Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I go

Good Morning Monday.

This is an unusual Monday morning for me. It's my first day back to work in over a week. Not sure you'd call my last 10 days off a vacation. The proper vernacular these days is PTO. Though I did enjoy an incredible trip to Morro Bay and the underrated (thankfully) coast of Central California.

By the way, for an unusual breakfast of usual breakfast items like bacon, sausage and eggs, served on a gluten-free waffle made of blue corn tortilla, I suggest you hop in your car and visit The Hidden Kitchen in Cayucos, CA.

This time off was the most I've taken in...I don't know how long. With the exception of my bereavement period, which I'm told doesn't count as time off. 

What made it even more unusual, and perhaps this too is a sign of the times or my advanced age for a full time worker, I did not think about work or my hardworking colleagues at PayPal Honey (I hope I got that nomenclature correct) one time. Hence, I did not crack open my company issued MacBook Pro 15 to check in on emails, slack or the latest balance of my incredibly modest (and shrinking) company equity.

This differs greatly from the past when I was employed in the agency world. 

There, my work traveled with me. 

To the sunny beaches of Mexico. To the sunnier beaches of Kauai. To the overcrowded and obscenely expensive slopes of Mammoth. To the smokey cafes of Paris. And to the I-Can't-Believe-We're-Eating-Dinner-At-Midnight restaurants of Spain and Portugal.

Wherever I went, so went the pressing briefs of the day. The fluid and evil office dynamics. And the constant worry that I would be discovered for the writing fraud I am and be tossed out the door; only to land on my fat keyster and end my life in a dirty nursing home where they're always stingy with the much-needed morphine.

I wish I could reclaim those lost hours of unnecessary worry. Is it too late to put in an expense report to Neil G. for some proper remuneration?

Maybe the magic is all in the packaging. 

Because it was PTO and because I work remotely, it was much easier to make the transition from working to not working. And because it wasn't an official vacation, I didn't feel the pressure to immediately switch from over-caffeinated mode to over-Mojito mode. Once more, because what I currently write (lots of CTAs and email blasts) has little or no bearing on the success of the company, I'm much less concerned about being "found out."

I suppose I could get used to the idea of not working, god knows I've earned it. 

But then there's the prospect of ending up at a place like my uncle's next to last residence...

...and the realization that I haven't earned quite enough.

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Update: Just realized today would have been my father's 90th birthday. He was the hardest working man I've ever known. But passed away too early and never enjoyed the fruits of his labor. I won't make that same mistake. Hopefully.