Tuesday, January 10, 2006

The Countdown Begins!!

Well, first things first...

HAPPY 2006!!!

Haven't blogged since 2005 so Happy New Year to everybody, well all 3 of you!!! So 2006 is here and it presents 365 - well 355 as of today - days for me to make moves and do bigger and better than '05.

The countdown begins to securing a halfway decent future. I promised myself in the beginning of '05 that by the time I turned 30, I would contribute 10% of my earnings to my 401k. Well in 4 1/2 months, I'll be 29. And I feel like I'm up to my ears in debt. I'm probably better off than a lot of people I know but I just feel like I'm managing to dig myself deeper and deeper and I don't want to be so far in that I can't dig my way back out.

The countdown begins to turning 30. I've got a year and a half to decide how I would like to celebrate what may be a life altering milestone. A party, or a trip or something else that I haven't been able to think of yet. I'll have a little practice as I have less than 5 months to help Toe plan her 30th. I'm not afraid of 30. But I am afraid that once I do turn 30, I'll have less time to do things I didn't get around to when I was 25. And the endless stream of "When are you getting married and having kids?" questions will begin!

The countdown begins to find a new job and truly begin a career. I've been at the same job for over 5 years. A position that my supervisor didn't think I'd keep for more than 3 years. Not because she thought I lacked ability. But my job would be the perfect position to retire in. But as I am at the beginning of what I may be doing for the rest of my life, I'd like to try to spread my wings before it's too late (and make more moolah!!). And besides, with MOL talking about retirement EVERY SINGLE DAY, I've got to get out of here before I feel trapped. She gets to retire in 2 years. That gives one year to break the hell out!

Every year starts a new countdown. My 2006 countdown feels so daunting. There's so much to do and so much to get done. I don't want to get to 2007 and feel like 2006 was a waste. A change must come - inward, outward and everything in between.