Since My Last Post...

...a lot has happened! I received a job offer that I was very, very excited about. That meant I had to quit my old job - something I was very, very nervous about. But I didn't need to be. My boss was cool. I started my new job at the end of June and I'm pretty pleased about the way things have gone, so far. At first, it was an interesting transition to go from being someone's supervisor to being the supervisee, and having someone else be in charge and make the decisions. But, considering I'm working fewer hours, have waaaay less stress and pressure, and I'm making more money, this was something I quickly got over.

What else has happened? Well, in the larger scheme of things, two of my friends had babies in the last two months. Another friend is newly pregnant. Two of my friends moved away to Texas. One of my good friends, who has been single for at least as long as I have, met a guy and now they're "official." Good for her! She deserves to meet a great guy. I really did finally send an email to Mark and...never got a response. Not surprisingly. I went on a fun trip to Vancouver, BC with Blake, Carolyn, Susan and Shannon S. I went on a weekend trip to Visalia to visit Katie, Dan, Jacob, Luke and Erik. Katie and I went on a day trip to Sequoia National Park and saw the biggest tree in the world, the General Sherman. Pretty cool! I have been to SF many times in the last two months. On several of those occasions, I did see Derek. I have finally admitted to myself what I knew previously to be true, but did not want to admit, that it's just not there. Totally cool guy, very intellectual and intelligent and interesting, not to mention super-cute, but I'm not for him. And he's not for me. At least I tried.

I plan on being in SF on a regular basis for work, and I'm thinking seriously about arranging a little pied-a-terre in the city. Since my work will be paying for me to stay in a hotel anyway, I figure I may as well look into renting a room in an apartment, and having a place to keep some belongings. This way, I can figure out whether I may want to live there full-time or not. Living in SF has always been one of my dreams, and this is a way to test it out and see if I want to take the plunge. Of course, that would mean never, ever buying real estate. For me, that may be OK. Homeownership, while a must for many people, has never been something at the top of my list. However, for the time, I do plan on remaining in Sacramento, where it is entirely possible to purchase real estate. I've been doing some research and establishing my priorities. I think I'd like to buy a place and rent out a room to help with the mortgage. Now it's just a matter of learning what I can qualify for and figuring out if I can afford to buy something in the neighborhoods I find desirable. I'm not particularly interested in buying the perfect house and creating a little nest for myself. It's more about whether the place will be a good medium to long term investment. In other words, will I be able to sell the place in 10 years and make enough money to finally pay off my student loans?? My current options for ridding myself of debt are the following: 1) win the Lotto, 2) find some rich guy to marry, or 3) buy real estate and be patient for 10 years or so.

Time to go to bed...