Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company

CHEVERLY, Md. — I've always loved admired this building from afar while driving on the BW Parkway. Figured I'd visit for an up-close view.

Vacation

We're heading into the vacation season. For me, anyway. In fact, I'll be in the office for only about two weeks between now and the end of August.

It turns out that my series of back-to-back-to-back vacations may help my company. Patty Azzarello of Fast Company writes that my absence will make both me and my team more productive.

I know several people who simply don't take vacations, which is likely due to the same thinking that makes people afraid to be the first person to leave work at the end of the day. Tim Kreider of the New York Times calls it "the busy trap," in which people convince themselves that they must be busy to be productive members of society. He writes:

"Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness; obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of the day."

And so I'm off to do nothing for awhile.

If you need me, I'll be on Instagram. And Foursquare. Twitter. Draw Something. And occasionally Facebook.