Threw this together last night after some depression and venting. Tried throwing all of my frustration and depression into a picture, and this is what came out of it. lol?

To be frank, 2017 was rough, and the first half of 2017 was a frustrating, depressing, and complete disaster. I got sick in December of 2016, lost my job, then my house, then my shop, then my cars, etc. Everything. Then while we were moving, my car at the time had a camshaft lobe shear off. Was a disaster. We were racing a bad blizzard rolling in, and for awhile we were ahead of it. Then over 100 miles out of town, the poor car broke down. The blizzard caught us within an hour or so, and then my car got towed off the side of the hwy without notice by state patrol not even 2 hours later with all of my belongings in it. I sent my friends up north to send my mate and son to safety with their family 950 miles away, knowing shit was about to go down for us both. At least they would be safe.

I had to pay most of the money I had left to get my car back...and since then, it was a downward spiral of bad luck and frustrating events for months. I had filed my state return super early, days after I found a couch to sleep on after the blizzard incident...but I didn't get my tax return until mid-April because of some new dumb investigation team for claims on children (so, because I claimed our son on my return, I had to wait an extra 2-3 months) in the IRS that year. Because I had almost no money, it took awhile waiting around to get back up north. So long story short, I was homeless. I stayed on random couches, slept in my Lincoln Town Car, and packed up what little I had in a tiny $300 8x4 trailer. I also kept my '73 Lincoln, because that was my pride and joy. Thankfully I got by without having to sell it...though I almost did several times...

Getting back up north to WA state was hard at best...but I made it. I house-squatted, slept in cars, slept on used mattresses, slept on floors, etc. I've seen it all at this point. But I got through it with some help from distant friends (You know who you are < 3) and made it back up north to my family. Since then, I've been slowly, but surely, getting back up on my feet. It's been hard, it's been rough, and it's been frustrating...but I've made it this far. I'm doing good for myself now...I still am separated from my mate and son, but I get to see them here and there. I'm very close to getting our own place, and now my own new shop. Things are looking up now, and I'm doing much better.

This picture symbolizes a lot of the anger and frustration that came out of 2017. How life had beat me to my knees, threw me to the ground, had me pinned, but I still refused to give up, even when letting go was only mere inches away. I had many, many, many dark nights alone where it all seemed hopeless...but I pushed through. I took it as a test of my will and strength, and I did what I had to do to survive, and then get back up to my fiance and son. Life hit hard, but I didn't let it keep me down. There have been many instances in my life where life seemed to hit me harder than I could take...but 2017 was a year of pure, raw, test of my will. I'm not glad it happened, but I'm happy to have learned a lot about myself, and happy to have used such a negative experience to gain something more in my life.

I may have lost the battle, but I never lost the war.

"I'm Not Done Yet."