A note has been left on the front door of a certain stripey feline writer's door, for all to see

[i]God, I'm weird sometimes. Making a big deal of this and then RPing it in a note of some sort placed on the fictional door of a fictional house that fictional me owns? Yeah, this is easily one of the weirder journals I've ever written. Ok, seriously, if you're reading this I PROMISE I'm more sane than this usually.

Like, at LEAST 5% more sane. Sometimes 6% on good days.

Ok, let's get down to the point. This is basically my overly melodramatic declaration that I'm not gonna be around very much for the next few weeks. Granted, I already said I was taking January off from uploading things, but this is a bit more than that. Many of my friends in the furry community who talk to me, RP with me, and otherwise make my day feel special and fun are going to notice that I'm not gonna be online very much for the next few weeks. I don't want anyone worried that I'm offended by their behavior or that I'm leaving furry circles or abandoning anyone, so I'm just gonna explain why here.

To start with, I've got some real life stuff to deal with. My social security number was recently stolen, and I've had to (and have to continue) working on safeguarding myself from identity theft. I've had a lot of trouble sleeping lately because I've been worrying about what may happen, and it's hard to stop and I hate that I'm doing it but I don't know how to STOP worrying. I'm also having a lot of my free time away from work being devoted to helping my parents, who are going through a rather severe financial situation right now. I'll spare anyone the details, but the past few months have been very hard on my family and I'm trying my best to be there for them.

It's also the busy time of work, and just today I was told to expect a lot of "Use personal devices at work and you're in the doghouse" for the next month or so. I cannot reliably stay online as much as I'd like. And recently at work I was also given a speech about how I'm an ideal employee... except for the fact that I'm always on my phone or on an iPad and people feel like they don't know me very well. Given the circumstances, I am going to be making more of an effort to be social at work for a little while, especially while I am under consideration for a promotion.

But mostly, I'm just feeling... [b]discontent[/b].

It's not like I'm unhappy. Honestly, even with my above woes, right now I'm in a pretty great place. I love living with my boyfriend, I have friends online who have really made my life a joy with their presence. I'm financially stable again, at least until the next catastrophe, whatever it may be. But I feel a bit like I'm in a rut. Like my life is in a holding pattern, and I'm not improving myself or growing anymore.

I've felt that way before, and it generally makes me depressed and frustrated with myself until I find some way of bettering or improving myself. I don't want to grump or snap or mope at anyone, so it's probably better that I sequester myself from my furrier friends for a bit. I don't think anyone needs to see that part.

How am I gonna shake this? I dunno. Maybe try to learn some programming again. Or take up a new hobby or dust off a hobby I haven't spent much time with. Or even take a new course and build a new skill or certification. Something, [b]anything[/b] to stave off the feeling that I'm simply coasting and not doing anything special or important.

Or maybe I'll get bored and wimp out and you'll see me back to my usual behavior in a week or two. I dunno.

In any event, [b]TLDR: I'm gonna be a lot less around in Skype, Telegram, Discord, and other furry avenues of my life for a week or two, maybe more.[/b]

I wish to stress this is NOT due to anyone online. I'm not being harassed, I'm not tired of anyone, and I'm actually already missing people. I just need some time to sort myself out, and I was already a bit burned out from writing a bit after the Stocking Stuffer event.

Thank you for your patience, anyone who actually notices that I'm gone and for some reason misses me. I tend to always feel like I'm easily forgotten or not very often noticed. It's something I wrestle with in my lower moods a lot. So I really appreciate all the wonderful people in my life who have gone out of their way to reach out to me and take time to try and befriend or get to know me. If you're actually reading this, thank you for caring. :)

I'm off to find some new adventure!

Until we can say hello again,

Sincerely...

Terinas Tiger![/i]