For a bit over a year I have been hiding in the bowels of a very large bank. The idea was to have a job to go to but not one that entailed much responsibility. No serious intellectual challenges, no P&L, no direct reports. I wanted to go to an office everyday just like millions of wage slaves do but not have all the old responsibilities.

I got that… in spades.

There were some things that I learned. I got to experience an Agile environment from the inside. Not just the the theory of Agile, like so many pundits, consultants, and industry analysts do, but Agile in practice and at scale. I had the opportunity to work in an open office plan, something I hadn’t experienced before and would like to avoid in the future. Along the way I met some really great, funny, good-hearted people. Unfortunately, I also met some people that were political to the core and just plain jerks.

One downside was less time for writing. My site was updated only sporadically and I thank my loyal readers for sticking with it. The monthly article I write for CMSWire wasn’t always monthly and I had less time to research new material.

Now, that has all come to an end. I have left the big bank and returned to the land of the living. No more hiding in the cave.

Over the course of the next few months I plan to… I actually have no plan. For the first time in my life I have no plan. I will research and write more but that’s not a future. I have 18 books on data science to read. That will take up some time. I think I have a book in me to write as well. Perhaps my only plan should be to come up with one or retire.

Or maybe, just maybe, throw the doors wide open and see what walks in. An open heart and an open mind may just reveal the true path.