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This is What It’s Like to Survive Overdose

It’s International Overdose Awareness Day. I woke up this morning alive. I finished the book my sister gave me last week, Mastering the Addicted Brain. And I wrote an emotional treatise about the three overdoses – the ones I remember. One, in the dorms, at age 17. I had taken a bunch of various forms of speed and was slurring my words. I thought I was having a heart attack. Maybe I was just…

I wasn’t planning to post about this, but I was overtaken with a wave of gratefulness today, as usual, for my life lived in recovery. I had a semi-emergency surgery this week, and can’t imagine how hard this would’ve been if I wasn’t sober and focused on health of mind and body.  The way I conduct my recovery isn’t for everyone, but I forewent opioid and narcotic pain meds after post-op, though I…

I recorded these songs on a cheap children’s guitar in a log cabin on the Shenandoah River.  The EP is available here (free, no login needed). Side A is three Civil War songs: Carry Me Back to Virginia Battle Cry of Freedom Dixie Side B is three songs near and dear to my heart: Not in Nottingham Shoulda Known Better Reasons to Quit

Thoughts on 4 Years

Thursday marked four continuous years of recovery from problematic substance use (drug addiction). I oscillate between thinking I’ve lived a sober lifetime, and having many, many days that feel like no time at all has passed. I graduated high school in three years, not the customary four. I went to school at a community college after hours with the pregnant girls and the fringe element and…

One of my dearest friends has suffered a post-election hate motivated assault. I’ve seen a White woman yelling at a kind Ethiopian cashier. We should be talking about equal pay and family leave, not Neo-Nazis and white supremacists. We should be looking forward to what is to come for our great nation, not concerned about a Constitutional crisis the Right is ignoring. We should not be concerned…

Evading Trump’s NSA for Subversives: A Beginner’s Guide

Well, it’s happened. Below, please find a shareable, simple guide to OPSEC under a Trump regime. When President Trump is in charge of domestic surveillance, you’ll be glad you’ve taken every step possible to protect yourself (and any loved ones or subversive groups you’re a part of) from those beady, prying, oddly-not-as-Orange-as-the-rest-of-his-face eyes. Disclaimer: The information herein is…

I do a considerable amount of freelance work in addition to my day job. Consulting, front end development, copywriting, and private events are some of my favorite types of gigs. I often get asked by budding writers looking for work “how”  to be a corporate blogger. 1. Luck Into It: And by luck, I mean work super hard to get your name out there and be in demand: – Work every connection you have,…

The Importance of a Secure Wallet

This week saw the hack of Bitfinex, a Hong Kong based cryptocurrency exchange. Almost 120,000 Bitcoin were stolen through a hack of one of (if not the) largest and most popular Bitcoin exchange on the planet. The lessons from this for traders, emthusiasts, and computer security experts alike should be the following: 1)  Don’t let this shake your faith in Bitcoin. The market has seen several…

B. Mail – The Zine

Each Sunday night, I send a visual e-zine to my e-mail subscriber list, often with other notes, articles, and thoughts for each week. Now that I’ve sent three, and I see no sign of stopping, I wanted to provide those videos here on the site, as well. Here are weeks #1-3, with more to come each week.   (Please Note: They won’t always be political, that’s just what I’ve been doing the past few…

First things first – a note: 1) #DNCLeaks: The more leftist (and rightist) friends of mine are incensed by this week’s #DNCLeaks put forth by WikiLeaks. That’s fine, be incensed. Donor (read: people’s private) information being non-redacted aside (I don’t have much of an opinion on that – in some ways it’s atrocious, in other ways, it’s a leak – it’s going to infringe on someone), this reminds me…

Sobriety is such a loaded concept. Everyone, especially those not in recovery, has an idea of what sobriety is: It is walking the straight and narrow. It is a real-life Prodigal Son story. It makes you Damaged Goods. It immediately makes you square, setting you apart from the cool kids who have cocktails or smoke weed. It makes people suspicious of your motives (because, in its own way, sobriety…

How (and Why) to File a Complaint with the EEOC

This post, I think, can be especially important to allies as well as people of color. Workplace discrimination is real, and it is easy to get gaslighted and blown off when you report it, no matter the color of your skin. No one wants to believe it, but discrimination is real and unmistakable. Beyond HR, you can report workplace discrimination to the EEOC. No matter who you are, this is your…