This week marks 10 years since I started working with the university that is my employer. After ten years of service, we qualify for long service leave (LSL), which means we receive three months' paid leave on top of any existing paid annual leave (which accrues at four weeks a year). Not having taken a proper holiday in more than a year, I also have five weeks of annual leave accrued, which means I have a combined total of four months' worth of paid leave to use. This is amazing to me, after so many years of being broke before I started working here.

There's no way I'll be using those months this year because there are too many work commitments. But I have every intention of using it in the next year or two. I'm looking at travelling around Europe and Africa (kinda interested in Namibia).

In the meantime, the two of us need a break. It's been an intense year and we're only just over halfway through it. So we're flying to Fitzroy Island for five days this weekend. Given how cold Melbourne has been the past couple of months some sun will be welcome.

This was a good long read. I'm going to have to come back to it. Thanks for sharing.