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Life Is Hard: A Long Overdue Update
5 years ago
Hey, everyone. I hope you're all doing well? You may be wondering, 'where'd jade disappear to now?' I've been around. I've just been lurking because of life. So much is all sorts of crazy right now. I have been putting off a lot of stuff in my life due to 2020 being such a bitch. But I owe the people on my commission list an explanation at the very least so I figured I would post what has been going on as of late.
Covid has taken my best friends father (a man I have known since I was 7-years-old) and four DA artist friends (to be fair, I only chatted with them online, knowing them since DA was a new thing on the net, and I don't know their real names... but I'm still sad). I know over 20 people that have tested positive; from friends to co-workers. So, yeah... that's been bringing me down lately.
My parents live full time in a motorhome (they are "snowbirds"). But since Covid is a bitch, all of the campgrounds where they would stay in the summer are not allowing non-local people. So I removed my back fence and we pulled their motorhome into my yard. They have been living with me since May. And it is driving me a bit bonkers. I love them but my mother is neurotic as shit. I haven't been able to cub out since they have been here.
Thankfully however my parents have been helping me with my kitchen remodel. Over the winter the pipes in the kitchen froze multiple times due to the location of the pipes not being under the foundation. I am now 95% complete with the kitchen thanks to my parents help but it was a bitch living without a kitchen sink for over a month. I had to gut it all. Walls, floor, all of it. But now it is rewired and replumbed. I just have to finish off the baseboards and door frames.
For those that don't know, I live in Minneapolis. Only a few miles from where George Floyd was murdered. Only a few miles from the riots. Only a few blocks from the National Guard staging area. Thankfully, as of this writing, Mpls has calmed down and the looting and riots have been replaced by protests and people being listened to. But it is a very weird atmosphere here.
On top of all of that, back in January my company laid off about 25% of the staff. Including all employees (sans me) in my department. However the work load has not changed. From about June 1st to last week I was working 60-hour weeks to keep up with the summer marketing schedule. I'm a bit burnt out at the moment due to the stress and depression of my work environment.
And that brings me to badges. I am sorry to Wuffles, Storm, Jeri, and Drykus (see below). I should have had all of your badges done a long time ago. I am going to make a very solid effort this week to get things going again.
You will also notice that the list below is much shorter than the list in my last journal. After reviewing my notes, my PayPal history, and my little stack of badge sketches, I have removed all people in my queue who had not yet paid. If you believe I am in error please reach out to me via email and we can figure it out. I will not be adding people back onto my queue list at this time (unless you paid and I messed up). My life is just too hectic right now.
So, yeah... that is the story of my 2020 so far.
Covid has taken my best friends father (a man I have known since I was 7-years-old) and four DA artist friends (to be fair, I only chatted with them online, knowing them since DA was a new thing on the net, and I don't know their real names... but I'm still sad). I know over 20 people that have tested positive; from friends to co-workers. So, yeah... that's been bringing me down lately.
My parents live full time in a motorhome (they are "snowbirds"). But since Covid is a bitch, all of the campgrounds where they would stay in the summer are not allowing non-local people. So I removed my back fence and we pulled their motorhome into my yard. They have been living with me since May. And it is driving me a bit bonkers. I love them but my mother is neurotic as shit. I haven't been able to cub out since they have been here.
Thankfully however my parents have been helping me with my kitchen remodel. Over the winter the pipes in the kitchen froze multiple times due to the location of the pipes not being under the foundation. I am now 95% complete with the kitchen thanks to my parents help but it was a bitch living without a kitchen sink for over a month. I had to gut it all. Walls, floor, all of it. But now it is rewired and replumbed. I just have to finish off the baseboards and door frames.
For those that don't know, I live in Minneapolis. Only a few miles from where George Floyd was murdered. Only a few miles from the riots. Only a few blocks from the National Guard staging area. Thankfully, as of this writing, Mpls has calmed down and the looting and riots have been replaced by protests and people being listened to. But it is a very weird atmosphere here.
On top of all of that, back in January my company laid off about 25% of the staff. Including all employees (sans me) in my department. However the work load has not changed. From about June 1st to last week I was working 60-hour weeks to keep up with the summer marketing schedule. I'm a bit burnt out at the moment due to the stress and depression of my work environment.
And that brings me to badges. I am sorry to Wuffles, Storm, Jeri, and Drykus (see below). I should have had all of your badges done a long time ago. I am going to make a very solid effort this week to get things going again.
You will also notice that the list below is much shorter than the list in my last journal. After reviewing my notes, my PayPal history, and my little stack of badge sketches, I have removed all people in my queue who had not yet paid. If you believe I am in error please reach out to me via email and we can figure it out. I will not be adding people back onto my queue list at this time (unless you paid and I messed up). My life is just too hectic right now.
So, yeah... that is the story of my 2020 so far.
2020 hasn't treated me with the best of things right now either.
I wrecked my only means of transportation and have been living on the support of friends and family for a bit now.
I can only send hugs from afar, but hopefully things calm down for you!
Hang in there, bud. And despite all things, good on you for taking your parents in. You're doing them a solid (which despite everything, they seem to want to make it worth your while, which is nice).
Keep at it. :3
Needless to say it did. And I thought New England was free from racists, I was wrong. My closest friend kept getting verbally and emotionally stabbed in the back by random racists both online and IRL. I was in pure rage.
After my first week of furlough I get email after email at work discussing these incidents and my company has been showing a lot of love and understanding. I got a lot of co-workers who are of color and I care and worry for them every day. I'm glad my company provides a ton of counseling. Sadly one of my best accountants is being laid off by the end of the month.
This 2020 has been hell for all of us. And my condolences for the ones you lost to COVID. stay strong.