Anonymous Mess

Spouse's former company will cease to exist next month, and with it our COBRA. (No company = no plan = no self-funded part of plan.) Have I mentioned that medical insurance is insane, y'all? I have? Was I the first? Because, y'all. It's insane. Since this counts as an eligible life-event, we can sign up for coverage under the ACA. We technically have 60 days from the date of the life-event, but who wants to be uninsured for that length of time?  And who wants to continue to pay against a deductible that's not going to be applicable in 30-90 days? Because insurance is a Big Freaking Adult Deal with a Big Freaking Adult Price Tag, I am Freaking the Adult Out. Seriously. Woke up before 3 a.m. Saturday and decided I had to at least start the research; spent seven hours online, creating and populating an Excel workbook to compare up to five plans. Took a break for a sandwich and a shower at about 10 a.m. and then spent another four hours refining the spreadsheet an...

I could've sworn I left it right here .... It was a bit of a blur, between interviews and getting a new contract (yay! paycheck for a year!), trying to gather tax information (why did I schedule tax appointment for February 1?), and several new bills and obligations (boo...hiss... sigh). The contract is with a large employer in our city, and is located close to home -- I could take the bus if necessary.  The work is... a stretch. I'm having to use long-abandoned skills, and learn new ones, and while the client seems satisfied at two weeks in, I have moments and sometimes days of abject terror, wondering if I'll ever navigate my way through and get up to speed. This is only my second contract, and a major client of my agency, so I really feel pressure to not just do good, timely work, but to impress, maybe to wow.  Spouse maintains I'm my own worst enemy, none of it is beyond me, etc., etc. I have noted, however, that Spouse does not suffer from measured, bal...