Getting your life back after almost taking it is a lot like recovering from cancer; the actual event can be heartwarming and uplifting – like a Hallmark special, but the aftermath can be messy, painful, and awkward. (For new readers, yes; I am also a cancer survivor.)

But what my crisis counselor said made sense; my job was tearing my life apart, and my certain associations were not helping matters, either. So, I began a desperate search for new work, and I contacted the head of the reenactment group to let him know I would be out a while dealing with some personal stuff; no big deal since there had been absolute zero chatter on rehearsals, shows, or appearances.

And so life continued to teach me lessons. Like be mindful of stopped traffic on US 101 on freak rainy days, you cocky prick. Or people will expect too much of you if you give them all you got. Personally, while I’ve learned better on my driving habits – because sixteen years in the same car on the same road will do that to you, I’ve been desperate not to let my heart harden over the latter. Not sure how that’s going, so far.

One of the bigger take aways from 2019 was also meter your loyalties and efforts working in the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley. I got thrown under the bus when wasteful spending by executive staff who let a couple of good reviews inflate their company worth and they started spending all the money everywhere like is the model out here. While the calls and messages from now former coworkers warmed my heart, the fact was when the ship started sinking – because they steered it into that iceberg, I was just another commodity to be cut loose. (Eventually my narcissistic paranoid supervisor, along with the rest of the ops staff, would also get dropped. You know; the ones who actually spent the money and made all the bad calls.)

But seriously; that’s how business is run out here. Spend it to ruin and start something new. And the model for corporate property management isn’t much better. But that’s next week…