Kicking Off Another (Lucky) Year

Wow, where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday I was writing my post on my 44th birthday  and here I am celebrating my 45th already. Wait! I'm not really finished with 44! Forty-four was suppose to be lucky, remember? Even my Chinese co-worker told me 44 was a lucky year. Phewy. Lucky in what way, I should have asked? I guess I'm still up and around to celebrate my 45th. I suppose that in itself is lucky if we are going for the glass-half-full angle. 

Birthdays, like the changing of seasons or bringing in the new year, are time for reflection. What have I accomplished this past year? What do I want to accomplish? Set goals, make plans, do something fabulous. 

Okay, what have I accomplished? Can't think of a darn thing. Nope. I started a new job, worked like a dog, walked some dogs, made no money. My financial situation is no further along than it was a year ago. Actually, by the looks of my UBS portfolio, it's worse. My financial advisor said I was "very cool" when I told him I was quitting my job and going to Vietnam for three weeks. Maybe he needs a new career as well. Isn't he suppose to be advising me to get a damn job and give him some more money to invest? I think that is why I like this guy. He doesn't nag at me. He just takes my meager purse and does the best he can with it. Our goal is to make that purse grow without me doing much at all. I think he looks at my account as a fun challenge. Can he turn a small investment into half a million with no effort at all on the investor's part? I'd ask for a million, but that would just be unrealistic.

Our other goal is for me to be able to buy a home in five years. Ooops, make that four years. We set this goal a year ago. Time's ticking. We didn't say where this house would be located, but we both know it won't be in Seattle...not unless some sweet little old lady bequeaths her abode to me when she passes. This would give me four years to befriend a sweet little old lady with no family or cats to pass her house on to. 

I also remember making some pie in the sky promise to have some sort of plan by this fall.

Whoa! What was I thinking? Who do I think I am anyway? Someone who has the ability to make decisions? The only decisions I seem to be able to make quickly are those involving travel, whether I actually have the dough or not. The financing of trips is barely a consideration. It's a "shoot first, ask questions later" situation as far as travel goes. Next week,  I'm going to Colorado to visit cousins I haven't seen for 25 years. The youngest cousin barely had the invitation formed on her lips when I had the tickets booked. I simply thought, "sure, I won't be working then, why not(spend money) go to Colorado?" 

So I'm off to enjoy this anniversary of my birth (thanks, Mom, for going through all that, by the way!). I'll kick it off by going to yoga, then head downtown to see if I can find a frock for this evening, then meet up with some pals for a night of Vicci Martinez at the Tractor Tavern in Ballard. It's going to be a good day. Better yet, it's going to be a good year! A lucky year!