A few weeks ago, I up & left this site to rot as I perused an exciting opportunity to run production of a local newspaper in a town an hour away.

I was so frikkin’ stoked! I had reoccurring dreams about working in a newsroom again. This seemed like the perfect fit for my skills, and for the first time in many years, I actually enjoyed my job again. The excitement of deadlines, paired with he challenge of wrangling a small newspaper into eye catching, easy-to-read design – it felt like I was home again!

So anyway, I got fired yesterday. I did a good job, but it wasn’t enough. Ad sales were a joke, and we had a massive lag with our writers that ran the last run hours late for press deadline in Las Vegas, where all Nevada newspapers go to print nowadays. The price tag on overtime for them hit the pocket book of my boss so hard, she had to make some tough [on me] decisions. Since I was the only paid employee, I got kicked to the curb.

I loved my new job for 3 weeks it existed. It made me feel useful and skilled, which is something I haven’t felt since Dennis Hof was above ground in 2018.

Now I have been fired from being a drafter for the military industrial complex, a community health worker for the ‘MOST’ insane people of Lyon County, and now from doing the one job I felt I was good at.

I sat in my room for about 2 hours last night, afraid to walk into the living room to give my hard working wife the bad news. When I finally did, there was no shock from her, but there was definitely plenty of stress in her eyes. It’s only 11 days until Christmas, and we borrowed from the money she was saving for gift shopping.

I’m not really mad at the newspaper’s owner. She took a leap of faith that I could work magic on their ad revenue, and it ended up costing money instead. While it’s not my fault it went that way, It’s the giant pile of bullshit dumped at my front door. As my favorite Buddhist teacher would say, “Start shoveling that shit to the back yard to fertilize the mango tree.”

Back to obsessing on this website! Perhaps I will use this to compete with the newspaper and other local media, and go for that ad revenue myself! If I can’t join them, I might as well beat them, right?

Giving up is never an option when I’m a husband to the sweetest woman in the world, plus the father of the 5 most awesome humans ever made.

Sorry, haters… I ain’t dead yet.

GAME ON!!!

These were words spoken to me by my beloved step mother one night, as I was caring for her after a massive stroke a few years ago. She said it almost like a chant, over and over, as she stared me in the eyes. It was one of those many moments, where she could see deep into my soul. It wasn’t just her talking to me.

Mamacita’s voice still lives in my mind, reminding me of what to focus on. Sometimes it’s hard to hear her over all the worry, anger, and other useless noise in there. She never was one to yell.

Today’s reminder, from a friend in the realm of the living, sounded much like Mamacita’s words. “Only focus on the beautiful things” and “Look to the light” have the same vibe.

So close to Jesus Christ’s birthday, I feel it’s fitting to give thanks to the Holy Trinity for the good will that has reached out to help me. Whether or not I believe such an entity exists, I appreciate the people who do good work in his name. Special thanks to my guardian angel from this morning – both for the financial support, and for the good message. Both came at the perfect time to change the direction of my whole week.