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jakebeAll right, this is the week where I start clamping down a little bit to build my self-discipline. It should be a good week for it, too. I don't think there are any major projects happening at the day job; there are no plans to get together this week until the weekend; and both R. and K. are just running out the clock on the rest of their work year.
I haven't taken any time off for the holidays, which is all well and good. I still have a four-day work week followed by three days next week, which feels like plenty of time to just chill out and focus on a few other things. One big thing is our potential moving situation, which would be another huge expense on short notice.
Our lease for the condo is up in February. We're interested in renting a house with K. after that, but it will take a little elbow grease to get everything ready in time. K. is most worried about how our rabbit and his cat will get along, which is a legitimate concern. Last time they were in the same room Biscuit freaked out; that's how we learned he has a very strong prey drive.
I'm not sure if he'll ever chill out enough to accept Goldie as a member of the Warren, but we're going to give it our best shot. If worst comes to worst, we'll just have to segregate the house into Rabbit Area and Cat Area. Biscuit won't have the run of the house anyway, so it might be the simplest solution.
There will also be an adjustment for, you know, cohabitation. R. and I have been on our own for about 15 years now and while K. is incredibly close it's still different moving in with someone. Sleep cycles, wake times, food preferences, what kinds of messes are tolerable vs. unacceptable -- there's a lot of unspoken rules to become aware of quickly. I know we'll get through that period, but it's still a little bumpy.
And then there's the strong possibility of adding a fourth to our living situation. A long-time friend was laid off from Stanford(!!) this year, and both of his roommates are taking off for greener pastures. I'm not sure how the job search is coming along, but either way he'll need to move if he wants to stay in the Bay Area. We offered to include him in our plans when they were coming together, so...one of us will be talking to him about that soon.
He's good people, honestly. :) But he's a bit of a packrat and he's collected a LOT of stuff over time. Mostly SF/fantasy books, board games, and fine alcohols, so it's definitely not the product that's the problem!
But like all middle-aged gay Californians, he's settled into a comfortable way of living that will need to change with his living situation. We're all good friends and will do our best to make it work, of that I have no doubt. But there's bound to be rough edges we bump against so it's important to accept that conflict will happen and commit now to being as chill as possible about it.
I honestly don't know what things will look like for me by Q2 2024; it's quite possible we'll sign the lease for another year and spend the time decluttering in anticipation. All things being equal, I'd prefer that -- but it doesn't help our fourth friend right now.
So we'll see what's out there. We're looking for a 3- or 4BR with as many bathrooms as we can get, in the neighborhood of $4K/month (for us three, at least). R. already found a house that looked just about perfect, so I have a good feeling about actually finding something. Whether or not we can bring everything together in time is the big question.
I restarted my budget for 2024. It was time for a refresh anyway, and I'd really like to get my finances under better control. I'm sure there are lingering subscriptions or automated payments I should be looking into, and it would be nice to actually pay attention to where money goes every month so I can start spending a bit more wisely. The financial pressure of making under $50K is already seeping in enough that I've been eating out a lot less, actually making use of coupons, and really prioritizing purchases that are needed over ones that would just feel nice at the moment. It's good to feel more disciplined about my spending, though I wish a significant change in income wasn't the driving force behind it.
I'm definitely in the self-reflective period of the year now. :) I've made great strides in some ways, but there's still a lot to work on. Next year I would really like to prioritize my reading and writing practice; not just being more focused on reading stories, but reaching out to authors and actively engaging with the material as well. If I do go to FC in January, I'll pick up a couple of the latest releases to maybe review at The Writing Desk.
I've also decided that I'll be doing a series of Kwanzaa posts this year, so I'll be spending time this week gathering my thoughts there. These won't be persuasive essays, where I'm bringing up a topic and advocating a certain perspective. I'd like them to be more...introspective essays, asking a question about each day and talking through my thoughts on the way to whatever answer there might be. It'll definitely be a work in progress, but I'm trying not to stress about how they're received. It's more about getting back into the practice of observing and closely studying my thoughts to see where they lead.
I haven't taken any time off for the holidays, which is all well and good. I still have a four-day work week followed by three days next week, which feels like plenty of time to just chill out and focus on a few other things. One big thing is our potential moving situation, which would be another huge expense on short notice.
Our lease for the condo is up in February. We're interested in renting a house with K. after that, but it will take a little elbow grease to get everything ready in time. K. is most worried about how our rabbit and his cat will get along, which is a legitimate concern. Last time they were in the same room Biscuit freaked out; that's how we learned he has a very strong prey drive.
I'm not sure if he'll ever chill out enough to accept Goldie as a member of the Warren, but we're going to give it our best shot. If worst comes to worst, we'll just have to segregate the house into Rabbit Area and Cat Area. Biscuit won't have the run of the house anyway, so it might be the simplest solution.
There will also be an adjustment for, you know, cohabitation. R. and I have been on our own for about 15 years now and while K. is incredibly close it's still different moving in with someone. Sleep cycles, wake times, food preferences, what kinds of messes are tolerable vs. unacceptable -- there's a lot of unspoken rules to become aware of quickly. I know we'll get through that period, but it's still a little bumpy.
And then there's the strong possibility of adding a fourth to our living situation. A long-time friend was laid off from Stanford(!!) this year, and both of his roommates are taking off for greener pastures. I'm not sure how the job search is coming along, but either way he'll need to move if he wants to stay in the Bay Area. We offered to include him in our plans when they were coming together, so...one of us will be talking to him about that soon.
He's good people, honestly. :) But he's a bit of a packrat and he's collected a LOT of stuff over time. Mostly SF/fantasy books, board games, and fine alcohols, so it's definitely not the product that's the problem!
But like all middle-aged gay Californians, he's settled into a comfortable way of living that will need to change with his living situation. We're all good friends and will do our best to make it work, of that I have no doubt. But there's bound to be rough edges we bump against so it's important to accept that conflict will happen and commit now to being as chill as possible about it.
I honestly don't know what things will look like for me by Q2 2024; it's quite possible we'll sign the lease for another year and spend the time decluttering in anticipation. All things being equal, I'd prefer that -- but it doesn't help our fourth friend right now.
So we'll see what's out there. We're looking for a 3- or 4BR with as many bathrooms as we can get, in the neighborhood of $4K/month (for us three, at least). R. already found a house that looked just about perfect, so I have a good feeling about actually finding something. Whether or not we can bring everything together in time is the big question.
I restarted my budget for 2024. It was time for a refresh anyway, and I'd really like to get my finances under better control. I'm sure there are lingering subscriptions or automated payments I should be looking into, and it would be nice to actually pay attention to where money goes every month so I can start spending a bit more wisely. The financial pressure of making under $50K is already seeping in enough that I've been eating out a lot less, actually making use of coupons, and really prioritizing purchases that are needed over ones that would just feel nice at the moment. It's good to feel more disciplined about my spending, though I wish a significant change in income wasn't the driving force behind it.
I'm definitely in the self-reflective period of the year now. :) I've made great strides in some ways, but there's still a lot to work on. Next year I would really like to prioritize my reading and writing practice; not just being more focused on reading stories, but reaching out to authors and actively engaging with the material as well. If I do go to FC in January, I'll pick up a couple of the latest releases to maybe review at The Writing Desk.
I've also decided that I'll be doing a series of Kwanzaa posts this year, so I'll be spending time this week gathering my thoughts there. These won't be persuasive essays, where I'm bringing up a topic and advocating a certain perspective. I'd like them to be more...introspective essays, asking a question about each day and talking through my thoughts on the way to whatever answer there might be. It'll definitely be a work in progress, but I'm trying not to stress about how they're received. It's more about getting back into the practice of observing and closely studying my thoughts to see where they lead.
