The Vacation Game!

At my office we have to plan out our vacations at the beginning of each year.

It works like this: A calendar gets passed around in order of seniority and we each block out our first choices for vacation. The selected days must be in a continuous block. Then it makes the rounds again and all the employees choose a 2nd pick. Obviously, if you intend to use them both, you must have enough vacation time available by the time those dates arrive. Otherwise, it is okay to free-up any time later, and allow someone else to have it. It's basically just 'making reservations' for the time. Finally the calendar makes round 3. One final rule: calendar time that is already 'blocked' by two other employees is off limits.

I have refined my planning technique over the years. It goes something like this... Block two weeks or so for early summer for the inevitable visits from friends or family from Outside. (that's 'choice one'); Block some time for late fall; if for no other reason then that I will be ready for a break by then and will have some PFD cash to work with (choice two); and finally... Rondy! See, the calendar actually goes from March of this year to the February of the following year. Don't ask me why. So my Fur Rendezvous time is the last choice of the vacation 'year' for me.

Aside from vacations, of course, are the major holidays and a few 'floater days' that we are allowed. For this year, I have just finished using my first block of vacation time.