I'm back....

As mentioned in my last blog post, dated May 25^th, I've been on sabbatical the past 3.5 months. Astute observers will note that I'm 'back in the saddle' a week early. I'd originally planned on being on Vancouver Island right now, backpacking the West Coast Trail. However, a quick peek at the typical mid-September weather in the region (hint: wet. Really wet. And cold), coupled with an inability to secure a backpacking companion, inspired me to head south after my wife flew out of SeaTac last Thursday night. Before you get too saddened by my premature back-to-work plight….I leave again the evening of October 20^th for a 3+ week trek in Nepal

My time off was a wonderful opportunity to recharge my batteries and reconnect with too-long-dormant hobby passions. I highly recommend a sabbatical if, for example, you feel that your flame's dimming, and of course if you're financially able to pull it off. My previous employer, Intel, offers a paid eight-week sabbatical every seven years; 'paid' unfortunately isn't part of Reed's personal leave equation. However, my time off exceeded the standard Reed policy duration; that I was able to negotiate it shows my company's commitment to its employees. I'm very thankful both to my management and to the HR department for going the extra mile to make my sabbatical, in its full form, possible.

So what'd I do? June was pretty much all consumed by a roadtrip around the US; notable destinations included Wind Cave, Rocky Mountain and Mammoth Cave National Parks, Custer State Park, the mountains around Salt Lake City, the Black Hills and, of course, the Spam Museum. The incredibly crowded, incredibly loud, and incredibly young (my age is showing) Bonnaroo Music Festival, on the other hand, was NOT on the highlights list, although the High Sierra Music Festival (which I subsequently attended soon after returning to CA) was.

I resurrected my dormant daily running practice (which I hope to keep resurrected) and, thanks to it, dropped a few pounds (and a few inches, in all the right places). I solo- and group-backpacked a number of locations that had long been on my to-do list (the Sawtooth Ridge and Grand Canyon of the Tuolomne regions of Yosemite National Park, and the southern half of the Lost Coast Trail, whose northern half I'd backpacked a few years ago), as well as revisiting old and beloved backpacking friends such as Lassen National Park. And, in recent days, my wife and I reconnected with friends in Portland and traversed Olympic National Park (another long-time to-do destination); on the way home I finally visited Spirit Lake on the eastern half of Mt. St. Helens, and drove the oft-stunning Oregon coastline. As you can see, my National Parks Pass (along with my cameras) got a workout this summer!

Unfortunately assisted by a nearly two-week illness last month, I also spent a fair bit of time at home while on sabbatical; unwinding and catching up on sleep, sorting through dusty and towering to-do lists and piles, selling and donating excess tech hardware and software, and more generally striving to simplify my life going forward. These activities were, in retrospect, at least as satisfying as the more obviously 'fun' travel stuff, maybe more so. Why this was the case is the subject of a blog post all its own, soon to come. Stay tuned.

I'm in the office this week; next week the business travel treadmill kicks back in to overdrive at the Intel Developer Conference. The week after that is the Audio Engineering Society Convention and, before I fly out to Kathmandu, I'll be at the SMPTE Technical Conference and Exhibition. Stay tuned for more posts in coming days and weeks and, as always, I welcome your feedback.