I know I've been radio silent for a long time, and for that I apologize. The last few years haven't been banner years for me, either personally or professionally. In early 2020, I found myself without a roof over my head with very little notice. Over the years, I had found myself increasingly uncomfortable in Nebraska and, given the opportunity to change my circumstances, I moved to Colorado on very short notice with no specific plans. I found a place to stay, in a manner of speaking; it was little more than plywood and a roof. It had no heat or indoor plumbing, and much of it was uninsulated. In the short term, however, rent-free lodging with access to power and the Internet felt like enough to figure out my next steps.
For a while, I seemed to be heading in the right direction. Then, I went to the VA hospital on a non-emergency issue and accidentally learned I had cancer. Thankfully, it was about the best-case scenario as far as cancer goes. We caught the cancer early enough that it hadn't spread beyond one kidney; removing the kidney was enough to remedy the situation. It took all of three days to get from diagnosis to surgery. Despite the surgery going well, I was in for a rough recovery. My living conditions weren't exactly conducive to a speedy recovery, and over the months, I'd had increasing personal issues with my ersatz landlord. Things finally culminated in an incident that I won't rehash, but it necessitated police involvement, and I opted to move on.
I found reliable work finally through a friend in New Jersey, and slowly continued my recovery. While my Oryx had proven to be a solid laptop, I resolved to build my ideal desktop over time. Around eight months after arriving in New Jersey, I fell, significantly impacting an already long-standing back injury. The injury resulted in an inability to stand for long periods and the need to walk with a cane. After spending around two years in New Jersey, my landlord needed to make adjustments to his property management. Unfortunately, this meant that I was once again looking at being homeless in the relatively near future.
After a few weeks of panic, I found a place to stay with friends in Tennessee, but I was effectively couch surfing. Worse, my laptop burst into flames when I plugged it in at the airport, so I was suddenly without a decent computer. My work requires a computer, so this was less than ideal. Thankfully, with some help from the community, I was able to finish building my desktop in a matter of a few months. Unfortunately, my health issues and the long gap without a reliable computer meant that most of my work had dried up. And that pretty much brings everything up to date! I'm still in Tennessee and effectively couch surfing. My current situation isn't ideal; I'm trying to find my way to being self-sustaining again, but my back injury and several years of being homeless or very near it have severely limited my job options. Every day lately comes with its share of stress and chronic pain, but I'm pushing through it. On a more positive note, my current situation means I have plenty of time to write; maybe I can get a few posts in before another curveball gets thrown my way.