Taking it easy for awhile

I've been pretty on-and-off for the last couple months, and I certainly don't plan on leaving but I think I need to take a break for awhile. I've been having a real block in my creativity and I just don't feel like I can, or need to, really express myself in creative writing. It would be stiff and boring if I tried (not to mention probably get me so many bad-rp penalties I'd get Musou/Vixen killed). I'm sure all of you have had some time where you've just stared at a screen, mind blank and gone 'huh'. I've been doing that a lot lately.

Any way, I'll be back soon, when the block is gone and the mood strikes me again. I don't plan on being away long but in the mean time thanks everyone for modding for me, especially AzureInk lately, and for putting up with me.
Take your time.
An update on myself, for anyone who cares.

After being unemployed for far longer than I'd like to admit, I finally started working again. A simple little job at a mini market but for my lazy and out-of-shape self, it's exhausting. Soreness and torn muscles to the point of limping and straining to remain upright is not fun. More importantly, I'm slowly getting back into shape, getting a regular sleep schedule and hurting less and less each week.

Hopefully here soon I'll be bursting with energy, nominally motivated and able to pick up writing on here again. This place always has been and still is awesome, woo!

PS: Gel inserts in one's shoes are one of mankind's greatest inventions.
As a former market worker I can sympathize. May your legs stay strong!

Hopefully you'll be back to RP again some time.
Hey, glad to hear things are looking back on track, Lance. RL always comes first of course, but when you're feeling like it, looking forward to seeing you back around more often.
Another update: Though there are plenty of hours to go around at my new job, most people end up just getting 30 to 40 hours while still being classified as 'part timers'. I'd imagine that the company does it to cut down on paying for benefits and having to fill people's schedules. But... Due to either luck, hard work, or a bit of both, I've already been granted one of the coveted full-time positions. Though it's not really more hours for me, it's more responsibility, more expectations and benefits. I can't wait for my insurance and such to kick in (it's been years since I've had a medical check-up or had my teeth looked over/cleaned by a dentist, bleh).

I've been walking to and from work for both my health and a lack of transportation, it's about 2 miles and I've gained back quite a bit of the 'ol endurance in the last few weeks. I have the walk down to about 30 min and don't even really feel it anymore so I'm trying to pick up the pace and get in even better shape. I'm trying to control what I eat at least a little, and trying to trim my sleeping times of "whenever" down to 7 hours.

Long story short, I've been promoted already and am doing what I can to get in better shape and be healthier. I hope all this improvement, once I'm settled into the changes, will give me lots of energy and finally turn back on the creative juices.

By the way, I really appreciate everyone's words of enthusiasm. You guys (and my roommates) are about the only ones to give me any praise or tips. Most people, I suppose, just see my position in the mini-market as being low-paying and inglorious. They have no idea what this job means to me.
Hi everyone, again. Another update, though a less pleasant one.

So I'm still working and everything, and have gotten over the physical strain and such. I should be able to come back soon but currently I'm enjoying the mind-numbing distractions a few games are providing, like Towns, Marvel Heroes, Minecraft, etc.

The reason being my manager informed me that he changed his mind on the full time position. Apparently he had been putting it off for one reason or another "making sure you are where we want you to be, on training" he liked to say. Well the company I work for, which is part of a much larger company (and thus is in no danger of disappearing), turned in a nice fat loss for their last fiscal quarter. This apparently means they are not looking to hire or promote anyone else to full time positions unless they are going into management or something otherwise corporate.

It was kind of like a slap in the face, when I told him happily I had saved up enough to get myself a nice shiny cell phone (took a month of saving but I should have it today). Previously "getting a hold of me" had been one of the "problems" he wanted to work on in order to discuss further promotion, so this should have been the last hurdle.

But he said ominously "Don't get your hopes up on that full-time thing". Confused, I asked him what he meant (since he had been talking about it and, so I thought, confirmed my promotion for over a month now), he told me of the company's loss, and that even if our store was in the green, we were just one store among many. He said there was no way, with their loss, that corporate would approve of my promotion.

To make matters worse, an incremental legislation, affectionately dubbed "Obama Care", was passed a while back and we are seeing one of it's changes very soon. Namely, that a company shall provide healthcare to all of it's full-time employees, or anyone whom works at least 30 hours. For each instance an employee gets at least 30 hours in a work week and they are not receiving such a benefit, the employer will be fined 2000 dollars.

What this means is that corporate America, on average, is simply doing away with all the full-time positions they can, and firing anyone on the spot that goes over 30 hours in a work week. Some companies won't even let a part-time person get over 20 hours, just to be safe. For anyone (ie the people who passed the bill) that is full time already, this honestly has no effect. But companies have been cutting back on full-time positions for a long time now because you can pay 2 part-time people the same as a single full-time person to do a job but not have to pay them any kind of benefits, insurance, vacation time, etc.

Although I feel I have been toyed with by my company, it has become my understanding that this kind of treatment is routine now around my country. Short of suddenly getting a masters degree from some school, then clawing my way past the more-favored people (some call them "good ol' boys, meaning like only employes like even if they aren't qualified at all) to the top of someone's candidate pool, I'm stuck with part-time. The reality is I may wind up, along with a good chunk of Americans, working 2 or 3 jobs to get by. To say the least, it's not ideal.

Anyway, sorry about the long-winded complaint but I needed to vent. I might be back soon, I might not, I'm getting angry just thinking of all this and it's clouding my judgement and stifling my creativity.
I am in a similar position. In the fact that I have had little luck in finding a job beyond my current low-wage job. So I have gone back to school again in order to get an education in accounting. Hopefully I can find something in that field. But I rage at the current state of affairs with the world's economy.
Sometimes I think it isn't money that makes the "world go around", it's ignorance and denial. After all, nothing can be wrong right? The news said so. Or someone that someone else knows read a newspaper and said things were looking positive.

Yeah, it's my understanding that in America it's not even legal to just run out in the woods somewhere and live completely alone in a cabin of your making, off of the land. After all, any dwelling has to be up to code, all property has to be correctly zoned and taxed and every American that still claims their citizenship is required to fill out tax forms and pay taxes. Even. If. They. Live. Somewhere. Else. In. The. World. >:(
Mmmkay I believe I'm back. 6 months was too long to not write for me. I'm wasting creativity playing games which spoon feed you entertainment. It was nice to veg out and get used to working again. Health has improved, 20 - 25 lbs flew off and my mood has improved quite a bit now that I have some (small) reason to wake up each day. A good breakfast does wonders too. At any rate I think ill take this opportunity to pull the ol' "a year later" in my characters' stories. That should help freshen things up. Ill post again when the mood strikes me but I'm back and here and glad to see ya all again!
Good to see you around again.
Lance back? /o/
Cool deal, good to have you back.