😎 Summer Break

Two months ago I took a career break with many ambitious plans. Initially I spent some time experimenting with Rust, Vulkan and Claude, updated my blog design, and wrote a few posts.

But I quickly realized that I would rather spend my summer out and about, rather than in front of a computer. I’ve often longed for a summer holiday like I had back in High School, even a staycation. Sitting at home can wait for winter. ❄️

Honestly, I was also feeling demotivated. I would like to learn art and music, and gain experience with other programming languages and technologies. But maybe AI will advance faster than I can over the next few years. I also hope to write another technical book, but I wonder what effect AI will have on the market for programming books? Maybe none of that matters – I shouldn’t halt my own personal development just because of a little 🤖 competition. I’m sure I’ll get back at it in time.

What have I been doing instead?

The fun happens on weekends or evenings. Playing beach volleyball 🏐, attending meetups and potlucks 🌱, and going to the cinema for the K-Pop Demon Hunters sing-along!

The extra time during weekdays has gone towards activities that improve my well-being.

Audiobooks

I’ve been regularly going on long walks (an hour or two) while listening to audiobooks. I’m currently on the third volume of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. I read these books in my teens, so it’s a chance to enjoy them again. Science fiction, absurd situations, British humour. What’s not to love?

It was also interesting to rewatch the 2005 movie and compare what was changed, removed, and even added to the movie.

Gardening

Perhaps a little late to start a garden, but I planted a handful of seeds, most of which germinated. It’s a very small-scale container garden, but hopefully I’ll be able to harvest some greens.

I also did a fair amount of reading to learn more about gardening, but I have a lot more to learn next year.

Cooking

Instead of going to Heritage Festival this year (it was rainy), I decided to learn how to make one of the ethnic dishes I would’ve bought.

I found a herbed falafel recipe in the cookbook Tahini & Tumeric and combined them with a store bought pita. At this point I’ve made hummus, pitas, and falafel from scratch, but not all at the same time.

I’ve been cooking more frequently in general, while also eliminating take-out. Tofu salad on rye (with a bread maker), potato salad with a homemade vegan mayo (cashew-based), mung bean green onion pancakes, and more.

Fitness

This past week I got a gym membership. My arms are still recovering from the hour-long Total Body Strength class. It was great!

It reminded me of a weekly class I took with colleagues 20 years ago. The in person classes are much more engaging than prerecorded workouts.

I also appreciate the option of running with a nice even temperature on brutally hot days, and likewise for the upcoming winter.

As my recovery time improves, I expect I’ll be there more often.

Gaming

I played through a few games, including Elroy and the Aliens, Duck Detective, and Lunar: Silver Story remastered. I’m part way through Lunar 2: Eternal Blue.

And I played one game of Civilization VII, despite all the negative reviews. I came away with a long list of UX issues that keep me from recommending it. No surprise.

More recently I’ve been playing Riftbreaker with my brother. It just got a big update with multiplayer support.

Finances

On the negative side, I definitely spent more than I was hoping over the past two months. For one, I ended up buying a new lawn mower, as my manual reel mower just wasn’t cutting it. 😅

Fortunately I was able to renew my Home Internet contract at a better rate and further lower the cost of my mobile plan. So my monthly bills haven’t changed much, despite picking up a gym membership (which is also discounted).

I’ll continue to make an effort to reign in my discretionary spending. Consider it an experiment. At the end of my career break, I should have better data on how much I reasonably spend month-to-month and therefore how much I should save for retirement.

What’s next?

RustConf is next week, and virtual tickets are free.

Otherwise it’ll likely be more of the same for the next month or two. Improving my health, weight, and fitness would be great accomplishments from a career break, even if I don’t make progress on all my other ambitions.

See you in the next update.