Think I’ll walk off my steady job today. Just like that old Merle Haggard song goes.

But it’s not that easy. I’ve worked there eleven years and it’s become a part of my identity. I’m always thinking about my programs, my processes, and the people who depend upon them. It’s what I do. I design computer systems. I write code. I deal with passionate users. I keep them happy. I am “the person” when things break. And I love being that person for them.

Or…I loved it. I love so many other things now. Sailing, writing, photography. I published my first book a couple months ago and have begun painting again for the first time in over a decade. Something in me has been awakened. It’s time to leave those computer programs alone for awhile.

It’s been a good run. I’ve worked nearly twenty years as a self-taught computer programmer. But I knew something had to give last summer as I desperately tried to fix a serious data corruption problem, from a bungalow, using slow $30/hr wi-fi in a remote part of the South Pacific.

Our sailing dreams are taking us too far afield, life is expanding too much, and my job doesn’t fit anymore. I’ve already begun my next career, publishing adventure memoirs, and will soon start another career as an ocean videographer. I’ll be busy. I’ll be pursuing my passions. It will be great, and I am excited.

But today, I’ll be reminiscing about the beautiful places I worked, and the fantastic projects I did during my eleven years as a Senior Programmer Analyst for the University of Idaho. There may be a few tears and a bottle of good wine. Like I said, it’s been a good run.