @Melissa Mitchell @Dennis Evashenk @Arnie Grahl - I feel like I haven't heard from y'all in a hot minute, so I'm putting you on the spot. Unless you're on vacation, that is... ;) ​​​​​

------------------------------
Stay awesome,
Quinn
------------------------------

Thanks @Quinn Drew. I have been meaning to jump in and comment more. I was on vacation, so yes, I was using up my vacation time. Nothing terribly exciting in that I didn't go anywhere -- though my son did go to the Grand Canyon for a few days over Christmas break and I lived vicariously through his smartphone photos!! Hunkered down during the "ice days" then did a bunch of stuff around here (Chicagoland). It's just nice to use the remaining vacation days to detach from work for a bit. Of course coming back is always fun!!  Happy New Year.​

------------------------------
Arnie Grahl
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-21-2022 14:53
From: Quinn Drew
Subject: So, HAVE you used your vacation time?

Did y'all see the new poll on the homepage? 

This year I made it a goal to use all of my vacation time, and ya know what? I did! I took a few vacations with my partner, I spent a little solo "staycation" time. I even took some time off just to go have lunch with a friend randomly. Sure, there were times that coming back from being away was challenging (holy moly what an email inbox nightmare!) but also, the time away from screens and meetings was really good! I've set it as a goal for next year, too. 

@Leanne Jaggs @Melissa Mitchell @Dennis Evashenk @Arnie Grahl - I feel like I haven't heard from y'all in a hot minute, so I'm putting you on the spot. Unless you're on vacation, that is... ;) ​​​​​

------------------------------
Stay awesome,
Quinn
------------------------------

@Quinn Drew, I'm one of the "no" responses on your poll. I'm SO BAD at taking all of my time off! In fact, that's an instance where I'm terrible about practicing what I preach-- I remind my team at work that time off is part of our compensation and that we should use it. But each December, I end up rolling over several days. 

I recently saw a tongue-in-cheek article about how my generation (Xennials!) are forever impacted by "Perfect Attendance" awards in grade school. We were conditioned to think that showing up is the goal, no matter what. (I was a perfect attendance kid several years. I'm not sure the cheap ribbon I got at the end of the year was worth coming to school when I was feeling lousy/spreading germs to my classmates.) I just Googled Perfect Attendance Awards to see if I could find the article to attach to this post. I didn't find it, but I DID find a bunch of recent articles that recognized students for achieving "perfect attendance" throughout the school years.  Are we still doing that?? It seems ableist and also the wrong message to send to kids who become grown-ups who don't take their allotted days off.  :)

I'm curious to see if other people had the same experience! Have your Perfect Attendance ribbons come back to haunt you? Ha!  @Alison Randall @Amanda Gose @Mauricio Gonzales​​​​​​

------------------------------
-Brianne
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-21-2022 14:53
From: Quinn Drew
Subject: So, HAVE you used your vacation time?

Did y'all see the new poll on the homepage? 

This year I made it a goal to use all of my vacation time, and ya know what? I did! I took a few vacations with my partner, I spent a little solo "staycation" time. I even took some time off just to go have lunch with a friend randomly. Sure, there were times that coming back from being away was challenging (holy moly what an email inbox nightmare!) but also, the time away from screens and meetings was really good! I've set it as a goal for next year, too. 

@Leanne Jaggs @Melissa Mitchell @Dennis Evashenk @Arnie Grahl - I feel like I haven't heard from y'all in a hot minute, so I'm putting you on the spot. Unless you're on vacation, that is... ;) ​​​​​

------------------------------
Stay awesome,
Quinn
------------------------------

BALANCE!!!!
The word we often forget to use in our lives.
We all have different rooms in our lives, and we must teach ourselves when to go to each of them. Our work room needs to be kept apart from our family room so as not to take away from personal thoughts and feelings of others. Our personal room I think is the most important one because if we do not take care of ourselves first then we cannot take care of duties and or obligations to others.
Learning which pace our life needs to be is a hard lesson for everyone to achieve.

"Have a Great day or Create One"

------------------------------
Rev. Jim Klynman
Woodstock Ga.
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-11-2023 17:51
From: Brianne Haxton
Subject: So, HAVE you used your vacation time?

@Quinn Drew, I'm one of the "no" responses on your poll. I'm SO BAD at taking all of my time off! In fact, that's an instance where I'm terrible about practicing what I preach-- I remind my team at work that time off is part of our compensation and that we should use it. But each December, I end up rolling over several days. 

I recently saw a tongue-in-cheek article about how my generation (Xennials!) are forever impacted by "Perfect Attendance" awards in grade school. We were conditioned to think that showing up is the goal, no matter what. (I was a perfect attendance kid several years. I'm not sure the cheap ribbon I got at the end of the year was worth coming to school when I was feeling lousy/spreading germs to my classmates.) I just Googled Perfect Attendance Awards to see if I could find the article to attach to this post. I didn't find it, but I DID find a bunch of recent articles that recognized students for achieving "perfect attendance" throughout the school years.  Are we still doing that?? It seems ableist and also the wrong message to send to kids who become grown-ups who don't take their allotted days off.  :)

I'm curious to see if other people had the same experience! Have your Perfect Attendance ribbons come back to haunt you? Ha!  @Alison Randall @Amanda Gose @Mauricio Gonzales​​​​​​

------------------------------
-Brianne

Original Message:
Sent: 12-21-2022 14:53
From: Quinn Drew
Subject: So, HAVE you used your vacation time?

Did y'all see the new poll on the homepage? 

This year I made it a goal to use all of my vacation time, and ya know what? I did! I took a few vacations with my partner, I spent a little solo "staycation" time. I even took some time off just to go have lunch with a friend randomly. Sure, there were times that coming back from being away was challenging (holy moly what an email inbox nightmare!) but also, the time away from screens and meetings was really good! I've set it as a goal for next year, too. 

@Leanne Jaggs @Melissa Mitchell @Dennis Evashenk @Arnie Grahl - I feel like I haven't heard from y'all in a hot minute, so I'm putting you on the spot. Unless you're on vacation, that is... ;) ​​​​​

------------------------------
Stay awesome,
Quinn
------------------------------

@Quinn Drew, I'm with Brianne. I'm also one of the "no" responses... 

@Brianne Haxton, I understand where you're coming from about having a hard time taking all of your vacation time. I can relate, as I also find it difficult to plan a nice vacation or staycation. Despite not having children or being in a relationship, life still seems to get in the way. However, I've found ways to disconnect and rest in my everyday life, such as through exercise, prayer, and spending time with loved ones.

I also agree with you that the emphasis on "perfect attendance" in school can be problematic as it promotes the idea that showing up is the most important thing, regardless of one's well-being. On the other hand, I was never really concerned about attendance, lol, in fact, I was always getting into trouble for skipping school. My parents had no hope for me. I survived. 

PS: https://www.my90stv.com/

​​​

------------------------------
Mauricio Gonzales
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-11-2023 17:51
From: Brianne Haxton
Subject: So, HAVE you used your vacation time?

@Quinn Drew, I'm one of the "no" responses on your poll. I'm SO BAD at taking all of my time off! In fact, that's an instance where I'm terrible about practicing what I preach-- I remind my team at work that time off is part of our compensation and that we should use it. But each December, I end up rolling over several days. 

I recently saw a tongue-in-cheek article about how my generation (Xennials!) are forever impacted by "Perfect Attendance" awards in grade school. We were conditioned to think that showing up is the goal, no matter what. (I was a perfect attendance kid several years. I'm not sure the cheap ribbon I got at the end of the year was worth coming to school when I was feeling lousy/spreading germs to my classmates.) I just Googled Perfect Attendance Awards to see if I could find the article to attach to this post. I didn't find it, but I DID find a bunch of recent articles that recognized students for achieving "perfect attendance" throughout the school years.  Are we still doing that?? It seems ableist and also the wrong message to send to kids who become grown-ups who don't take their allotted days off.  :)

I'm curious to see if other people had the same experience! Have your Perfect Attendance ribbons come back to haunt you? Ha!  @Alison Randall @Amanda Gose @Mauricio Gonzales​​​​​​

------------------------------
-Brianne

Original Message:
Sent: 12-21-2022 14:53
From: Quinn Drew
Subject: So, HAVE you used your vacation time?

Did y'all see the new poll on the homepage? 

This year I made it a goal to use all of my vacation time, and ya know what? I did! I took a few vacations with my partner, I spent a little solo "staycation" time. I even took some time off just to go have lunch with a friend randomly. Sure, there were times that coming back from being away was challenging (holy moly what an email inbox nightmare!) but also, the time away from screens and meetings was really good! I've set it as a goal for next year, too. 

@Leanne Jaggs @Melissa Mitchell @Dennis Evashenk @Arnie Grahl - I feel like I haven't heard from y'all in a hot minute, so I'm putting you on the spot. Unless you're on vacation, that is... ;) ​​​​​

------------------------------
Stay awesome,
Quinn
------------------------------

@Mauricio Gonzales, I refuse to believe that you were anything other than the ideal student!

And that PS is the best thing I've seen all week--  memories unlocked!!​

------------------------------
-Brianne
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-12-2023 08:31
From: Mauricio Gonzales
Subject: So, HAVE you used your vacation time?

@Quinn Drew, I'm with Brianne. I'm also one of the "no" responses... 

@Brianne Haxton, I understand where you're coming from about having a hard time taking all of your vacation time. I can relate, as I also find it difficult to plan a nice vacation or staycation. Despite not having children or being in a relationship, life still seems to get in the way. However, I've found ways to disconnect and rest in my everyday life, such as through exercise, prayer, and spending time with loved ones.

I also agree with you that the emphasis on "perfect attendance" in school can be problematic as it promotes the idea that showing up is the most important thing, regardless of one's well-being. On the other hand, I was never really concerned about attendance, lol, in fact, I was always getting into trouble for skipping school. My parents had no hope for me. I survived. 

PS: https://www.my90stv.com/

​​​

------------------------------
Mauricio Gonzales

Original Message:
Sent: 01-11-2023 17:51
From: Brianne Haxton
Subject: So, HAVE you used your vacation time?

@Quinn Drew, I'm one of the "no" responses on your poll. I'm SO BAD at taking all of my time off! In fact, that's an instance where I'm terrible about practicing what I preach-- I remind my team at work that time off is part of our compensation and that we should use it. But each December, I end up rolling over several days. 

I recently saw a tongue-in-cheek article about how my generation (Xennials!) are forever impacted by "Perfect Attendance" awards in grade school. We were conditioned to think that showing up is the goal, no matter what. (I was a perfect attendance kid several years. I'm not sure the cheap ribbon I got at the end of the year was worth coming to school when I was feeling lousy/spreading germs to my classmates.) I just Googled Perfect Attendance Awards to see if I could find the article to attach to this post. I didn't find it, but I DID find a bunch of recent articles that recognized students for achieving "perfect attendance" throughout the school years.  Are we still doing that?? It seems ableist and also the wrong message to send to kids who become grown-ups who don't take their allotted days off.  :)

I'm curious to see if other people had the same experience! Have your Perfect Attendance ribbons come back to haunt you? Ha!  @Alison Randall @Amanda Gose @Mauricio Gonzales​​​​​​

------------------------------
-Brianne

Original Message:
Sent: 12-21-2022 14:53
From: Quinn Drew
Subject: So, HAVE you used your vacation time?

Did y'all see the new poll on the homepage? 

This year I made it a goal to use all of my vacation time, and ya know what? I did! I took a few vacations with my partner, I spent a little solo "staycation" time. I even took some time off just to go have lunch with a friend randomly. Sure, there were times that coming back from being away was challenging (holy moly what an email inbox nightmare!) but also, the time away from screens and meetings was really good! I've set it as a goal for next year, too. 

@Leanne Jaggs @Melissa Mitchell @Dennis Evashenk @Arnie Grahl - I feel like I haven't heard from y'all in a hot minute, so I'm putting you on the spot. Unless you're on vacation, that is... ;) ​​​​​

------------------------------
Stay awesome,
Quinn
------------------------------

@Brianne Haxton it's not just xennials with perfect attendance issues! As a millennial, I often have a hard time using my vacation days and I have lots of friends who feel the same way. I totally agree with you that not only is the award ableist, but perfect attendance awards also set the stage for adults who don't take vacation days and eventually experience burn out.

I found this article from EdWeek about how school administrators are shifting the mindset from perfect attendance to children being in school as much as possible and celebrating students' time in the classroom. The article states perfect attendance awards were an issue before the pandemic, but they are especially problematic now that COVID is still part of our daily lives and the award incentivizes children to go to school sick.

Some schools are already changing how they celebrate attendance, so there's hope that the upcoming generations will use their vacation days!​

------------------------------
Taylor Evans Ghosal
Evanston IL
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-11-2023 17:51
From: Brianne Haxton
Subject: So, HAVE you used your vacation time?

@Quinn Drew, I'm one of the "no" responses on your poll. I'm SO BAD at taking all of my time off! In fact, that's an instance where I'm terrible about practicing what I preach-- I remind my team at work that time off is part of our compensation and that we should use it. But each December, I end up rolling over several days. 

I recently saw a tongue-in-cheek article about how my generation (Xennials!) are forever impacted by "Perfect Attendance" awards in grade school. We were conditioned to think that showing up is the goal, no matter what. (I was a perfect attendance kid several years. I'm not sure the cheap ribbon I got at the end of the year was worth coming to school when I was feeling lousy/spreading germs to my classmates.) I just Googled Perfect Attendance Awards to see if I could find the article to attach to this post. I didn't find it, but I DID find a bunch of recent articles that recognized students for achieving "perfect attendance" throughout the school years.  Are we still doing that?? It seems ableist and also the wrong message to send to kids who become grown-ups who don't take their allotted days off.  :)

I'm curious to see if other people had the same experience! Have your Perfect Attendance ribbons come back to haunt you? Ha!  @Alison Randall @Amanda Gose @Mauricio Gonzales​​​​​​

------------------------------
-Brianne

Original Message:
Sent: 12-21-2022 14:53
From: Quinn Drew
Subject: So, HAVE you used your vacation time?

Did y'all see the new poll on the homepage? 

This year I made it a goal to use all of my vacation time, and ya know what? I did! I took a few vacations with my partner, I spent a little solo "staycation" time. I even took some time off just to go have lunch with a friend randomly. Sure, there were times that coming back from being away was challenging (holy moly what an email inbox nightmare!) but also, the time away from screens and meetings was really good! I've set it as a goal for next year, too. 

@Leanne Jaggs @Melissa Mitchell @Dennis Evashenk @Arnie Grahl - I feel like I haven't heard from y'all in a hot minute, so I'm putting you on the spot. Unless you're on vacation, that is... ;) ​​​​​

------------------------------
Stay awesome,
Quinn
------------------------------

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