Fantasizing about Sabbaticals
Oct. 15th, 2009 11:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebI have this idea now that I would like to take a sabbatical.
By "take a sabbatical," I mean:
* prepare to leave my job--clean my office and finish up a reasonable amount of documentation
* quit my job without having another one lined up
* don't even look for a job for eight months
* meanwhile, do something impressive so that I seem interesting instead of like a loser deadbeat
* get another job
What would my impressive thing be? It should be something I'd actually want to do. I'm thinking learn Spanish or write a book. Or both. Writing a book sounds more impressive than learning Spanish, though I suspect learning Spanish would be much more time consuming for me.
There would be a few minor technicalities to work out like money to live on, insurance, and how to actually get another job in a reasonable amount of time (i.e., measured in months rather than years).
A bonus is that I would get paid for my unused vacation (a little over two months) at my current pay rate (not counting longevity pay). Another bonus is that I get credit toward retirement for any fiscal year during which I work at least 4.5 months. I cross that line January 15. I would have until the following year in spring to find another UT job and get credit for the 10-11 fiscal year as well. Another bonus is that I could roll my 403(b) (work retirement money) into a place with better choices and lower expenses. I might also be able to get some consultation work from my current employer.
I've never done anything this scary/stupid (on purpose). I would be endangering my chance to comfortably retire at age 52 (5.33 years from now). On the other hand, lots of people do scary things like this, and some of them are my friends and can give me hints. Some hints won't apply to me and some I won't like. Here are some I know about already:
* pay off my mortgage - I might be able to do that, but I'd rather hold the cash for flexibility
* live on my spouse's salary for a while; later we can live on my salary - I don't have a spouse, plus neither one of us makes enough for both of us to live on in the style to which we've become accustomed
* line up a job ahead of time that will let me hold off starting for a couple of months - nooo, I want many months! Plus is that even possible?
Even if I don't do this, thinking about it might lead to another idea (like working half time for a while) that I might do.
I've also been reading about job burnout but not getting any good ideas from those readings.
Baby lesson of the day - I got to feed my niece yesterday. Here was the general procedure:
* I put food on the tiny spoon.
* I showed it to her and waited for her to open her mouth.
* She grabbed the spoon and helped put it in her mouth, though her aim could still use some work.
* She sucked on the spoon for a while.
* The spoon lost all its flavor.
* She took the spoon out of her mouth and let go of it, perhaps even flinging it to the side. A tasteless spoon is of no use to her.
I think there's a lesson here somewhere in getting rid of things you are no longer enjoying, even if those things did once give you great enjoyment.
By "take a sabbatical," I mean:
* prepare to leave my job--clean my office and finish up a reasonable amount of documentation
* quit my job without having another one lined up
* don't even look for a job for eight months
* meanwhile, do something impressive so that I seem interesting instead of like a loser deadbeat
* get another job
What would my impressive thing be? It should be something I'd actually want to do. I'm thinking learn Spanish or write a book. Or both. Writing a book sounds more impressive than learning Spanish, though I suspect learning Spanish would be much more time consuming for me.
There would be a few minor technicalities to work out like money to live on, insurance, and how to actually get another job in a reasonable amount of time (i.e., measured in months rather than years).
A bonus is that I would get paid for my unused vacation (a little over two months) at my current pay rate (not counting longevity pay). Another bonus is that I get credit toward retirement for any fiscal year during which I work at least 4.5 months. I cross that line January 15. I would have until the following year in spring to find another UT job and get credit for the 10-11 fiscal year as well. Another bonus is that I could roll my 403(b) (work retirement money) into a place with better choices and lower expenses. I might also be able to get some consultation work from my current employer.
I've never done anything this scary/stupid (on purpose). I would be endangering my chance to comfortably retire at age 52 (5.33 years from now). On the other hand, lots of people do scary things like this, and some of them are my friends and can give me hints. Some hints won't apply to me and some I won't like. Here are some I know about already:
* pay off my mortgage - I might be able to do that, but I'd rather hold the cash for flexibility
* live on my spouse's salary for a while; later we can live on my salary - I don't have a spouse, plus neither one of us makes enough for both of us to live on in the style to which we've become accustomed
* line up a job ahead of time that will let me hold off starting for a couple of months - nooo, I want many months! Plus is that even possible?
Even if I don't do this, thinking about it might lead to another idea (like working half time for a while) that I might do.
I've also been reading about job burnout but not getting any good ideas from those readings.
Baby lesson of the day - I got to feed my niece yesterday. Here was the general procedure:
* I put food on the tiny spoon.
* I showed it to her and waited for her to open her mouth.
* She grabbed the spoon and helped put it in her mouth, though her aim could still use some work.
* She sucked on the spoon for a while.
* The spoon lost all its flavor.
* She took the spoon out of her mouth and let go of it, perhaps even flinging it to the side. A tasteless spoon is of no use to her.
I think there's a lesson here somewhere in getting rid of things you are no longer enjoying, even if those things did once give you great enjoyment.