All the Fanfare on ice through end of year

An unfortunate update

I’m not happy to be frozen in Carbonite. I just don’t know how to take a picture without smiling. Original image: 20th Century Fox

I’m dealing with health issues.

I’ve consulted with my doctor and he agreed further investigation is warranted. Follow-ups have been scheduled, some of which are being held hostage by my insurance company.

Insurance companies are like dementors except dementors are a benefit to society.

This has been going on for 2 months. It will be several more before anything actionable is revealed. Or maybe this is the new normal. I vacillate between dealing with issues that may be symptoms and pretending everything is fine, actually.

Writing this feels overly dramatic because I want to believe it’s nothing. I feel okay but also am occasionally debilitated. I’m not sleeping well. When it’s 10 AM and you’re already tired, the day’s not getting any better.

That’s all I’ll say about that for now. I’m sure you’re curious and I’m sorry to leave you hanging. We’ll see how the story unfolds. I’ll have more to say.

Pertinent to the avenue through which I am channeling these thoughts—I’m having a hard time finding the energy or enthusiasm to write. So I’ve decided to put up a We’re Closed sign through the holidays.

That doesn’t mean you won’t be hearing from me.

I’m planning on repurposing evergreen articles I published on Medium years ago, because editing is something I can do, and it’s also secretly my favorite part of writing. I still hope to write new stuff. But I need to free myself from my self-imposed weekly cadence. At least through the busyness of the holidays.

I’ve paused paid subscriptions, so supporters won’t lose any time while I’m soaking in a bacta tank. And I’m comping supporters 3 extra months to account for the time I wasn’t as productive.

A bacta tank, if you don’t natively speak Star Wars. This image also confirms that diapers canonically exist. Image: 20th Century Fox

I’ll still be around. This newsletter/site/thingie will look no different, even if I’m at a slight remove. There will be things to read that are new to 99% of you. And even if you’ve read it, and remember it, it will be better because I’m a better writer than when I first wrote it.

I was tempted to not say anything, and run the older material as though everything was fine. I’ve already done it once. I write about life through a pop culture lens; pretending everything was fine while Life was happening to me, right now, felt dishonest. So instead I wrote this vaguely worded update.

Much better.