Sad Day at World Relief Today

We said goodbye to one of our coworkers at World Relief today. We've had quite a few people leave over the past few months, it seems, which means lots of cake and goodies in the back conference room, but also a lot of empty desks and quiet offices and painful goodbyes. I've been in the Immigration Intern office off and on for the past eight months, and as tiny and cramped as that office is, it was by Stephanie and Katie's office, so I was usually kept entertained, with the exception of one day where they listened to Justin Beiber's "Baby, Baby, Baby" 22 times in a row, and I was stuck at my desk, staring blankly at my computer screen, contemplating stabbing myself in both ears with a cheap pen.

I never envied Stephanie's job though--her measured diplomacy as she tried to find livable housing for our clients showed that she had far more patience than I would have if I was talking on the phone to slumlords trying to exploit the poor. Someday, I'll be a rich author and I'll buy all those apartment complexes and I'll get rid of the bedbugs and fix the plumbing and make sure the doors lock so gang members can't get inside and start shooting people.

I guess I have to sell some books first.

I'm Still Here.

Okay, this always happens, and I apologize--it's been over two months and I haven't made a post.

I admit it--I'm not good at this blogging thing. I start one, make two or three posts, and then get distracted by life and shiny objects and end up neglecting the poor thing. But I'll try to do better, I promise. Besides, I have a reason to. I just self-published my novel, "Lastborn", on the Amazon Kindle, and one thing that successful self-publishers have is an internet presence. I have no internet presence. I need to get one. Therefore, time to write more.

There will be a mix of content on here--I'll talk about the backstory of my novel and some of my influences, and a little about my work with refugees in Minneapolis and St. Paul. As the summer heat dies down and I get out on my bike more, I'll do more (above-ground) urban exploration and neighborhood research.

And, hopefully, this thing will be worth reading.