I’m sitting in the San Fransisco International Airport after a great long weekend hanging with my friends and watching the Rugby 7s World Cup.  It was the first weekend in months that I didn’t think or touch work.  I didn’t meant to totally check out.  I simply forgot my little 2-factor dongle for my web account AND my password for email on my phone serendipitously expired and I had no way of changing it.

So I had to completely check out of work.  To “be in the moment” with a bunch of rugby fans and friends watching the matches, experiencing the camaraderie and  allowing my mind to check out.  The interesting thing is it was like setting a reset button.

In my search for the next thing I am having a serious argument with myself.  Part of me says my company would entertain ideas for that would allow me to work in a much more flexible manner so that I can chase some of my not working activities and live where I want.  A part of me also says, I am done working in a capacity for the government and I want to be in the commercial sector.  Another part of me argues that changing careers while crossing 50 is a uncertainty.  And another says that working for a company will not afford me the freedom of movement and satisfaction I crave.  All this while I am also interested in moving into the cyber security world.  My thinking is that I could bring my experiences, education and passion into a work where turning new cyber defense capabilities requires strong PM skills.  I can talk both languages.

Anyway, I am having conundrums about what direction to go.  I am posting this because this is probably the most difficult part of this transition.  I have all sorts of thrust.  I am excited for the future and I am excited to be spending the time with my wife, traveling to places we can enjoy together and being flexible enough to be able to do so.  So I think the next couple of months are going to be full of exploration on my part.  I have been listening to podcasts about remote work and location independence and it is time for me to dive deeper there.  I will also be exploring the potential for opportunities for further employment with my current company.  Interleaved may be some job interviews to see what the state of the possible is.

In addition, we have plans to rework the house to get it into a sellable condition, to move a bunch of stuff out to Northern NM and to sell the current house so we can move into an apartment.  This will cut the expense side of our ledger and allow some near-term flexibility.

A bit of rambling.  I hope to get this blog focused on specific actions soon with tips and tricks I am experiencing as I move forward.  Thanks for indulging me.