life update

 hi, friends -

it's been awhile. i've been keeping myself busy with dodging work and attending social events in my new town. yay!

i wouldn't say life is 'worth living', but i certainly don't feel the intense urge to die. double yay.

i feel stressed with work, primarily because i don't know what i'm doing.

things move so fast because i have a neighbor who likes to hang out. no complaints there, but i don't have as much solo downtime to meander in my thoughts.

i made a wall poster of all i have coming up over the next 2 years because by hook or by crook, there is a very real possibility that i'll make it to my next FI goal in 2026. 

my goal is so BIG and AUDACIOUS i'm scared of saying it outloud. not for fear of it not 'coming true.' it's not a wish after all. just the full realization of it is not something i'm prepared to wade in right now. i don't want to be angsty or disappointed if the markets take a different turn.

but for now, i'm leading with the idea of being done in march 2026. so that's only 2 years, and with my funny math, it practically feels like a year. 

in the middle of the night, i started thinking about taking a 6 month sabbatical and because i couldn't sleep, i looked up my work's unpaid absence policy. i can only take 1 month off. but with FMLA, I could take 3 months.

i started to wonder if my counselor would write me a note to certify some sort of mental health leave. 

but for some reason i was thinking i'd do it sep 2026 to mar 2027. then last night i realized i don't want to work until march 2027 if i don't have to. it seemed pretty clear at the time, that this was not something i wanted to pursue.

the thing is i wanted to celebrate my FI milestone with a trip to zanzibar but march is apparently a really miserable time to go so i fast forwarded to september...

but now i'm thinking september of 2025 would be better...it'll mark 10 years since i started working in my career. i love those kinds of milestones. so there's that.

but what of taking a career break? 

i guess that's early retirement.

i did like the idea of taking some time off as a pre-retirement check, but i love the idea of leaving work sooner even more!

so my mind is occupied with way too much future planning, and i'd like to find a balance of readiness but also enjoying the present! 

i guess for now, if i find i'm still working past march 2026 for financial reasons, then maybe pursue the 3 months FMLA

i guess there's nothing saying i couldn't do it in 2025-2026, but i'm counting on making allll the money before i reach my goal...

so maybe 1 month of unpaid leave after mar 2026 to make sure it's a good fit..or can i use negative vacation...i don't know

ok, that's all for now.