WE ARE SO BACK

WE ARE SO BACK WITH THE TRAVELING.
No more Junk Pros though 😭

Alright, so I started off the first month of the year with… a full house cleanout. Because of course I did.

Starting 2026 with 1,000 Pounds of Books

While cleaning out the house, there were these bookshelves full of old car repair books. And if you know anything about moving, you know books are basically bricks with pages.

So we load up a full trailer with them, and I’m driving my friend Griffin to his wrestling meet.

(Mind you, I’m in the Honda Ridgeline right now… Behemoth the F-250 is still in the shop 💀)

The whole drive I keep hearing this creaking noise, and I’m genuinely scared the truck is about to fold in half. I have no idea if it’s the trailer frame, suspension, or something else trying to end me.

So I call my Dad, and he and my Grandpa come down in Grandpa’s old truck. We unload a ridiculous amount of books into it.

I swear we took out at least 1,000–1,500 pounds of books. Absolutely insane.

After that, I made it to the dump, wrapped up the job, and somehow survived.

What a way to start the new year lol.

Facebook Marketplace Turned Drug Deal

I’ve been so locked in with Facebook Marketplace lately 🔥

I started reselling a bunch of stuff I’ve found from junk jobs, and one day I somehow had six different people all confirmed to meet me at the exact same gas station… at the exact same time.

So I pull up, and it instantly turns into a Marketplace convention.

One guy is looking through the vinyl records.
Another guy walks up asking about the speakers I’m selling to him.
I pop the trunk and it’s like a whole store opens up.

Negotiations are happening. People are circling. I’m just shocked at it all. (And it totally felt like a massive drug deal was happening outside of a Weighs Gas Station)

And somehow… it worked.

I walked away a few hundred bucks richer.

And the craziest part is this:

My mission costs $9,600 in total. It’s two years long, and one of my goals was to pay it off completely by myself.

Safe to say… I HIT THAT GOAL🫡💪.

150 Seminary Lessons in 4 Days

Okay, this one was insane.

I had 150 days of seminary makeup work.

And I had a meeting with a church leader in four days.

So basically, I had four days to do what should’ve taken months.

At first, each lesson took like 45 minutes.

By the end?

I was doing some lessons in 45 seconds.

Not because I cheated, no ChatGPT, no copy/paste. I just completely changed my process.

Two screens.
Speech-to-text.
Locked in.

And honestly, I realized something:

Once I see even a tiny chance of hope… I go all in.

Tiny Backpack

Now we’re traveling again, and something wild is that flights in Europe are dirt cheap.

Like, London to Paris for $20 cheap.

So we’re trying this new thing: traveling with only tiny personal item backpacks.

No checked bags. No hassle. Just the essentials.

And somehow… it’s working.

We left Tennessee on the 26th, went to NYC (luckily one of the only flights that didn’t get canceled), and spent a day and a half there.

I love New York so much. The food, the energy, the people… and of course the skyscrapers in downtown Manhattan will always be my favorite.

”So you’re saying there’s a chance”

This was such a cool moment.

We found out my Aunt was flying into the same airport, and there was this tiny chance we could see her.

We waited until the last minute, almost walking away…

And then we see her sprinting down the hallway toward us.

The odds were actually so slim that the fact it even happened was amazing! We got one quick hug before leaving.

Shoutout Hez ❤️

London Is Unreal

We took the red-eye into London, feeling absolutely dead…

And immediately went straight into exploring.

We saw Abbey Road, where the Beatles shot their album cover.

Then we did a walking tour, which has honestly been the highlight of the trip so far.

Buckingham Palace.
Big Ben.
Castles.
History everywhere.

London is seriously amazing.

We even walked London Bridge today.

Also, I’ve been taking what I call “Divorced Dad Photos.”

You know, the awkward, slightly crusty selfies only a divorced dad would take.

I might start a whole collection lol.

That’s all for this month.

A lot is happening right now, and I’m trying to do better across all social media. I’ve been posting daily on my Instagram and Facebook stories, so definitely check those out.

And in just a few weeks…

I’ll find out where I’m being called to serve my two-year church mission.

I’m excited. Nervous. Ready.

See you all next month ✌️

Michael
michaeljamesshaw.com