The Return (for real this time)

I'm back! And I intend for it to stay that way. I'll spare you the pain and keep the contrived "I've gotten busy with life so I didn't have time to write blah blah blah" bullshit to a minimum. An excuse is like an asshole; everyone has one and they all stink. So this will be short. I'll drop the three main reasons I took a break, how I intend to go forward from here, and then let you carry on with your day.

If you don't know why I'd put a picture of Jordan sporting number 45 in a post about making a comeback, do yourself a favor and look it up. Get educated, son.

Reason Number 1: I moved. Yup, I relocated my entire life three hundred miles south. Moving from rural-ish Davis to Los Angeles has involved a lifestyle and culture adjustment, and it tended to create a large black hole that engulfed all time around it.

Reason Number 2: It's the NBA offseason. Shit be slow this time of year. Yes, the World Championships just wrapped up (I love you, Kevin "Captain America" Durant). Yes, there are talks about 'Melo leaving Denver for greener (and if the rumor mongers will have us believe, more urban) pastures. Yes, preseason is right around the corner, meaning the regular season looms closer than ever. But here's the thing: it's all talk. And talk is cheap. I might be in the minority here, but I don't give two shits about anything except the actual playing of basketball. Fluff pieces, trade speculation, player rankings, it's all a bunch of crock. With the exception of watching Durant go America all over the rest of the basketball world in Turkey this summer, there hasn't been any compelling basketball to write about in nearly 3 months.

With every throw-down, Durant cemented his place among the NBA elite. In an unrelated development, Seattle just doubled it's Prozac dosage.

Reason Number 3: I'm a God Dammed writing tutor. The last thing I want to do after I spend the whole day helping students with their papers is come home and write on my own time. Don't think for a second that I'm not fond of what I do--far from it. I have the best gig in the world. But writing fatigue does exist (even if WebMD doesn't recognize it yet) and recently I have experienced it in a big way.

However, all of this is changing. I've been in LA for nearly a month now, meaning I've developed a daily routine that allows for ample personal writing time. The NBA season is rapidly approaching; stuff to write about will start cropping up. And working with kids from Southern California has certainly given me a wealth of stories involving their sporting preferences.

So what does this mean, then? It means you can expect the usual basketball talk, anecdotes about living in the middle of Lakers country, and personal tales involving my attempts to help the misguided kids I tutor see the errors of their rooting ways.

This move has been exciting. I look forward to sharing it with you.