Direction

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The difference a few weeks can make is astounding.  So far in the first two weeks of January I've made more decisions and set more plans in motion than ever before, and the drastic change that has occurred in me since as recently as a month ago is surprising.

I am a self-proclaimed procrastinator.  I have things I want and things I hope for, but I end up playing the wishing game... "I wish I had this"  or "It'd be nice to do that" and while that's all well and good to hope for things, they never become tangible if you don't actually start moving in that direction.  A month ago I was dealing with finding a new car after my accident, letting go of old friends that didn't belong in my life any longer, and just trying to make it to the new year without having a mental breakdown.

Now, I find myself determined and with a plan.  A plan that requires me to stand up and take action and leave my procrastinating ways in the dust.  Surprisingly, I do not have one ounce of desire to put it off.  I feel filled with ambition and the desire to act now!  It's kind of a wonderful feeling.

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I called a mortgage broker yesterday who was recommended by a coworker who recently bought a house.  I was nervous, and didn't expect to get approved because I had low expectations of my credit score due to mistakes I'd made when I was young and foolish.  Luckily, the score was better than I expected and the one thing that is bring it down too low is something I'm already fixing and should be removed from the report in April/May.

While I can't get approved just now, the broker is confident that come May, we should have no problem providing I complete the following tasks:

• Stay on track with my current plan to make my student loans current.
• Get a credit card that I use to make one charge each month, and pay it off each month too.

That way I'm building good and healthy credit, and will hopefully have my score raised in time to look for a place this Spring/Summer.  I figure since I'm month to month in my current apartment, I can just stay here until then and look for a place to buy when I'm ready.

I've also decided to go back to school this fall for Technical Writing.  I already do a lot of it for work and figured that a degree in the matter would further my career and let me do what I love (writing) while also staying in a job market that can keep me employed (technology) and seems steady.  

These changes all feel so very grown up, which is both exciting and scary.  In any case, I have a plan and that makes me HAPPY.  

I always figured I'd buy a house when I got married or settled down someday and had someone else to do some of the work with me, but now I'm just going to go out there and do it on my own.  Who needs a man, right?  I am woman, hear me roar.

With my luck, just as I get it all figured out for myself, is when I'll meet someone...  Ha! 

So I'm happy that I have a plan, and the motivation to stick it through.  :)