Putting this up as a web page, in lieu of printing this out and sticking it in with my cards seemed like the best way to go ... ecologically friendly, saves time, and allows for modification after the fact.
First draft 12/23/22, check back for updates.
Sorry for the long radio silence. I know many of you reading this are probably wondering: what the hell is going on with Tom? He never writes, calls or emails. He barely posts on Facebook. He says he spends time on Twitter, but I don't use the site and if I have checked it out, he mostly comments on or retweets political stuff and makes snarky comments about one thing and another. But what is really going on with the guy?
Just as it has been for you, I'm sure, the last few years have been crazy for me.
2007-2017: VMG (Vatti-Manhattan Group, software as a service for the insurance industry). QA testing, customer support, utility infelder. Long hours, grueling work. I felt like I barely had time to breathe. Company unceremoniously shut down 7/2017. No one got severance, the bastards. Scraped by with unemployment and selling stuff on eBay, barely. 2018: Envision Technology Group (software as a service for the pharma industry), database & reporting coder. This lasted 14 months. Grueling gig on top of an insane commute, some work-from-home weekends thrown in. After that ended, more unemployment and selling stuff on eBay to scrape by.
End of 2019: with funds dried up & nearing retirement age, I applied for Social Security a year early. A lifeline. Took a part time side gig delivering food for a local pizza place, Franco's Pizza, to supplement income. Low hourly pay but all in cash, off the books. Tips helped make it worthwhile. A little breathing room.
Early 2020: the COVID pandemic hit. Take out food biz picked up, along with the tips. A little more breathing room.
Then the govt pandemic assistance check, along with pandemic unemployment insurance, gave me much more breathing room. Helped me to wipe out around 85% of my outstanding debt. Much more breathing room!
Then Lili (more about her later) and I both got (first-gen) COVID in late 2020. She spent six days in the hospital, I spent nine. Her recovery was fairly swift. I, on the other hand, continued to have breathing problems for another 4-5 weeks. Couldn't handke work. It took another round of antibiotics to knock out "COVID-related pneumonia." My breathing did finally stabilize, but having to rely exclusively on Social Security set me back a bit. It took most of spring and summer to begin catching up again.
In August of 2021, I faced a dilemma: the couple that run the pizza restaurant, being Italian, were shutting down their store from September through part of October, for a trip to Italy - they have family there. Faced with another period of not having needed additional income, I cast about for another local restaurant. A new place had opened up down the road, Silver Sands Pizza - larger, bigger business. They needed drivers, so I signed up. They were able to give me more hours (30/week, more if I wanted it) than Franco's ever could (20/week max). Tip money better too. On Franco's return, I worked out a deal to transition slowly from Franco's to Silver Sands, giving Franco's time to find a replacement. I've been with Silver Sands "full time" since October 2021. Breathing room!
Through all this, I still make music. In addition to getting my entire ambient music archive (40+ years of stuff, and adding newer stuff as I go) up on Soundcloud, links are at myxprojekt.com. I have some recent work I need to get up in there, so check back for updates.
I also continue to do "band" work with long-time percussionist partner and BFF, Mark Vollenweider. The time we've spent working (unreleased) "Jazztronica" has served the purpose of sharpening our production skills.
In the mid-oughts, met guitarist Chris Bjorklund in billiard league, introduced him to Mark. The two of them hit it off both professionally & musically - Mark's carpentry skills and Chris's realtor work combined have made for a fruitful partnership. The three of us have started working together on new material. You can check out our latest work at suspiciousresidue.com. (Warning: strong language and anti-MAGA political content. Forewarned is forearmed.)