Strategic Plan 1.0
It's time to set a new course for my life. My new to-do list (not necessarily to be completed in the order shown):
1. Finish redecorating the house.
- Complete the wallpaper removal and painting in my bedroom and in the dining area.
- Move the cherry table back into the original dining area.
- Move the sleeper sofa into the original living room from the guest room.
2. Sell the house. I'll probably have to sell it myself, even if it takes longer. Because I lost so much money on the property misadventure a few years ago, and because house values have appreciated pretty much nil in this market, I can't afford to pay 6% realtor fees. So I'll try selling it myself.
3. Get a new job -- even if it's out of town.
4. Find a decent place to live which is small and inexpensive and which requires little of my own time to maintain properly.
Advantages:
- Potential for a truly fresh start.
- After years of looking, it's abundantly clear that I'm not going to find love again here. Somewhere else, at least there's a possibility. (Exchanging e-mails for the last month with somebody who today seems either too busy or too disinterested to actually meet me does not count as "possibility.")
- Reduce my cost of living -- that is, what it costs in both money and energy to maintain my living space. I'm single and have no kids, so there's no point in owning a married-with-kids sort of house.
Disadvantages:
- I'll probably make less money. If I'm able to pay the bills, then "so what?" has to be my attitude here.
- Moving away, should that happen, will probably mean giving up music (choir + string quartet + CD recording projects), at least for a while. Folks who have left our church here always always always write to say they can't find a Catholic parish with a music tradition that is anywhere near as vibrant and active as ours. The activities around playing my viola and guitar at church are about the only things that give me joy these days. But it's not enough, and I need to be willing to make tough decisions.
- It would also mean missing out on watching a friend's 11-year-old finish growing up. (For about seven years, I've occasionally written about how the occasional time I spend with her may be the closest I ever come to seeing a child grow up.) But then she's not 6 or even 8 any more. When she's 13 or 16, best I can hope for is that she'll remember me fondly as a family friend from her childhood.
- Even I manage to accomplish these goals -- selling a house and finding a new job are obviously not easy -- there's no guarantee that I'll be any happier.
But I have to try. I have to try. A life without joy is no life at all.
1. Finish redecorating the house.
- Complete the wallpaper removal and painting in my bedroom and in the dining area.
- Move the cherry table back into the original dining area.
- Move the sleeper sofa into the original living room from the guest room.
2. Sell the house. I'll probably have to sell it myself, even if it takes longer. Because I lost so much money on the property misadventure a few years ago, and because house values have appreciated pretty much nil in this market, I can't afford to pay 6% realtor fees. So I'll try selling it myself.
3. Get a new job -- even if it's out of town.
4. Find a decent place to live which is small and inexpensive and which requires little of my own time to maintain properly.
Advantages:
- Potential for a truly fresh start.
- After years of looking, it's abundantly clear that I'm not going to find love again here. Somewhere else, at least there's a possibility. (Exchanging e-mails for the last month with somebody who today seems either too busy or too disinterested to actually meet me does not count as "possibility.")
- Reduce my cost of living -- that is, what it costs in both money and energy to maintain my living space. I'm single and have no kids, so there's no point in owning a married-with-kids sort of house.
Disadvantages:
- I'll probably make less money. If I'm able to pay the bills, then "so what?" has to be my attitude here.
- Moving away, should that happen, will probably mean giving up music (choir + string quartet + CD recording projects), at least for a while. Folks who have left our church here always always always write to say they can't find a Catholic parish with a music tradition that is anywhere near as vibrant and active as ours. The activities around playing my viola and guitar at church are about the only things that give me joy these days. But it's not enough, and I need to be willing to make tough decisions.
- It would also mean missing out on watching a friend's 11-year-old finish growing up. (For about seven years, I've occasionally written about how the occasional time I spend with her may be the closest I ever come to seeing a child grow up.) But then she's not 6 or even 8 any more. When she's 13 or 16, best I can hope for is that she'll remember me fondly as a family friend from her childhood.
- Even I manage to accomplish these goals -- selling a house and finding a new job are obviously not easy -- there's no guarantee that I'll be any happier.
But I have to try. I have to try. A life without joy is no life at all.