Well. Been a while since I dusted this off and made some noise. All for similar reasons so many of us had.

Where to start? I guess the easiest way to do so is simply this: 2020 / 2021 have been perhaps some of the most turbulent times I've had in a long time, much like so many I've talked to, and been with. To those of you who kept up with me, stayed in contact, and stayed close, you have my heart-felt thanks for all the ups and downs I've gone through. This is the short version why I've been so silent on the site, and not much has been posted over two years. I've not left the fandom, I'm not dead, or anything catastrophic, just a wild ride and we just hit that downward hill, and with enough momentum, we're heading right back up if possible.

The long version of it below, feel free to skip the details if you ain't here for a vent:

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2020 was perhaps the most stressful and straining years I've had in a while, keeping my head low before the insanity that was the COVID Pandemic went full swing, we were going into a big election, and honestly, I could see the tension of everything in the air, hell, I could take a butter knife to it and get a tangible chunk right outta the air if I wanted to. (Don't, it's gross, and gets into everything. Takes forever to wash out.) But the big plan was in the works, to finally get out of my apartment and move into a new home of my own for the first time. I busted tail at work, pinched pennies, and cut out expenses. That included a lot of my ol commission budget. But as the lock down hit, COVID-Mania took root, and life took a turn for the interesting, I had no choice but to hunker down. I counted my blessings I was still working, and did my best to stay in touch with both friends and family, and took respite when I could, but even then, with life at a stall, I was going bonkers, and with no momentum a rat faces his worst enemy: Depression. A fight we're all familiar with, and I was fighting to keep my black dog in it's cage sometimes weeks at a time. But I got through, some from my own will, some by friends who didn't give up on me. 'Another year' I'd keep telling myself, and sure enough, 2021 was coming up.

Sadly 2021 didn't become the reprieve, that light at the end of the tunnel was, in fact, a train, and no matter the adjustment. I was hit head on. While I was fortunate to avoid COVID itself, life had other plans. While making preparations for house hunting, I went on Vacation in the first weeks of April, and by the end of that vacation, I was called in to be told I was unemployed. My company had decided to outsource our IT Service Desk department while in the middle of this Pandemic and with less than 24 hours notice. I was floored, we never saw it coming, and at the time it was the WORST thing to happen at that time, which sent me into a hard tumble and darker places my mind shouldn't have gone. Anger, frustration, the usual suspects followed, as well as stressing out, frustrated searching, burning out as I needed a new source of income. It all came with downsides, I tried to file for unemployment and after weeks of waiting and checking I was informed I'd be denied. All I had was a pittance of a severance package which was draining fast from rent and necessities, while pinching off any excess expenses. It wasn't till almost a month later I managed to snag something, people were looking, and thankfully I found opportunities for my experience. For now, I'm stable, but all my plans and momentum was only just starting to crawl to life again in an agonizing grind. Suffice to say, I've had more than my share of sleepless nights, health issues, depression, one of the silver linings was I was in Texas. I could leave the confines of my apartment when I needed to, and I've done my best to keep mind in check. Body and sanity have taken their price, and I'll have to deal with that soon enough.

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And we're back to the 'Now'.

With the new year coming, I do plan to hit the big ol' reset button and get things rolling again, hopefully, albiet a bit more cautiously than I did last year. The work situation I have planned out, but I'm ready to once again jump on my plans to get my life, goals, and even the art going again in time. I do have a bit of backlog to post that will be coming, and hopefully some new stuff along the way.

Thanks again for those who stuck with, and hope to see more of you as time goes on!