It's been a long time, my HIVE friends.

I guess Herbert wouldn't be Herbert if he didn't occasionally entirely disappear without a word. In the past this has usually been due to tech issues or financial problems, but this time it was something different altogether.

COVID has not been easy on anyone. But the ways it has affected people varies drastically depending on the individual. My situation has been somewhat unique and it's incredibly difficult to expect people to understand what I've been going through.

I have spent a great deal of time on this platform talking about mental health and occasionally the relationship between that and my previous engagement. If you've read these posts before, I'm sure you may recall that we are from separate continents and her home country has some of the strictest border regulations surrounding COVID. As a result, we were unable to see each other for a very, very long time, and eventually the uncertainty of our present and future took it's toll and we've split up for the time being.

This has been incredibly difficult for me, and given how much of what I was writing about related to our relationship here on HIVE, it was painful to use the platform while we were going through this. And I've thought about returning many a times and haven't been able to bring myself to do it. But I do need this outlet. I have been writing extensively(more on that below); but the natural kind of free-write style I get to use on this platform is something I've really missed. That, along with all the cooking contests, photography, skate content... the list goes on and on. But it's certainly something I have really been missing.

Not everything has been so bad, however. I had a lot of issues living with my past room mate and he has been replaced with one of my best friends. Additionally, we have a third room mate moving in in a few weeks who we really get along with, and I think it's going to be a really fun winter. It sounds like I'm really making a reach for the "positive" news, but trust me, that's huge after my last living situation. But the really big news is..

I got a book deal!

Nothing big, but it's a start and a HUGE step for me. I was looking at writing contests from some small-time horror publishing companies and submitted a short story for a compilation. The subject matter didn't really fit my style, and I made mention of that in the e-mail accompanying the story, and they said they'd love to see more of what I did. So, I spent a couple weeks touching up an old novella I once started, sent it to them, and they agreed to publish it once I have finished.

It's a very small company but, again, it's a big step. This is a dream I've always had, and it's nice to get a foot in the door.

However, the reality is still that I'm a late 20's working class kid(seems weird to call myself a man if we're being honest) living in an area far too expensive for his financial situation. So, I still have to work full time(at a minimum) whilst I finish the book.

Which is why I started night time snowmaking again. Everybody thinks it's the craziest job in the world, but it's really not so bad and personally I love it. This is my third season in the past 4 years; I took last year off to work a shitty adult job that I hated. But I've already complained about that enough.

During the snowmaking season I tend to be overworked and delirious for about 2 months straight, so expect some weird writing coming up hahaha. Another reason I'm excited to do snowmaking again is that there is a lot of down time(depending on the night), so once the season gets a little better I'll be able to write at work. At the moment, that's not really an option; we've had some of the worst shifts I've ever had these past few weeks. In fact, my friend who's been doing it for 8 years said they've been some of the worst shifts he's ever had.

But once it gets colder, it gets so much better. And it being almost turkey holiday in Vermont, it won't be long now at all.

I don't really have a lot to say right now. There's been a lot going on in my life and I certainly have plenty to say, but this post was more so to say "hey I'm alive!" than to write 20,000 words about my random manic comings and goings.

I hope everyone has been well and I look forward to catching up with people :)

-HH