Hiatus – noun, 1.a break or interruption in the continuity of a work, series, action, etc.

This is a blog chronicling the life of a career intentionally interrupted. I am taking a year off from working, a year of paying myself a salary from my savings account, a year of not really having anything to do each day – except all the things I’ve always wanted to do.

My name is Simone Archer. Home is a condo in downtown Houston, Texas. I’m in my late twenties, married, with 3 pets:  one cat, one cat who thinks he’s a dog, and one dog who thinks he’s a cat. I also enjoy pina coladas, dancing in the rain, and quoting cheesy songs from the 70s like I’m the first one to think of it.

While I consider myself to be a moderate Techie (whatever that means) I can’t say that I’ve read many blogs. I don’t follow any of them regularly and if you asked me to describe the phenomenon in ten words or less my description would probably contain the words “self indulgent” and “ya know?” So why am I blogging? Well, I’ve always been a fan of anything in the self indulgent genre, and I currently find myself with a lot of time and thoughts on my hands, thoughts that I think some people out there might also share or be interested in. And even if no one cares, writing about this life experience will at least keep me occupied and off the streets.

You see, I’m going to quit my job (dun dun DUN). And no, I don’t have another one waiting in the wings. Nor do I want another one at this time. So what am I going to DO? How will I support myself? The first question, I don’t really have a concrete answer for. The second question is hard but simple.

In the spring of 2007, I left a high level, well paid job in an industry I had a knack for, but hated. I was so sick of it, that instead of taking one of the two job offers I had for that industry (with ridiculously high starting salaries), I took an entry level job in the corporate buying office of a retailer while I figured out what I wanted to be when I grow up. After a year, I looked around my office, and my life, and realized I didn’t work with or know anyone whose job I wanted (currently or previously), including my own.

That’s when I decided to take a hiatus.

I’ve always been one of those annoying over achievers. I made straight A’s all the way through college, effortlessly excelled in sports, moved up quickly in my career, dated great guys (married a really great guy), never had a bad hair day etc, etc, etc. I tell you this not because I seek envy or disdain from the voice beyond my modem, but because I want to paint a picture of what a big deal not earning an income will be for me.

I grew up in an upper middle class suburb of Houston Texas, okay, more upper than middle, okay, I wanted for nothing. Mommy and Daddy paid for everything; and they never once made it seem like they were doing me a favor. To this day, they are more generous than they need to be and I know exactly how lucky I am. People who grow up like this usually end up thinking of money in one of two ways. Either they learn that money means everything, or they learn that money means nothing. The most valuable thing my family’s money ever bought me was the experience of having money all the time and yet being unhappy some of the time. Some people will spend their whole lives thinking money will make them happy, and then towards the end of their life they get there and realize it doesn’t. That won’t be me.

Now, with that said, I LOVE MONEY! I love the clothes it can buy you, I love the house it can buy you, I love the gadgets it can buy you, but most of all I love the peace of mind it can buy you. When someone gets cancer, money is the last thing you want to think about, when you’ve had a hard day and really need a $10 Kettle One lemon drop martini (with no sweet and sour!), money is last thing you want to think about, and when you want to take a year off from working because you’re having some kind of early-life-crisis, money is the last thing you want to think about.

Now, with THAT said, I think about money A LOT. I think about spending it, I think about saving it, I think about organizing it, etc. Even though I’ve almost always had enough money, I save and invest like the green back is an endangered species. It’s the control freak in me. But, it’s the reason I can do what I’m doing. Over the last 15 years I’ve kept enough of my savings liquid to pay myself this year more than what I earned last year. But it’s still going to be hard. It’s going to be hard to watch my savings account numbers go down instead of up. It’s going to be hard knowing that I’m a burden on myself. (Speaking of burdens, my husband and I keep our money separate, so no, he won’t be financing my hiatus. All the feminists out there can stand down.)

It will be hard for my ego to know that I’m not earning a living. Even in college when I didn’t technically have a job I considered school to be my job because my parents were paying for everything and if I didn’t make good grades then I was just a bum. Working has always been tied closely with my sense of self worth and therefore, not working will be hard for my giant ego to withstand.

The other hard part of course, will be keeping busy. What the hell and I going to do with an extra 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, 2080 hours a year? Well, I guess we’ll see… (read The List to see what I have in mind)