Jan 13, I'm happy and friend free

 I woke up not sure how I felt. I marked okay in the mood tracking app (Daylio). But just 30 minutes later, I feel really good!

The sun is out. I thought I had an early meeting, but it's not till 10a. My inbox is not cluttered and we have a work holiday on Monday! 

I looked up some 1 cup cake recipes last night. Eventhough I'm still petrified of opening the bottom oven drawer for fear of finding pest remanants, I'm still hoping to bake a funfetti 1 cup cake or brownies today.

I really want to eat some white frosting.

I have 2 little mini pans I can use and forego looking in the scary drawer for my 6 cup muffin tin. Small wins.

Yesterday, I'd had enough. At the end of last year, I'd come to the realization that the only external contact I had was Maryland Aunty who at the time we'd gotten into monthly calls she initiated. I got tired of being brushed off and talked over. 

And Frenemy. She was a hard one to let go of because we do have fun shooting the breeze. But since mental health is all the rage and I'm an all or nothing kind of person, last night I had enough. She's been on a boundary kick with people in her life. Not me necessarily, but in a petty way, I'm kind of using it against her. My boundary is - don't call me to talk for 5 minutes; be an active listener; act engaged; ask questions; don't take other calls for people you talk to just as much as me. 

And as a matter of fact, I prefer email. I was going to change my Apple ID but it was going to take too long to decide on a new one, so I just turned off the FaceTime notifications. Now mind you, I'd already uninstalled the FaceTime app so I wouldn't be tempted to call anyone.

But yesterday after 3 half calls and then her taking a call from her aunt (not an emergency), I'd just had enough. 

We're all busy. And I know she doesn't need me as a friend so I don't think she'll be down and out. She is actively engaged with a lot of work colleagues and is meeting a friend for lunch next week that she met for lunch during the holidays. And has regular calls with a former co-worker. So I don't have to worry about her missing our interaction so much.

And really, she still has 2 email addresses and Teams to get a hold of me. I've been trying to break loose of this emotional roller coaster for years now but since we're all coming into our own as well-adjusted adults, the fight has been won!

I'm available during business hours. Or send me an email. 

I think my throat is getting better. The last few coughs of last night were not productive. There is still some mild irritation but hopefully with no talking over the weekend that should resolve.

I'm putting off my remaining work until next week. I'm hoping I don't have to talk much in the meeting today and luckily I shouldn't have to lead.

I'm really, really grateful that my team is primarily UK based because this means my workday is limited to mornings. At least the part of the day where I have to actively engage with other people.

Yay! Small wins. I did nothing to accomplish this, but I'm still calling it a win!

My manager is back from her long holiday break and asked for volunteers for a project. Old Me would have thought I needed to, but Steady State me is like... only if I'm forced. 

So now the thought came to mind - am I ready for the Brian on our team to get promoted ahead of me. Um, kind of. My goal is to just to stay employed and keep my workload light. I'm not volunteering for anything. It's a bit of a dance to do 'just enough' though. 

Been thinking more about my travel hacking plans. I think Chase seems like where I should focus my first wave of attention. Right now I'm thinking of opening a Savings account. I have to keep at least $300 in there to keep it fee free. But I need to figure out how to get 5k in there and keep it there until I can get approved for one of their cards.

I'm still deciding.

I don't even want to plan too much for next year. 

I guess in theory if I give up travel hacking for this year, I can just try to get 100k points in the first quarter of next year and make travel plans from there.  That would be the easier choice if I wanted to abandon travel hacking for this year. It wasn't really part of my plans.

And I think maybe for next year, instead of planning the year in advance, I can just use Q1 as planning time.

I think spending the December away was also a good idea because by January the weather is mild and sunny and the days are already getting longer incrementally.

Anyway, the other thing I decided was to pay for full service to get my taxes done. It looks to be around $350 on Turbo Tax. HR Block isn't giving upfront pricing.

I mostly want to see once and for all if there's anything I can do differently.  I'm hoping I'll get to ask questions or get some new ideas to optimize my taxes because right now, other than my 401k, I'm just paying the taxes that's owed. No breaks.

Oh speaking of, I think our W2 posted today!

Yay... 

...now as I type this, I think I'm going to forego remediating my credit to qualify for the high tier cards. #easylife. Yes, this year I have known big spends, but it just didn't work out. I'm not fighting things.

I think I can still get the Fidelity card at 0% intro APR when I'm ready to book my travel for the Summer. And I hope I can still get an AA/Delta card to get free bags. If not, oh well.