It’s been 30 days since I started my break, and, as you might imagine, some people have been asking how it’s going so far and what I’ve been up to. And some haven’t, aka this is just a personal “blahg” update and something for me to look back on. And yes, long post will be long. If you just want the TL;DR version — I’m doing good.
But if you’re still here, grab a drink and a snack 🙂
I wish I could say it’s been challenging or that I feel guilty… why, I couldn’t quite tell you, but that thought has popped into my head a few times. But if I’m being honest, it’s been really good. It is the first time in years and years that I can feel like I can actually take a break and level-set myself. The first Monday (of my break), I woke up without any stomach issues or feeling the need for coffee to simply start the day. Funny enough, I still wake up early. I am not a morning person, but I’ve generally been getting up early for as long as I can remember. But I don’t feel the dread I used to feel on more days than I care to admit. I also haven’t been feeling like I’ve made a mistake.
So, what have I been doing?
A lot of random projects around the house that I’ve been putting off for way too long. For example, spring-cleaned the home office, including my desk; I took a huge pile of papers that had been piling up and needed to be destroyed, and shredded them. I’m doing my best not to get super absorbed in anything (I do have those tendencies), but instead to do small projects and a little each day. I also cleaned out the garage a little, but mostly to move some of the Spiceworks stuff I was holding to the new storage unit.
I’ve been gaming—mostly League of Legends, Minecraft, and I started up WoW Classic (Undead Priest 4tw). Valheim 1.0 just launched, so I’ll probably carve out some time for that and put Minecraft aside for a bit. And WoW: Forever was recently announced (aka Classic+) and launches in about 6 weeks. That said, I want to make sure I don’t game too much (yes, there is such a thing).
I’ve been relearning Linux. I used to be proficient in Linux, but that was years and years ago. I went to Discount Electronics a few weeks ago and got a super cheap Linux box (less than $100) that I can use simply to learn (and break).
- I have a few small form factors in my server closet. One I’ve been using as a game server, running Ubuntu, Docker, Pterodactyl, and Wings. Right now it’s just a few different versions of Minecraft, and the 1.0 release of Valheim. I’ve toyed with the idea of building a Shadowbane Minecraft world, but I’m putting a pin in that for now.
- The other was a Windows setup I converted to Linux Mint Xfce 64-bit to run Jellyfin. I will probably add a few other media services (like an audiobook one, since Jellyfin doesn’t work well with audiobooks on some TVs). It was fun because just as I got everything set up, Jellyfin had a big update, so I upgraded it to 12.1. I’ve also been learning how to make it accessible to my family from the outside. While it is running Mint, for the most part, I’m just SSH’ing in to make updates. This has reminded me (and helped me learn) how to do everything through commands instead of a GUI.
- I also got a UGREEN NAS that I’m primarily using for redundancy and backup. Two of the bays are RAID’d; I use the other two as backups, and one of those is to pull the drive out for the offsite backup (yep, the old 3-2-1 backup).
- And since I was doing all of that (including the office spring cleaning), I pulled everything out of the server closet to clean that up as well, including writing down the hardware and software stats to ultimately create myself a little IT inventory and network topology map.
Getting healthier is definitely a goal, both mentally and physically. I won’t lie, these last few years I’ve really let myself go. I weigh the most I ever have, and my mental capacity has been… lacking. So been spending more time moving around (getting those steps in!) and taking the time to do it right. I’ve been reading a lot, including a decent amount of LitRPG such as Alpha: Chaos Awakens, Defiance of the Fall, and Apocalypse Online. I think the Malazan Book of the Fallen series will come back around pretty soon; it’s still my favorite series. It tends to pop back up in my queue whenever I start working more on game design.
I’ve been trying out Fantasy Hike by Forge7, because who doesn’t want to quest while they walk. And catching up with my podcasts like Triple Click, Some Patches Required, They Create Worlds, and Tech Brew: Ride Home.
I’ve done a better job keeping up with people, including actually going out to see them and have meals, etc. Which has been nice, especially to do on weekdays when everything isn’t as crowded. Oh, that is the other thing I like… shopping at 2 PM on a weekday. Things are so much less crowded and crazy.
I shaved. When all of this started back in June, part of my “rebellion” was growing out a beard. Outside of the end-of-the-year vacation, I rarely go more than a week without shaving… and usually maybe only on weekends. I grew it out starting mid- to late June and kept it going until the first week of September. I was pretty sure I wanted it gone… until I looked in the mirror. Now I’m not sure. So I’ve been slowly growing it back to see which I really like more. I never really figured myself as a beard person. Ever since the Marine Corps, I have kept a pretty clean-shaven face, except for a few short times each year. But now… not sure, but giving it a chance.
I have interviewed at a few places. I didn’t seek out any opportunities, but a few people who saw my LinkedIn post and worked with me before reached out. Some are in game development, which is where I honestly thought I’d go, but one was in a role similar to the last ones that excited me more than I thought it would. While part of me is always interested in the challenge these roles present, my bigger desire is more about what brought me to Spiceworks originally back in 2011 — something with a good work/life balance and great people to work with. I want a life outside of work where I don’t feel constantly drained. And I am still working on Project Labyrinth (game design stuff, not a real game… yet?) so having the time to do that properly is a “should have” (oh, the product manager hat never disappears).
All in all, things are good. I’m not stressed about work. I’m not stressed about money, which surprises me a little. I feel better. I feel happier. Now, time for me to take a bit of a walk (why is it so hot out?!) and then queue up for some Classic WoW (I’m Kallystra on Whitemane) or League of Legends… and figure out what my first toon on WoWF will be.
And yes, that is the 1967 Chevy Impala from Supernatural… good eyes!