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Tracking Habits for Success

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Guess who’s back!

It’s been awhile! To recap, August was insane. Bad insane followed by good insane. The bad: super stressful job search (that has yet to be fruitful), and SunCat getting really sick in the middle of it. Thankfully, she seems to be responding really well to her treatment so far. Fingers crossed!

SunCat cute cat book reading cuddling
Hooman, why is this book in my spot??

The Good: I went to Peru! I just got back from a 10-day trip with my best friend. It was amazing. This country has been at the very top of my travel wish list for some time now, and it didn’t disappoint. I climbed Montaña Machu Picchu, and so now I know that I can do anything. Seriously, that thing was really fucking hard. Side note: I’m taking the stairs at work from now on…

Before I left, I started tracking habits that I wanted to build, with mixed results. Continue reading “Tracking Habits for Success”

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Why I Travel (And Why You Should, Too)

why I travel owning the stars

On a good day, I can name all 197 countries in the world (I’m using Sporcle’s country list. It includes Taiwan and Palestine BECAUSE WHY WOULDN’T IT). Clips like the Jimmy Kimmel video below make me worry about the United States and how we interact with other countries (well, that clip and a whole lot of other things happening in the news lately…).

Continue reading “Why I Travel (And Why You Should, Too)”

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Domestic Geoarbitrage and Job Searching

domestic geoarbitrage moving job search owningthestars owning the stars blog

Y’all, let’s be real. Living in Washington, DC or right across the border in Virginia or Maryland, is super expensive. I don’t blink at $12 cocktails and $1650 rent. And it gets really old when you’re trying to be frugal, or plan for financial goals like owning a house or starting a family. I’ve written before about needing a professional change, and about realizing that I no longer like living here and need to move. But what I didn’t realize was how freeing those decisions would be. Searching for a new job when I know I’m going to relocate anyway opens up some fantastic opportunities for domestic geoarbitrage. Continue reading “Domestic Geoarbitrage and Job Searching”

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Avoiding Lifestyle Creep Like a Boss

avoiding lifestyle creep career annual raise

My organization has multiple fiscal years for some odd reason (multiple funding sources), but the date that employees care about the most is July 1. This is when we get our annual salary increases. They aren’t raises per se because they’re only loosely tied to performance—everyone gets one, and it’s more of a lifestyle cost adjustment. It’s between 3-5% typically. And in the past, avoiding lifestyle creep wasn’t on my radar.

Continue reading “Avoiding Lifestyle Creep Like a Boss”

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The Value of Happiness: Why I Walked Away from $40k

value of happiness why I walked away from $40,000 blog owning the stars

Could I have picked a more clickbait-y title? You’re welcome. But it’s 100% true too. This is my second weekly update post, and it’s been one hell of a week. This is a pretty long post because there’s some background that needs to be established, but bear with me. I eventually get to the part about lighting money on fire and walking away. But I’ve also discovered that the value of happiness doesn’t have a price tag. And as trite as that sounds, it’s so true.

Continue reading “The Value of Happiness: Why I Walked Away from $40k”

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The Tyranny of Monotony in Work

Tyranny of Monotony in Work Lamp post lamplighter sky streetlamp

I have already written about the inspiration for my blog name, which is the children’s book The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. While one specific chapter in that book gave this blog its name, the other chapters also have relevant life lessons to share, like Chapter 14, and specifically the lessons it imparts about passion and the need for change. Monotony in work can affect the rest of your life and wellbeing.

Continue reading “The Tyranny of Monotony in Work”