A Good Year!
Where to start — an obvious question that I come across often while writing, anything.
It all started with a painful wisdom tooth! (about this later.)
A few vintages ago, I decided to take a break from my career — to be precise, five years ago.
Don’t worry. I’m not going to lecture you on whether you should take a break or not.
Not my intention, Watson.
Haphazardly, I’ll walk you through what I went through.
I was about to complete half a decade (!), in my corporate life then — and, I was exhausted physically (the wisdom tooth), and mentally. I moved recently from Bangalore (an infinitely interesting city) to Mumbai (an infinitely expensive city). I don’t know whether the physical exhaustion caused the mental exhaustion or mental exhaustion caused the physical exhaustion. I got sick — it was psychosomatic.
And, I was about to finish off my educational loan payments. And, watching “Office Space” gives you the most required nudge off the cliff. (Office Space is available for rent on YouTube. Watch it at your own risk.)
I pitched the idea of taking a break to my friends and colleagues; almost all of them asked me not to shipwreck my steady career. The only soul who was happy about my decision to take a break was my then super-boss — not in a good riddance kind of way, but he was genuinely happy that I was able to unshackle myself from the corporate bond, even though it was meant only for a brief period. Thirteen months — a year and a month.
Leaving a job didn’t hit me hard until I left it on a Friday, and woke up the next day with a heavy hangover (Thanks to Colonial Toit) in a different city with no alarm, no plans and no job. It felt like riding a bicycle for the first time without having a supporting friend, who used to run behind you to ensure you don’t lose your balance and fall down. Now, the balance is lost — and, it is being felt. I can’t say whether it was a good or a bad feeling; all I can say is it was a bit weirder. It took me a few days to get used to this life.
Sometimes doing nothing is everything you can do. And, I did nothing, mostly.
I read new books and re-read my favourite books again. I discovered Ché — I read “A revolutionary life” by Jon Lee Anderson, and finally found someone who could have called me his Comrade. And, read more! I read his biographies, and his writings (From The Motorcycle Diaries to the final Bolivian Diary). Ché is unbelievable — you’ll never find someone like him, ever. You can also check out the obvious road movie, The Motorcycle Diaries.
Alberto Granado aka Mial, the fellow motorcycle diary companion of Ché across South America, defines why Ché is still remembered, and respected: “Because he was a man who fought and died for what he thought was fair, so for young people, he is a man who needs to be followed. And as time goes by and countries are governed by increasingly corrupt people … Che’s persona gets bigger and greater, and he becomes a man to imitate. He is not a God who needs to be praised or anything like that, just a man whose example we can follow, in always giving our best in everything we do.”
Don’t fall for the CIA propaganda. Do your own research, instead.
Other than reading books, I worked out. I went swimming for an hour, every day. I went to the restaurants, whose food I craved. I lived with my family. I travelled to cities that I’d never been to. I started writing, travelogues. What else you can ask for? I was content with my life.
Life is long. We don’t realize it while working — the moment you get nothing to do, you painfully feel the long duration of 24 hours in a day. Which is a good thing — whenever you think you don’t have time in life, take a break (not necessarily a year-long break). You have plenty of time than you realize. A career break gives you a sneak peek of your highly romanticized retirement life.
After a while, I missed my job. Until you lose something, you don’t see its value, perhaps. It seems I liked my job, but not too much of it though. In limited quantity.
The easiest way to become untouchable in the corporate world is to take a break — your resume will be buried under the desk of the recruiting manager, never to be seen again. May they raise a tombstone for your resume.
You’re a non-conformist — and, corporates hate you for that.
Finding a job after the break is hard, and finding a colleague who helps you find the job is even harder. A friend from work told me not to expect anything from anyone in the corporate world. He said, “If someone helps you, be grateful. If someone doesn’t, they don’t owe you anything. No one owes you anything in the corporate world”. Thankfully, I got abundant help in the form of an ex-boss and a few colleagues. Even then, my resume went through microscopic scrutiny. After almost a dozen interviews, I finally landed a job, breaking the year-long break.
In that year, I spent time with people I cared about; I devoured the food that I loved; I wandered aimlessly on the road, in life for a minuscule period of time.
Considering all the things I did or didn’t do, it was a long, good year.
PS: Travelogue for your perusal.
PPS: Check out Ridley Scott’s highly underrated “A Good Year” — A movie about a trader who goes on an involuntary break, spending time in a Vineyard in the French countryside.