Thursday update

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS to my friends Jack and Lana who got married yesterday! Two of the nicest and most genuine people I know.

RIP Tina Turner. Did you know there’s a Tina Turner Museum in Brownsville, about 45 minutes northeast of Memphis?

I spent some time job-hunting yesterday (I’ll say more about that at the end of this post). I came across plenty of jobs that are not a fit for me, but they’re in or near Downtown and may be a good fit for my readers:

Today is National Wine Day.

Deputies conducted a wellness check on Ja Morant yesterday after he made some social media posts (e.g. “Bye”) that had some of his fans worried about his well-being.

Pretty Taco, the new taco restaurant at 265 S. Front, is now open for lunch Wednesdays through Fridays. Their hours are 11 AM to 11 PM those days.

Big Game Boomer (@biggameboomer on Instagram) posted a list of the best bar in every college town. His pick for Memphis? Blind Bear.

Speaking of the Bear, DJ Tree will spin there Friday and Sunday nights this week. 10 PM start time.

One more piece of Bear news – they’re looking to hire a barback.

Meet Lovie the Memphis Public Libraries therapy dog at the Cossitt Library today at 11 AM. She’ll be there for a program called Do Dogs Talk? Find out what dogs mean when they display particular behaviors. Learn how to avoid being bitten by a dog.

In other Cossitt news, my sweet friend Desiree told me she’s going to start teaching yoga classes there next month. Details should be on the library website within the next week, and I will post them as I get them.

From Action News 5: Great American River Run to take place Memorial Day weekend

Also from Action News 5: Discover the Greenway events kick off June 3. Many of the events happen on the Germantown section of the Wolf River Greenway, but on June 5 there’s Sunset Yoga at the Mud Island Trailhead.

So, why am I job hunting, and what am I looking for?

Independent freelance writing is not producing a reliable, stable income. It would have been better if I had come to this conclusion around September of last year, but I was stubborn. That has led to financial difficulties the past 2 months or so.

The financial difficulties led to health difficulties. I’d go 3-4 days without eating. I lost 40 pounds since January. Friends would tell me “you’ve lost a lot of weight” and they didn’t mean it as a compliment – they meant it in an “I’m scared for you” kind of way.

The financial and health issues led me into a deep depression. That’s why I went 30+ days without blogging. I just couldn’t find the energy.

Worse, I kept my troubles all bottled up inside. It wasn’t until May 1 that I confessed to a few of my closest friends what was going on with me. I should have done it weeks sooner.

Things have improved a little. The financial issues are still present (hence the job hunt) but, as you can tell from my long blog posts the past 2 weeks, the depression has lifted somewhat. Friends are making sure I have good meals to eat every day and I’ve regained 15 of the lost pounds. Friends have told me I look much better than I did a month ago.

So, what kind of job am I looking for?

I’m open to almost ANYTHING provided I’m physically capable. It does not necessarily have to be a job related to my college degrees (in computer science) or similar to past jobs I have held.

I’m looking for something that checks one or more of the following boxes:

  1. Interesting
  2. Fun
  3. Allows me to spread my passion and love for Memphis
  4. Allows me to utilize my outstanding writing skills
  5. Gives me the chance to teach or inspire others
  6. Is Downtown, or work from home, because I no longer have a car. Reachable by the Groove on Demand shuttle might work too.

If you know of anything that might be a fit, please email me at paul.ryburn@gmail.com, or text me if you have my number, or private-message me on Facebook if we’re friends on there.

Thanks and I love you all. I enjoy writing for you on this blog so much.

It’s just after midnight on Thursday, and that’s a lot earlier than I normally do a “daily update” post. Some of my main news sources – the local TV stations, the Daily Memphian, the Commercial Appeal – haven’t updated with overnight news yet. E-newsletters I subscribe to won’t hit my inbox for another 5-7 hours.

But I have a highly time-sensitive news item: Lovie the dog at the library at 11. So I need to go ahead and publish.

Tell ya what… I’m going to the library myself in the morning, and I’m taking the laptop with me. I want to get a cover letter and resume together for one position I did find that checks several of the boxes above. Once I get done with that, I’ll check my news sources, and if there’s anything that can’t wait until Friday, I’ll do a “Thursday update #2” post sometime between noon and 3 PM.

Thanks, friends, for sticking with me.