As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m down to playing WoW about one night a week. And then some weeks – like last one – I’ll pretty much miss it entirely because something from real life has cropped up. Like the minding of my four-month old nephew.
And that’s okay.
But along with that, there’s been a mix of things going on lately that have made me stop to evaluate this blog and what I am doing here. One of the things is that it seems that every time someone I read links to someone else, it’s to someone I’ve never even heard of. New bloggers on the scene are great, but I am not keeping up with the ever-shifting WoW blogging community at all these days.
Between that and feeling like nothing I say here about WoW could possibly be relevant anymore, I’m starting to feel more and more like an outsider to the whole circle.
And that’s okay, too. I’m not saying these things in an attempt to garner sympathy.
Lastly, blogging mostly about my real life doesn’t feel right in this space. I was a WoW blog for more than two years, and a total shift away from that focus hasn’t really worked for me. Not that I don’t enjoy sharing my tales of real life idiocy with you all, but it’s a bit like trying to shove an elephant into tiny glass slippers. There’s just no way it could ever fit.
I was talking this over with At this morning – how I don’t fit into the WoW blogosphere anymore and how what I do have to write about doesn’t fit into my blog. I am still playing WoW… but I suspect you guys can only tolerate so many stories about how the New Guild has carried my undeserving ass through something. Like maybe two stories. I’ve hit the quota already.
So I guess I’m quitting.
And those are some hard words to write, but I can’t keep waffling around on this issue. You have to know when to pack it in and I think I am actually overdue to make the move.
Still sort of around
The good news (or the bad news, I suppose, depending on how you feel about me) is that even though I’m not blogging here anymore, I still get to hang around in other virtual places. I don’t have to give up the friendships I’ve made.
I’ll still be on Twitter, though I suspect not as @KissMyAlas. Or I may keep the name but start doing more tweeting about anything I’m doing that is SWTOR related. I understand some people feel strongly about wanting to follow a person because of the one specific game that they had in common. God knows I unfollowed enough people who wouldn’t turn off their fucking Rift achievement spam. But I don’t want to try to rebuild my whole list of people I enjoy conversing with about other things just because some people might really not want to hear about That Other Game. The point is, I’m not starting over there.
And my other two blogs will still be up and going and hopefully getting more attention from me once I’ve shed the weight of this blog.
And guys? This has been a great ride. One I’ll frankly miss for some time to come. So many of you have touched my life in ways you’ll never know. I hope I get to hold onto most of you in some way or another even after making this last post.
In closing, some thanks
I think some thanks are due and please know that even if I don’t mention you by name, it’s not because I’m trying to exclude anyone. It’s because these are the people who have shaped the nature of this blog to the point where I can’t imagine how it might have been without them. Even if they had no idea that they impacted me so much.
To Zelmaru: Not blogging about WoW for a while now, but still the first stranger who came by and really connected with me. I was so damn excited when I got your comment because you. Got. Me. And then later on, I got you.
To Tamarind: Also not blogging about WoW for quite some time now and dearly missed. Thanks for Gerald, lengthy comments and linking to me those times. And for letting me run with DinoTam as long as I did. I don’t suppose you’ll read this, but it had to be said because your impact on me was huge.
To Cynwise and Psynister: For both being incredibly awesome and down-to-earth. I was so intimidated by both of you when I first started this blog and you both proved there was no reason to be – because you’re both warm and accepting and great encouragers. (Both, both, both. This thank you needs more both.)
To Elfi: For always keeping me in check. You have a unique blend of love and smackdown. And I can’t live without either.
To Saga: I still think of you as a soul sister. You could always sympathize with my more end-of-my-tether posts and I never felt like I was alone when you dropped by to offer support and sympathy.
And to Amber: Because I still blame you that I ever got started in the first place.
/dislike
At the risk of being accused of blowing smoke up your ass, you’re never going to have any idea what kind of impact you’ve had on me as a blogger and as a person. Dammit, Alas, I *like* you and I like reading your stuff and this blog shutdown thing is just craaaaaap.
Oh well. I’ll be on the Twitters, I guess.
You have no idea what it means to me to know I had an impact on someone through this blog. I think it’s what everyone hopes for when they set out to write, but it’s so hard to know if you’ve succeeded at all. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you for this comment.
I am sorry and sad to be packing up and leaving, but there is always Twitter and I’m going to be making a more conscious effort to keep up with the part of the WoW community that I do know and love.
/tear
/tissue?
We will still talk about ALL THE WRITING THINGS and if I ever come up with a decent flowchart idea, I know exactly who to send it to.
Is wishin’ ya many lucks with where the future done takes ya.
Thanks, Ratshag. I’m pretty sure I need all the luck I can get (also, typing lessons. It was all the LICKS I can get until I caught the error.)
I hate this part.
I hate the part where I’m genuinely happy for you – this is a good step, acknowledging that you’ve moved past this and you’re not letting it hold you back. ALWAYS FORWARD!
But that part conflicts with the selfish part of me that enjoyed this blog. That’s what I hate – not the leaving, but that little hole that’s filled with a mixture of sadness and joy.
I’m really proud of you for doing the right thing for yourself, Alas. Go forth. Be great. We’ll miss you here, but we could never hold you back. :)
Dammit, now I have something in my eye. FUCK.
I hate it, too. Because even though I feel it’s very much the right thing to do, it’s hellishly difficult to do so.
It was the most difficult time I’ve ever just had to write something and post it. Had I sat on it for a week as is my typical inclination with difficult subject matter, I bet I would have just deleted it. See how you’ve changed me? <3
ALSO, DAMMIT, IT MUST BE WINDY BECAUSE I'VE HAD SOMETHING IN BOTH MY EYES ALL MORNING. IT SUCKS.
Posting is the only thing. :)
Best of luck to you, Alas. I really do wish you well.
Thanks, Cyn. I’m sure people will continue to get derpy updates via Twitter. I’ve already been awash in them this morning.
OK, I’ve been reading your blog and almost all of the blogs on your blogroll forever. I would love to keep reading your posts in SWTOR but I haven’t been able to find your site and I am not good at picking up subtle hints. I know you don’t know me, and I haven’t ever commented in your blog, but I do greatly enjoy reading your site (I have never “seriously” played wow for example).
I am however playing SWTOR / leading a guild there and would love to continue reading….could I know your new blog pretty please?
Thanks!
Castillion (once a blogger but gave up long ago)
Thanks for reading and for coming out of the woodwork to comment! It means so much to hear from people who take the time to read my nonsense.
You absolutely may know my SWTOR blog. I’ll send you an email with the URL and I hope you can enjoy it. :D
I’m with Cyn on the mixed feelings, but for me the good outweighs the bad enough that I can’t really bring myself to being sad. I don’t know that sad is really the right word here. I mean, I’m sad to see a blogger shutting down their blog, but knowing that it’s for good reason doesn’t let it actually be sad. I’m going to call it pseudo-sad because it’s sad without being sad… just nod your head and pretend any of that made sense.
What I’m trying to say is, I’m happy for you.
It’s a crummy feeling, being part of a community that you no longer truly fit into. A lot of people have problems letting go of that and moving on. It wasn’t easy for me when I transitioned from WoW to SWTOR, and I really felt it especially hard on twitter even before SWTOR when I had to cut back on playing because of the pain in my hands/wrists and suddenly all of my friends were almost in a completely different world from me and it felt very much like I wasn’t a part of the community anymore.
It wasn’t really until SWTOR came out and I started jumping into that circle more that I actually came out of it and felt like I belonged again. I’m still a bit alienated from the WoW crowd, especially those who take the gaming world as a competition and feel it’s necessary to bash SWTOR for whatever reason just to show their support for WoW (replace with any two game names). It’s not always easy, but I’ve found my place once again and I feel pretty comfortable most of the time now. You’ll always have a place in our little piece of the interwebs.
/nods head
But I’m not just pretending that makes sense, because I get what you’re saying. I feel much the same way because while I’ve been sad to let this place go, I am also not-sad and happy to move forward and it could be very confusing if pseudo-sad didn’t cover it so well.
It’s strange to me – as a total outsider to what you went through with your transition from WoW to SWTOR – to hear that you experienced the same sort of feelings I have been. I think that’s largely due to the fact that I’ve always seen you as one of the pillars of the WoW blogging community. But it’s also comforting, because if someone who seems so central can feel the same way I do, then maybe I haven’t always been on the fringe and only a few steps away from being outside.
I’m still not really sure of my place in the SWTOR circle. On the one hand, I almost feel very much a part of it because the game is new and all the blogs about it are also new. Founder, indeed. On the other hand, I’ve been trying to juggle my two different online identities up until now, and given that it’s still the same person behind each one, it was tiring. But I am glad you are finding yours and I hope I will find mine. In the meantime, eff the haters. So long as the game is fun and we’re having a good time, who cares?
You need to do what’s right for you, always – and that’s what you’re doing which is good. That being said, I’ll miss reading your posts! I really always did feel connected to you somehow, regarding guild matters and everything. (You know our characters almost looked exactly the same before you made it a Draenei? :P )
I’d love to get the URLs to your other blogs. If I’m lucky maybe you sometimes write those personal posts that I’ve grown to love ;)
<3
I did notice we had a certain similarity even though you're a gross warlock. :D And hey, we might continue to have similar tales from the guild even if they're in different games. I'm *still* in guild leadership, though it's taken a very different turn these days.
I've updated myself at Twitter and can DM or email you a link to the writing blog if you so desire. I don't see anything in the way of RL posts going on the writing blog, but I am sure it will sneak into the SWTOR one.
So.
It has come to this.
I laughed. Please, please don’t be a stranger. I miss you, mate.
First, I would like to register my SUPREME SADNESS at this post. I have genuinely enjoyed reading your blog for quite some time, and I’ll be sad for it to become another “inactive” in my Google Reader. That said, it seems like your resignation from WoW blogging is a positive and healthy one. I wish you the very best with your move (I’m in the middle of one myself, so I can sympathize!) and all your other real-life and gaming endeavors. And I suppose this means I’ll have to look you up on that newfangled Twitter thing…
Aw, thank you for the kind words. It is very bittersweet going inactive – I had to step away from reading comments yesterday because I was in danger of crying at work – but I do think it is time.
Thank you for the well-wishes with my upcoming move. I’m… dreading it. They are a major hassle, aren’t they?
Please do look me up on twitter! And feel free to email me if I am difficult to find. :D
Alas,
You will be missed, even though I don’t post any more I still tried to find time to check your blog on semi-regular basis. You gave me a home in WOW when I thought I was stranded, and even though I didn’t have any WOW left in me I always felt welcome as an Effer! Thanks and good luck and much fun to you always :)
Thanks, K. I’m glad you enjoyed your time in Eff – that whole era was really one of the best I’ve in five years of playing, bar some unfortunate events. Best of luck to you in whatever you are doing – and playing – now!
I hope that RL and non-blogging bring you great joy, Alas. You deserve it.
I think it’s really difficult – communities grow and shift but this line, “One of the things is that it seems that every time someone I read links to someone else, it’s to someone I’ve never even heard of. New bloggers on the scene are great, but I am not keeping up with the ever-shifting WoW blogging community at all these days” really resonated with me. I’m not sure that I have the time/inclination/energy to keep up with an ever expanding and changing community any more either. It’s a bit how I felt about guilds. So now I’m soloing and blogging rarely. It suits me fine, but I’m me, not you (prize for stating the obvious?!)
All of which is a long way of saying that I’ll miss your posts, and if that RL blog is public, I’d love the address so I can keep up with the rants :)
Hehe. Well, I think having two blogs to manage rather than three is a step in the right direction. And letting go of trying to keep a place in a community I’m not a part of can, I think, only be healthy.
I do have that horrible writer’s compulsion, so my decision to blog elsewhere about SWTOR adventures was probably the first nail in the coffin for this blog. It turned out not to be quite the fresh start I thought it would be, but the feeling of having moved along is still pretty strong.
As I’ve mentioned to others, I have updated my info on the Twitters but I can email you the URL to the SWTOR blog if you so desire. And the writing blog, but that’s just my crappy fiction and nothing to do with real life. Except the pieces of me that sneak into my characters. There’s a scary thought.
You’ll be missed. Good luck with what you do next.
Thanks Jasyla. In a way, it doesn’t really feel like I am moving on. I hope (selfishly) that I’ll be able to hang onto at least some of this community as I transition to a galaxy far, far away.
I’m a bit late to this comment party because … well because I think I was kind of hoping after a day or so you’d change your mind and announce you were only kidding. Obviously, you aren’t getting rid of me by simply letting go of this blog (and if that’s what you were hoping, HA) but Alas is who you are to me as silly as that sounds & seeing you let go of that identity makes me sad.
Sure, you’re the same person you’ve always been. I’ve been hanging around pestering you for approx. 4 years now so I feel I know you rather well. Not blogging here doesn’t change that. But dammit, you are Alas. You realize I may never quit calling you that, right?
Anyway, I’m rambling here and I don’t know why. It’s not like I’m actually getting rid of you. But this space of yours here has always meant something to me and you were gracious enough to let me post some silly guest posts here before THIS BLOG finally inspired me to create Elfi’s World. So I haz a sad.
That being said, I do completely understand your reasons why and I am beyond thrilled at the prospect of you having more time for your other endeavors.
In closing, I’m happy with whatever makes you happy. I always have been. I just hope you realize what an important part of the WoW blogosphere you have been and that what you’ve been doing here for the past 2 years has been enjoyed, appreciated, and meaningful. Whether it was the fun posts about the game, the serious posts about the drama or the personal posts about you, it’s all been awesome and I thank you for it.
I did think of waiting until April 1 to announce this, but since it’s a real closing up of shop, it seemed a bit like a bad idea to make a joke of it. But people might have been hella confused.
Anyhow, I hope you never stop calling me Alas and I am glad that this blog impacted you. I’m glad you started blogging as a result.
Overall, I’m walking away from here with very few regrets (bummed I didn’t take one more shot at you-know-who) (just kidding) (sort of), and that is a very good thing. And I hope having more time for my other blogs will mean that I actually put something of worth and substance up soon. I mean really.
Sorry to see your blog end. :( I wish you and At all the best!
Thanks Kryll!
I hope you know you still have a home with us in whatever MMO we happen to be playing – if you want it… In fact, I have one more invite to send for a free trial to SWTOR if you’re at all interested. I think you would like it, though I would understand if you wouldn’t want to commit to another MMO beyond that trial. :D