The sabbatical sequel

I'm lucky to work for a company that offers a one-month paid sabbatical for every five years of service. I hit my 10th anniversary in January, so I was eligible for another sabbatical ... and I didn't waste time in taking it. I went off the clock nearly five weeks ago (I got a few extra days thanks to a weekend and a couple vacation days I tacked on) and have tried hard to not think about work and, instead, concentrate on relaxing, recharging, and refocusing.

I wasn't totally successful in not thinking about work, but I still would say, mission accomplished.

The month didn't go as quickly as I feared it would. I'm not in a rush to resume work again in the morning, but it wasn't a blink-and-miss-it sabbatical. I'm not at the end here thinking, "What did I do the last month?" With the first Joe-batical, I got to a point in which I seemed just a little meandering. I got some stuff done around the house and some writing, but there were too many days that, in retrospect, seemed kind of wasted. We took one small trip to Colorado that was nice but barely seemed like an adventure. worthy of a sabbatical. I came out of it feeling somewhat rejuvenated but not tremendously recharged. And this was a summer sabbatical -- but I didn't think I took full advantage of it.

For the sabbatical sequel, I felt far more productive and focused. I got so much done around the house -- clearing out the garage, reorganizing things inside, planning for the future -- that I was never bored and rarely lazy. I managed a little writing, hopefully setting myself up for a productive summer. I played 17 games of Strat-o-Matic, completed a puzzle, worked on other important initiatives, and caught up on TV that I'd been missing (no, I didn't spend the whole time watching TV, it was just more purposeful). I worked out a lot and lost six pounds.

But what capped off the sabbatical was an adventure. I really wanted to do something during this month. Lori and I had theorized a trip that fell through, and she encouraged me to find something on my own. My eureka moment was a train trip, going east or west. I chose west to San Francisco -- I'll be visiting Chicago twice this summer anyway, and the train journey is shorter to California than Illinois. I booked a roomette, so I had my own space (admittedly, I didn't sleep well) and meals included, and the trip was so scenic through the Sierra Nevadas. 

I arrived on a Monday night, checked into my hotel by Fisherman's Wharf, got In 'n' Out for dinner (it was just easy after the long train ride), and got a good night of sleep. Tuesday morning, I was rarin' to go. Here are some of the highlights for the three days:

• Found a great bookstore between Chinatown and North Beach
• Walked up all the stairs of Coit Tower
• Visited the California Academy of Sciences museum and explored some of Golden Gate Park
• Alcatraz, including a garden tour that gave me access to some parts of the island otherwise not accessible to visitors
• Trails in the Presidio and up to the Golden Gate Bridge visitor center (though I chickened out walking across the bridge)
• Great food for almost every meal after In 'n' Out (which was fine, too), and getting to sit at a bar of an Italian seafood restaurant with popcorn shrimp, clam chowder in a sourdough bowl, and a Fanta orange -- while watching the NBA playoff gam
• Finishing my long days of walking by jumping into the hotel's outdoor pool despite 60-degree weather (the pool was somewhat heated)
• Putting my feet in the ocean
• Ghiradelli ice cream, twice!

I'll also remember the people I met on the trip -- Rodney from Louisiana, whom I had lunch with on the train; Karen and Anita from Boscobel, Wisconsin, whom I had lunch and dinner on the train on the train back; the English couple swimming breaststroke laps in the hotel pool and asking me where Utah was; Janelle, the Amtrak attendant who knocked on my roomette door to make sure I was awake as the train was pulling into Salt Lake in the middle of the night.

I've had four days since I returned, and they haven't been the most restful. I got a few things done, and the patio furniture is set up in the backyard for me to start working outside again, I'm not terribly excited to be back working -- I definitely won't be a person who goes stir crazy in retirement -- but I'm looking forward to interacting with again my coworkers, whom I've missed after five weeks. Plus, it's just a three-day workweek this week, everything is turning green as May, my favorite month, is imminent, and I'm back on vacation in four weeks.

So, yeah, mission accomplished. The sabbatical has also provided a good reminder that besides living for others, I need to live for myself sometimes. I need to find the everyday opportunities to nourish myself and not get caught up in the things that suck away any positive energy. I too easily fall into that trap, but here at the end of the sabbatical, I've realized it is a trap. I set my own outlook. And at least tonight, that outlook appears great,