I didn't work for a week

[illusionofjoy]

In many European nations, one gets nearly a month of paid vacation time, with the option of saving unused days indefinitely. This has led to a situation where some older Europeans, having saved days for years, take months upon months of time off. This is great for the people with the vacation time, however, it leaves the businesses in a bind, particularly when the person taking such a long vacation is an integral part of the company. It also doesn't help the bottom line, I imagine.

In the United States, it has only recently become the norm for individuals to have two weeks of paid vacation automatically upon being hired. Time ago, one had to devote a full year to a company before they could expect any paid vacation time - or health benefits, for that matter. Still, one is expected to use those paid vacation days in a certain span of time - preferably within the year they were earned. If one does not use their vacation days within the set time limit, the days are lost. You don't get to save up and then travel around the world for three months on the company's dime.

Where I work, it is company policy that employees take no less than one full week off at some point during the year. I don't like to take time off with nothing to do, that is, I don't like to have a paid vacation and no real plan to do something out of the ordinary. There is always something to do, but it is a different question as to whether or not I want to do it. Cleaning out my apartment and washing dishes do not rank high on my list of preferred activities, even though I may have time to do them.

If you had asked me what I was doing for my vacation this week about two weeks ago, I would have said that I was planning on going to Boston to visit with lady_czerach and see Diamanda Galás perform. That all fell through, however, leaving me faced with a Friday at home, followed by a whole week of the same.

In that time, I decided that I may as well take the money that I had marked for air travel and put it towards getting my home studio together. This particular project has been a work in progress longer than I care to reflect upon, beginning with the building of my new computer. Friday, I found myself at New Egg, looking at sound cards. I eventually settled on Creative Labs' Soundblaster Audigy 2ZS Platinum Pro. After that, I ordered a copy of Adobe Audition 1.5. Although ordered at the same time, the software arrived on Tuesday and the hardware didn't arrive until Thursday. Needless to say that, on Thursday, I ripped open my computer and had both components installed within an hour.

The sound card seems to be working quite well - it certainly produces higher quality audio than my motherbord's internal sound scheme does (albeit, one probably not noticeable to the untrained ear). My only problem so far with these new toys is that, in multitrack mode, I am getting recordings of everything previously recorded, rather than just the current input. It is as if everything being monitored is being fed back into the channel that I am recording, rather than being kept separate. This is very irksome, to say the least. I'm going to try using my new sound card as the input and my old motherboard audio as the output, to see if this clears the problem. In theory it should, though, in theory I shouldn't have this problem to begin with.

As I said, my studio is a work in progress. I doubt I'll be doing any new recordings this year, not to say that I don't want to. Bundled with my new sound card was a copy of Fruity Loops Studio. I had intended on buying this software anyhow, but finding it bundled with my sound card was an unexpected treat. Unfortunately, my jubilation was short-lived as I discovered that the version of the software I had was the special "Creative" edition, which lacked the features I expected to find in the software (having used it previously at masochistmonkey's place). So, I'm going to buy the upgrade - which costs over $100, but will be worth it. Obviously, this will have to wait, as other matters - say, rent - are more pressing. I also need to buy a new pair of boots, as the pair I currently own are becoming too ventalated for the upcoming Winter months. It's a question of money and I don't have enough of it!

Still, I did spend three days (in a row) of this week with joi_division, so all was not lost. We spent most of the time watching movies and all of the second season of Invader Zim - time gloriously wasted. The two of us venture out into the world Friday to rent a trio of flicks from Incredibly Strange Video, a local indie rental shop. The flicks (in no particular order) were: Kurt & Courtney, Trekkies and Chasing Amy. The final item on that list was the Kevin Smith film that had evaded me for years. It seemed that everytime I tried to watch it, something would happen to interrupt the viewing. My last attempt, as I recall, occurred at an outdoor screening on the SUNY Potsdam campus as part of the school's Springfest celebration. The showing was shut down by the University Police, amoungst complaints that the film was "too loud."

Joi also purchased what she later discovered to be a burned DVD copy of the director's cut of Battle Royale, an ultraviolent Japanese film with a plot much like Lord of the Flies. It is a twisted film, to say the least. Apparently it caused quite a stir of controversy in Japan, not surprisingly. One would like to think that such a circumstance as described in the plot of that film would never occur...one would like to think...

I'm now contemplating the fact that I have to go back to work tomorrow...and what exactly I'm going to do with the next set of days I have off. Suffice it to say that I'd like to avoid sleeping in until 4:00PM for half the week, but that is to be seen...

Comments

[joi-division.livejournal.com]

It is still my goal to get you to watch Kill Bill, Vol. 1 and 2. But that is in due time.

Tell me when your next set of vacation days are to happen- how about a nice trip to the Canadian Side of Niagra Falls for a weekend?

[xeyli.livejournal.com]

Having time off and not having to think about work is always nice, whether or not you actually GO somewhere.

Currently in Dallas, and not doing much of anything. Tomorrow is the Pixies :)