The last of the three references who my prospective future employer requested had reached out to me and said they recently talked and it seemed a good discussion. I know by this point, some would say this is a sign of hope or that I have the job already. Because of how things have begun this year, though, I have that egging voice in my head saying: don’t give me hope. Just in case, I already had looked at some housing and picked ones I would really consider.

Lo and behold, now we are undergoing salary negotiations.

I do not know, of course, if my ideal homes will be available if I ever get an offer by the time I need it, especially with my salary under discussion still.