When I left my previous company I didn’t have a lease, so I truncated my sublease and took the train to bum off my friend in the DMV. He’d previously offered his guest bedroom for “one month, no questions asked”, though I tried to pay him back with good coffee and guest bedroommaking (similar to homemaking, except confined to the guest bedroom). I got some rugs from Target for the connected bathroom, and hung a 60-inch by 20-inch print above the bed.

Originally I was planning to stay in the DMV for 2 weeks, then travel across the US, then across the world. However, before I started planning travel, I caught up with a former coworker, who mentioned a third-party recruiter who’d placed my first manager at my previous company. I viewed the recruiter’s profile, which notified him since he had LinkedIn Premium. We connected then started chatting about his companies.

Perhaps I should’ve traveled. Due to my shallow practicality, I instead spent the next few weeks recruiting with his companies, and with a few other companies suggested by my friends. I got a few onsites, then a couple offers. However, I couldn’t get myself excited about those offers.

I had some long conversations with trusted friends about their careers and lessons. Then after a weekend in Cambridge catching up with more friends and mulling over the offers, I declined them, leaving me untethered again.