Six months ago today I left for my sabbatical (which EMC HR insists on calling an unimaginative “leave of absence”) with the intent of being gone for a full year. Then while I was on vacation in Europe, Dell announced they were buying EMC which put a kink into my plan (and not a in a good way).
The deal is expected to close sometime between May and October, and yes that’s a huge window. From the terms of my leave of absence I have a pretty strong incentive to either be back in the office or to quit before that happens.
Today I went into the office and had a day full of meetings with various managers and coworkers to get a sense of how things are going and where I would fit in should I come back. The meetings were quite useful and well worth the visit.
We’re still working out the details on when and where exactly, but it looks like I’ll probably be going back to EMC Isilon sometime in April. Hope they’re ready for me by then!
Digital Ramblings 
Hey, it will be good to have you back! Hope you continue to have fun for the next 4 months. :)
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Hi Casey, Im looking at taking a sabbatical next year for 6 months. can you give me any advice, suggestions, or info about how EMC Dell handles those sort of situations.
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Hi Forrest, I’m not going to be much help I’m afraid — Isilon HR seemed to handle mine a bit differently than typical EMC HR and I suspect it’s changed even more after the acquisition by Dell. I will tell you that taking a sabbatical was by far the best decision and I would do it all again in a heartbeat.
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