Immediate Goals

1) Get a car
I've found a couple places that have Durangos for sale. Once I get the first Pinpoint Global paycheck (and possibly the last Single Digits paycheck), I'll try those places to see if I can get a Durango again. The idea being that I can get a car if I have the cash in hand. This is kind of dangerous given the limited time nature of the Pinpoint Global job, but I HAVE to try. If that fails, my best option is to go through CraigsList to get the car and work on rebuilding my credit to get the Durango again.

2) Get certified in C#.NET (MCPD)
There really isn't any downside to this. If the Pinpoint Global contract doesn't translate to a permanent position (a very real possibility), having this certification increases my marketability and enables me to get another job MUCH MUCH faster! If Pinpoint Global does become permanent (also a very real possibility), then I get more skills under my belt to strengthen my case for switching to a code development position with them!

3) Get a cheaper apartment
This particular goal is a bit more complicated. The point is to save SOME amount of money in rent since I don't really need to spend over $1K/month for an apt that I only use 30% of the space. What makes this complicated is WHERE the new apartment should be. The way I see it, I have four options.

--A: Stay in Manchester. Personally, I don't really have any attachment to Manchester. There's nothing for me to do here, but I have been here for the better part of a year and I've gotten used to it. This town is too far from every thing and everyone I know. Not necessarily a bad thing, but there are NO MOVIE THEATERS here! I have to go to one of the surrounding towns to watch a movie. But there's TONS of bars! How civilized is that??

--B: Move to Nashua. The only real benefit here is if the Pinpoint Global job becomes permanent. I'll be minutes away from work. (Provided I have a car.) This is basically a new town where I don't know anyone and I'd have to build a social network all over again.

--C: Move to Salem,NH. Here, I get the benefit of being in NH, yet I'm still close enough to Methuen/Lawrence/Haverhill area to do the things that I enjoy: movies, karaoke, visit friends. But there's no real guarantee of a cheap place there, and if Pinpoint becomes permanent, it's tricky to get to and from Nashua from Salem.

--D: Move to Methuen/Lawrence/Haverhill. This is kind of the same as Salem, NH only with Mass state taxes added on top. But, I do get a bit closer to Boston for the purposes of better IT job accessibility. And again, one must consider the possibility that Pinpoint Global might become a permanent position.

A variation on this would be to get another roommate to help with the rent. In which case, I could stay in the apartment I have now and STILL save some money.

Those are my immediate goals. By the end of the year, I will have accomplished ALL of them!