122 Days (2016)

It's the first of May!  The official start of summer!

Not that you would think it was even remotely summer time based on the weather . . . it's cold and rainy and it actually snowed pretty hard last night and we've had the big heater on a lot the past few days.  I really don't mind it, I like having extra blankets on my bed still and getting to snuggle under them, and I like being able to wear sweaters and boots to work.

But either way, it is May 1st, which means that the 122 days of summer time is here.

This year, those 122 days will be devoted to completing the AZ Bucket List we've made--all the things we want to do before we leave AZ in the fall.  I'm actually really glad we decided to wait until September to move, because as nice as leaving earlier would be, getting to spend the whole summer here and move as it ends feels somehow fitting.  I like it when things tie up nicely like that.

So this summer we'll be doing as many FUTS trails as we can, hopefully taking a trip to the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, and Havasupai (just to name a few).  I'm planning to do the Climb to Conquer Cancer in August with my sister.  And of course, we'll be packing and cleaning and getting ready for the big move!  I'm looking forward to summer and doing a lot of fun Flagstaff/AZ stuff before we leave.

In a couple weeks we're actually going to Prescott to see Alton Brown live, so I'm looking forward to that.  Jerbs is really, REALLY looking forward to it, so it should be fun!

Here's to my last summer in Flagstaff!!

Moving Related Conversations

Moving to the PNW seems to be the most talked about thing between Jerbs and me right now.

We talked about the possibility of leaving Flagstaff earlier than September.  The point of staying until then was to reduce the amount I'd owe MHC for my coding class when I quit, and now that I'm not quitting, I don't have to worry about that.  We talked about leaving at the end of June, which is when our lease is actually up and would make the most sense.  But our trip to WA is at the end of May, and I feel like getting back and only having 30 days before we leave would just be a little too much stress.  Plus it wouldn't be great financially, we need more time to save up.  Then we talked about leaving at the end of July, and we had pretty much agreed that we were going to do that.  Then Jerbs remembered that she's going to ComicCon at the end of July so we nixed that idea.  I didn't want to have to do all the cleaning and packing mostly alone, and the turn around time of her getting back and us leaving like 3 days later felt like it would be too stressful.  So the plan is still to leave at the end of August/beginning of September.  I'm actually glad for that, just because it gives us plenty of time to save and get our ducks in a row, and I like the idea of leaving at the end of summer.  I'm just weird like that.

I've also been banned, mostly by myself but also by Jerbs, from looking at apartments online for the month of March.  I've been getting a little . . . carried away looking at apartments, trying to find somewhere we can live, and having massive anxiety attacks about not being able to find a nice place etc. etc. etc.  It's getting to a bad point so I'm forcing myself to just stop for a month and take a step back from it.  Jerbs has (rightfully) pointed out that the move is still far enough away that looking at apartment right now is pretty pointless, and that I'm not going to pick anywhere until I see places when we go to WA in May anyway.  So that's that.  (Full disclosure, I've already failed at my ban twice since I imposed it--yesterday and the day before.  I've been good today, though!).

The Big Three One

Today I turned 31.  It's extremely surreal to think about that, and I think that in the next couple weeks I'm probably going to get all up in my head about it, but today was a really good day so that's what I'm focusing on right now.

I was really excited for my birthday this year because after how horrible last year was, I figured there was nowhere to go but up.  And I was right!

Yesterday when I went to the gym I found a $10 Dunkin' Donuts giftcard waiting for me, and this morning, I checked my work email to find that my boss had sent me a $25 Dunkin' Donuts giftcard, so I'm going to be super caffeinated this week!  I was so touched that she thought to get me something, I seriously love her.  Almost ALL of my co-workers remembered my birthday this year, which was lovely, and I got a card and cupcakes from the billing department.  In the afternoon I got flowers at work from my sister and my nephew.  And Jerbs had the day off so she took me out for dinner.  We went to Beaver Street Brewery and I got a brewer's platter (pretty much my favorite meal ever), and we got a free dessert sampler because it was my birthday.  (They let you pick between a free shot of your choice or a free dessert).

So all in all an awesome day and just SO MUCH BETTER than last year when I was sitting in my car in the Michael's parking lot with the dogs because I was afraid to be home alone.

Here's to my 31st year!  I am determined to make it a good one.

Lots of Good News From Work

So this week was one where things just kept going my way at work.  In particular, two really exciting things happened.

First of all, the issue of my raise got resolved.  We got our pay stubs emailed to us this past Tuesday, and when I looked at mine, I noticed that my raise wasn't on there.  So I emailed our financial controller and let her know, and she in turn told me that she hadn't known about my raise because, apparently, our HR person (who is one of my former billing co-workers) didn't get the paperwork to her.  Which was irritating, but not a super big deal.  My boss sent the paperwork to her and a little while later, the financial controller called me to her office.  And she basically told me that the raise my boss gave me in my eval was inadequate, and that my boss was only allowed to give me a specific percentage raise.  So it's now corrected, and my new pay rate is exactly in the range that I was expecting when I went into my eval.  I was so excited to get the raise I deserved, I've put in the work and time and now I feel like something came of it.

Then yesterday, the billing department had a meeting (we're going through some pretty significant changes personnel wise right now, so we were meeting to talk about all that).  As we were walking in, our practice manager said to me something like, "So, I hear you're going to be moving this year?"  So I told her that yes, I was planning to move out of state in September.  I was really apprehensive saying it because I wasn't sure how she was going to react, but I was super pleasantly surprised when her reaction was, "Are you interested in remoting?"  I was like HELL YES!!!

This means that if the hospital deal goes through, I get to keep my job and work from home as a full time coder after I move.  I am so unbelievably happy about this.  Being able to keep my job would be amazing, because I wouldn't have to job hunt from a different state, I wouldn't have to start over somewhere PTO wise, I wouldn't have to leave a company I genuinely love . . . AND to be able to work from home is basically my dream.  It also means that I won't have to pay back anything for my coding class since I won't be quitting, which is freaking awesome!  And the icing on the cake is that the practice manager brought it up.  The thought that I might be able to keep my job if the merge happened had crossed my mind before, but I figured I'd really have to fight for it and negotiate it, so to have it pretty much just handed to me is like . . . perfect.

Obviously the caveat is that if the hospital deal doesn't go through, a second coder isn't really going to be necessary, so if that happens I don't get to keep my job.  So at this point, I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping and praying and wishing that the hospital deal goes through.  I should know by April so . . . here's hoping!

Work Eval

So today I got my yearly evaluation from my boss at work.

It went pretty much as expected.  Pretty much just a you're doing awesome and keep up the good work kinda thing.  The one thing I know I need to work on is the one thing my boss says I need to work on, so all in all, it was good news.  My boss also encouraged me to stop feeling like I needed to take on other people's work if they fall behind (my office mate is suuuuper slow at some stuff and I tend to feel obligated to pick up the slack), and I'm glad she did.  I get really frustrated and I think I needed to hear from my boss that it's OK to just let things go and let my co-workers really be responsible for themselves.

One thing that I'm really disappointed about, though, is my raise.  Based on the fact that I got my CPC a few months ago, and since I've been taking on a lot more work (both coding and otherwise)--I definitely had a number in mind for my raise.  And I was definitely expecting something more than what my past two raises have been.

So imagine my disappointment when I looked at my paperwork and saw a raise that is actually a little less than what I got last year.  My heart just kind of sank and I actually almost cried.  But I'm not much of a boat rocker so I just kind of sucked it up and didn't say anything.  I didn't want to get all upset and crying at my boss, and I knew that's what would happen if I brought it up.

Plus, at least I got a raise, and at least I have a job at all.  I reminded myself over and over again today that a lot of people would kill for what I got today, and that I should be grateful for what I have.

But still.  It was disappointing.

Plane Tickets!!

Today I bought plane tickets to SEATTLE!!!

Jerbs and I are officially going there in May to explore and apartment hunt and I am so freaking excited I can't stand it!!

We've been kicking around a visit for a couple months now.  We knew we needed to go, obviously, because we don't want to move somewhere we've actually never been, and I'm absolutely not willing to move into an apartment without seeing it first, but we'd had trouble choosing dates.  Plus every time I'd find decently priced plane tickets I'd end up chickening out and not buying them.

I was getting frustrated with myself but I think it was all for the best, because today, just for the heck of it, I looked for plane tickets, and found some that were only around $85 each, roundtrip from Las Vegas to Seattle (this particular airline is launching its service between those cities in March, so if I hadn't waited I'd have never known about the cheap tickets).  So I texted Jerbs to make sure the dates we'd pretty much decided on would really work, and I booked the flights!  We fly out on May 24th and fly back on May 29th!  I'm still in shock that I finally bit the bullet but oh my God I'm excited!!

In 129 days I'll be on a plane to Seattle.  It feels so freaking amazing to finally be moving forward with this!  I'm just . . . overwhelmed.  And hoping that the next 4 months don't drag too terribly much.

Moving: The Plan

We're starting to talk about the moving to Washington thing seriously now, and we've hashed out a little bit of a plan.

At some point in the near-ish future we're going to visit WA to explore and look at apartments.  This should be sometime in the early summer, like April or May.

Our lease is up at the end of June, but we're going to stay in Flagstaff until September.  This mostly has to do with my job: when MHC paid for my coding class, I signed a contract that's basically tiered as far as how much I'll have to repay if I leave the company.  If I had stayed at MHC 6 months or less after I enrolled, I'd have to pay back the full cost of the course.  If I stayed 6 months to a year, I'd pay back 75%.  At the year mark I have to pay back half, at a year and half I have to pay back a quarter, and if I stay 2 years I don't have to pay back anything.

I enrolled in February of 2015, so August of 2016 puts me at the 1.5 year mark.  So I want to stay thru that, because paying back a quarter of the class won't bee too terrible--I think around $400?  I can just kind of figure that into the moving budget.

We also decided that to save money for the move, Jerbs is going to pay the rent on our apartment herself for the next few months, and I'm going to put my half of the rent into savings every month.  It sounds (and feels, to be honest) a little unfair, but we really think it's going to be the best way to get the money together.  (As of this second, I don't know exactly how much it'll cost to do this).

I also realized that, since Jerbs doesn't drive, I'm going to have to rent a UHaul and a trailer thing to haul my car on.  This, honestly, is the worst thing I've realized so far, because the thought of driving a giant moving truck towing my SUV 1,300 miles sounds truly fucking terrible.  I like the idea of not putting those miles on my car but at the same time . . . gah.  I'm kind of hoping I can convince someone to drive my car up with me and then I'll fly them home.  So we'll see.

2016 Goals

I'm not really in the mood to make a list of New Year's Resolutions this year, because it gets kind of discouraging making the same ones over and over again and not accomplishing them (which I know is totally my own fault).  But I still wanted to touch on some of the things I want to accomplish this year.

As usual, I would like to lose weight.  I need to get in shape, both because I'm sick of how I look and because I want to be healthier.  I work in cardiology and I see what happens to people who don't take care of themselves and I don't want to be one of those patients when I'm older.

I want to rededicate myself to my mental health.  Not that things are terrible in this area right now, but I feel like I've kind of . . . I don't know, been less diligent the past year.  I want to be consistent with it.

I want to focus on my writing.  My goal is to write 1000 words of creative writing a month.  I think that's doable.

I also want to be better with money and really start working on building my credit.  Jerbs and I want to buy a house within the next few years.

I want to travel.  Last year I learned that I am completely capable of traveling so I definitely want to do more of it this year.  Particularly, I want to finally go to Seattle.

And speaking of Seattle, I think one of the biggest goals for this year is to finally move to Washington.  I really feel like it's just time, and like Jerbs and I are finally in a place where we could actually make it happen.  The thought of actually moving is overwhelming and kind of scary but also really, really exciting.  I've (mostly) loved the past few years in Flagstaff, and things here have gone far better than I'd have expected, but I have never felt like staying here long time is a real, sustainable option.

I also wanted to pick a word for this year, and the word I picked is BOLD.  So I'm going to try and be BOLD this year!