HOLY CRAP I'M BACK

YES. I'm back. I didn't exactly make a New Years resolution, it just happened to be right around New Year's Day that I resolved to bring this ol' thing back to live and start writing on the regular again. No pressure this time: I won't force myself to update every single day, and I won't force myself to write something meaningful or profound every time I update.

On that note, 2010 has been pretty awesome so far. For the first time in several YEARS I can finally say "I love my job." Retail will always be retail, but the best kind of retail can only involve coming to work and seeing puppies at least once a day. Oh, and the best kind of retail can only involve supplying said puppies with quality, holistic food and supplies. Oh, and the best kind of retail pays you what you're worth. Yes, this is as close to heaven as retail can get.

Now that the relatively substantial paychecks are coming in, my lofty aspirations for the new year involve paying down by debt. A lot. About 75% by December, to be exact. I'm allowing myself quite a bit of flexibility on that number, because I don't know what this year will bring as far as financial needs. But if I pay off 50%, I'll be more than happy. Next paycheck, I'll make the final payment on my lowest-balance credit card. One down, four to go.

Months ago my friend told me about http://stumbleupon.com and it's been the single best and most time-consuming internet tool I've ever used. I've literally spent hours browsing websites and finding blogs, crafts, articles, and art that I probably would never have come across otherwise. I'm obsessed with learning and almost everything interests me, the problem is that I'd rather read about 90 different subjects than pick one and focus on it. StumbleUpon, therefore, becomes my addiction.

I'm working to get myself out of that habit and become more hands-on. I've read a lot about money management and debt reduction lately as I embark on the quest to eliminate my $14,000 of credit card debt. That's a thoroghly embarassing number, and I hate admitting it. I could lay the blame on many different people and events for that accumulation of debt, including myself, but I'm trying to keep a forward-moving mindset and focus on just getting rid of it rather than complaining about it. I've been reading about the most effective ways to pay down credit cards, now I just have to start applying them. I have to actually MAKE a budget instead of reading about how to make budgets.

All this budgeting and debt-reduction is about to get complicated as I've just quit my nice, secure, living-wages, cushy office job... where I happened to be miserable. I don't have another job lined up. I knew it was a big risk, and I admit I've been feeling anxious about the loss of income. But I'm on the hunt and I think I'll be able to find something closer to home (I was commuting for a total of almost 2 hours a day).

It's my last day here and one of my coworkers gave me a Werthers candy because she felt bad that no one gave me a going away party. Aww.