Hey guys! Most people don’t know who I am. That’s ok, we got plenty of time for that.

My name is Matt Trudgeon. I grew up in Escanaba, Michigan until I was 16. Life was going great up until 9th grade, when it all took a turn for the worse.

Escanaba, Michigan… I had Ted Deurine, (Teddy D for short) for Information Technology 1 and 2. I got good grades in his class, A and B+ to start. I was getting the hang of it, even had the class guy Adam (friend of mine) got some of the Excel stuff wrong. When I was wanting to go to Information Technology 3 so I could be brought up to the ISD and start my IT degree, he denied me.

So right out of the gate, I am just shit out of luck. My 9th grade basketball went unbelievable! My coach said I was better than McMillan or Klieman. It didn’t matter, though, because now I didn’t have my IT to fall back on. This is very important because I was forced to drop what I wanted to do.

I could have turned it around here. I was out of shape, I didn’t go to my UWGB basketball camp (one I had gone to 4 times out of the last 3 years) that summer before, I didn’t go out for football, bombed basketball….however, I was making a band with two guys I know (Jim and Charlie) for a punk rock band and I even had a girl who was into me. All this was happening…and we ended up moving…

Bessemer, Michigan…mmMMMmmmm!!! Doesn’t the name just fill your gut with…well, nothing really. 2 years there and I was out. Now, I could take up a bunch of time writing about a few girls and their basketball “coach,” and I’m putting that lightly…you know what, I think I will.

First thing is an open basketball for people going out. I wore my Stackhouse jersey, not knowing gray or white were standard. Strike 1.

Then I get yelled at for setting a screen to whoever had the ball. We stop and tell me we don’t screen out shooters. Strike 2.

Tell me, who does that? You turn on ANY OTHER GAME ON TV and they used ball screens. Whatever.

THEN practice starts, 2-a-days. I felt sick on the 3rd day. So I got sent to JV. Strike 3.

I’m sure there we’re strikes 4-whatever, it doesn’t matter. All of it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, you got Meghan’s dad working as the girls JV coach and the boys varsity coach. Tony and I took the management jobs our senior year, boy did we watch some shit happen…it was embarrassing. Every rebound it was always head down, dribble, shot, defense.

I learned something today. July 10, 2025. So there are these things called cliques. They’re small groups of people who do stuff together and don’t like when people join them. I figured out the whole figure before today, but this is new to me.

So having Sam, and by proxy Jean, in the clique with Meghan and good ‘ol Marky Mark there was enough to have me not play. Great job. I would give you a clap, but that is coming.

I could not wait to get out of that place.

Ironwood, Michigan…I spent 2 years here and boy I wouldn’t change it for a thing! The only thing that I can literally say was game changing was meeting Alex and all the shit shows we had in those 2 years. More to come!!

You know I was asked to come try-out for basketball that year? I turned it down. Stupid.

Other than some PC thing where we did word, excel, access where I met this Alex guy, the only thing I remember is English class. I forget his name, he would cut his hair on one day of the year, and then he would shave it all off. We had a short story book, and we had to read one of them, write a page paper and then ad lib for the rest of it.

Naturally, I took the story where this guy’s wife kidnaps someone’s daughter, and they go around figuring out he’s going to get it back without getting caught.

So that was everything I had written was all I had, so the next part was my ad lib part.

“I just didn’t see it happening unless the sex was amazing.”

Kept a straight face the whole time. Class, not so much.

Our teacher got up, alert and listening. I got an ‘A’ on the project.

Stevens Point, Wisconsin… This is where I picked up my IT Network Specialist degree. I did it, although it’s only a 2-year degree, it gets me doing something. I picked up a job at Marshfield Clinic for starters. $12 an hour running PCs to those who needed them. Got an extra 70 cents when I moved to servicing PCs.

It was coming close to a year there when I got a call from Logan. Said there was a spot opening up at Encore Unlimited, just him and his boss. So I interviewed there, got that job making $17 an hour. Man, did I think I had it made.

Six months in, my new boss decides that he found a new job and the whole thing seems to be going for a whole reach around really fast. The new boss started on one of the worst days ever…

After that horrid Monday, it quickly became obvious that I was better than Logan (not known to me until Logan left.) It’s pretty obvious who is in charge now, and we started pounding out projects with me, Chris, Brandon and Mark.

Life is good. Starting to settle down a bit, start thinking about what comes after life when it hits me.

“It’s not the same!’

Think anyone who’s been there know what’s up.

I didn’t get the dog.

I wasn’t ready, but I had to go do something. So after my “woe-is-me” thing, which really doesn’t help at all FYI, I got going.

I went out, I bought some things, and headed on my journey. I didn’t know where I was headed…and in my 27 years on this planet… I’m OK with that.

Got a tattoo and met some cool people on the way.

I did have one incident with my hand…

I have the bloody one, i’ll let you deal with it. On or no?

Since being free in Stevens Point, I feel like I just didn’t belong at that point in my life. I’ve always said…if I wasn’t in Stevens Point for a relationship, I’d be in Green Bay. So that’s what I did.

Green Bay, Appleton and De Pere, Wisconsin

I worked in De Pere and lived in Green Bay. I spent just short of 2 years here before being let go.

So this is my first time being unemployed. I didn’t have any help from home, so it was going to be a struggle. Just how much of a struggle, you ask? Well, buck up, buttercup. My dad knew, but did he help? Let’s find out.

I got a job about a month later. Sweet! I’ve yet to miss any payments yet, so this is fantastic.

Well…that one lasted me 2 weeks before I was looking for work again. I was going to turn in my key that I had, because they we’re based out of Appleton, and I was in Green Bay. So I go from our apartment and on our way when my engine goes nuts. So I took it off the freeway and in to town. Turns out my water valve has gone kaput. $1,400 dollars, and two weeks later, I finally get back to the place…and I wait.

…and wait…

…and wait…

Finally, it’s like a month or two, and I’m still looking. I’ve had jobs for IT positions, for a vacuum cleaner…finally got a job, 1 day a week, bartending. This wasn’t going to pay the bills, so I would do something I thought I never thought I’d do… I went back to McDonald’s.

Five days at McDonald’s at 8–9 hours a day, and one at the bar for another 10 hours. I think it wiped me out because I lasted 6 weeks there. Still kept the bartending job, though. So I kept that payment good for one more month.

Finally, after what seems like it was forever, I got one at a pretty massive company. Just for a year, but it was something.

I got a new one in Appleton about 2 months later. I have to say, I do not remember working here. I remember having a 4 screen setup. I remember getting lunch. I remember my engine locking up. That’s about it.

I got let go on Black Friday because the lights were left on? I don’t know, but that was leading up to January, 23rd.