a little more juju

Aaaaaaand I’m back!

I tried doing only Paradiso-related things on this website, and yeah … I wasn’t too happy with it. My entire identity isn’t within my writing projects, and there was so much I wanted to share that wasn’t about a fictional space station orbiting Mars!

And really, so much has happened over the past several months that I don’t really know where to begin. But here’s a stab at it.

• Bonnaroo got rained out after one day (thankfully, I got a full refund). I don’t think I’ll be going back next year, especially after the lineup was released. I may buy a day pass to see Kesha, though.
• I went to Bourbon & Beyond, where I got my septum pierced (20-year-old me would be proud). My favorite set was a tie between Guster and Goo Goo Dolls.
• Paradiso really started to take shape, enough so that even after I did that challenge, almost all of my answers are now inaccurate.
• I sold my house, which was a huge financial hit, but it needed to happen.
• I started using a film camera because it’s so much more fun than the instant gratification of my iPhone’s camera. Having to wait until I get my results is so much fun, even if what comes back is absolute shit.
• Painting has become a major outlet for stress, as has my new workout regimen (thanks, Ladder). I’ve posted some to Instagram, but I’m trying to be more intentional about what I put there.
• I moved temporarily to Morgantown, WV, for a 16-week travel nursing contract. Jury is still out on whether or not I like the logistics of travel nursing (canceled contracts, no PTO, more expensive insurance, etc.).
• I visited Pittsburgh, PA, mostly to just tour the city but also to see the Andy Warhol museum. I have a whole new respect for Andy Warhol, and I realized how much I need regular access to pierogis.
• I’ve started interviewing for staff nurse jobs across the country. It’s making my brain think I need to start planning a move, even though I don’t even have an offer yet.
• I got a new tattoo on my forearm. And I’m planning on getting one more before my contract is up here in West Virginia.

And that’s all off the top of my head. Most of those are going to get their own blog post, too.

Honestly? I’ve missed blogging. It may not be as popular a way to establish yourself online as it once was, but I don’t really care. Maintaining an online presence across multiple social media apps has become almost impossible. Trust me, I’ve tried, and then I forget that I even have some of them … usually Tumblr.

Poor Tumblr. I’ll probably still keep it if for no other reason than that I’ve had that blog since 2007. It’s a historical documentation from my mid-twenties and on; you can’t just get rid of that.

Well, maybe you can; I can’t.

Anyway, I’m going to be working on this site for the next couple of weeks, repairing the damage I’ve done over the past several months. I’m working a three-day stretch here this weekend – starting today – but I’ll do what I can. My goal is to have it mostly done by the end of next week. How much I’ll post is up in the air, but I don’t think I’ll do daily posting, at least not while I’m as busy as I am (nursing is hard work, y’all). Plus, I have a book to write, and one of my 2026 goals is to finish my first draft.

Well, I’ll be starting a 3-day stretch of 12-hour shifts, which means I need to get in bed for some hardcore sleeping. It should be pretty busy since I took an Advil PM, and yeah, it’s starting to kick in.