Post by Alex K.

Well... this escalated quickly. A week ago, I posted that I had been laid off from 0x and was trying to figure out whether my future involved AI, recruiting, or disappearing to France to learn how to make beautifully buttery croissants. A lot has happened since then. First of all, thank you. The response to that post was honestly overwhelming. Between LinkedIn, Twitter, and private messages, I received more support, advice, and encouragement than I ever expected. And yes, for those wondering, the croissant path was winning by a significant margin. Unfortunately, life had slightly different plans. Since writing that post, I finally had an MRI. The results confirmed that I need urgent back surgery. The surgery is tomorrow. What started as "my back hurts a bit" turned into me being unable to get out of the car when I arrived at the hospital. The staff literally had to bring a hospital bed to the parking area and wheel me inside because I couldn't make it from the car to reception. Right now I can't properly feel my right foot, and my right leg feels like it's being torn apart from the inside. And somehow, in the middle of all this, I've developed a newfound appreciation for what so many people in the US go through when dealing with insurance companies. My husband started a new role on May 25th which means I was able to get coverage through his insurance just in time. We're hopeful the surgery will be covered, but let's just say the process has been far more complicated than I expected. In fact, while writing this post, I received another message from the insurer saying: "You might need to get a referral to schedule surgery at another facility, and we don't have coverage for everything at every hospital." Which is a fascinating thing to hear less than 24 hours before you're supposed to have urgent spine surgery. Who knew? On the work side, a few people reached out after my last post. Thank you. Truly. If I've been slow to respond, please know it's not a lack of interest. Most of my recent networking conversations have involved me being in a hospital bed wearing a hospital gown while trying to look professional on my phone. Not exactly the personal branding strategy I had in mind for 2026. So what's next? First: survive tomorrow's surgery. Second: learn how to walk normally again. Then we'll figure out the rest. The croissant dream is still alive. The AI rabbit hole is very much alive. And if you happen to know someone looking for a recruiter with a head full of ideas about where to find exceptional talent, how to reach people others can't find, and how to use AI to make hiring better, faster, and more human, I'm here. I know most of the opportunities I see are based in NY or SF. Unfortunately, I can't magically relocate there tomorrow. But I do have British and Polish passports, Spanish residency, and a stubborn inability to stop building things. We'll make something work. See you on the other side of surgery. Hopefully standing upright.