Day Seventeen...Step One Towards Destressed

So, I finally made the jump. No, not off the deep end as some of you are thinking (and you know who you are!). I've decided to quit my current job and substitute. It's a bit of a gamble because the nature of substituting is being "on-call" and "as needed", so there is no 100% guarantee. However, I have been tracking the amount of requests I've received since September 7th. The numbers are there...the finances are there. I went over last night to my parents' house with Moob (since my financial decisions effect her) and we hashed things out. It was a very enlightening time. I learned that other people have seen my little stresses get to me (like my weight, not being married, not having children, being an idiot when it comes to finances, not having a teaching job, only having 2 more assignments to finish before grad school is done, then taking 2 more tests until I can graduate and get my endorsement...plus being on the night shift). I also learned that I have an amazing friend in Moob. She is so supportive and blunt...which is what I need. I need a friend to be able to tell me I'm being a putz, to pick myself up, do something about my situation, and move forward. Which is what I've done. I'm quitting my job tomorrow. I have to go in and turn in my badge and key, but that's all. And, with the support (and drill sergeant-ness) of Moob, I'm going to be working out and changing the way I eat. It was one of the requirements for her to be comfortable with my quitting. And, that's very awesome. It's something I need to do anyway. Moob and I are going through Financial Peace University. Dave Ramsey, the author, said that people can either be in victim mode or attack mode. They can either LET things happen TO them or MAKE things happen FOR them. Well, I've decided to be the latter, not the former. I'm ready to make things happen for myself. Not everything that has happened in my life is all someone else's fault. I had something to do with it. I chose to be in the victim mode. No longer. I'm going into attack mode. I'm going to make something of myself and make things happen. It's my choice.

And, speaking of FPU, I'm a little confused about the plan Dave Ramsey has set forth in his book. He said we are to start with the first baby step of saving $1000 in savings for an emergency fund. That's great. I couldn't agree more with that. Then, we are to be working on paying down our debts. Great. I couldn't agree more with that, either. But...the problem I have is that I'm already behind on my debts. If I don't give them SOMETHING, I go to collections. I guess I'll have to read more about his plan and maybe talk with Moob and my parents, who are also going through it.

Anyway, I'm also still working on The Purpose-Driven Life...it's just a bit hard to find time when someone isn't on the computer! Since my laptop is broken, I have to schedule my time around Moob's time since it's her computer. Anyway, it should be better now that I'm back on days. I'll have some time after school before she gets home to work on my stuff. Not that I couldn't "kick" her off, but she uses her computer time to destress, so...

K...off to bed!