a long over due explination of what is going on with content or lack there of. · 4:50am Jun 18th, 2021

For the last 2-3 years things have been... tough. Hell I had a freaking kid. A second one, no less. See a few years ago I decided that I wanted to change some things about my life. I wanted better for my growing family, I wanted for them to have the life that they deserved, I wanted us to be more secure and I wanted them to be proud to call me their father, her husband and to be proud of who I was and for what I had accomplished. So a few years back I decided to get my house in order. Sure it's easy to write about it and personify it all in story format, but walking that road damn near killed me.

Here is the Manhattan project esc timeline for you. Bear in mind I have been nothing but the definition of slacker for 30 years of my life. so here goes. I took a job as a manager for a retail store, this tied up 60 hours a week of my unusual free time. I then began paying off my mountain of credit card debt from past conventions and material purchases that were more a Band-Aid for a more serious problem I had been hiding for years. I did the same for our auto loans and stuck myself on a strict budget that only allowed for 1 night a month of frivolous spending. Eventually, I had amassed a savings strong enough to do some much needed repairs to my home and get it into the shape needed to refi it to finish off the last of our debts. Thanks to covid, I took an unusual psychological hit. I had to work more than usual and grew a general disdain for the human race. This put me into a fairly deep depression that proved lingering, even now as I am writing this. Once things started to open back up I was ready for our last step, to move. This was going to be the hardest step for us due to the mental issues I was dealing with at the time. I decided to step back from my job after a year of busting ass to turn the place around. (we did turn the store around from our previous management btw. I had a fantastic team that I cannot even begin to credit enough for their hard work! They kicked ass and made caps! Previous management had ran off most of our usual customers and was having to cut hours).
(Digression)
I stepped into a ruined business that had several bad reviews and a slipping profit margin. When he took charge, we butted heads constantly. I had worked there for 4 years and he had no clue about the industry as a whole, let alone management. Every time we would offer help, advice, knowledge of any kind, he would push us away. Even me, the most stubborn person about helping people, no dice. After 18 months, we were down 50% in profit. yes, 50 fucking percent. Finally, he decided that his work was done ruining this business and stepped out. He wasn't fired, he fucking left... What an asshole. When I stepped in as acting manager, I had 2 employees for a shop that needed 4 and a manager, a non existent customer base and several bad reviews that I had to overcome. (we are graded on reviews). Bear in mind this all happened in January 2019, 23rd day. My birthday no less. I don't want to use the word I here, it would not be right. But I had some ideas and a great team! They just needed the right leadership and nurturing, something the former manager never invested in. The pandemic hit a few months later, but we were already starting to show signs of improvement. I hired on a new guy that within 5 days of working with him, I saw something I like in him and started to form a plan of attack. by the start of 2021, we had increased profits over 150% yes... 150% percent. We went from seeing days when we sold 800 in merch to days where we could see 7000.00 in sales easily. I don't know the hard numbers, I never paid attention.
(/Digression)

In January of 2020 I started a business and began saving for it. On April Fools’ Day, 2020, I got my business license submitted for my detailing business. I started laying bricks to begin to move away from the shop I have been working at for the past few years. In the fall of 2020 I stepped back from my job and appointed the new guy (Remember I said I saw something in him that I liked) as the new acting manager and took some free time. By January 23rd, I was no longer the manager.

We listed and sold our home within 15 minutes and had another house on the line within the day. Things moved FAST! We had amassed a sizable amount of equity and this gave us the opportunity to move from pigeon forge to a little closer to Knoxville. We moved out the night of may 31th, we closed june 1st and moved in the same day. Word of advice... hire movers. IDGAF if they are like 3k to hire, fucking do it. On June 10th, my business detailed and ceramic coated its first car and within 2 days I had booked 10 more appointments. Doesn't sound like a lot, but at an average of 500 a car at a cost around 112.00 a car... Ill take that all day long.

I'm telling you all this because I have made promises. I lost a lot of near and dear things to me in this expanse of time I used to set things right. A home that had been in my family for 24 years, a position I had bled to get and friends in the community that had helped me SO much. Mike from Stable ponies on FB. I have not spoken with him in so long that I am embarrassed to even send a message. My local group that I have been an admin of for so long, the same one that I attended the last Bronycon with. Those I cried with looking at all our group trip shirts lined up on a wall from 2013 to the last one. I lost contact. I even stopped talking to my best friend for a while when I started making changes and I can tell it damaged our relationship.

But that is the price you have to pay. Like Blackjack in Project Horizons, it was just another pound of flesh. I started to feel like my OC in TWD where I was gaining all the things I had always wanted, but was starting to lose sight of who I was. But that was not all for not. I have a beautiful new home, my family is happy and healthy... I even started the LONG painful process of getting all my teeth fixed. lol, I currently have two root canals under way, a fresh hole in my mouth from an extraction and 10 fillings that need to be scheduled and done... Yay! Teefs.

So that's it. That's what's been going on. When I wasn't sleeping, I was working, and when I was doing neither of those, I was hustling to get more money to right my wrongs.

Now the good news!

I made myself a promise to re-listen to Project Horizons the moment I get settled in my new home. Many reading this will know it was PH that inspired me to write my own fan fic. By chapter 3 I was getting the itch again. I'm now on chapter 20 and I'm fighting the urge to open up that file as I write this. I have 4 days a week to do whatever I want to do... And damn it, I want to write something when I'm not detailing cars! I think it's time to finally finish up those chapters I have been working on!

Now, I don't have an editor anymore and I have a truly shitty grasp on grammar as a subject... But I'm a story teller. Always have been. Though the chapters may start rough, I promise that I plan to improve my skills as time goes on.

Here is to more wildest dreams!

Now some bad news.
Shadows of Eden... I have 2 other stories planned out. I like trilogies and want to keep the ball rolling on that one. Dinge Beige Is just too much of a sweetheart to not give more love to, but it will have to wait. I got an itch only the wasteland can scratch!

See you in the comments!
Rocco!

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