I’m going to be honest… I actually forgot that I set specific reading goals this year. It’s one of those things that was BW…. Before Wedding. Some of those things are a bit hazy these days, lol.

Anyhow, I was reminded of my goals, and so I have dug them up so that I can check in on my progress. There’s just a little over two months left in the year, so I think hitting most of them is still pretty reasonable at this point.

Below is my progress, with the bold ones being the ones that are incomplete.

1. Read at least 3 books in the category of “you should have read this by now” whether it’s a classic or been on your shelf too long
   • Vicious by V.E. Schwab
   • The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
2. Read at least 3 books about people who are very different from yourself
   • The Gentlemen’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee
   • Far From the Tree by Robin Benway
   • If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodsen
3. Read at least 8 actual physical books
   • My Boyfriend is a Bear
   • If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson
   • The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
   • Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson
   • Midnight at the Electric
   • City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
   • An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
   • The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
4. Finish reading The Book Thief
5. Read The Name of the Wind
6. Read a book that’s over 500 pages
   • Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman (504 pages)
7. Quit a book before you’ve finished (or at least skim the rest)
   • Black Beauty by Anna Sewell — this is the second time I have tried to read this book, and I just can’t do it. I can’t get past the fact that it’s from the POV of a horse. I know it’s a classic and was written in the 1800’s. I’m sorry.
8. Get rid of a book immediately after reading it
   • Lies My Girlfriend Told Me by Julie Anne Peters (did not like this book at all)
9. Read a book immediately after acquiring it or hearing about it (before it even makes it to the shelf or TBR)
   • Midnight at the Electric by Jodi Lynn Anderson (Bought this book at the Strand when I was in NYC and read it immediately, loved it)
10. Read a book you think might make you a better person
    • How to Stop Feeling Like Sh*t by Andrea Owen
11. Read a book of short stories
12. Read a book with a cover that bothers you
    • Save the Date by Morgan Matson
13. Get rid of a book without reading it
    • (I have definitely done this already this year, but I want it to be intentional, so I still need to pick one.)
14. Get at least 2 books behind or ahead of schedule at some point in the year
    • Definitely have been 2 books behind at multiple points. Only 1 book behind now, though!
15. Decide not to do one of the challenges on this list
    • The Name of the Wind might be waiting until 2019…

I’ve read 23/30 books I set out to read on Goodreads, putting me 77% of the way through that goal as well. November is a bit of a tough month for reading, sine so much of my time will be spent writing my NaNoWriMo novel and finding creative ways to procrastinate writing my NaNoWriMo novel… hey! Maybe I will do some reading that month!

Being unemployed for awhile has been an interesting journey and it’s definitely given me a bit more time for reading, as well as for other things I tend to have much less time for with a 9-5 job. I think I’ll be writing an entire blog post about this experience soon, so keep an eye out for that.

Wish me luck! If all else fails, I will consider the year a win if I at least finish reading The dang Book Thief.

On May 29th, I came back to work after taking nearly a month off for my wedding and honeymoon. I was feeling refreshed and excited, ready to get back to my routines, ready to take on my next project. That day, however, I found out things had not been going exactly as planned at work. I found out that most of my coworkers had been living in an unnerving sort of unknown for weeks, due to hallway talk and things said in hushed voices.

On May 30th, an email came out letting us know our org was being dissolved effective immediately, and while no one was losing their job that day, there were a lot of questions that needed to be answered.

On July 9th, after a month of not knowing what was going to happen, my team was laid off – along with a whole bunch of other people we worked with.

A lot of layoffs at Microsoft are interesting because they don’t happen immediately. Though I got the news of the layoff on July 9th, my last day wasn’t set until September 7th. This is because they give you time and resources to look for a new job within the company, hoping you’ll stay. I’m thankful for that time, but what this did was create a very stressful summer, in which I felt a ticking clock constantly echoing in my ears, reminding me how many days I had left to find a new job, how many days until I would be let go for good, how I wasn’t working hard enough or applying for enough jobs or scheduling enough informational meetings.

All I wanted was to leave the stress of wedding planning behind and start the next chapter of my life on a healthy and happy foot, and yet, instead, I stepped into a new pit of stress and anxiety, worrying that if I couldn’t find another role in the allocated 60 day time period, then I must not be good enough.

Well guess what. I didn’t find a new job in the allotted 60 day period.

September 7th was my last day at Microsoft, which honestly felt pretty bad. I loved my job. I loved my team. I loved the work we were doing, and the culture our org cultivated, and I honestly loved being a Microsoftie. I loved the campus. The farmer’s market. The ham and swiss and granny smith apple sandwich I ordered way too often. I didn’t want to leave. I worked hard there for four years, I stopped making YouTube videos, and I leaned into being a ‘career person’.

And then as quickly as it began, it was over. And I’ve learned an important lesson in not counting on anything as a sure thing, not believing anything might be ‘forever’ – and it’s not a fun lesson to learn, nor is it a very optimistic way to approach life. As quickly as I have learned this lesson, I’m trying to figure out how to unlearn it.

Now it’s almost been a month, and I’m in a slightly better place with this whole situation. I finally feel like I have time again, now that the “60 day pressure” is off. I’m still working on finding a new job every day, but I’ve also given myself some room to breathe. Your job isn’t your only defining feature. It does not dictate your value or your worth. I’ve been taking a cycling class. I’ve been teaching myself new crafting skills. I’ve been writing and catching up on shows I never have time to watch and playing Pokémon Go again and cooking, and I’ve gone on a couple of little trips.

I’m going to find a job. I know I have an impressive resume and useful skills, and soon enough I’ll be back at a desk, back to my commute, back to the routine. For now, I’m trying to appreciate this time, and see it as a gift. How often do you get a few months off? How often can you decide to teach yourself embroidery just because you have some time? How often can you schedule appointments during business hours and go for a walk at noon and actually make it to bars in time for happy hour?

Don’t get me wrong – I definitely look in the mirror some days and ask myself, “why haven’t you gotten a job yet? Why did the other people in your predicament find something right away while you’re still floundering?”

But that kind of thinking isn’t helping me. All I can do is keep being brave, keep putting myself out there, and use the time as best I can. No one will be able to look back on my unemployment period and say I wasn’t living it to its fullest.

Now excuse me, I’m going to go learn how to make glow-in-the-dark slime.