On Friday, Aug. 14 at 5 p.m. I will become a former employee of the Indianapolis Star. But I won’t be disgruntled. Every job has frustrations but negativity never paid my bills or won me any friends. And besides, I have a lot to be thankful for.

Before INtake Weekly hired me to produce the dining guide my life was a mess. I was living with my parents, getting by on credit cards after finishing school, unhappy, unhealthy, working retail and hustling for every internship or freelance gig I could get. Four years later the credit cards are gone, I’m happily married with too many pets, we own a house in a neighborhood I like, and my biggest problem is the mold that appeared on my squash plants a few days ago.

For almost four years I got paid to meet people, learn things, and tell stories. When I graduated from Indiana University’s School of Telecommunications in 2005 I didn’t know the difference between Ind. and In. But I hustled my way in the back door as a freelancer with no daily newspaper experience and busted my ass all the way into a full-fledged reporting gig. I even snuck a couple of stories out of features and onto the business page and A1. I got to shoot and edit hundreds of videos, experiment with different forms of storytelling, and form deep connections with people I worked with and covered. Even on the worst days it was the best job I’ve had. Indianapolis needs a strong daily news gathering organization and I hope Gannett / the Star find a viable economic model before it’s too late. I did what I could to help.

Did everything turn out the way I hoped it would? Of course not. It turned out better. Over the last few years I walked through nearly every door that opened for me and kicked in a few others. On Monday I’ll start a new job as the online editor for FIGHT! Magazine. I’ll plan, create and edit content for the website as well as manage the company’s brand online, all from my home office…or my garden. I’ll be able to throw my complete skill set at a job that will evolve from week to week and in the process I’ll get to create my own model for the news organization of the future. And did I mention that the magazine and website’s focus, mixed martial arts, is a passion of mine? It’s still too overwhelmingly awesome to even get excited about.

I won’t disappear from the local radar, though. I have a feeling that freelance opportunities will start trickling in over the next few weeks and Taffy’s mug and byline will start appearing in various publication around central Indiana like a storytelling soldier of fortune. I plan on overhauling this site, too. Nealtaflinger.com will get buffed and polished and the blog itself will focus on stories about Indiana’s past, present, and future. It sounds dry but I promise you it won’t be.

If you want to hang with Taffy and hear more about what comes next, come to the official Metromix Bar Guide party at Brothers in Broad Ripple on Thurs., Aug. 20. Sun King Brewing Co. will tap the beer I helped them make, the Metromix Saison de Taffy, and a good time will be had by all.

And before I forget – thank you Sherri and Matt and Michelle and Braden and Bosslady and Ben (for the breaks) and the people who made the transition from interview subjects to friends.