{"id":697,"date":"2012-08-22T08:00:12","date_gmt":"2012-08-22T15:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kqed.org\/guides\/?p=697"},"modified":"2012-08-22T08:00:12","modified_gmt":"2012-08-22T15:00:12","slug":"8-awesome-reasons-to-call-in-sick-at-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/2012\/08\/22\/8-awesome-reasons-to-call-in-sick-at-work\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Awesome Reasons to Call In Sick at Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated:<\/strong> June 17, 2014<\/em><\/p>\n

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Flickr:BrianM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

One of the hardest realities we have to face as grown-ups is that we will never have another real summer vacation again. You will never again get two to three months of riding your bike in gangs with your friends, soaking up sun, reading books, playing softball every afternoon and getting on a first-name basis with the lifeguards at the outdoor pool.<\/p>\n

But all is not lost! If you’re a hard worker — and we know you are — you deserve to call in sick every now and then. Now, it isn\u2019t a great idea to use up all your sick time on things that aren\u2019t being sick — that\u2019s just asking for a month long flu in December. But we all need a little vitamin D, nature and\/or non-computer time to keep up our mental health. Here are a few reasons to fake a case of food poisoning and experience summer.<\/p>\n

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1.\u00a0SURFING IN SANTA CRUZ<\/strong><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to be the girl from Blue Crush <\/em>to catch a few waves. Just get yourself down to Santa Cruz! Any place worth its salt will have boards and wetsuits for you to use and if you sign up for surf lessons<\/a>, you\u2019ll be standing up before the end of the day. If you already have a little surfing knowledge, check the surf report<\/a> to pick the optimal day for your illness and head down to Cowells for a nice manageable day in ocean. Bonus: you’ll be very hungry when you’re done. Best to hit up Cole\u2019s BBQ<\/a> on the way out of town, since you have just used up so many calories it is totally okay that you are eating a slab of cheese-covered garlic bread with your fries and ribs.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0MOVIE DAY<\/strong><\/p>\n

Get up when you would usually go to work, grab some breakfast, and then get to the earliest movie — it might even be at 10:30 am. Matinees only cost $7! Here\u2019s the trick though: don\u2019t leave when that movie is done. Go to more movies! Go to all the movies! The Metreon<\/a> in San Francisco recently underwent a huge remodel. Now there are tons of food choices so you don\u2019t even have to leave the building for lunch. Bonus: no sunburn means no one will doubt your food poisoning story.<\/p>\n

3. BIKE RIDE TO MARIN HEADLANDS\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just because the days of pre-teen bike gangs are over doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t have adventures on two wheels. Pack a picnic and take a ride over the Golden Gate Bridge up a (very serious) hill to the Marin Headlands<\/a>. Don\u2019t worry, it\u2019s totally acceptable to walk your bike. Visit the Visitors Center or old military ruins and take pictures of yourself looking out over the Bridge and the city. Just don\u2019t post them on Facebook.<\/p>\n

4. WINE TASTING IN SONOMA\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

So, you aren\u2019t the type to spend a day off getting sweaty or sitting alone in the dark. Avoid the crowds (and maybe your boss) and head for Sonoma, Napa\u2019s prettier but less self-promoting cousin. Start with the Jacuzzi Family Winery<\/a>, mainly because the building and grounds are so gorgeous you’ll feel like you took your sick day in Italy. Then, go wherever the spirit moves you! There a couple good lists of wineries in the area (here<\/a> and here<\/a>) but why not just drive down the road and check out the ones that look interesting? Extra points if you can get one of your children who is over 16 but under 21 to act as a designated driver.<\/p>\n

5. CANOE ON THE RUSSIAN RIVER<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you already have a base tan and are not at risk of developing a suspicious sunburn, head out to Healdsburg and rent a canoe at River\u2019s Edge Canoe and Kayak<\/a>. All you have to do is make a reservation and they will bus you up the Russian River to a beach full of boats. Get in a boat and paddle downstream. Bring water and snacks and stop wherever you want. You\u2019ll spend a couple hours on the water and then you can pull your boat up on shore and a strapping young man will put it away for you! Don\u2019t forget to drive to Healdsburg for a meal and your weekly quota of cuteness.<\/p>\n

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6.\u00a0LOOK FOR ELEPHANT SEALS AT ANO NUEVO STATE PARK<\/strong><\/p>\n

If a brush with wildlife is what you need, drive out to A\u00f1o Nuevo State Park<\/a>. If you get a permit at the Visitors Center, you can take a walk out to the elephant seals<\/a>. If you haven\u2019t seen elephant seals, you are missing out. In the right light, regular seals are little and cute. Even sea lions are a manageable size. But elephant seals are named after elephants first for a reason. Don\u2019t be surprised if at first you mistake an elephant seal for a sand dune. Note: bring a windbreaker! It gets cold out there!<\/p>\n

7. BOULDERING AT CASTLE ROCK\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Want to practice climbing rocks without all those pesky ropes and anchors? Check out Castle Rock State Park<\/a>, southwest of San Jose. It helps if you know a little about climbing so you can make sure you are doing it safely but once you get that taken care of (you\u2019ve got to know SOMEONE who can help you), take a nice day trip. Just try not to hurt yourself, as that will be difficult to explain to your boss tomorrow.<\/p>\n

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Flickr:ChadFennell<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

8.\u00a0SHUCK OYSTERS\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exercise, movies, sunshine and drinking are all fine but let\u2019s get down to business: if you take a weekday off of work you might actually be able to get a reservation at Hog Island<\/a> to shuck oysters! Oh, what\u2019s Hog Island? Only an oyster farm in between Bodega Bay and Point Reyes where you can have a picnic and shuck oysters for three hours with all your closest friends. The problem: it\u2019s really popular so you have to book months in advance. So book now! Call your friends and plan a sick day together! Just remember the important axiom of the \u201csick\u201d day: Instagram no pictures, leave no oyster shells laying around if you are part of the carpool.<\/p>\n

-By Lizzy Acker<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Updated: June 17, 2014 Flickr:BrianM One of the hardest realities we have to face as grown-ups is that we will never have another real summer vacation again. You will never again get two to three months of riding your bike in gangs with your friends, soaking up sun, reading books, playing softball every afternoon and … Continue reading 8 Awesome Reasons to Call In Sick at Work<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11431,"featured_media":703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[5,14,20,31,42,46,51],"coauthors":[],"series":[],"affiliates":[],"programs":[],"collections":[],"interests":[],"class_list":["post-697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-ano-nueva","tag-canoeing","tag-elephant-seals","tag-hog-island-oysters","tag-marin-headlands","tag-outdoor-summer","tag-russian-river"],"acf":{"template_type":"standard","featured_image_type":"standard"},"template_type":null,"featured_image_type":null,"is_audio_post":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11431"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=697"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=697"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=697"},{"taxonomy":"affiliates","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/affiliates?post=697"},{"taxonomy":"programs","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/programs?post=697"},{"taxonomy":"collections","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/collections?post=697"},{"taxonomy":"interests","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/interests?post=697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}