Do you live to work or work to live?

My personal and work lives are a skitzy, convoluted, multi-layered mash-up. Kind of like rum, coconut milk and pineapple juice make a pia colada - if you miss one ingredient you don't have the final happy product. I feel fortunate that my work rarely, if ever, feels like I'm working for the man and when Marlene walks around handing out pay stubs I tend to say, "Really, it's been two weeks again?" and "I can't believe I get paid for this."

OK, I know I'm fortunate. Still and all I do love to travel. Other times I like to hibernate in my house on a creative binge for days on end (I wish I could muster lust for a cleaning binge). That's why when I read today's CNN article
Why is America the 'no-vacation nation'? I cringed, more than a little bit. So I'm sure did the 3,894 people who have share it on Facebook at this hour. Then I read the comments, not all by US workers.

Some people are defensive, they take the stand that we're the greatest nation on earth and we didn't get that way by not working.

Others point to success not being limited to monetary wealth, but quality of life - you know, travel, family, friends, relaxation.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations, sick leave or federal or other holidays. These benefits are matters of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employee's representative).

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll cited in the article, only 57% of U.S. workers use up all of the vacation days they're entitled to. They can't fit it in along with the demands of their employer.

I'm ruminating on this today, mulling it over, acknowledging that I'm putting that trip to Singapore off because with 2 day's travel each way, for Pete's sake I want to be able to spend at least a week there and not have it be the only time I can have a few days to myself during the rest of the year.

Do you have somewhere you would like to go or something you would like to do that you can't because it doesn't fit in the employee handbook (keep it legal dudes)?