The past week or so has been something of a whirlwind, kind of like Miku’s hair up there, but most of the things happening have been largely good. The past week was particularly draining at the office and my personal life hasn’t been any less draining, but at least I managed to get some good sleep and recovery over the weekend that I’d been desperately missing. A couple of major projects went live last week, and it didn’t help that I was on call all last week and over the weekend (and boy did I get calls,) but on the up side, the week is over, a new one has begun, and a lot of our management is out of the office, so the office itself is a bit more relaxing than it has been for a while.

So over the weekend, Raevyn and I managed to escape for a bit and hang out – if it’s not obvious by now we’ve been hanging out a lot more lately – dinner on Friday night at the lovely Carlyle in her neck of the woods, where the meal was fantastic and the cocktails are shaken and poured table-side, and then an old favorite on Saturday in the form of the Paper Moon Diner a little closer to me than to her, where I’ve been meaning to get back to for the past couple of weeks. I normally don’t have dessert at the Paper Moon, but the “Dark Side of the Moon” cake we had was so pretty that I wish I had taken a picture. We actually ate in the back dining room, which they normally don’t open and I have very fond memories of feasting in when I was much much younger.

All in all, it was a lovely weekend, and the ability to have a few meals and drinks out and about without having to worry about cooking and the ability to sleep in as late as I wanted to were both stress relievers unlike any other. They were both more than welcome, and the company was more than perfect, if that’s even possible.

On the up-side though, at least the bulk of those things are behind me and I have a little more free room to move to look forward to. Especially at the end of next week, when we’re looking at Otakon, my regular vacation-y event of the year, even as much as I’ve been traveling recently. I’m still not totally over my “I’m done with airplanes” feeling that I got after flying around so much at the beginning of the year, but I could do with another train ride to New York City and another lovely stay in the New Yorker Hotel like last time.

In other news, I’ve been making a point to pay close attention to my writing lately, something I’m grateful to have the time to do – I don’t always get it done in the order and in the time I’d like to, but I always make sure to get it done eventually, and I think flexing those writing muscles for my own good is a wonderful thing. The paid gigs though, are starting to pile up, and that’s a great feeling too – getting paid to do what you love always does, I suppose.

I’m starting to formulate a few new goals in my head that hopefully will make it easier for me to pursue freelance writing, or even full-time writing in the future – even if I have to take a pay cut in the long term. We’ll see how it works out, but I have a little legwork to do first. I know I’ve mentioned some of the affiliate programs I’m participating in before, but I’m not too proud to beg that when you consider shopping online to buy through my links and blogs, since I make a little money on them. I have a ways to go before I can say things like “buy through this link” or some of the same things other affiliates say, but we’ll see. I want to get there, and quickly. You see where my logic is going, right? If I can make enough from affiliate programs, I can freelance without worrying about how the rent will get paid or groceries bought – or alternatively, I can get enough reliable freelancing gigs so the affiliate money is icing on the cake. Alternatively I can work, affiliate, and freelance, and then just let the savings pile up. Anything’s possible, and it’s refreshing to start thinking that way again.

Speaking of anything being possible, I just renewed my lease on my current apartment, so I’ll be here for at least another 10 months – but after that I’m thinking about moving. Maybe somewhere into the city – by which I mean Washington, DC this time. It’s closer than New York City, and while DC certainly isn’t NYC, it’s closer to my family for the time being and still gives me the city life I’ve been wanting for a while. Maybe I can find a nice condo or apartment with hardwood floors and a nice view. We’ll see – it’ll be new and interesting and only time will tell if I’m really ready to do it.

Wish me luck.