#annual update

This new place we’re in, it is right next to the freeway. Hundreds, maybe thousands of cars pass by our bedroom window everyday- one sun rises in front of it. 

Three, maybe four days a week if I have the energy, I wake up a little before the sun and get ready for my job. A twelve/thirteen-hour long ordeal of juggling emotions, interactions, critical thinking, skills, and stress. But it is what I have trained years for. 

Two cats, little Japanese desserts, have entrusted their lives to us. We feed them and they return with blessings and cuddles. Warmth and cat hair in my mouth. 

I don’t sleep as much on my days off. The thing people call a schedule exists for my body now. Depression naps (on the bed) are few and far in between. Not to say I still don’t waste my time. But I don’t feel the need to escape with sleep as much anymore. 

Tonight I cried a lot, thinking about the reality that there were days in my past when I was very sure I wouldn’t be here alive- from my own action. The reality that those days were not so long ago after all, hit me like a brick. How much things change in so short of a time. 

Now I have plants that grow. And yes, that past still exists and those roots will always be there. But each branch stems reaching toward the sky. I feel wound-up, contorted in all sorts of directions, but there is only one path I am interested in following and it is towards the light. 

I gather nutrients from the air. Experiences are synthesized by my cells into sugars- sweet with lessons to keep on going. 

Annual Update – 2017 Review

Welcome to the annual 2017 update. This is part of  a series where I track our financial progress on a regular basis. I present three parts in this series: (i) Investment & Portfolio Update, (ii) Passive Income Update, and (iii) Goals Update. 1. Investment & Portfolio Update 2017 was quite an interesting year. The broad equity markets performed very well with S&P 500 returning ~19%. Regular…