I'd been thinking of making this journal for the past month but I just kept putting it off. It's certainly not been a terrible year for me so far and I've done better than many others but there are a number of things on my mind.

I'd really love to do some kind of long vacation or a furcon this year but I have no idea when I'll be able to do that or even if I'll be able to. Most of the people I talk to pretty regularly know that I was in a car accident last month- was hit on the passenger side while making a left turn during rush hour. I just had some minor bruises and some soreness in my ribs from where the seatbelt caught me when my truck was hit by the SUV. I declined needing any medical attention from the responding police officers and they didn't give out any tickets even though I was probably at fault as it's an area of road they respond to pretty regularly. Both vehicles needed tows and it took a couple weeks for the garage I went to to find the parts for my 20 year old truck to fix the damaged steering and suspension on the passenger side. I carry liability on my car insurance so I was covered there but I didn't have collision as on a 20 year old vehicle either the damage is never going to be enough to cover the high deductible or it's going to be totaled and I happened to fall in the middle. It drives better after the work I've had put into it though the passenger door is still pretty smashed up and needs attention. The past few years I'd been saving up because I knew at some point I'd need to replace my truck due to its age so my finances are okay even if I've had to tap a bit into that fund. I'm anticipating replacing my vehicle for something newer later this year once my finances recover. An interesting hitch that's been discovered in all this is when I was trying to get a replacement title since I can't seem to find mine it was discovered that the State of Ohio never relinquished/transferred it after I moved to the state where I am now and registered my truck in 2018 so I'm going through that fun of getting them to transfer the title since I do need a copy of the title for whatever I do with the truck (I have no idea how neither state discovered this issue before now).

A week before the accident I'd come back from driving out of state for a funeral for one of the last aunts in the family (my great grandfather remarried during the Great Depression so the family has two sides to it but both sides always remained close). The last uncle passed away late in 2020 but due to Covid restrictions only immediate family was allowed to attend (also lost 2 cousins and an aunt that year). My mom was going to drive up for it also but two days before the funeral she fell and fully ruptured a ligament in her thumb that ultimately required surgery to fix (I semi-joked of whether this would be the 3rd year in a row I'd have to come take care of her while she recovers from a surgery). My mom was very upset to miss the funeral. It was nice getting to see a lot of the remaining family though it's sad that I hadn't seen any of them since my grandfather's funeral in 2015 and some I hadn't seen since the mid-late 2000's before I moved to Washington State. It is a bit sad how the years are starting to fly by- I still can't believe it's been 6 years since I left Washington State.

In my last journal I had mentioned on wanting to change jobs to something I could make into a career. Unfortunately, that has not happened and due to a lot of animal fields having lower pay or many that I know I qualify for relying on a lot of part-time or volunteering it's going to have to wait at least another year. Besides the issues with the truck and what it will do to my finances when I get something newer, I am also needing to keep my finances in good shape as my housemates are in the process of separating. I sublease my room from them and while it looks like they aren't going to sell the house after the divorce, at least without first giving me significant notice (trust me we've all sat down and talked about this), I need to make sure that my finances will let me be able to afford an apartment if it comes to that. Things have also continued to slowly fray with my local fur and gaming group so I don't feel comfortable asking for help there in an emergency (I'm 99% certain none of them watch me here on FA, or at least certainly they've never commented anywhere about anything I've said in the past). I've been doing a lot better with my finances the past few months than most people realize so while I have had to cut way back on certain things or only able to help out others in an emergency I know I'm in better shape than a lot of people.

I'm not asking for help in this journal and I'm not trying to alarm anyone either- in an absolute worst case scenario I already have my mom and a family friend both give standing offers on places for me to stay if I need it. That's not to say I don't appreciate the offers as I do and I enjoy seeing them when I go down to Houston but the weather and the traffic are two things I've always really disliked dealing while I was growing up and when I've gone back for a visit. I do want to apologize to all my friends I talk to online as I know this year, particularly the past 6 weeks since the accident, I've had periods of depression and sleep issues that sometimes keep me awake until nearly dawn. Discord in particular has been an area I've been pretty inactive on, though I do really enjoy talking with friends on the irregular times I have been on it. Telegram is probably still the best place to get ahold of me.