Many of us in the IT field find it very difficult to actually “go away” on vacation. Whether we’re connected by beepers, EDGE/EVDO wireless cards, PDAs or any other type of neural connection to the mainframe, we’re always at the beck and call of the computers — I mean users. It’s the time of year again when I take my annual trip to Florida. This year it’s to see the grandparents (who no longer travel) and to visit the Florida Keys. I always enjoy traveling to the warm weather this time of year even if it was 66°F yesterday in Philadelphia.
The only downside is a lack of connectivity to the outside world. I know what most of you will tell me, “Disconnect, unplug, turn it off!” Well, that’s easier said than done. Being in a global company without a very large global IT staff means that I’m on call almost all the time. Whether they call about a line down, a network break in or a simple “this system isn’t running properly”, I’m on call. Work wouldn’t say that I was on call as I won’t have the pager that week (note: I don’t carry a beeper, I forward it to my cell phone) but I will be. I’ll have with me my Blackberry 8820 (which I can’t go anywhere without), my HP/Compaq 2510p laptop and a wireless EDGE aircard from AT&T. This should be enough to keep me connected, especially if I find a wifi signal near where I’ll be staying. In between swimming with the dolphins, going snorkling on the reef and tanning/studying on the beach, I’ll check up online and see where everything is at. A quick VPN login and browse of the systems will make me feel much better… And I know my girlfriend will love for me to do it as well.
I ask you — How do you disconnect? Do you cut it out cold turkey on vacation? Do you sneak-a-peek at your email, check up on work or throw a couple Tweets out while lounging on the beach? I know I’ll try to stay off line but it never seems to work for me.