And now, for a break...

I managed to get two weeks off here at the end of the year. It occurred to me that I really needed a break, and as all my projects got nice and quiet at the end of the year, I figured it was as good a time as any to not be in the office. I also realized that I hadn't taken a lot of time off in the previous eleven months, which I why I had so much time left to burn. And I needed to take it now mostly because I was so burned out.

Recent studies have shown that taking vacations are good for you, even if the positive effects are short-lived afterwards. Part of what helps you, some researchers surmise, is that people get positive benefits from anticipating the vacation as well as going on the vacation itself. Therefore, it's better to take smaller, more frequent vacations than one or two big vacations. I did take a couple of vacations this year, but each of them involved work in some way, like a presentation or teaching gig. I needed was to completely get away, which I'm about to do.

The next two weeks will be spent doing anything but architecture, which will be refreshing and I think will actually amp me up to come back and do architecture again in January. So posting will be pretty light for the next two weeks, but I hope you all find some time to take a break and rest this holiday season. Cheers and see you in 2011!