Sabbatical help for hunger

As I've said many times, one of the aspects of PT that I'm proudest of is our sabbatical program and its charity work component.  Another PT staffer recently returned from her sabbatical, during which she worked at the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina (and PT donated $5,000 to the Food Bank because she worked there). As part of our sabbatical program, we also make a video of each person who does charity work and let the charity use the video for free.

Here's the story of this most recent sabbatical charity work.



I'm proud of Sharon and all the other PT folks who donate their time to charities.

PT doing good in the world: Gina's sabbatical video

As I've written many times before, I'm particularly proud of PT's sabbatical program and all the good work that PT folks do during their sabbaticals.  In this new video, Gina talks about her recent work with the Shepherd's Table Soup Kitchen.



I also worked at this place on my sabbatical, and it was a fulfilling and moving experience.  The people there feed anyone who shows up.  They do good work, and I'm glad we're supporting them.

Enjoy!

Another PT person doing good in the world

This time, it's Duvan, who tells his sabbatical story in this video.



I've said it before, and I will almost certainly repeat it again:  I am proud and fortunate to be able to work with such great people.

More good from PT folks

As I've written on multiple occasions, one of the aspects of PT that I'm most proud of is the sabbatical program.  Another PT colleague has taken a sabbatical and during it done some charity work.  Check out the following video to learn about what he did.



I'm happy and proud to get to work with such great people.

"Every kid deserves a childhood that's worth remembering"

Davey shares this thought in this video about his sabbatical charity work, and I could not agree more with him.



I'm very proud of Davey and all the other PT staffers who chose to use part of their sabbatical time to help do good in the world.

Check out this new PT sabbatical video

Back in 2013, I wrote an entry about how the PT sabbatical program worked and how proud of it I was.  We still have that program, and I'm still immensely proud of the PT staffers who take advantage of it to do some good in the world.

Greg was the latest person from PT to take his sabbatical.  In this new video, he explains the good work he did.

Enjoy.



As all the people who have done charity work on their sabbaticals have agreed, you get more from doing this work than you give to it.  Everyone truly wins.

Another nifty PT sabbatical video

As I've said in multiple past posts, I'm quite proud of PT's sabbatical program and of the many good works PT staffers have done while on their sabbaticals.  We make videos about those sabbaticals, and we recently completed another one.

Nathan and Sarah volunteered at the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.  Here's Nathan, telling a bit about their time at the Food Bank.



Helping make the world a better place is a key goal of our sabbatical program.  I'm very happy that so many PT folks, like Sarah and Nathan, donate their time to do just that.

A new PT sabbatical video

I've written multiple entries in the past about PT's sabbatical program, something I'm proud to be part of creating and supporting.  Another of our staffers, Corey, recently returned from his sabbatical, and now our video about his charity work is live.

To do his charity work, Corey went home, back to where he grew up, and gave his time to an institution helping children.

Check it out.



As Corey concludes about helping others, "This isn't rocket science; it's just...people."

The latest PT sabbatical video

is now live, and it features Bonnie's work with lemurs at the Duke Lemur Center.  I'm very proud of all the good deeds folks at PT have done on their sabbaticals.  It's great to see people like Bonnie taking a week from their time off to do something to help make the world a better place.

Check out this video to hear Bonnie talk about why she chose this charity and what she did there.

Enjoy.

The latest PT sabbatical video

I've written in earlier blog posts about the charity work different PT folks have done during their sabbaticals and about PT's sabbatical program in general.  Today, we released our newest video about a PT staffer's sabbatical.  This one covers Justin's work at a charity in Italy that helps soldiers on leave from or returning from action in the Mediterranean area.

Enjoy.



I'm very proud of Justin and all the other PT folks who choose to focus part of their sabbatical time on doing good in the world.

More on PT's sabbatical program

PT recently released a video in which Bill and I explain some of the background of the company's sabbatical program.  Though I can barely stand to watch myself in this one (or in any video), enough folks have asked about the program that I decided to embed the video here. 

Enjoy.

Bill's sabbatical

As I've mentioned in previous posts, Principled Technologies, the company Bill and I co-founded and work at, offers a sabbatical program to all of its employees.  (I gave more detail about the program in this earlier post.)  A key part of the program is that PT encourages employees to do a week of charity work and provides funds either for travel expenses to go to the charity or as a donation to the charity.  As I've also shown in some earlier entries, we're making a series of short videos about what employees have done for charity work during their sabbaticals.  We post those videos on our site and YouTube channel, and we also give them for free to the charities for their use. 

The video for Bill's sabbatical work is now available.  Check it out.



You can get Bill's take on his charity time via this entry on his blog. 

Bill's been working with this group since long before we created our sabbatical program.  He truly loves spending time with and helping the children there.  He's a good man, and I'm proud to have been his business partner for 28 years.

Remember those PT sabbatical charity work videos?

I hope so.  For those who don't, I wrote about PT's sabbatical program and the first video in this earlier post, which includes a video about Peter's charity work.  When the second video appeared, this one featuring Jennie's charity endeavors, I also wrote about it. 

Well, the third video is now online, and it features...me.  I admit to finding this more than a little awkward, but I've highlighted all the others, and I believe in supporting the charity (the Shepherd's Table Soup Kitchen), so I figured I should also plug this video in my blog.

I can barely stand to watch myself in video, so I'll have to hope your reaction is better.

Enjoy (I hope).



I particularly like that the good folks at the Shepherd's Table Soup Kitchen don't make you show ID or pass any test or do anything at all to get your meal.  If you show up for lunch, they feed you. 

I'm honored to have had the chance to work with them for a week.

More PT sabbatical goodness

In an earlier post, I talked about employees at my company, Principled Technologies, using part of their sabbatical time to do good in the world.  I mentioned in that post that we were making a series of videos about their charitable activities.  The second of those videos is now available. 

I hope you enjoy it.



I should also note again that PT is giving the charity in each of these videos the right to use that video to help promote the good work they're doing. 

I'm very proud of what these PT employees have done, and I'm proud to be part of a company that actively pursues doing good in the world.

Sabbatical FAQs: Living out of a carry-on suitcase for six weeks

In this last entry in the series of answers to common questions, I address queries about living out of such a small suitcase for such a long time.

Did you really live out of one carry-on suitcase for six weeks?

Sort of.  I also had a ScotEVest coat and a backpack.  Aside from the coat, though, all clothing and shoes, aside from what I was wearing, and my toiletries fit in the international size carry-on bag. 

What clothing did you take?

Counting what I was wearing at any given time,

·      two pairs of identical black pants

·      two identical black UnderArmour short-sleeve shirts

·      three long-sleeve shirts (these were supposed to be thin shirts designed for travel and easy washing, but my plan for those fell through and so I ended up taking three Peterman shirts I already had)

·      five pairs of black socks

·      five pairs of underwear

·      six handkerchiefs (plus two spares in the backpack)

·      a small dop kit

·      two pairs of identical black tennis shoes with no logos, shoes that passed as dressy enough in multiple three-star restaurants

·      one Travelsmith black sport coat designed for travel (lightweight, wrinkle-resistant), which I needed for nice restaurants

·      one black cashmere sweater, to wear under the sport coat in nice restaurants

Sharon had told me I could get by with one pair of shoes, and she was right; I never wore the second pair. 

How often did you wear things?

Until they were dirty or smelly enough to bother me. 

What then?

A combination of hand washing and paying exorbitant prices for hotel laundry services. 

Any problems?

Don’t read this if you don’t want a little information about my personal odor. 

Oddly, the UnderArmour shirts did not handle sweat at all well.  They claim to be odor-resistant, but with me they were exactly the opposite.  My odor when I sweat is not normally strong, but, wow, was it strong in these shirts.  I mean the kind of strong that I could smell myself coming, the kind of strong that made me feel bad for anyone sitting within three feet of me.  Maybe it was the change in soap or washing the shirts in different detergent; I’ll know more on that after I’ve been home for a bit.  But, based on my experience, as much as I loved the thinness and wicking ability of these shirts, I’m not sure I’d choose them again.

Would you pack this lightly again?

Absolutely.  I’m seriously considering changing my standard business travel approach to fit in the same tiny suitcase. 

What do you wish you’d packed that you didn’t?

Over-ear, high-quality headphones (either my Beats or my Bose noise-canceling set), to block out unwelcome conversation and trains, and a small sound bar, because I like music in the air in hotel rooms, particularly when I’m writing. 

What was the biggest downside of this approach?

No souvenirs.  I window-shopped, but I bought myself only one object, a truly remarkable book, because I had no room to carry anything.  So, I’m coming home empty-handed.  I apologize to my family and friends in advance, but there was just no room. 

Why the backpack?

For electronics—phone, mini tablet, and ultraportable—cables, notebooks, pens, documents, and so on. 

No books?

For the first time in my memory on a trip, no.  I simply had no space for them.  I read a bunch of books, but all as ebooks on the tablet. 

How’d that work for you?

Not bad.  I missed and still greatly prefer physical books, but to save the space for a trip, I’d do it again.  Of course, being a collector, it was expensive, because I own paper copies of every ebook I bought. 

How’d you like the ScottEVest jacket?

Overall, I loved it.  On any cool day, and many of my days were cool, I could wear it and carry safely with me everything I might want to have, including wallet, passport, glasses for reading, tablet (if I wanted it), small notebook, pen, and phone. 

I have only two complaints about it.

First, it does not breathe at all.  If the day turned at all warm, I ended up sticky sweaty inside it.  Adding a back vent and vents under the armpits would not jeopardize the jacket’s contents and would make it a far better garment.

Second and less important, the hood, which was wonderful on rainy days, does not tuck well back into its little pouch, because that pouch seals with very little Velcro.  A couple more Velcro strips would make all the difference. 

That said, I’m glad I bought the jacket and recommend it, with those two reservations, to other travelers who want a safe way to have all their key documents and stuff with them at all time. 

Sabbatical FAQs: How I traveled

As I mentioned in the previous blog entry, while I was in Europe, a lot of folks asked me a lot of questions.  I’m answering the most common ones in a set of three blog entries, of which this is the second.  And, it's a bonus day:  two entries for a May Sunday!

How was it traveling alone?

I’d mentioned to quite a few folks that I was expecting to travel alone.  I’d also offered to a group of friends that if they could live with my rules and trip structure, and if they had the time off and the resources to do the trip, they were welcome to join me.  Jennie did, and we toured together for the whole trip.  Gina joined for most of Amsterdam. 

How were they so lucky?

They agreed to the rules and structure, and they had the time and resources to do so.

What were these rules and structure?

Basically, that I was going to do whatever I felt like doing, and I was going to do it in luxury.  I planned absolutely as little as possible, so I woke up each day with somewhere between no idea what I was going to do and a simple idea, e.g., go see the Louvre some more.  Anyone with me could, of course, make a plan and follow it, but anyone who wanted to stick with me had to live a largely unplanned life. 

Why did you almost always write as “I”?

Because this blog is mine and reflects only my opinions.  I didn’t want to have to represent a consensus or even differing opinions; I wanted to give my reflections on what I’d experienced. 

What made it a luxury trip?

Basically, the hotels I chose and the fact that when I went by train, I rode in first class and, whenever possible, on high-speed trains. 

How’d you get from city to city?

From Raleigh to Paris at the beginning, and from Paris to Raleigh at the end, via American Airlines. 

From Paris to Florence, the train ride would have taken over 12 hours, so I flew on Air Italia. 

From Florence to Venice, via high-speed train. 

From Venice to Vienna, again the train ride would have taken over 12 hours, so I flew on Austrian Airways, operated by Air Moldavia.

From Vienna to Prague, by train.

From Prague to Amsterdam, once again the train ride would have taken over 12 hours, so I flew on Czech Air.

From Amsterdam to Paris, by high-speed train. 

What were these luxury hotels?

Both Paris stays:  The Mandarin Oriental Paris.

Florence:  The first was the Relais SantaCroce, and then when it was booked and I wanted to stay longer, the HotelBrunelleschi. 

Venice:  The Westin Europa & Regina Venice.  (I’d intended to stay at a hotel owned locally, but after checking into three rooms, all with terrible Wi-Fi and all tatty, I left it and went to the Westin, which was marvelous.)

Vienna:  The Ritz-Carlton Vienna.

Prague:  The Mandarin Oriental Prague.

Amsterdam:  The Sofitel Legend The Grand.

I may rate the hotels on different criteria in a later blog entry.

Why didn’t you name the hotels earlier?

I liked the feeling of people not knowing where I was, and if someone was looking to track me down (e.g., for work), I wanted to restrict them to email or phone.  I didn’t want to be able to receive any packages or surprise visitors. 

You’ve mentioned before traveling in Europe on the cheap, and now you’ve traveled in luxury.  Which do you prefer?

Luxury.  No doubt.  I’ve loved all my European vacations, but staying in great hotels makes everything easier and more comfortable, and I intended to spoil myself this trip. 

Was it worth what you paid for it?

From a “look at how much good you could have done with that money” perspective, certainly not.  For me, for this trip, which very well might end up being the European trip of a lifetime for me, absolutely.  And, I’d saved up for years for it, so I haven’t hurt my financial situation by doing it. 

How much did you spend?

I’m always amazed that people will ask this, but they do.  I’m not going to answer this question, because I don’t think it’s anyone else’s business. 

Sabbatical FAQs: Health and physical stuff

In the course of the six weeks I was touring around Europe, a lot of folks asked me a lot of questions.  I answered some in email and filed away others for later.  I’m going to use this and a couple of other blog entries to try to answer the most common ones.  I’ll start with the many questions about my health and appearance.

What’s up with the short hair in that kitchen photo?

Before I went to work at the Shepherd’s Table Soup Kitchen, I asked Gina to cut my hair shorter than I’ve worn it since middle school, so that as it grew out during the trip I would not turn excessively shaggy.  As it turns out, I liked the really short cut, so I might ask her to repeat it.  Or not.  I don’t think a lot about my hair.  

In that one photo, you look like you’ve lost weight.  Have you?

I wouldn’t rely on any of the scales in any of the hotel rooms, so I can’t be sure, but I believe I’ve lost a little.  I think this because I’m now wearing my belt two notches tighter, and the notches are about an inch apart.  So, the odds are good that I’m down at least somewhat.

What diet did you use to lose the weight?

I didn’t follow any strict diet.  I tried not to eat when I wasn’t hungry, and I tried to keep most meals simple.  Most days, lunch would be a simple sandwich, and dinner would be a bowl of pasta and, if I could get it, a salad. 

That said, I ate desserts most days, though on many of them the dessert was the smallest cup of gelato on offer. 

I also ate quite a few large multi-course meals, though probably no more than one a week. 

I also walked as much as possible.  I have no clue how far I walked each day, though I joked often about trying to make sure I walked “a mile” each day.  I didn’t walk fast, but I avoided taxis whenever reasonably possible and just put feet to (uneven) pavement. 

In a show I saw at the Carolina Theater, Henry Rollins described the basics of dieting as requiring only seven words:

Eat less.

Eat better.

Move your body.

I vaguely and unintentionally, but not religiously, followed Rollins’ advice. 

Are you healthy now?

No.  Far from it.  I’m healthier, in that I am at least somewhat lighter and I can now walk all day without feeling it; on the first day in Paris, a long walk left me sore and exhausted.  I’ve also slept a ton (though not on my last night in Paris), and so I feel better both physically and mentally.

I am far from healthy, however, because I’m entirely too heavy and in nowhere near the physical condition I should be.  Getting into shape will be a major focus area for me for the next couple of years, which is how long I estimate it will take me to get into even half-decent shape. 

What’s your plan for getting in shape?

Right now, I have resolve but not a lot of plan.  I’ve also learned that the plans I talk about tend to be ones that I don’t succeed at, so I’m going to stay mum on this topic for a while.  If I can implement something that works, and if I can stick with it for a while, I may discuss it later. 

So, stay tuned. 

My new job

I started my new job today.  It pays nothing, requires me to report in the morning when I am normally asleep, and has no future for me.  In fact, it finishes in a week.

Perhaps I should explain. 

As I've mentioned before, my company, Principled Technologies (PT), offers a sabbatical program.  This program gives each employee a seven-week, full-pay-and-benefits sabbatical in his/her seventh year and each seven years thereafter.  For various reasons I've delayed mine for quite a while, but now, in my eleventh year, I am taking it, as I have discussed before.

One cool thing about PT's sabbatical program is that if the employee will spend one of the seven weeks working with a charity, PT will contribute five grand either to the expenses the employee incurred getting to that charity or to the charity.  So, for example, if an employee were to fly to Africa to do charity work, PT would cover five grand of the expenses.  If, on the other hand, an employee were to work at a local charity, PT would donate the five grand to the charity.  Splits are also fine:  some money can go to cover employee expenses, and some to help the charity.

Long ago, I narrowed my choices to two:  working with a child-soldier-related charity in Africa or working in a soup kitchen locally.  For various reasons, the charities my Children No More program have helped (both directly and indirectly) didn't seem like good choices, so I decided to stay local and work in a soup kitchen. 

I made this choice because I wanted to serve people directly, and because I wanted to be as far from in charge as I could be, so that I was doing something very different from my normal job.  I also wanted to work for a place that would feed anyone, without requiring them to produce an ID or be part of a particular religion. 

In the end, I chose the Shepherd's Table Soup Kitchen, where I worked today. 

More on my experiences tomorrow. 

And so it begins

My sabbatical, that is.  I left the office early tonight, at a little after 7:30 p.m., caught up on email and with my out-of-office messages on.  I won't return to work until mid-day on May 6.  I've written several times before about my sabbatical plans, so I won't bore you by repeating that information here.

What I will say is that tonight has felt odd, somewhat like the evening before I head to the beach for vacation but more, because I'm finally now here and processing the fact that I will not do a single thing for PT for the next seven weeks.  It's a good kind of odd, something like a heavy weight slowing coming off my shoulders, but right now it's definitely odd.

I look forward to all that I will learn and experience over the next seven weeks.

Aren't you excited about your sabbatical?

I get this question a lot lately.  My answer is always the same:  "No."  Each time I say that, people look at me like mushrooms have started to sprout from my nose, so I thought I'd explain why.

When I'm working, I'm all about focus.  Keep the goal in sight, take a step forward, clear any obstacles you encounter, repeat.  I context-swap very quickly and easily, but whatever I'm working on at any given moment gets as much of me as I can give it. 

What I'm working on now is very important to me:  Doing my best to help prepare PT for my absence.  I know the company will be fine for seven weeks without me even if I miss a lot of things now, but I won't be happy with my performance if I don't do all I can and all I said I would do to make the transition smooth.

Ask me the same question Friday night, and I expect the answer will be slightly different:  "Not yet, but I suspect I will be after I get some sleep." 

Ask again a couple of days later, and I expect I will be quite excited indeed. 

As with most good things in my life, though, I won't let myself fully believe in them until they're here, until they close the door on my plane to Europe.