Sorry for finding happiness! I'll try to be meaner going forward.

It's weird to grow as semi-public person. 

I've been a shitstorm on the internet since 2002, and I've been extremely lucky to develop a small-yet-loyal readership over the years who've grown with me, but none of that comes without the grim realization that a small fraction of them are just going to *hate* it. They either hate that I'm not the foaming-mouthed comment section Cujo I was in my 20s, or they refuse to take into consideration that everybody, even the folks they only know from their artistic endeavors or individual experiences over the decades, changes over time. 

There are also those who peeled away because they felt my angry young man takes were too spicy for them who would probably enjoy the mild cup of earl grey with a splash of bourbon I've become in my 40s. It's easy to spot someone who hasn't read my work since the mid-2000s, because their reviews are like HE'S ALWAYS PUNCHING DOWN and not HE'S ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT GOING TO THERAPY AND HIS MILDLY UNSETTLING TRIPS TO THE SUPERMARKET.

All of that being said, the best complaints I get from readers are from bros who think I'm too soft now. Like, I'm sorry I'm not making strangers cry on Facebook as a 41-year-old? If you're that desperate for a middle-aged man to scream unhinged gibberish into your timeline, just unblock your uncle.

~ Mike