Holidays in general breed unrealistic expectations. The minute you start wondering, 'is it going to be wonderful enough?,' it never will be.
I don't want to take too long a vacation, although I do think I need a break. I start to - whenever I take too long a break or don't work a while, all my demons start to resurface, and I go a little nuts.
One of the biggest things I used to struggle with was about things like going on holiday. Whereas all your friends can talk about something and plan something all year long, I know that I'm probably going to be away and I'm going to miss all of it. If a job comes up, you just can't be there.
There's a weird kind of paradox that the more expensive the vacation is, the more potentially anxiety-producing it is.
I'm bad at going on vacation.
Using a camera appeases the anxiety which the work-driven feel about not working when they are on vacation and supposed to be having fun. They have something to do that is like a friendly imitation of work: they can take pictures.
Travel writing is harrowing. You are in paradise, more or less, having to prove it is paradise. It is hard to have a good time trying to figure out a way to say you are having a good time, whether you are having it or not, even in paradise.
Any holiday seems like a guilt trip.
I'm not a good time-off person. I'm awful on holiday. It comes from having that period when I didn't work. That really was the worst bit.
