Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Home Leave (Part 3)

My two-week home leave was over in the blink of an eye.  I saw my family, Ben and some friends, watched my cousin get married, worked three days in our Southern California offices, worked remotely every day, and ate American food.  Sadly, I didn't make it to the beach, the pool or a yoga class.  The list of things I wanted to do was long and the firm and my family's expectations too great.

It felt nothing like a vacation.  It was exhausting and draining.  My heart was full of frustration, resentment and even some anger by the time I boarded my plane back to Japan. I didn't want to leave.

Air Force One was parked outside the terminal the morning I came home.

The most important thing I can do now to make sure I'll be able to make positive changes when I get back to the States is exercise financial discipline.  This means minimizing food expenses and continuing to pay off student loans and save as much as I can.  (Related: last month I reached a financial milestone: my combined 401(k) and IRA balance passed the $100k mark!)

In the meanwhile, I will try not to worry over things I cannot control or change while I'm here.

Four months to go.

2 comments:

Anastasia said...

OMG, congrats on the retirement milestone! That's awesome!

Unknown said...

Congrats on your retirement!! That's fantastic!!! (Mine is about $3,000... sooooo.... haha)

I was thinking about you recently. I've started reading Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. She has a lot to say about taking opportunities that seem like huge risks - including working internationally for a period of time. You might like it, if you haven't already read it, as if you have time to read anyway.

I hope you get some rest!