Debt Free in 2009!

I payed off the last of my student loan this week. Such a releif.I have worked very hard to pay this off as quickly as possible which is why even with my travels and uncertain employment situation I am now debt free! Of course it didn't hurt that I qualified for interest relief while I was in Africa so the government paid all my interest payments :)I still owe the parents some money but that isn't 'real' debt since it doesn't show up on any credit report and has no interest. And as long as things go according to plan that debt will be gone by the summer too.

Who am I kidding, when has anything gone according to plan?! I hesitate to even say what the plans could possibly be since every other time I thought things were happening they didn't. So I'm not getting my hopes up and I'm not dwelling on it. I'm just praying "thy will be done" and we'll see where He takes me.

I just finished writing a report for my old boss, so I am now officially and totally unemployed. I am enjoying what I am seeing as a month off. I have been going to the gym, doing a lot of shovelling and getting things done off my "to do" list. I'm looking into some volunteering opportunities and will probably be at the food bank and maybe some other places starting next week. I am trying to train myself to think that I'm not busy since I am so used to thinking that I have no time. I'll use some of that time to spend with friends. (Except my friends all have jobs and so are busy...the irony) I laugh when I look out the window in the morning at the snow on the ground or hear another forcast for freezing rain and think fondly of my carpool that still has to brave the crazy commute. I plan to read at least part of my stack of books still in the "to read" pile - starting from the bottom with the books that have been there the longest. So I'm enjoying it. So far - it has only been a week and I still technically had some work to do. I am also keeping eyes and ears open for other job opportunities and looking for that snow covered path to be revealed.

Now that the debt is payed off it is less stressful not having a paycheck. I still have some money and one more paycheck coming so I'm not broke. I'm also blessed to have parents who are letting me stay with them rent free - another reason the student loan was payed off so quickly - so I don't have to worry about eviction or a lot of bills piling up.

All that said, I know that if this "time off" goes on too long I will go crazy. I like working, not just for the money and stability, but because I love what I do. Or I did at WV and am hoping that I will at the next place too. I get a lot of satisfaction from it. If all else fails Starbucks is always hiring...