Redgate is a great place to work for a lot of reasons. One of those has come up for me. It's time for my sabbatical. Every five years we get six weeks paid leave. Mine starts Monday.

I'll still be clearing out my email (the thought of six weeks worth gives me horrors), and I'll be working on rewriting my query tuning book for SQL Server 2022 (that's independent from work). However, except for those two things, no work for me for a while.

Instead, I've got a couple of plans. First, off to see some American Civil War battlefields I wouldn't otherwise have visited. Only two on this trip, but one is a large one; Pea Ridge and Vicksburg. Second, I'm learning how to solder. Why are you looking at me like that? I'm a film school dropout, and a Nuke Machinist Mate. No CS degree, so no soldering. Third, I'm going to goof off. Play some golf. Take a hike. Maybe rent a boat & go fishing.

It's summer. Most people take at least a few days off. I think it's a necessary part of life. Not so much switching off the brain as building new pathways in it so that you can come back to work fresh. I hope you can take some time, even if it's not six weeks, to recharge.

Any plans?