Hi, folks. Thanks for reading this.

I was recently (11/4) robbed of my beloved Honda Civic. She was old, but she was so loved, fanatically maintained, and poised to last a million miles. A Gen 6 single cam Civic, with its 106 horsepower, is perhaps a sad "dream car", but I value reliability above all things (in people, too). When I finally found an unmolested, adult-owned example, I was elated. I said "this is my last internal combustion vehicle, and it's gonna last me until we stop drilling for oil." But, Alas, my scumbag dope-peddling next door neighbor furnished the gate code that allowed a pair of his customers to make off with my baby. I have it all on camera, but the wheels of the law turn really f'n slowly. The APD couldn't directly implicate my neighbor, so he has had plenty of time to tip off the thieves. They were pros, devastatingly impressive, and perfectly non-descript. And imagine how lucky they felt when they popped the trunk to find a complete PA system. I probably shouldn't have stored it in there, but putting it inside of my $800/mo 225sqft apartment was not a practicality. Besides, I thought, it's a gated complex with a plethora of security cameras (turns out they're all dummy cameras, though).

So, let me tell you what I've been up to. I'm a junior at The University of New Mexico in a Comm/PoliSci/English program I've tailored to turn me into a beast of a grant writer, and it's all thanks to New Mexico's Opportunity Scholarship. New Mexico uses their natural gas and oil money to offer free tuition to residents (be angry, PA). My last attempt at college, 5 great semesters at Keystone, was disrupted by my parents losing our home in 2009, as many did that year. It took nearly 15 years to get legs enough under me to pick up where I left off. I've sacrificed every luxury and creature comfort, paired down my existence to 225sqft of radical minimalism, and manage money like my life depends on it. I'm really good at being poor. Even with a full scholarship, all the federal aid I can get, all the plasma I can donate, my weekly open mic gig, and all the part-time flexible work I can wrangle, it's still very difficult to stay housed. Needless to say, not much is left for food; however, I've seen this as an area of opportunity. With endless hours of research, I've managed to obtain optimal nutrition and metabolic/microbiotic/hormonal health for very little money. I'm actually writing a book about it, so stay tuned. I've lost >80lbs these last 18 months and I'm in the best shape of my life at an age when most people are starting to fall apart. I'm also taking care of my head, going to therapy weekly to finally confront the losses I've experienced and start to shake the sadness and anger. I had an immense amount of hope and optimism... until very recently.

Without a vehicle and sound equipment, I lose most of my capacity to earn money, to socialize, to fuel my soul playing music, to go to therapy, to go climb up mountains, to ever see my hometown again. It's very hard to ask for help, but my future is in jeopardy and my morale is dangerously low. Thank you so much for reading this and considering making a donation.

You can help me:

-Get back on the road

-Get back on stage

-Afford real insurance

-Finish my degree

-Get back my hope

...and if there's enough:

-See my family for Christmas for the first time in 9 years

Thank you for your love,

James