TpcMurray: Rant - Time Off

So Monday the 29th of August I was at my desk at work and it hit me ... BAM! I'm burnt out. I can't even read my own code. I go for a walk outside for a few minutes, take a few deep breaths and come back with a new perspective. From this perspective I'm about 1,000 lines of prototype code over my head for a Monday. Multi-threaded enterprise software architecture is a bitch.

So, I call my parents and book their summer cabin for a week. I email my boss and tell him I know it's short notice, but I need a week off and would appreciate his help in getting it. I write a grocery list until the approval arrives (10 mins), head home to pack (20 mins), grocery shop (20 mins), drive to the cabin (70 mins), unpack and settle in (40 mins), then nap for most of the rest of the day.

The rest of the week I spent doing whatever I wanted with a few exceptions: no food containing fat, no alcohol, and no communication with the outside world, until the upcoming Friday. How'd it go? I'm seriously a new man. I did quite a bit of time in my isolated paradise napping, lounging around in my PJ bottoms, reading (and finishing) the novels on my night table, playing my new guitar, experimenting with fat free super healthy recipes, and drinking many a cup of Tetley on our back patio overlooking the salt water harbor, at times-of-luck watching a mink jump off our wharf to fish for her and her family. Turns out they live under the cabin. No wonder I saw her so often.

It was remarkably relaxing, and amazingly productive. After two days winding down I had the NEED to code. I had both laptops with me (new and old) so I coded when I wanted to. I got more done in that 4 days than in the previous month at work, given my clarity of thought and how easily my first designs turned out to be great designs (read: good enough).

I learned something about myself. I argue with people in my head A LOT. How bad is it when you are carrying out argument scenarios while virtually isolated from society? It stopped after the wind down period. I'm not sure if that was because I noticed the affliction, or because it was a side effect of my being burnt out, but I've decided to use it in the future as an indicator. :)

So, that Friday I drove home for a bunch of reasons. First was to have lunch with a long time friend at the office (his last day) who found the courage to take his wife and 3 kids and move to Africa to do missionary work of sorts in a small school there. That's humbling courage. Later that day Nicole returned from her week in Florida with her mom and sister. I spoke to her only once when she was gone and missed her dearly. (Did I mention she's beautiful?) ALSO later that day two other long time friends got married. (Gratz Buckwheat and Vicki!) The wedding was beautiful, and the reception was hilarious. Good times all around. The next day, Saturday, being Labor Day weekend, we up and went camping at Malady Head park (2.5 hours from GFW). There were 12 of us, so we got a large group site as usual.

Well, that's my last week-and-a-bit. Quite a bit happened compared to my usual life, so maybe a little more interesting post than usual.

As a sort of fade out, here are some of the camping pics: