Hello, all!

I'm just dropping in with a few updates on what's been going on with me ever since the fiasco with my computer since August- I still have a lot of outstanding commissions, and some of you, out of kindness for my problems this year, even paid advances- for which I want to thank you for your generosity and patience. I am sorry I haven't gotten a lot of progress on a lot of them done, but I hope I can give an explanation, if not an excuse.

I'm afraid I've been hit with more misfortune and very mundane tragedies. If I've been quiet or withdrawn, it's honestly because I feel like some people might not believe me when I give an account of the little accidents or set-backs I've had this year so far. To start, I've lost my car for over a month, now- while my roommate was driving it to get to work, a flash flood waterlogged the street he was driving on and flooded the engine- I was almost knee-deep in water trying to push it off the road when we got to him. The engine's been on repair for all this time, and naturally, the bill keeps inflating.

Then I found out that, for all intents and purposes, I lost my rather lucrative position as a freelancer at a financial journal I've been with for years, now- not through any fault of my own, I was assured, but because they're downsizing their freelancer model altogether. Without my car, I also can't travel to a lot of the schools that have teaching positions for me- I've been effectively adrift, as Dandy, also a substitute teacher, snagged a full-time position- good for him, but it means he has a higher priority on the car than me.

Finally, there's been a series of mundane miseries affecting my family. My mother had a setback over her grief of my father's passing, but then that was compounded by a death in the family- a cousin whom I was fond of, but who mom saw as a second little sister. Because of my car troubles, I wasn't able to attend the funeral, or other family obligations, which has also been weighing on me.

Then of course, there's the financial situation- it's not been good, and the repair bill for the car is weighing over me like the Sword of Damocles- every time I get an update, it's to tell me there's another part my insurance isn't covering, and where I used to have three sources of income- commissions, substitute teaching, and freelance articles- I am now down to one. I've been vacillating between anxiety attacks and depressive moods for most of the past month, and it's left me inattentive and withdrawn- I'm actively trying to push back against that now, and I'm sorry to the people that've been waiting for me to get back to them. It wasn't professional, but at least I can provide context.

As for my writing, I am fighting back to where I want to be- tomorrow, I'll be posting my biggest commission over, weighing in at an obscene 100k+ words with all three parts taken into account. I hope you all enjoy it, and to everyone else, I can only apologize for the further delays. I appreciate your patience and understanding, and I promise you, I am working as hard as I can. I'm keeping my head up and trying to stay in good spirits. I will have more stories to share with you all soon!

Take care and God bless,
-Renard