Rachel is a writer who is working on a fantasy book series. You'll often find her on the couches working on her books. She talks to us about how she found the cafe, the importance of found family, how music and writing feeds her soul, and leaves us some wise words of wisdom for anyone thinking it's too late to start that thing you've always wanted to do. 

Sometimes you need chill time with your sibling. My sister Danita and I finished recording last week's episode and had so much fun just laughing and being chatting, we started recording again. This was that conversation, for your listening pleasure. 

Danita Morgan is my sister. I was lucky to have her on as a guest, willing to tell her story about how she went from being a successful person in her career, to living with an addiction, to being in recovery, and now working for the Braidwood Area Healthy Community Coalition to help and support other people in recovery and drug prevention in youth. And she did it with community and a support system. 

(Note to listeners, there was a slight audio issue for the first 10 minutes or so. I apologize for that. Please adjust your volume accordingly because I don't know how to fix it in post...)

Phil Paulino from Sewer Sharks joins us today on this newest episode of Critical Community. We talk about dreams, life, finding community, and stepping outside of your comfort zone. Phil even switches the questions around on me. 

Meet Joe LaGiligia of Oak Leaf Community Mortgage. Don't let the occupation fool you. This is not a boring episode. Joe brings so much passion and excitement into everything he does. He's a great communicator and advocate for community building and relationships. This is one episode you're not gonna wanna miss. 

Meet Jay Borsom of Liquid Kourage Entertainment. She is a person who is known in the trivia community and we are so excited to be hosting many events with her in the coming days at Critical Grind. 

Kicking off Season 2 with a quick check-in of things going on at the cafe, upcoming events, and more. 

Teagan Hoffman, owner of Ten Cups Tarot is a lovely human and tarot reader. Listen to Teagan discuss the beauty of tarot, some common misconceptions, and even give me a live reading. 

Ruben Ramirez is a loving husband and father, a motivational speaker, host of the podcast Constant Forward Motion, and now author of The Zero Effect. 

This week's episode is a little bit different. I interviewed a few people in the gaming industry last week at the GAMA Expo and this episode recaps my time there a little bit, and introduces you to some really great people. 

Robyn (she/her) - Oddwillows Game Haven

Conan (he/they) - Exiles Game Club

Annelise (she/her) & Tony (he/him) - The Rook Room

Darcy (she/they) - Darrington Press & Critical Role