Why a Blog

So! Greetings, and thanks for checking in. You've arrived at a particularly exciting part of the program, if you're into cataclysmic drama; in fact we run a sort of danger here in that the sheer LEVEL of ridiculous cataclysm in my life might seem, by reasonable dramatic standards, overdone—-a trifle purple, a little too deus ex machina (or is that diablo ex machina?), in short, not believable.

But let's state the case. Three months ago, my wife's mother was diagnosed with incurable cancer of the gall bladder. Now, in March, she's reaching her final days back in Vermont. Sara's already spent a week East caring for her, and we've been in the process of planning the next trip. Then, two weeks ago, my elderly father in New York had a medical breakdown (accompanied by some extreme side effects which I may go into later), and was rushed by ambulance to the hospital, where he spent a week in the crisis ward. And just last Friday, I was laid off from my job.

Today I'm starting a blog.

So! Meet our main character, me, Matt Waller, until recently a fairly prosperous technical writer, aspiring novelist, happily married, a Seattleite temporarily living in the suburb of Woodinville Washington. Now: out of work, with almost no savings, thrown into the spiked pit of the jobhunting arena while simultaneously STILL preparing to fly East for his mother-in-law's funeral and father's assistance.

Why am I writing this blog? Several contradictory reasons. I have an urge to chronicle the process of jobhunting amid the ruins of our crashing and burning economy, and my attempts to strike out on my own as a freelance writer and editor. Along the latter lines, since I have no existing portfolio of freelance writings, I figure a blog might be the next best thing, especially if travel is on the immediate horizon. Expect to see some "travel writing" posts on the places we visit and the experiences we have in New York, Vermont, and elsewhere.

But mainly I'm writing this because I'm a writer, and in the collapse of everything that used to pass for "my life," the only thing that actually makes me feel better—-is writing. I've kept a private journal for many years, but something about the current straits demands more: it's time I tipped that engine out of the housing and put the propeller in the water. I'm going public—-watch out world—-and any and all are welcome aboard for the ride.