Hi! My name is Errol K. Catanes, and this will be my what, 5th change to this blog. I should have expected a lot of turbulence during my creation of this blog, but it does get annoying when I can’t focus on a topic.
Version 1.0 was just old entries from my previous attempts to turn WordPress into a LiveJournal-Esque diary. Version 1.1 was an upgrade with the use of Siteground and the ability to customize this site. Version 1.2 underwent several changes because I could not decide on a WordPress theme. I also had my 1st draft hot-washed by my ‘rising star’ friends, who recommended I focus on a topic, emulate successful blogs, and post regularly. Version 1.3 was inspired by my mind-blowing and soul-cleansing trip to Sedona, AZ, along with the reviews I wrote about them on Yelp, and so I wanted to make a review-type blog (and I pretentiously called myself a “venuehound”). Version 1.4 came out of a very detailed critique from the last but most logical person, I thought, who echoed the same sentiments my friends said but added this one sentence,
“It’s hard to sell ‘my thoughts on life’ or to have someone promote you as a cool guy’s take on various things. It’s far easier to promote ‘an eloquent writer’s creative short stories and essays about post-military life’ or even ‘GoT reviews and musings.’” It was the element of post-military life that I focused on and begot the previous iteration. So why change it again?
While it’s true that I am a (medically) retired veteran of the United States Air Force, I don’t want to be defined solely as one. Don’t get me wrong; I’m glad I did my service and eternally grateful for its tangible and intangible benefits and will continue to give me. I will always be proud to enlist in the United States Air Force. But, I’d like to think I’m much more than that.
- I am also a Brandman University undergraduate who wants to complete his bachelor’s degree in Applied Communications and immediately pursue his master’s in Organizational Leadership.
- I am also a willing and able career changer looking for an internship or a student assistant position in public relations, news research, news production, and public broadcast.
- I am also part of #weightlossjourney
- And finally, I am also an aspiring writer and blogger who is “building media cred, one post at a time,” looking toward being recognized (and paid) for my efforts.
So, where do I go from here? Well, I will no longer dedicate this blog solely to the praise and honor of the U.S. Armed Forces. Instead, like my very insightful friend said, I will focus on promoting this “eloquent writer’s creative short stories and essays about post-military life.” I will also continue the different days and different topic formats (Military Mondays, Think Tank Thursdays, Veteran Fridays, etc.) to keep pumping content and the writing juices flowing. Once my creative short story, post-military life essay, or long discussion on a topic of choice is complete, I will post it.
Let’s hope this time it’ll stick, eh?
P.S. Because of #weightlossjourney on Instagram, I have been getting support from friends and strangers who encourage me to keep doing what I’m doing. As a result, I will post thoughts on my successes and challenges as a middle-aged dude who agreed to lose weight with another middle-aged dude.
Wish us luck.
UPDATE: Why am I going this far back? Why am I even bothering with this page? I dunno. Yoast SEO Premium told me to.
Almost all I’ve written in this post no longer applies to me, save my aspiration for being a writer, although it has significantly weakened in intensity. I hope that my rebrand to Refine Evolve will stick this time.
We’ll see.
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