Good morning, true believers!
That's right, it's friggin' Little-Kinky here with a long overdue update. A small one, sure, but an update nonetheless!
Really, though. Looking back at my previous ones is... Surreal to say the least. Like a trip through fucked-up memory lane, huh? Anyway-
There are entirely too many things to cover in a single blog post, so.. The highlights:
- Left the military (joined the Reserves like an idiot)
- Bought a house
- Became a cop
- Got a third cat. Three. (3). This one's a boy.
- Got out of the Reserves (thank god)
That's the past two and a half years in a nutshell. Compared to the in-depth breakdowns I've given in the past, I know it leaves out a bit... Like I said, a 33,000~ character limit isn't enough to cover the life I've packed into the past two years. I'll focus on an important slice of it, though:
I left active duty towards the end of 2019. My job hunt was going incredibly well, and I had a plan, a backup plan, and two tertiary plans alllll set for when I got out. I had savings, I had good credit, I was in the best mental health shape of my life. Good to go, right?
Ha.
I planned to take two months off after the military just living for once, and I did! It was nice. At the end of it, I was due to start the new job which would be an awesome pay increase from the Navy. Naturally, I was turned down at the absolute last possible minute with a shrug and a sorry. It...
Destroyed me. All my backups turned me down, too. Over and over, rejection letter after rejection letter. I felt absolutely useless and was spiraling down a bottomless pit of depression as if it were a black hole keeping me just shy of spaghettification. For quite a while, I was another lost veteran who'd lost their purpose and I was walking down a very dark path. I took the first job I could. It was soulless, my coworkers all hated each other, the benefits didn't exist, and it paid nothing.
Oh, and the commute was an hour each way.
Oh, did I forget to mention this was all around April of 2020?
That was a great time.
I almost didn't survive. Neither of us, really. She was still working a dead-end job in hopes of finding her meaning. We were both lost in the chaos of life. The apartment started to become hell- everything was awful. We both found some of our lowest points and repeatedly dragged the other kicking-and-screaming back up from the depths.
And then, towards the second half of 2020, I finally had a break. I found a better job. It was a miracle. Ten minutes away from home, paid two dollars more, actually had benefits I could use- and with zero stress. Every day was a vacation of no responsibility and opportunities to meditate. My coworkers weren't even half bad! I actually formed an incredible (but short) friendship with one of them- a lovely older gentleman with a wonderful personality you just don't find in people anymore. He introduced me to the wonderful world of... Pulp magazines??? That's right, folks- PULPS. From G-8 and his Battle Aces to The Spider- I took a wild ride through history. Not just pulps, though! I got some amazing history lessons. When I say he's a wealth of knowledge, I mean he knew everything about anything war. He taught me an insane amount of backstory to a lot of wars I'd only heard of, but knew nothing about. Which is neat!
To say that job saved my life would be dramatic, but accurate. I healed there. That friend I made left at right around the same time I did. He put it really well: "Kinky, this place is a peaceful limbo for those who are lost. I arrived here in desperate need, and it provided. Now it is time for me to leave. You came here because you needed to as well, and now it's time for you to go..."
...Because my dream job, that rarely hires, is extremely picky in who they accept and that I had absolutely zero chance of being chosen for called me back. I was driving when they did- I had to pull over and cry.
The next nine months were absolute hell in the police academy. Made it, though! Got a house in the process, paid off the credit card debt we racked up during those months we had to scramble.. She got her dream job in the middle of it- and makes more than me, sometimes.
Things are going well, for the most part. We've finally found a good marriage counseling, so that's happening now. Uhh...
Oh! I had my first surgery RIGHT before the academy started. Two months before. It was bad. COVID has already destroyed my fitness- I was just getting back into it when I very, very suddenly had to have something cut out of me. I had the surgery, and then I was essentially useless for a month. At the end of the month I could finally run again (sort of, painfully) and for the following month it was nothing but recovery and light training in an attempt to get me back to where I needed to be.
I didn't get there, but at least I didn't die come the academy start.
Oh! I'm still open for writing commissions. Obviously, with the chaos of the past couple years, my focus spent on writing had to shift to other things... But I've been lurking around in the background. As I'm sure many of you artists know, if you get a few customers who really like your stuff, they'll come back.
If you're interested in having the idea in your head jotted down into words for your eyeballs' viewing pleasure- lemme know!
That's all for now, Newgrounds. @TomFulp
See you next time!