It’s official. On November 14 I shoveled my desk decor into boxes, recycled hundreds of old magazines, cried over office cake and said goodbye to four great years as editor of Las Vegas Weekly.

Then I drank—heavily. Major life decisions should always be chased with a cocktail.

Which is not to say I’m unhappy with my choice. While I’ll miss the newsroom debates, inspiring brainstorms and the Wednesday deadline rush of the Weekly, I was simply ready for a change. There are few moments in life when you can forsake regular paychecks and the security of full-time employment for a here-goes-nothing leap into the unknown. My fiancé and I saw our window narrowing, so we held hands, closed our eyes and stepped right off the ledge.

Now, it’s time for Part 2: getting down to the business of freelancing. Already I’m growing accustomed to a new routine—pitching, waiting, reporting, writing and pitching some more. It feels like poetic justice to sit on the couch, fretting over my inbox the way I’m sure many of my former contributors did when I was their editor. I’ve even published my first two stories as a full-time freelancer: an account of endurance obstacle race World’s Toughest Mudder’s final hours with the winning team and an interview with Vegas-based home renovation masters the Property Brothers, both appropriately published in the Weekly.

And so I’m off on a new adventure. If you need a story from Las Vegas, I’m your girl.