It's that time of year again. I need help winning the City Paper Best of poll.

If you know me already, the ballot is here.

Cheers. I sincerely appreciate your indulgence.

For those who don't know me...HELLO!

I deeply appreciate your help too, and here is the text from my facebook post: the ballot is here

I have a personal favor to ask, that proves that the personal IS political.

Background: I grew up in the kind of hell they make sad movies about. My father as a violent, alcoholic pedophile, and I lived alone with him for years. He was the sort of person that is so much more visible these days. He was fond of saying that he wasn't racist, he hated everybody. I lived through constant gas=lighting, every kind of abuse you can imagine, and under unrelenting threat.

Present: I am not even close to the sad statistic I really should be. While I've had plenty to work through physically and emotionally, I have built a life I never want to take a vacation from. I am healthy and warrior-strong.

I am a wise advisor, trusted guide and champion for constructive change. I spend each day helping others to learn the truth about themselves and to love it. If living well is the best revenge, my father lost YUGELY.

This very moment: My mission takes many forms, but the most easily explained is that I have been a life coach, counselor and consultant for two decades. Anyone who works independently, knows that the biggest challenge is being visible to those who need you.

I was voted Best Life Coach in DC in 2015 and I was the runner up last year. You'd be amazed by the number of people who find me through that listing!

So many people are struggling personally and professionally with the state of the world right now. The great gift of my past is that I have survived a monster, and I know what that takes. I want to reach as many people who need that kind of wisdom as I can.

The voting for this year's poll ends in a couple of days. Would you please help me to be more visible?

It costs nothing but 15 seconds of your time. I clocked it! And your email is only used to ensure no voter fraud. (Wouldn't it be nice if certain states were so thoughtful!)

If it would help to know more about my work, you can find me at my brand spanking new website.

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Many, many thanks!

Not apocalypse, but I've got a chance to get away from the Big Bad Bank and I'm looking for recs over on facebook. (You may remember our Big Bad Bank and their happy fun 'let's reject you for a loan you didn't apply for' behaviors) - So, tell me about your bank's toasters!

would appreciate some interview/job~ma at 2:15 EST. I know I haven't been around much, but hey, if I get the new job, I won't be coming come at 9PM and too tired to play on the internet :)

For those of you not in the F2F thread, I have a milestone birthday coming up on April 3, and I will be traveling around the country for Scolapalooza II:

• March 23, evening–March 24 Baltimore
• March 25, evening–March 28 Raleigh-Durham
• March 28, evening–March 30 Cincinatti
• March 30, evening Dallas/Ft. Worth
• March 31–April 4 San Francisco

Would love to meet up with you!

Also! If anyone wants to come to my NYC party on April 8, hit me up and I'll send you a FB invite with the deets.

Some apartment~ma for K-Bug would be greatly appreciated. What should have been simple has turned into a very frustrating situation and they are out on the hunt again.

Hugo Award Finalist 2017 for Best Novelette is someone we know! Congratulations to my cousin!! So proud of you!

If I could get some house-ma, I'd appreciate it...Or, actually, some Resonable-Counter-Ma. We're putting in an offer on a house today.

Why yes, we are going for the hetero-normative life milestones hat trick, why do you ask?

eta: Not pregnant. Possibly getting a dog, but not a baby.

You guys were a huge part of how and why I was able to graduate and fulfill my dream of teaching.

I just wanted to give you a little peek into what I've been doing with my gift.

The second graders at my school just finished a unit and action project centering around immigration, refugees, and children's rights.

If you have 15 minutes and want a warm fuzzy, here ya go: [link]

Well, folks, we have some sad news to announce: we are divorcing. This is Lisa's decision, but there was no cheating or abuse by Dave. After some years of struggle, Lisa felt that our needs and weaknesses were at conflict with each other in a way that could no longer be reconciled. While this was not the future we had both hoped for together, we feel grateful to have had the time together that we did, and for the grace that has been shown to us throughout this difficult process.

We are wrapping up Hope in Transit and the Traveling Music School a bit early this school year to accommodate our new situation, however the decision to conclude the work we were doing was made prior to this and is unrelated. There is still a good bit of paperwork that will need to be done to conclude the company's functioning, so we will continue to work as Hope in Transit for a few more months until all that is completed. We are also selling our house in Arizona, so Lisa will remain there initially until that is done.

Moving forward, Dave will be based in Indianapolis, where he can better support his mother, and will be a full-time touring musician. Lisa will be working in the music industry out of Nashville and LA. (Seabiscuit is going with Dave.)

We are deeply appreciative of the love and support that many of you have shown us over the past years. If you would like to offer messages of support, you may email 2017daveandlisa@gmail.com, however we will not necessarily be able to respond personally to this address at this time. We would ask you to respect our privacy as we continue to journey through this tough time.

- Dave & Lisa