Hey, Everyone...

Good Afternoon (or Morning);

I just wanted to let everyone know I'm back around and am going to resume writing a bit; I plan to treat it as more of a part-time thing, but at the same time, given my current mental state, I'll probably be more consistent than I've been in five years (or more).

As far as my absence itself goes, I basically had to get my head right on things and needed a change. It turns out that mental health is something that one should probably take seriously. Additionally, I had some familial health issues that I don't really expect anyone to care about and don't feel like discussing.

Working on getting some writing done and taking care of those WoV Picks Game payouts. I might do something for the Playoffs this year*** (Even putting in a writing invoice, I don't think I'd be sitting on enough to finance a regular season contest upfront). Currently, I'm working on an update to my periodic lottery reporting. Also, I have a few articles from 2024 that I didn't even bother to bill for yet (oops!), so that tells you how insane I am, how much I care about money, or maybe it speaks to both.

As far as life changes, my son has been living with me full-time for over a year and starts college this year. Additionally, I've been working at a traditional job for two years now; I'm doing okay, but not so okay that I can part with nearly 1k, or whatever it is, from that. I've always been treated well by the owners of the websites, and I've always appreciated the discretion to write whatever I want as long as it has a gambling tie-in, but my full-time occupation is something that I find fulfilling as I consider it very socially useful...I'm also the sort of person who benefits from having structure around me, which I now realize; I don't do very well when I'm left to my own devices.

Another thing that happened is that I switched (physical) phones, at one point; all of my stuff (including contacts) was supposed to port over, but that failed, so I don't have anyone's number anymore...I don't even know Wizard's number.

In any case, other than ONM (we catch up every couple of months) I haven't spoken to anyone from any of the forums in nearly a year...most people not in over two years. In fact, I haven't spoken to other than two people in the last two years, which includes ONM.

Any questions, fire away. Please expect responses to be sporadic and brief until I have submitted a writing invoice. Other than my regular day-to-day life, paying off on the Picks game is my top priority.

***IF I run a Playoff Picks Game, then someone will have to volunteer to receive the money from me in advance of the game starting; they will also be responsible to distribute the money either to the appropriate people, or right back to me for me to do...but we're months from even talking about that. If I ever get back to financing the WoV Regular Picks Game, same thing (I'll send the money to someone to hold, in advance) and my prize contributions will be more modest. I only ever did it because people liked it and, since I make money writing for the sites, it seemed appropriate to give back to the site's participants.

Okay, see ya. I hope people will also take this as an apology for the delay because there's really not a good way to apologize. I also don't want to get into specifics on the mental health issues, because that gets dark pretty fast, but I'm fairly confident I'm better now...certainly more stable and kicking @$$ in day-to-day existing.

Welcome back. Glad you are in a better place. Share as much or as little as you’d like.

Quote: SOOPOO

Welcome back. Glad you are in a better place. Share as much or as little as you’d like.

Thanks for saying so!

Yes, good to see you back at it again.

Thanks!

Oh, I think I was remiss not to mention that alcoholism is definitely a factor. I'm not going to put it in quotes, but here's what I have already said elsewhere...paraphrasing would be a waste of keystrokes:

Definitely an alcoholic, still am, still drink (take Naltrexone, so I never, 'Feel,' drunk...I've also titrated down significantly, so I'm down to four shots a night...otherwise, I can't sleep at all; next titration down to three shots a night is in about two months. I started at 9+/night, so I'm doing pretty well). Believe it or not, my doctor said, given where I was, cold turkey wouldn't have even been medically safe.

Not really going to get into the psychological issues beyond that, and they weren't all (or even half) alcohol-related, but I can't imagine being an alcoholic (and having been a raging alcoholic) helps.

Welcome back Matey.
Glad to read that you are in a better state and hopefully on the road to even better.

Quote: OnceDear

Welcome back Matey.
Glad to read that you are in a better state and hopefully on the road to even better.

Thank you very much! I appreciate everyone's kindness about this.

I see you're posting here and at VCT, but have you / will you resume posting at WoV again?

I rarely visit there and having logged out cannot access your name and posting frequency.