ohai märk, welcome back. oddly enough I was just wondering whatever happened to you the other day.
Hello my good Hystricid. It's been a weird 5-ish years, kicked off in mid-2020 by my losing my job because Covid shut everything down. I had been self-employed, so had no unemployment benefits, and no job opportunities during what amounted to a complete shutdown of public places and business in general. I quickly went broke after using up the emergency federal government relief payments, got evicted from my pad, and moved in with my sister in another (much larger) city. Got a job right away, things seemed to be on the up and up, then got fucked over by the worst sciatica I've ever experienced (I get it off and on, sometimes decades in between, but never that fucking bad) and it ruined my life/made me want to die for like 4 months, 24/7, nothing gave me any relief, and got fired because I was so miserable. I finally got a doctor to refer me for a cortisone shot to the spine, which made it go away, finally, after another few weeks. Did not have a good time in general, but near the start of 2025, I moved back to my hometown, found gainful employment, and am currently doing pretty well, all things considered. Depression and hard times writes good songs, too, so I have a pile of new material to work with Waiting for a good title, and I plan on submitting at some point soon.
I just wish y'all Americans hadn't elected that rapey orange shitbag currently destroying everything. Again.