It’s been a year and I miss a lot of things. The seasons of DC and the baker at the Dupont market. The dairy – milk, butter, ice cream – and the nightly happy hour events with friends. The amazing projects I worked on. I love being around geeks and coders, meeting new people and working closely with old ones. The pull of world-changing technology is bringing me back.
But this sabbatical was well worth it. I accomplished two lifelong goals that will be with me forever. I learned to write and to surf. If there were 365 days then I was in the water 362 of them. I made several surf spots my home, learned about the ideal swell size and direction, the sandbar fluctuations, and that misty morning weather I love. I surfed with a long board and short board, and made many new friends in the DIY movement – including several handplane manufacturers.
The same is true of writing. I may have been on vacation but I did not take a day off. I worked seven days a week, writing 1,690 posts on 1X57.com – that’s over 4 posts a day. I learned the value of a good title and how to tell an interesting story. I read books on writing, my two favorites are William Zinsser’s, On Writing Well, and Stephen King’s, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. And I wrote the first draft of my book, a 100-page nonfiction memoir of my journey to sustainability. I think of it as the sequel to Michael Pollan’s, The Omnivores Dilemma.
I spent long hours on both, worked really hard on mastering them, and it never felt like work. I’ve always enjoyed the hard work and the accomplishments that come with it. Now I can proudly say I’m a surfer and a decent writer. I plan to continue both but I have to let technology back into my life. It was my original love and I’m still passionate about it. I would use technology in my downtime to relax, reading Techmeme, coding on my websites, updating my apps, or playing around on my MacBook Air.
So, I’m updating my résumé and Linkedin profile, and reaching out to friends. There are many great projects out there and I hope to get on one.