I dream of helsinki

 so as you may remember i had a layover in helsinki on my way to zanzibar. i got to get out of the airport and it feels like i have unfinished business there. and i mistakenly thought it was where i was when my flight got cancelled and I momentarily thought about flying to paris for a night or two. but as i'm recalling in this moment...it was london... anyway..

so this thought of returning to Finland AND this thought of hopping to paris for a weekend have lingered somewhat.

it turns out that call center job i applied for last friday is real and the range really is $162 to $180/ HOUR! can you believe it. 

so i have been daydreaming of what a salary like that would be like. at full time, i already dreamed of leasing a G-wagon and living in a hotel for like a year... i seriously looked it up...and you can stay at the W sydney for like 2 or 3k for 9 days... 

anyway... i had the phone/video screen with the recruiter today. she confirmed the salary. BANANAS!! and i asked for 170-175/hr. but she said it's part time about 20 hours a week for 3-6 months. sooo, doable!

i got moved on to talk to the next guy..some kind of VP. he's not typically the demographic that hires me...but oh well. 

i am still letting myself daydream until i get the final answer. i think my shot is about 25% depending on how urgently they need the position filled. 

anyway...it was an exciting couple of days. 

i will still prep and try to do my best. it's going to be on the phone..so that might move the needle a little both in terms of bias on his part...and my being able to use my notes.

anyway. 

i've already decided...i want to spend all the money i make. i already maxed out my 401k for the year. Plus some. so i don't feel a pull for an IRA or any additional savings. 

And since I was already planning to be away for the summer at summer camp... i think i'm going to keep with that same vibe. 

and since helsinki is on my mind...seems easy...

anyway... that's what i've been up to.

i've been magically tidying up my apartment. switched winter clothes out for spring/summer. i am loving the cool nights and mornings. i'd put the heater away but i just brought i back out because it's still pretty cool in the evenings and we have some cozier weather coming up. so i'm going to enjoy myself.

i really want to curb my sugar intake as that has not stopped! 

but yeah stay tuned... i guess it'll be good i'll have my cruise to look forward to in case this goes sideways... 

oh well...i'm retired and don't need the money...and i mean...work.. blech. 

spending more

 i impulse bought a vera bradley cross-body bag to hold my passport and phone when in transit. i've just been steadily working on making the actual journey required for travel more convenient and enjoyable. that time when you are going through TSA or boarding is stressful because i don't want to lose documents. so i've been loosely thinking of ways to streamline that process.

i prefer to secure my boarding pass and passport as soon as i show it to whichever officer. so that ends up with me stepping to the side and zipping up everything. and then inevitably, you have to show it again. so i want it secure but also convenient.

last international trip i used a separate wallet for my passport, cash, and cards. and decided that would just be my international travel wallet. and i left my domestic wallet at home. since i knew this year would be filled with travel, i've been getting 2 of some things so i don't have to worry about packing. 

anyway, last night, while winding down for bed i searched for a passport carrier. after some clicking i landed on vera bradley outlet (didn't know that existed). there was a little satchel for about $10 but what made me buy it impulsively is when i checked to see how much shipping was...it was FREE. so i thought that must be a mistake. not wanting to pay for shipping when i actually made up my mind, i just went ahead and bought it. 

the site clearly has a banner that says orders over $50 is free, so i'm not sure why this was shipping free. it was only about $13 with tax. 

anyway...so yeah... with more time on your hands to think of life's little inconveniences...my appetite for little items under $20 has gone up. and so starts the potential money leak... oh well.

the other thing that's been on my mind...which may just be an idle mind...is spending $6k on my trip to yellowstone. i went ahead and got this summer job to help pay for it! 

but now...i've been wanting to go back to sydney and questioning whether $6k for a week in yellowstone is worth it.

even 9 days in sydney at the W was only $2k...so i'm thinking...i could spend almost 3 weeks living in a hotel for that much! and that was a hotel suite!

so i've been trying to decide what i want to do...

i think $6k seemed okay when i was working because i didn't want to take the time to DIY the trip...there's just a bunch of driving... but this morning... i had the itch to try to figure it out again...

there are just parts of montana that i want to see..so i've been trying to see if i want to break the trip up into separate trips...see montana... and then see yellowstone another time...

trips are interesting...for me...cuz i don't really have much of a bucket list left...so i hear of a place..run it through my mental filter...if it sticks..i plan for it...but some things have fallen off when i couldn't make them work for one reason or another (price, waning interest, logistics too tricky)...

so this morning i'm going to run the itinerary through chat gpt and see if they can plan it for me...

april 11

 it's friday...

first full week of official retirement...

starting to feel a bit restless

got out to walk every day this week and did one small social thing

so that's not it...

overeating way too much junk

i think eating better will help me feel better and more motivated

oscillating between financial blogs and travel posts...

i don't really have much interest in doing more money stuff at the moment...

and travel gets me excited...

i want to go now!!!

that's about it...

the usual....

wahhh...chores...

wahhhhhh...i ate too much sugar...

wahhhh, what should i do today??

apr 8.. first full week of retirement

 weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! 

i love it....

i discovered Jingle jangle from trader joe's...if you love chocolate... you will love it... 

it's tuesday...i'm having a good day

taking my meds

the market is down 10%...so i'm no longer in the double comma club...cuz i mean... that's still a ton of money...

i have enough money for this year so i don't have to worry much...

i think i like taking out the money before the next year in full so i don't have to deal with feelings like this... lesson learned..

and i'm just workshopping some tax ideas... now that i'll have the marketplace plan...there's an apparent minimum you have to hit... so gotta keep that in mind..

otherwise yeah...my mind just kind of jumps on this idea or that...and it makes it seem important..but so far not in a bothersome way...i already know all my thoughtful actions are optional...