if youre anything like me, youll end up doing both Joblessness ftw! (until you run out of cash)

I hate you bastards now. I just decided to rent a place so i can't even quit my job atm if I wanted to.

As a matter of revenge, i'll have to take a "sick" day somewhere this week. I can feel something coming up...*cough, hack*

(I can take 2 paid sick days every year without needing to make a doctor's visit. A lot more if I have a doctor's note)

oh, for me there's no such thing as 'sick days' or 'vacation days'. It's all rolled into 'paid time off'... so if I'm sick I can take some, or if I'm going on vacation I can take some. There's no limit to how many sick days I can take...if I run out of paid time off I just don't get paid. If I start missing a lot of days then maybe I'll get looked at more closely. Also typically if you're out for 3 or more consecutive days you should bring a doctor's note.

oh well, whatever. I can't quit if I wanted to... I'm the only source of income now.

Man, that sucks. So if you get sick and get a week from the doctor, it's all coming off your holidays?

Over here, you got your regular paid time off (typically used for vacationing) as well as sick leave which is a seperate thing and can last for as long as the doctor deems it necessary. You do earn less, and it gets progressively less as you stay sick longer (70% the first 2 weeks, then 60%, etc. until you hit 40% iirc). Only with a doctor's note though.

You can also take a single sick day per year (twice) without a doctor's note...in Holland they call it a "baaldag", which translates as something like a "Sucky day", because it's often used for people who're suffering from a huge hangover, for solving personal issues, for women suffering from her period, etc. Most of the time people aren't really "sick" in the strict sense of the word if they stay away one day. The last time I used one it was for an emergency dentist's appointment for example. Couldn't get a doctor's note for it, but didn't want to take a day off either. So yeah.

Then there's various other circumstantial leave like marriages, family deaths, births and whatnot. They're all paid.

Because I'm a civil servant, I have even more different types of leave. Basically I can get a day off for just about anything with any societal relevance. I can give blood 4 times a year and a get a paid day off each time. I can donate bone marrow once a year and get 4 days for it. Plasma, one a year and one day. Each month I can take half a day off with my overtime hours. Not to mention the many public holidays...from the 23rd of December to the 2nd or 3rd of January is paid time off, for example.

So...per year

35 days paid leave
12 x 0.5 overtime recuperate each month = 6 days a year
4 days blood
1 day plasma
4 days bone marrow
2 sick days without doctor's note
plenty of sick days with note
----------------------------------- +
52+ days of paid leave per year. Not counting public holidays and the Christmas period. To soften the blow: I don't give blood, plasma or bone marrow. And I haven't been sick since I started working (2.5 years ago). But I'm seriously considering taking a "sick" day next week or this week because my job sucks monkey balls.

Now i know why every American I ever met is so insistent about calling it "paid time off" instead of just "vacation". It's like a rare commodity to them.

you guys are so freakin' spoiled. It's a wonder your economy doesn't just collapse. I get 20 days paid a year, and that's only because I've been working here for 5 years. Prior ti this I had 15. The Army was totally cush in comparison... we got 30 days a year there (to start). What they don't tell you is that you may be required to work 18 hours a day and on weekends, so it kinda evens out there.

But it's all dwarfed by your little Belgian commune.

Yea, but the european business culture is a whole different thing from the US one. And our economy is doing just fine although the estonian politicians are a huge flop, they failed to correct the budget and increased VAT to 20%, bunch of losers.

No, you're correct. The fact it works for you guys says a lot about business and economics. Oh well, I don't know enough about economics to say much. I just wish my job didn't suck so bad.

Not much in terms of interesting bargains this week, even if Peggle and all its spawns is 50% off. I'm not a peggle man, but I know it's similar to Plants vs. Zombies in terms of addictiveness, which is...worrying.

http://www5.popcap.com/promos/pegglewowoffers/

In case you haven't heard: they're also releasing a WoW Peggle app...so you can play one addictive game while IN the other addictive grindfest.

Also, more for me than for anyone else: Pro Cycing Manager 2009 has 10% off this weekend!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/11120/

oh jeez...I saw that and was like...who the hell would want to manage pro cycling? That's even more boring than managing a soccer/football team. Guess I have my answer.

It's as boring as any sport you're not interested in I guess. Hey, at least it's not the 4000m track & field or hammerslinging.

Ox's other pass-time

I always was a sucker for skirts!!

The worst thing about the cycling manager game is that its presentation is pretty awful, and the game itself really not that good. But the idea of my riders crushing all is enough fun as it is.

Did I mention I cracked and bought Pro Cycling Manager 2009? In retail, though. Cheaper than steam!

Men of War for a mere 7€/£/$ on steam

http://store.steampowered.com/app/7830/

hehe, yeah. Just saw that and kinda giggled.

how many people can MP that? For $7 I may just grab it.