I took some time between jobs to just checkout from the real world. It wasn’t enough time (is it ever?) but a wonderful break none the less. There is this great sense of freedom that you don’t get on a normal vacation because between jobs nothing is “going on back at the office.” A lot of people in this valley have the goal of making enough money to retire. I think it is a pretty good goal to get to a place where you could take six months or a year off.

Here were my rules for my time off:

1. I had to go at least four days without checking my email
2. I had to spend at least two days in the garden
3. If I found myself sitting on the couch in my underwear at 2pm, hung over, not able to remember when I last showered, and watching The View I should probably think hard about how I am spending my time
4. I had to finish my story
5. I could break any rule, at any time, and not feel guilty about it

A big surprise was how much I didn’t miss my Blackberry (or having a cell phone for that matter). My first thought on walking out of Mercury without it was, “oh no, nobody will be able to get a hold of me!” This was quickly followed the realization nobody would be able to get a hold of me.

I spent most of the break surfing. I managed to make the jump from “pretty bad” to “almost acceptable” surfer. I am now making cuts on the wave which makes the sport even more fun. After a block of five consecutive days of surfing I came to the conclusion:

1. 53 degrees is @#$!@#$ cold. I think the tips of my figures are permanently blue
2. The water in Pacifica is not clean
3. I might need to move to Costa Rica

My basic schedule was to head to the water in the morning and surf until I was so hungry I was ready to eat my wetsuit. At that point I would head over to Nona’s, a charming little restaurant I would recommend to anybody traveling through Pacifica, and have myself a big bowl of warm soup and a beer. It was a good gig.

Think I can get anybody to pay me for this?

Jul and I spent five days in Boulder with Mark and Mandy where I fell in love with their puppy Lola. It only took me two days to undo months of dog training. I think this didn’t go over well with M&M but I know they realize I am just fulfilling my duty as an upstanding uncle. I guess the MasterCard moment would be:

○ Dog training: $500
○ Many months of consistent training: $0
○ Two days to ruin it all: priceless

Boulder is a beautiful place and the Sladdens are amazing hosts. Their house looks out over the Flat Iron mountains and ranges beyond. Their living room is designed so it fills with light from the moment the sun rises making it a perfect place to sit in the morning with a puppy on your lap. I could have sat on the back porch for days straight.

Do you think I can get anybody to pay me for this?

Jul and I took the chance to head up to French Laundry for lunch and the only thing I can say is wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. We ended up taking about four hours for lunch and made friends with the wait staff. At the end they took us for a tour of the kitchen which was cool to see — it was bustling churn of chaos and yet totally spotless. It will probably be the most money I will ever spend on lunch (or dinner for that matter) and yet worth every dollar.

Do you think I can get anybody to pay me for this?

I don’t have any mileage stats like Gregd and Faktor but here is how it broke down:

Number of days surfing: 7
Number of naps taken at 5pm after surfing and a beer at Nona’s: 7
Number of vacation projects not done because I was surfing: 16
Number of days I didn’t check my email: 3
Number of days gardening: 3
Number of books read: 5
Number of movies watched: 9
Number of days without a cell phone: 16
Number of days I missed my blackberry or cell phone: 0