Money, money, money.

We got a long-overdue raise at work last month — more than a 10 percent increase in our government salary. When I received my first new paycheck, I saw that it contained several hundred dollars more than I’d been expecting, even taking the raise into account. It turned out that the raise was retroactive to September. Woohoo! So today I used some of the retroactive money to finish paying off my credit card. I have no more credit card debt. Double woohoo! (My balance actually reached zero a year ago, but then I used the card to buy a new computer in March.)

So now my only remaining debt is $49,000 in student loans. Yay.

I’ve barely made a dent in my student debt — after four years of making payments it’s only about $1,000 less than it was when I started. I’ve been on the 25-year plan, with monthly payments that barely dig into the principal after paying the interest. (Pesky interest.) But now that I’ve got extra money — an increased salary, as well as the money that used to go to credit card payments — I think I’m going to put much of it toward my student loans. It would be a big psychological boost if I could pay off my loans at 40 instead of at 51. (I’ve been having fun with a loan payment calculator.)

I still have no savings, and it would be nice to have some sort of rainy-day fund, so I think I might put a little of the extra money aside each month, too. Depending on the choices I make (or depending on what happens to me), my yearly income could decrease in the future. I don’t know whether it makes more sense to pay off as much interest-accruing debt as possible or to set some money aside — which is better for the long term? — so I guess I’ll do both.

It’s kind of fun figuring out what to do with extra cash.

Today has been such a wash. It’s been dark and rainy all day long. I feel like I’m in Mordor. And tomorrow I go back to work after taking a week and a half off. I didn’t get nearly as much done during my vacation as I’d hoped. Maybe I need to put myself on a schedule.

Matt and I saw Tony Kushner’s Caroline, or Change on Friday. I was really looking forward to it, because I’d heard such wonderful things.

I thought it was terrific. Flawed, maybe, but still terrific. It moved me in some indefinable way. Afterwards, my left brain wanted to analyze everything I’d just seen — the themes, the characters, and so on — but my right brain said no, don’t ruin the mood, just wallow in it. So that’s what I did. I just thought it was so creative, the world it evoked so emotionally resonant. Jeanine Tesori’s music was a bit cold and complex, but I like complex scores. (The show is almost completely sung through — there wasn’t even a chance to applaud until about three-quarters of the way into the first act.) I’ll either need to see it again or hope that the score gets recorded, because I think it would benefit from multiple hearings. I hope it transfers to Broadway.

I’m also happy, because this was the first time I’d made it a point to get tickets for a hot Off-Broadway show. It just felt so cool to be sitting in the audience. Even if it ultimately goes to Broadway, I’ll be able to brag that I saw the original production, something I can’t say about Take Me Out or Avenue Q.

Meanwhile, I was hoping to see the acclaimed production of Henry IV, but according to Telecharge, it’s sold out for the remainder of its run.

I hope to be less procrastinatory about the theater from now on.

Happy New Year!

So I’m 30 years old and it’s 2004. Where’s my fucking flying car?

On Tuesday night, I’m pleased to say, I finally got to meet David of Abstract Nixon. He was visiting New York, and he met up with me, Matt and Mike for dinner and drinks. He’s so friendly (and quite the flirt, which I wasn’t expecting…). Several times during the evening, he pulled out his camera — no digital camera, either, but a big old-fashioned mechanical camera, with a separate flash device. I almost expected him to pull out a tripod out of his bag, too. He kept clicking away, so I hope he managed to get some good photos of us. Anyway — it was such a pleasure to finally meet him after reading his site for so long. He’s a terrific guy and I think we all had a terrific evening.

So, it’s a new year. A tabula rasa, a blank slate. Twelve months to fill with events, incidents, goals, achievements. Who knows what I’ll be writing about at the end of the year? It feels kind of exciting to have this blank expanse ahead of me.

The future awaits.