Bloggy

Oh, sure, everything in life is all great, and I'm goin' on about how I looove Portland, the new routine, even the rain can't get me down. My job is good. I walk to the gym. My commute to work is 10 minutes. Then all of a sudden the reality of life hits me like a bank account balance of $26. Life's grand. I guess I could be optimistic here... at least it's not negative $26. But all my damn planning, all my careful spending and extra work this month has left me with $26. And that's it. Sure, I made my debt payoff goals, but what's really slapping me in the face is the realization that this year I am working and paying off my expenditures from LAST year. Yep--I work one hour for me now, and one for last year. Roughly half of my income went to credit cards that paid for my existence in my Year O' Hell. The shittier part is that even though I'm staying afloat and paying down my debt, I am not saving a dime. Why didn't anyone tell me growing up would ...

My real life and blogger friend, Ray, had a great idea that I am going to steal. He wrote out his wishes and dreams for the next few months--what he called a Stuart Smalley-type entry... and it worked for him. See his idea here It's kinda like a prophesy, where you have the power of making things happen just by thinking them, and in this case, writing them. And I think it works! Because if you don't come up with new ideas, how is anything new ever going to happen? So, here goes mine.... short term, then long term: Over the next few months I hope to stay focused at my new job, and inspired enough to pick up extra shifts and pay off all my debt before leaving for nursing school. I also want to be completely ready for school when I get there, all loose ends tied up, and ready to dive in an learn. Over the course of the year in Kentucky, I want to absorb tremendous amounts of nursing knowledge, and feel prepared for my new career. I also want to be scouting locations for my first ...

And it's great. The feeling of routine and predictability are actually comforting at this point. However, the knowledge that everything is going to be shaken up here in a few months when I head to Kentucky keeps me from going berserk. But for now, I am loving coming home and making dinner, going for walks in the neighborhood and heading to the gym every chance I get. And the knowledge that a paycheck is coming every 2 weeks is the greatest feeling ever!!

Ha! Condo conversion backfires! The Oregonian reported it today, http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1191898514282930.xml&coll=7&thispage=1 but we all saw it coming... Did the owners really think all the apartments in Portland could be converted to condos? Not EVERYONE wants to buy a run down 1-bedroom apartment *with NEW countertops,* in a questionable area--for $200,000, nor do they want to pay $550,000 for a high-rise downtown! HA! And now, boo-hoo, interest rates went up, and we all wanna rent, not buy. And you can't sell. Jerks. Although this news doesn't exactly make my life easier, it still is kinda sweet. Good rental houses are being rented within hours, and rents are going through the roof. Shoulda coulda woulda bought 5 years ago.

So I just reread "my life experiment" thing on my blog to see if it was still an accurate description of me, and I realized that this segment of my life really did start on that trip to Mexico in January 2005. Actually, right before it; The few months hating my last job, planning my escape, hitching across the border, and meeting the man of my dreams on a ferry boat. It still seems like a fairytale. Everything before that trip was SO different. I had been on a completely different path, and if I would have seen a script of my life for the next two years I wouldn't have believed it was mine. But that's awesome. And I hope the next two years hold just as much surprise. Well, I also hope my plans come to fruition! Brandon has been a huge part of my life since that trip. His presence has changed everything. What would I have done if I'd never met him? Would I have ever left California? Would I have landed in Phoenix? Would I have gotten that job there if I hadn't ...

So winter is here. Forget indian summer and fall. A week after we moved back to the city, the rain came, and I am glad to see it. Among the positives of being back in the city; Brandon and my commutes have shrunk... Mine is minuscule, it takes me about 10 minutes to get to work, and Brandon is now driving 20 minutes each way, instead of 55. Awesomeness. We landed in the outskirts of the city, and now have access to all of the normal American conveniences, which I forgot were so damn convenient. We can choose from 4 Fred Meyers's, and two Winco's, two WalMarts...and it's all withing 5 minutes of our house. I am looking for a gym nearby, and found a community center within walking distance that I think I'll try out for a while. So far, I have not missed our old house. It was big. Maybe too big. Open rooms and empty spaces does not a cozy home make, and it's almost nice to see all my stuff crammed into two bedrooms and an attic. Our "office" has a desk, compu...