We both quit our jobs in order to start a few months of skiing, camping, surfing, learning new things, catching up with friends and family, considering our next career options, and generally messing about.
Yes, you heard me. We quit perfectly good (actually great) jobs in Silicon Valley with amazing benefits to be ski-bums/hobos and sleep on people's couches and in our Vanagon.
Are you mad? Possibly.
Or possibly, we were just plain burned out. You know that feeling where you get an email and it is almost torture to answer it, even the simple emails. Where every new project or meeting sounds tedious, rather than exciting? That was most definitely us, and it is not OK. We have been talking about taking break for a while and were finally inspired by this sabbatical Ted Talk featuring Stefan Sagmeister:
Mr. Sagmeister believes that the normal life trajectory (shown in that first bar in the diagram that follows) does not lead to happiness. The second bar, with breaks interspersed during your career and a later retirement, is more rational. This idea appealed to us given the lack of enthusiasm we were feeling in our careers.
Before you all say, "well, that must be nice" - remember, we don't have kids. We figured we saved enough money (having never had to pay for daycare or save for college educations) for a few months off of a steady paycheck to simply enjoy our life and the fabulous people in it. Also, we are freaking in our 40s! If I don't learn to surf and ski like a pro now, when the hell am I ever going to get a chance. I think we are both cool with working a bit longer later in exchange for this time now when our knees are still strong and our bods are still hot (well, Dave at least:)).
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| Dave's freaky Elmo mask I am wearing for effect, WTF |
- Spent a week in the Midwest with the family
- Traveled to Kauai for a wedding
- Camped down the coast from Big Sur to San Diego
- Enjoyed a week in Maui, just us
- Spent four days skiing
Before things really get into swing, there are still a few nagging practical considerations we need to deal with like:
- Car and junk storage
- Renting out the house
- Budgeting for the trip
- Health insurance (connecting healthcare to your employer is the dumbest thing ever, but I digress)
Oh yeah - if anyone wants or knows someone that wants to rent a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom house in Palo Alto for 6 months to a year, let me know!
