What I Did This Summer

by Laurie Israel, Esq.

I like to take my vacations during the summer, and generally take two weeks, with several weeks of work between the two vacation weeks. I enjoy the change of outlook that the vacations provide. Also, I do not check emails, visit the internet, google, wiki, or check twitter during my vacations. I feel like I’m off the grid.

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This summer, my first week was at the San Francisco Early Music Society baroque workshop in northern California. It was the fourth time I attended in 12 years. Two of the times, I attended with my brother (who had actually told me about the workshop). It’s a great way of spending time with my brother and doing something very engaging for the week.

This time I went alone and spent a week playing cello, violin, and harpsichord with other musicians from 20 to 80 years old. I was immersed, and actually worked very hard, sometimes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

When I got back to work, I realized I had been working too hard at work, and that I had been multi-tasking too much. I decided to back off from my busy schedule a bit, and reduced my multitasking, although I slipped once or twice. A couple of weeks after my return, I found myself on the phone with a client. After I had dialed her (during the dial tone), I resumed working, probably going to 2 or 3 different tasks at my desk during the time the phone was ringing her. When she answered the phone, I had no idea who I had called. Very embarrassing!

My second vacation was at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, where I spent the week drawing and painting a number of dried relics from nature, under the guidance of an artist/teacher. I got obsessed with a dried thing with tentacles found in the dunes and kept drawing and painting it. I worked from 9 a.m. to 3 or 4 p.m., mostly standing on my feet. It was exhausting, physically and mentally.

The photo bottom left is a digital Photoshop picture I made from the object, using a photo of it, the same object scratched out on clay board covered with India ink (with black and white reversed) and a superimposed nest I drew with pastels. I call it, “Insect Invasion.” The bottom right image is a “self portrait as a bug.”

When I got back to work from the second vacation, I realized that being at work was like a vacation. Work was easy, relaxing, and fun, and remains so even 3 weeks later, at least most of the time.

I think that’s what vacations are for – to give us a new outlook on life and work.

Copyright ©2009 Laurie Israel.

Laurie Israel
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