I meant to write this post about goals and plans for the new year at the beginning of the month, but that clearly turned out well. In my defense, I’ve been swamped with new home/new business stuff.
Continue reading “So…I Guess It’s 2020 Now?”2019 in Review
Well, we’ve made it through another year, which means it’s time for an annual recap. Here’s the highlight reel from 2019! Want to see how far things have really come? Check out 2018 in review to compare.
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Financial Security
I’m not sure how to assess this category. My net worth went up significantly this year, and I’m now a homeowner. I have a very healthy emergency fund. But at the same time, I just left my job with a stable paycheck and haven’t replaced that income yet. I’m confident I’ll get there, but it’ll be a little nervewracking until that point. But that is also the whole reason for an emergency fund that can cover the better part of a year’s worth of essential expenses (things that can’t be put on a credit card short-term: mortgage, student loan payments, health insurance premiums, utilities).
And I mean it about the credit card. I know that the general rule of thumb is that “debt is bad,” especially credit card debt. But I’m starting a damn business, here. If it takes a few months to generate an income that will support my monthly expenses, I have no shame about putting groceries and gas on my credit card until then. The interest paid will be well worth the wiggle room it gives me to get this business off the ground.
Happiness
I know I’ve been happy in the past year. There have been some really wonderful moments. But there have also been some really hard ones. Despite those, I’m so happy that I’ve found a new career path that I’m passionate about, and that I’ve moved to a new city where I think I have a better chance of building a sustainable life. I’ve met some wonderful people, and I’ve reconnected with some old friends. I’m happy that I’ve been able to spend lots of time with family this year, and that I now live in the same city as my BFF Lyra (and HER NEW DOG, aka COMET!).
Travel
This year, I got to visit two countries that were very high on my bucket list: Morocco and Kenya. They were both amazing, and I’m really glad I had that opportunity through work. But so many people asked me if I would miss the work travel when I left my job, and the answer is a resounding “no.” Why? When I travel for work, it’s work. I don’t have full control of the itinerary, my time is often limited, and I always end up sick by the end of the trip because of how stressed I am. Instead, in 2020, I’m looking forward to traveling at my own pace. To not having to ration my vacation time, and to not having to attend meetings or lead a group. It’ll be grand.
SunCat
If you’ve read this blog for more than 2 seconds, then you already know that I am completely unashamed to be a Cat Lady. SunCat has been with me for 15 years, and she’s my best friend. She’s more affectionate that StarDog, she sleeps with me every night, and she’s gotten me through some pretty horrific times of my life. This fall, she was diagnosed with two different types of cancer, one of which has metastasized. I was devastated, and the diagnosis came in the middle of me buying a house and right before I left for a 2.5-week international trip. To say I was stressed is an understatement.
Thankfully, things have improved since her initial diagnosis. The goal here isn’t to cure her; that’s highly unlikely given the types of cancer she has. However, the chemotherapy treatment she’s on acts in a palliative capacity; it minimizes the symptoms of the cancer and slows its spread. Since starting it, she’s gained weight and gotten her energy back. I’m so glad that she did well with the move to Cleveland, and I plan on spoiling her for whatever time she has left (though let’s be real, that’s nothing new).
Health
It’s been a tough year. I completely pivoted my career trajectory, and in the midst of that, I’ve had to deal with the reality of leaving my job, starting a business, and moving somewhere new. The stress has definitely gotten to me at times, especially in these last few months when it felt like one hit came after another came after another. That being said, I’m really happy with where I’m ending my year. I think I’m in a good place to be healthier (mentally and physically) in 2020, which I wouldn’t be able to say if I was still in Washington, DC and in my previous job. Hopefully, this prediction proves true in my 2020 recap!
2019 in Numbers
- blog posts: 25…I guess averaging 1 every two-ish weeks isn’t bad?
- Most popular post: The FIRE Movement’s Fatphobia Problem
- My favorite posts of the year: Beware of Financial Baobabs, A Spreadsheet and the Paradox of Choice, The FIRE Movement’s Fatphobia Problem, and When Optimization is Suboptimal
- 1,115 Twitter followers
- 3 international trips (and 4 new countries!)
- 9 domestic trips
- 55 fiction books read
- 30 non-fiction books read
- 0 job interviews…thank God.
- 1 new business!
- 370 miles moved
- 1 new house…with 1 new furnace.
Reading Highlights
I list every book I read, but some are better than others. Here’s a list of all the books I rated DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) this year. Out of the 85 books I read, I loved these 23 the most. I swear I didn’t plan this but turns out female authors swept the list this year:
Nonfiction
- Fed Up by Gemma Hartley
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
- Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
- Work Optional by Tanja Hester
- We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, and Just Plain Fail to Understand about Weight by Linda Bacon, PhD and Lucy Aphramor, PhD, RD
- So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
- Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
- Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
- Evolving in Monkey Town: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask the Questions by Rachel Held Evans
Fiction
- Flamecaster by Cinda Williams Chima
- Shadowcaster by Cinda Williams Chima
- Stormcaster by Cinda Williams Chima
- Deathcaster by Cinda Williams Chima
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
- Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
To see all the books that I read (including many that I ranked just below DEAR as “Highly Recommend”), check out my quarterly posts:
Ok, we’re calling 2019 a wrap. On to 2020 and all the new adventures it’ll bring!
New Year and New Goals
Ok, I know that the New Year is actually not really the optimal time to set new goals. But there’s something so enticing about a new year and new possibilities. And this “new goal” has been in the works for awhile and is finally turning into reality. In the past year, I’ve made a lot of progress toward ongoing goals. I’ve paid off my credit card debt and traveled. I’ve focused more on self-improvement and read plenty of non-fiction books. But I also had some set-backs; I didn’t get a job I thought I wanted, and then spent seven months trying to figure out my life. That included clarifying my professional goals, turning down a few seemingly perfect opportunities that weren’t right for me, and thinking about relocating to a lower cost of living location. I wrote all about 2018 in my last post.
