Super Busy

Wow! Life exploded back into full gear. This Spring term I have been working two jobs, taking 2 very difficult classes at BYU, and getting back into the dating game. While it has been nice to engage in a full schedule again, it has been very grueling and I am looking forward to Summer when my schedule will drop down to two jobs and a girlfriend. But, I'm not complaining. I am happier now than I have been in a long time.

A Friend in Need

I just got word that a friend of mine has a brain tumor. They will be going into surgery to get it removed and have it analyzed to make sure that it isn’t cancer. I don’t know if this person is trying to make their situation public knowledge or not, so I am intentionally keeping names and details out of this post. I am writing to ask for the prayers of everyone out there. This is a very scary time for my friend and their entire family. Thank you all for the support.

Moving Out and Moving On

Tomorrow I move out of my parent’s home for the 3rd and final time (knock on wood). It has been wonderful to take this time at home to re-center myself. But, now it’s time to move on, and tomorrow the journey begins. I will be plunging myself back into a singles ward, and back to living on my own. It’s a little scary, but mostly refreshing. I am really excited about the chance I have to start fresh.

Also, I am currently registered for all of my remaining classes to graduate! I have 6 credits in the spring and 15 credits in the Fall and then I’m done! I will be graduated by Christmas!!! I am so excited about that. I love BYU, but I am so tired of the grind. It will be nice to move on to a real job.

The Boat Has Arrived!

After months of waiting it has finally happened. My divorce is final! I cannot describe how relieved I feel to finally have that not hanging over me. I didn’t mind the wait at first, because I needed the time. I needed time to mentally recover, to emotionally stabilize, and to spiritually strengthen myself. However, the last month or so has been very difficult. I had gotten to a place where I was ready to move on with my life, but my life wasn’t quite ready to move on yet. Well, now I can!

It is still going to be fairly scary to move back into the world of dating, but it’s a good sort of scary. I’m nervous and excited all at the same time. I’m sure it will be the beginning of a long and frustrating process, but I am just happy to be moving on to the next step.

The death of a loved one

Yes, sadly my laptop just died. Murphy chose a perfect time to strike. With a week left at school a few programming assignments and an English paper to write who needs a computer? Looks like I'll be using the university computers for as much as I can while I bite the bullet and get a new laptop. I had really hoped to scrape by with this one for another year but it just isn't meant to be.

The good side of this is that I've been wanting a new computer. I think I will always be wanting a new computer, but this gives me an excuse to go and get one. So, until the new one arrives I will be making due with the lab computers. It should be enough to pull me through the end of the semester.

While I believe I will make it through the end of the semester in spite of my computer woes, it really stinks that now is the time it decided to die. Just one week later and this mini crisis would have simply been an annoyance.

The agony of limbo

There are few things I hate more than a transitional period where I am done with one phase of life, but not quite on to the next. Much of the identity that came with your former life is gone, and you wait, longing for the adventure that seems to ride in on a molasses river. It seems an eternity before it will arrive. Limbo!

The worst part is the waiting, the over analyzing, the wondering, and the feeling of instability. The last few months have, and continue to be, such a period for me. I am in the final stages of a divorce from my first wife. The emotional trauma that comes with such an event has made me relish the thought of slowing down and focusing on the core essentials in life. However, as the days and months have passed I have become increasingly more capable of dealing with life. I am nearly 5 months removed from the moment when we admitted that it just wouldn't work. During this time I have had a wonderful opportunity to focus on me and how to improve myself. However, the last few bits of legal paperwork are still sitting on the judges desk waiting to be signed.

So, I find myself ready to move on. Ready to engage life again. Ready to (dare I say it?) re enter the terrifying world of girls and dating. But, I can only stare at that adventure as it slowly rides toward me. Everyday I hope that I will hear that all the paperwork has been signed and finalized, and every day has ended in silence. It's a maddening feeling to know that you have done everything you can do and know that there is more to be done. The boat seems closer than ever, but it isn't here yet. Limbo!

I hope the boat comes with seat belts. I just know it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Why I love DropBox

For the last few semesters I have been using a service called Dropbox. I love it! There have been so many times when I needed to access important files for school that are stored on my laptop. I know, it's a laptop I should have it with me at all times. But sometimes I don't. Dropbox has made it dead easy for me to go online and get my files from anywhere with an internet connection. It has also made it possible for me to work on a project from two (or more) computers. I have a laptop and a desktop and it's just convenient to on the desktop when I can, and then move to the laptop and have everything sitting there. This product has seriously changed the way I do school. The best part is that its FREE. I never worry about my laptop crashing, because I keep all my really important stuff in my dropbox. That way I can get to it from anywhere I want, and I can get it back if my computer ever dies. If you don't use this product currently, you should totally check it out!

If you use this link you will get an extra 256 megs for free.

My New Year’s Resolution

I, like so many others, have Identified a few areas of my life that I would like to improve during this year. One of these areas is Finance! One of my very best friends gave me a book for Christmas entitled “My Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey. I read it in just a few hours and I was hooked. That book made me see that I needed to live on a budget! It was the first time I could see a systematic way for met to get rid of the debt that I have, and build wealth for my future. This subject has weighed heavily on my mind recently. I’ve known for a while that by the time I retire Social Security will be a thing of the past. I don’t plan on collecting a dime from that program, so I have to plan my own retirement. Now I finally know how!
Here is the premise of the book in a nutshell.

1. Get $1000 in an emergency (liquid) fund as fast as you can
   
2. Order your debts smallest to largest
   
3. Pay the minimum on all debts except the smallest. Throw everything you have at this one
   
4. As you pay off the small ones, add that amount to the next smallest one (The debt snowball!)
   
5. Revisit your emergency fund. Get it to the point that you could live off of it for 6 months
6. Once you are out of debt, use all that money you were paying to creditors, and start investing!
   
7. Invest, invest, invest!
   
8. Once you can live off of 8% of your investments every year you have enough to retire

It’s not that ground breaking, and it’s nothing you haven’t heard from your grandmother, or from church. But, it’s the first time those concepts really made sense to me. I’m really excited because I have a plan now that will get my car paid off in just over a year!
So, if I am ever wealthy in the future it is safe to assume that Dave Ramsey had a lot to do with it.