I had a past life in the world of journalism before I became your sports editor.
As the recession hit at the end of 2008, the Rugby News magazine went through some financial troubles and decided they would have to do without one more fulltime writer on the payroll.
So, after four months scratching around in Auckland's compacted job market at a time when people with multiple university degrees were having to work at The Warehouse to make ends meet, I found myself packing my bags to head down the coast and become one of the rank and file journos at a Taranaki paper.
Back to working a mixture of morning and evening news shifts - a Selleys handyman to "fill that gap" - I got to cover some varied and interesting events.
There was the allegation that Destiny Church was splitting up marriages in Taranaki to keep the wives as tithing paying members, tracking down the Idaho widow of a US serviceman who had abandoned his 1942 war diary in Wellington, and the first Maui dolphin sighting in Taranaki in 20 years - which touched off another debate about commercial fishing net bans between local companies and the World Wildlife Fund.
But by far and away the "round" which made me concentrate the most, caused the most sleepless nights, was reporting at the district court.
My first "appearance", if you will, was going down to the New Plymouth courthouse late one evening to hear the sentence handed out for a sexual abuse case - involving family members.
From that auspicious start, I covered robbery, assaults, drug busts and more drink driving convictions than I care to remember.
A memorable case was the Turkish takeaway shop owner who tried to convince the world - as the story made global headlines - that the wrestling and kicking of his wife in a car park was part of a traditional dance known as kolbasti.
It comes with the territory that people will not be happy with you when their indiscretions enter the public forum.
There was a father who was furious I reported he assaulted his daughter, a mother who said both the Police and I had it wrong and it was her older son, not his younger sibling, who had thrown a cat onto the pavement, and the "activist" who called in before court to say he would not appear because the judge would make him take off his rastafarian hat.
So, needless to say, when it comes to excuses, I've heard them all.
There was a couple of back-and-forth phone calls with WRFU club liaison officer Paul Kenny yesterday in light of the four-week suspension for Pirates centre S'aena Vili for kicking Taihape fullback Glenn Horton at Spriggens Park last week.
Kenny let the Pirates' camp know that a story was imminent, to which their upset reply was their club was being "victimised" as only their player suspensions were being mentioned in the paper - referring to the coverage of the 10-week stand down for Uaealasi Taumaletua - which ends in one week.
It wasn't fair, Pirates cried.
I could not agree more.
At the start of the season, in my first meetings with Kenny and new chief executive Bridget Belsham, I mentioned I would appreciate some transparency by being provided with all the names of the players who are fronting the judiciary for foul play.
Otherwise, it is not a precise enough system where I talk to the coaches every week and ask them how the team is, then expect they are going to admit they've had some naughty boys.
Kenny, it seems, now understands that - he is well and truly fed up with the lack of discipline - hence handing over the names of Ratana's Jamie Hughes, Charlie Mete and Kereti Tamou, all sent off in the space of six weeks.
JB Phillips first brought the number of yellow cards being handed out in Wanganui club rugby into the public forum with his midweek column back in May, shortly after which referees association facilitator Neville Hopkins began his "whistleblower" features so the public could understand what the often-maligned refs are looking for on the field.
Wanganui club officials and the players themselves have had ample time to clean their acts up.
Instead, after 64 yellow cards and a dozen reds, and counting, things have only gotten worse.
I found in Taranaki's courts that public recording of crimes committed proved an effective deterrent as part of the punishment, or at least a frustrating one for the "career criminals".
Naming and shaming works.
I watched Pirate Samu Etuati come back from his long suspension in 2013 and play without another hint of discontent. A lesson had been lived and learned.
If you can't control your aggression and let fly, you should expect to be made an example of publicly - as a warning to others that dirty play will not be tolerated.
Even if that means losing anonymity cuts down your opportunity to blow it off as nothing in front of friends, family and workmates.
Be contrite, be humble, take it like a man and come back a better player for it.
As John Hammond said in Jurassic Park: "I don't blame people for their mistakes. But I do ask that they pay for them."