Hitting Pause

On hiatus

Or “paws,” as the case may be.

Edit: Well, we can all see how “indefinite” this hiatus was.

There's a point where you say “Okay. I'm done here.”

I reached that point this morning, when I found myself arguing with another Substacker over something so ridiculous I would be hard-pressed to explain it to anyone who doesn't spend all their waking hours online.

While I enjoy parts of this gig, it’s stressful as a whole, and I'm finding it harder and harder to step away from the screen. Arguing with strangers on the internet isn't fun anymore.

I did what I set out to do on Substack. I met some neat people, rediscovered my own weirdness, wrote a book people liked (including

Chuck Palahniuk

) and advanced the cause of my tribe with the Tonic Masculinity Project. I consider The Wonderland Rules a successful, completed exercise.

I have paused subscriptions for paid subscribers, and I'm stepping away from the keyboard for the foreseeable. I will be un-paywalling my archive at some point in the near future

¹

.

To my subscribers and friends: I love you all, and I'll see you in the real world.

To everyone else: Touch grass. Believe me when I say it is the only way forward.

—Jay

1. As The Wolf used to say, useful information should be available to everyone.