I think Joel's got the right idea. After about five years at a startup (that grew up a bit) I quit in January 2008. Just a couple weeks ago I signed on with a p

I think Joel's got the right idea. After about five years at a startup (that grew up a bit) I quit in January 2008. Just a couple weeks ago I signed on with a pre-funding company in SF. Most of the interval was spent hacking on my own projects and traveling. It's been one of the best years of my life and I'd recommend it to other readers.