Real Life: The Next Step

Let me be up front to start, to put my cards on the table.  If you are able, I am asking if you would be willing to support me on Patreon; and if you do support me already, if you would be willing to squeeze a buck or two more a month.

I'm not asking for any stupendous donations, but rather to provide a slightly better income for me and my partner Tamara.  Let me explain why.

For the last six months, I have been able to write about costumes for my minimum-wage, full-time job, which I use to support Tamara and myself.  Tamara, for various reasons, is unable to work.  We have cut our expenses and saved our money, and have now put down a damage deposit on our own apartment, so that once again we can live as people and not as squatters in my daughter's condo.  We have been trapped here for 2½ years ... and we are glad at last to be independent again.

We have a simple 525 sq.ft. one-bedroom apartment that I wouldn't call "posh."  It's ours, at least.  And while we can pay our bills, and our food and what else, it is going to be tight.  Like, $50 a month tight.  I've asked for a raise and no dice.  So while my work won't go a little further, I have to ask my other source of income if you will.

We've been living in a small condo with four people together, and a constant drift of 2-5 other people who seem to be here all the time, especially on weekends.  There is no quiet.  Tamara and I run white noise pretty much all the time to counteract the din.  We have no power over how much noise is being made.  We are looking forward to sitting in a room, in absolute silence, for months.  We may not even talk to each other.

I hope, with sustained silence, I can apply myself once again to serious writing.  I have tried all sorts of tactics but it has been the hardest contrary experience to creativity I think I've even endured.  If I can finish The Fifth Man, and something else this year, that will help us enormously to cover ourselves if something goes wrong or if we want to have dinner out and see a movie.  As things are going to be right now, a dinner out once a month is a very uncertain thing.

I also hope to add some features to Patreon to give people better reason to donate.  Additionally, while the apartment won't give room to run D&D, I would still like to make some sort of arrangement for a 360-degree taping of a D&D running.  Nor am I ruling out making podcasts in my nice, quiet apartment.

Finally, I will now be starting to search for a better paying job.  I enjoy writing about the costumes and all, but since a better income is not to be expected, I'll have to go elsewhere to look for a more comfortable wage.

This is me, laying it out for you all.  Like I said, I'm not looking for an upfront donation on Patreon, but rather a sustained, patient stipend that you can afford that will give us a little more wiggle room with our end-of-the-month finances.

Thank you for reading.  Please, I'll stress this again.  Ask me for things.  This is an exchange; if you're here for me, it follows that I'm here for you.