Eve

I just turned fifty. I've been in the IT industry for twenty five years, working in various industries as varied as biochemistry and retail.  But I noticed something a few years back - I was getting distracted, it wasn't as much fun. The pizazz wasn't there any more.  I was losing my mojo, for lack of a better word.  So, after changing jobs a few months ago, just to get a different view on things, I realized it was me.  Th job wasn't the problem, but my take on it.  So I decided to take a different tack.  Rather than fish around, trying to find a job that would pull me out of my bad case of ennui, I would go complete cold turkey.

I'll take a sabbatical.

So what is a sabbatical? What sets it apart from a vacation, or a period of unemployment?  For me there are two things that set it apart from those two.  Compared to a vacation, it is longer.  Not a period of weeks, but of months, or even years.  And instead of the primary goal being to become gainfully employed, the goal is to do something different, to do those things that I just didn't have time to do while working.

I wrote this on the eve of my break.  Last Friday I turned in my laptop and badge, shook hands and said my goodbyes to my team mates, and walked out the door.  I might go back, or my direction might lie elsewhere. I'll hopefully discover that over the next few months.

Now I'm not going into this without a plan. I have a list of things I want to do, from getting in shape, learning a few things, cleaning the house, and playing music down at the local pub.  And some introspection.  I'll need some time just to think about everything, and nothing.

I'll give myself a few months.  This sort of thing can't be rushed.