What Happens to a (Vacation) Dream Deferred?*

Clark Griswold: Chemist / Vacation Pro

Happy summer, everyone! This is See Arr Oh, reporting for active duty. While CJ's away, I've been put in charge of curating comments, dusting off all the old posts, and mowing the lawn. 


Since we're talking about summer trips, let me ask you: in today's economy, does anyone still take long holidays? Do you, like a certain Hollywood food chemist, pack up the whole family for a few weeks of adventure?


For me, it's tempting to slide back into the old refrain of "one more experiment." After all, for bench chemists, that's how we've always done it. During summers in undergrad, we're encouraged to join a lab, or perhaps travel for an REU. When grad school starts, advisors and senior grads casually mention that truly devoted grads work straight through the season (not to mention that the NMR gets less traffic in July).


When you hit the job market, the time crunch of your first few projects may cause you to rethink that tropical getaway; I once heard a manager say "Everyone gets vacation, but no one really takes it." 


Readers, what are your summer vacation plans? Do you feel secure enough to drop 'under the radar' for a few weeks? Or will you be manning your post, dreaming of far-off time off?


(*With apologies to Langston Hughes)