Hello everyone! Today, I wanted to open Blogmas with our Coffee Chat!
I love these coffee chats and I am so thankful to everyone who reads them as a way to catch up with me! Today, I’m having a tea instead of coffee though. I keep having these dull pains in my lower abdomen and I keep getting super paranoid it’s appendicitis. I had this same scare a few months ago when I didn’t have health insurance (my new job didn’t start insurance until 3 months in) but now I do have insurance so I feel only slightly panicked this time. I’m in the US so honestly it’s still not super reassuring though. I think my deductible is still like $7k… YIKES. Still better than no insurance? Maybe? Anyway, here’s what I would tell you if we were having coffee!
If we were having coffee I’d tell you, that Fox biting a family member was completely shocking to me. I have to admit, I found myself rethinking having a dog, despite waiting for 30 years to have one. Not because I didn’t want him, but I found myself worrying that he hated being my dog to the point that he felt he had to bite. I think I was reading too much into it, but I did feel quite guilty! I also think that his old family likely lied in his personality assessment and made him out to be a less aggressive dog than he is, so I think he likely did try to bite, if not actually bit, some of his old family members. He’s getting special training now though!
If we were having coffee I’d tell you, that I recently requested my full student loan payment history and oh boy. Like many others in my generation, I got student loans to pay for my college degrees, having grown up thinking it would guarantee a well paying job and it wouldn’t be an issue later. I’ve seen a lot of articles of people saying they’ve paid the amount of their actual loans at least once, sometimes multiple times, but they had so much in loans that their interest made it so they had barely made a dent in their debt. Some actually had more left to pay than they originally graduated with despite the payments! So I got curious and even though my loans weren’t too high to begin with and I paid off my interest very quickly, it was honestly so sad to see! Basically, if all the amount that I had paid for interest had been applied to my principle instead, I would be a few thousand away from paying it all off. Now, I will recognize that if I hadn’t gone back for a master’s degree I would have already paid off my loans. So that’s on me, but even so, it was really eye-opening to see the actual numbers. Also, while I do have enough in my lifetime limit to pay for a doctorate, I think I’m going to quit while I’m barely ahead there!
If we were having coffee I’d tell you, that I’m so close to reaching my reading goal now! A few days ago I posted my Lively post and shared the books I had read and how many I had left to reach my goal of 100 books in 2021. I had 94 read and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to read six books fast enough before the end of the year. Instead, I managed to knock out 3 books over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, so I only need three more! I think I’m going to make it!!! I do have 3 books out from the library now, but they are all three over 400 pages each, so it’s questionable.
If we were having coffee I’d tell you, I’ve been having a ton of ideas for short stories lately, so I want to make it a goal of mine to write a short story every month next year. Should I do that? I think it could be fun! Most of my ideas are coming from dreams I have, so that’s really fun to write down my dream, think about the story, and then later compare how different the story is from the original dream.
If we were having coffee I’d tell you, I am so excited for this year’s Blogmas! I think I have some really great post ideas and I can’t wait to write them and share them with you. Some spoilers include: my experience adopting a shelter dog, insights from my financial journey, and so much more!
If we were having coffee I’d tell you, I’m so excited to finally be eligible for the booster vaccine! I’ve been patiently waiting for my booster as it was being saved for people with pre-existing conditions but I’m finally eligible now! A librarian friend told me that they were organizing a vaccine day at the library so people could get the vaccine booster, or first two doses if they hadn’t yet, and I’m stalking my library’s page to see how I can sign up!
If we were having coffee I’d tell you, I put up my Christmas tree this past weekend and I love it! My mom hates it but she didn’t participate in putting it up, so honestly that’s on her. But I can’t wait to share the tree for Blogmas! I think that post is scheduled for next week though. I think it’s super elegant and simple, which is just how I like it!
If we were having coffee I’d tell you, I’m so excited for this last month of the year. I feel like 2021 was both super exciting and disappointing at the same time. After the horror that was 2020, this year has had some very high highs, and very low lows. Personally, the year was good for me since I got two new jobs, after having been unemployed for over a year due to the pandemic. But the goals I had set based on my hope that it would be “post-pandemic” haven’t come to fruition. I haven’t travelled at all this year, and that is just a really sad place to be for me. In the end, I’m healthy and that’s what’s important, but it is a weird mindset to have to accept.
If we were having coffee I’d tell you, about my goal to create peace. I think November was a neutral month for it. I think I was very stressed after Fox bit a family member, but otherwise it was quiet and peaceful. I feel like I need some stress management tips or something! Otherwise it was a calm month full of streaming shows and writing my novel.
If we were having coffee I’d tell you, about my goal of positivity. Again, I think Fox’s bite threw that goal out the window for most of the month, but now we’re back on track! Fox has been so good and hasn’t been as naughty, so I think we’re making good progress. Just in time too because this was my 2021 goal, so now we’re moving onto a new goal for next year!
So that’s what I would share if we were having coffee. Let me know what you would share with me!
Thanks for reading!
Pamela
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[…] December 2021 Blogmas Coffee Chat […]
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