Coming Up On A Year

soundtrack these last couple weeks:

Dreamers by Savoir Adore

Forever Young cover by Youth Group

It's Amazing by Jem

Life In a Northern Town by The Dream Academy

No One by Alicia Keys

and more recently, some Classics:

Eye In the Sky by The Alan Parsons Project

Fool In the Rain by Led Zeppelin

Me and Bobbie McGee by Janis Joplin

I'll start by saying my balance sheet is in the black. I know, that is totally boring. It's the state of my nation right now. My dreams of moving to San Francisco and landing an awesome, fulfilling and financially rewarding job haven't fully materialized yet. However, I am working a full time, perm gig with adequate (for being sans dependent child and renting a room) pay plus benefits. For the first time in a very long time I am making more money than I am spending. This has been the case for three out of the past five months with one month breaking even. This means if all factors remain basically the same, in another five months I'll be in significantly less debt. I know, I know.... Ssoooo boring.
Perhaps stability and digging out of debt is laying a foundation? Perhaps I'm preparing the soil and planting seeds now for a blossoming and harvest to come? We'll see in another six months, eh?

And you'll fall, yes you will hit a wall
But get back on your feet
And you'll be stronger and smarter

In the meanwhile, I continue keeping a finger on the pulse of the job market here. I keep looking at job alerts. I return phone calls from recruiters. I have honed my resume, zeroed in on my skill set and can now articulate what my ideal job is. So, again, I'm laying a foundation or maybe even framing the structure?
Going after your dreams isn't in actuality as romantic and inspirational as it sounds. There's a lot of hard work and sacrifice in it. And then there's the self doubt. In my head there's chatter:
"Maybe you should quit your job so you can dedicate all your time to landing a job you really want." 
"Why not quit your job and take temp gigs and short term contracts, at least that way you are getting exposure and learning new things."
"You'll never land the job you want so now what?"
"You have it pretty good so why can't you be happy?"
And on and on and on.
Which is why I track my debt to income ratio and bike to work way too early in the morning and make the most of my days off. Making dreams come true is hard work and takes time. Patience + persistence is the formula I have figured out. Those two elements in the right proportion is the key to success, I am certain. Am I applying the elements in the right proportion yet or not? Only time will tell.