2017 has been a year of... I'm not entirely sure how to neatly categorize it. In short, it has been one of many changes - in the world and in my life in particular. A chaotic zoo of the good and the bad. There's so much to catch you up on.
I made it out alive with my Bachelor's degree in Applied Linguistics toward the end of December (freaking finally). I survived my first holiday season in retail. A partner told me he loved me for the first time in our relationship and, with tasteful tears, I told him I loved him, too. We celebrated our first anniversary in March. A friend of the past two years told me he liked me. I told him I liked him, too, and we've been dating since January.
Moose and I have decided to separate. The separation has been hard, but mutual. And it is difficult to admit that it has been a long, long time coming. It's been roughly amicable and we'll still be living together for the next two months, so we aren't in danger of going Jack Torrance on each other (yet). I still don't know what my new username here will be. Perhaps just "The Lonely Tribalist."
I no longer work at Barnes and Noble and instead got hired onto my first full-time job doing social media copywriting and responding to online reviews. It's not bad for a full-time job and while the work is far from fulfilling, I still feel like I'm on a promising path - a path to where? I don't exactly know, but it doesn't feel bad.
at 2 years old, passed away in mid-August from a collapsed lung. It is unknown what caused this, if it was inevitable or preventable. I wasn't even in town when he died. Moose was with him at the vet when he was put to sleep. He was Moose's baby. In June, Reggie the tuxedo cat entered the tribe. One gained, one lost. Some days, I don't think Binx's death has truly sunk in for me.
And now, what of the blog? This won't be a "polyamory blog" or a "politics blog" or a "life development blog," but it will have elements of all of the above and more. If I can get into the habit of crafting a post for every Monday, it will feel like a healthy, successful hobby. There are things I feel the need to write, while combating the rearing of the damn ugly Hydra-esque heads of my insecurities surronding the worth of my words. And, of course, I want to create content that you want to read, as well. I know the dating posts and the "Hall of OKStupid" series were popular. I'll definitely keep you up-to-date with the steamy, sticky love life, the highs, the pitfalls, and the insights. And according to my stats, the posts that people come across again and again have to do with Moose's broken leg and his recovery. Even though we're separating, I'll try not to encourage him to break anymore limbs.
This blog has ebbed and flowed quite a bit - in the same fashion as the rest of life - and has largely been unfocused. We shall see together what the future will bring for us here, if this round of attempts at shouting into the void will result in anything more meaningful and worthwhile. Thank you for joining me or for having stuck around for the past couple of years. Community is still incredibly important to me and I want to continue to seek out ways to foster its sustainable growth. Let's wield a broadsword against the voices that tell us to stop creating content. I missed you all and look forward to re-connecting with you. Thanks again and welcome to The Lonely Tribalist 2.0.
Oh boy.
