I have emerged from the world...

[bones]

... and no, that doesn't mean I was installing Gentoo.

Hello friends,

After a couple of long, interesting months, I'm back at the grill. I apologize for not giving any updates or announcements as to the status of my life lately, but let me try to briefly explain what I have been up to.

tl:dr version:

Lost our home to foreclosure, moved into an apartment, went to a personal development workshop in Las Vegas, quit my job, started a business with my wife, got a new job making 2/3rds less than my old job (but I'm much happier), and now have to move again, into a cheaper place.

Actually, that's all for now. I'll let y'all chew on that for a bit, and I'll post the detailed version ASAP.

Out for now,
bones

[vic]

Well I see that you have been busy with life. Good to hear that you are happier, and good luck with the moving. :)

[Dr_Chroot]

Wow, bones. I'm sorry to hear that you lost your home, but at the same time happy to hear that you appear to making a fantastic go of it!

got a new job making 2/3rds less than my old job (but I'm much happier)

Hey, that's the idea, right? :D

[dkeg]

Dude, foreclosure, thats rough man. Think of you're 5 year plan and stay focused. Don't let people tell you otherwise because you know they will try .... And you will get there.
Is your new job in the same field?

[machinebacon]

Oh wow, seriously welcome back!

We really thought you are one of the following:
1 angry at drew for making better looking scrots than you
2 angry at us me for making you take scrots of every WM in Cream
3 angry at the world for being the world
4 busy in Vegas, pulverizing the BBQ bank account
5 dead

I'm happy that it's not 5 :) Now that's what I call 'gotten a life'!

[dkeg]

that's quite the list the MB!

[DebianJoe]

Good to hear from you. I can't tell you how often I'd be mid-thought or mid-sentence and then just stop and go..."What happened to Bones?" While the foreclosure is a load of ass, it's good to hear that you're enjoying your work.

[GekkoP]

Welcome back bones. Hope everything can be sorted out soon for you.

[rhowaldt]

missed you man. good story though, looking forward to the details. thank Dog you are a resilient fucker, making the best out of a shitty situation :)

[simgin]

Welcome back Bones, was getting a bit worried mate. Hope everything sorts out for you, at least your happy with your job, and that is very important!

cheers
simon

[wuxmedia]

Wow, welcome back with a big virtual hug bones, yeah like Joe, "where is Bones"
I personally thought you'd gone totally off grid and was living in the woods.

Yeah shit about the foreclosure. them frikkin banks :(

[ivanovnegro]

Welcome back Bones. I am very happy to see you again. I really thought, if not dead, somehow you vanished from our community.

Tough story man. I hope all is good now.

On IRC we often were asking about you. ;)

[pidsley]

Welcome back bones.

[franksinistra]

Tough life dude , glad you sorted it out

-- frank --

[bones]

Thank you everyone for the kind words, I'm glad to be back.

So, the details...

The foreclosure on our home since 2006 had been building for some time, although I had kept it quiet. Much of that was due to sheer stupidity on our part, but also an unwillingness to bend on the part of the mortgage company. Oh well, fuck 'em. If/when we ever buy another home, I'm gonna pay cash. Debt fucking sucks.

So we moved into this apartment, 3 bedroom, 2 baths. Not bad, for apartment living. But we have been homeowners for 25 years, so definitely an adjustment.

Towards the end of August, after we moved in, I decided to go a personal development workshop in Vegas (http://www.stevepavlina.com/conscious-life-workshop/) to figure out what I really wanted to do with the rest of my life. I decided that I didn't want to sit behind a computer in a windowless room for 9-10 hours a day any more, so upon my return, I quit my job. I withdrew my entire 401K to live on, until I figured out what I was doing.

In the meantime, my wife and I started an herbal soap business (http://wildcraftherbarium.com/). As you can see, the website is unfinished. Work in progress. But, we are selling a LOT of soap in meatspace. People love our product!

I decided that I probably needed to get a job, at least part-time, doing something I didn't hate, so I went back to the natural foods grocery business, here:

http://www.naturalgrocers.com/

I do the produce department, slinging vegetables and fruits, talking to customers, and check out the sweet eye-candy that comes into the store. Healthy women are hot! :D I make shit for money, but I love the work.

So, now we are moving again, as I can no longer afford this apartment, into a nice cottage, in a nice neighborhood with many of our friends living in the same area. Rent is very cheap, the landlord is a hoot and super cool, and we have space to garden, BBQ, and make our soaps. What more do we need?

Also, we've been spending a lot more time outside, foraging and such. We also get the water for our soaps from a pure spring, about a half hour from home:

http://www.findaspring.com/locations/no ... nmouth-or/

Here's a pic of me, filling up:

file.jpg (61.39 KiB) Viewed 5019 times

So that's the story! As for things Linux and computer related, really I don't give too many fucks about it right now. Got a new 21" iMac to do business-related work (label design, etc.) as the other one died shortly after moving, and I still have the T61, running Slackware. I don't spend much time on computers, any more, and I'm much happier for it.

Again, thank you everyone for your concern and warm welcome back. I really do appreciate it.

[GekkoP]

Glad everything sort of turned out to be fine for you and your dears. Keep the smile on, it is the only way to go.

[DebianJoe]

That's boss-level Bones. You are living the life that I've been working towards myself. My wife and I have been pricing land in the mountains of Colorado for a while now, and as soon as I can break out of the rat-race, I'm gone.

[dkeg]

Yeah, I'm with Joe. That really is quite amazing!

[rhowaldt]

wooooow man, great story, well fucking done! thanks for keeping us posted, very good to hear from you and both of you doing alright and even managed to improve life in many ways!

you can get back into your computer-shit at least a little bit by setting up that damn website ;P

[wuxmedia]

WOW, sweet, that is indeed boss level.
We are thinking of something like that too, but in France, happily we own the house outright there.
Give me a shout if you ever need any free hosting in the meantime, then you can spend more time making soap. 8)
heheh Fight Club suddenly sprang to mind there 8)
(although seeing as the site is a shopify one, maybe not)