Right before the holidays things got pretty stressful for me for a while. As I've mentioned in my last post, I had just moved into this great new place, and I was really excited about it. But shortly after getting all settled in things started to turn. I had sooooo many new problems come up all at once it was nearly overwhelming - I had issues with work, my car, my dentist, the pharmacy - even my computer started to die - all within a two week period. It sucked.
Then, right before Thanksgiving, my luck started to turn. I had finally gotten the last of those issued resolved. I figured things would return to normal. I was wrong - they got even better :) I just recently found out that my company will be starting up their 401k match this January, and that they're also reinstating their merit increase program next year (I'll actually get a raise next year - yay!). This is super important, because this also prompted me to go in and (finally) realign my 401k assets. Because I'll be using a loan from my 401k to pay for my surgery, this means I could shave up to a YEAR or two from my waiting time! This was followed by an amazing Thanksgiving spent with the friends and their family; I definitely needed to do a lot of nothing, and that's exactly what we did. And, right after getting back from the holiday, we rolled out a new piece of software at work that saves me hours of labor each night - my stress level is nearly non-existent at this point. Oh - and I managed to save my computer from it's near death experience. That was kinda nice too :)
Lately, I've also put a lot of focus on restructuring my finances and changing how I spend my social time. Socially, I've switched my main focus to creating long-term platonic relationships and becoming active within the community. I find this to be much more rewarding, and have already started to meet some really amazing people. I've gone over my finances recently with a fine-tooth comb and have made a lot of cut-backs in a bunch of different areas. I've set up some new goals to reach and I'm really excited about what's on the horizon.
I've never been in such a positive situation before, and especially on the heels of the miserable two weeks I was having earlier it's a huge relief! And as if all of that wasn't enough, it's not just me that's got great news. A couple of my friends have recently had some great news of their own as well (one friend is having her surgery, and the other just found a new job). I'm super happy for both of them! The best part about all of it is that none of this is a temporary thing - everything is ongoing, and will continue to be this way well into the next year and beyond. It's as if everything just fell into place, all at once. Thanksgiving was definitely the perfect time for it all to begin :)
