Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple
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Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple
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Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple
#2> What am I trying to say? I have a programming addiction? (Maybe.)
I think all of us do, to some degree. You have to to endure hours on end staring at a glowing screen and banging your head against a mechanical keyboard.
Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple
#3What is retirement, if not doing things you enjoy. Coding is unique in its ability that you can even do it as an old man.
Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple
#4> What am I trying to say? I have a programming addiction? (Maybe.) I think all of us do, to some degree. You have to to endure hours on end staring at a glowing screen and banging your head against a mechanical keyboard.
Not necessarily. At least for those of us from Asian cultures, it's not that unusual to sacrifice and do something you hate or at least are ambivalent towards because it's a well paying stable career.
Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple
#5I can totally relate to this. I find myself forcing my attention away from programming to do other work. Programming is like an infinite game.
Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple
#6> What am I trying to say? I have a programming addiction? (Maybe.) I think all of us do, to some degree. You have to to endure hours on end staring at a glowing screen and banging your head against a mechanical keyboard.
I don’t really follow you. This roughly implies everyone is addicted to their jobs…
Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple
#7In my younger years my obsession with programming was complex. It was partly an escape, partly a reveling in the godlike powers bestowed upon me by the machine. I think both aspects were unhealthy, and were effective at keeping me from dealing with the more complex realities of developing and maintaining a balanced lifestyle, especially in my social life. I still enjoy writing code, but I could never imagine a return to this extreme focus unless something was out of place elsewhere.
Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple
#8> What am I trying to say? I have a programming addiction? (Maybe.) I think all of us do, to some degree. You have to to endure hours on end staring at a glowing screen and banging your head against a mechanical keyboard.
I’ve been programming professionally for over 25 years. I have not written a line of code for “fun” since I graduated from college.
Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple
#9> What am I trying to say? I have a programming addiction? (Maybe.) I think all of us do, to some degree. You have to to endure hours on end staring at a glowing screen and banging your head against a mechanical keyboard.
I don’t really follow you. This roughly implies everyone is addicted to their jobs…
Or more like the paycheck is an enabler for an unhealthy escape
Re: Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple
#10> The respite from programming though lasted maybe about four months after retiring. I started a small project , in part to learn Python, in part to play with e-ink displays. I was back programming (back abusing git) but of course the pressure was off. It both was and wasn’t like the day job I had left behind.
This is one reasons I got disillusioned with FIRE and the concept of early retirement. Programming was my first love. There might be phases where I just get sick of technology, but most of them have proven to be temporary. It's the best, the most versatile medium of my creative energy. I don't plan to stop doing it ever. What I actually dislike is the corporatisation of programming—JIRA Tasks, PRD, Stand-up meetings, Stakeholder meetings.
I don't want early retirement. I want to work in a small team with a good product vision and a strong shipping culture. But it has proven to rare in my professional experience. For me, alternative is to keep taking breaks. Few months, once in a while, to work and experiment on my own ideas. This allows me to keep my creative spirit alive and (possibly) to make money that gives me the freedom to explore them more.