Auf Wiedersehn

WARNING: Sappy speech to follow

So, this is farewell people. Despite the fact that it has been months since the Blogger quill's been picked up, I'm feeling a bit sad about it all. But, the fact is, Althea is being retired. She's had her day, and some rather glorious moments. Althea's puppetmaster may blog again. But Althea's shelf life is up, and it's time to do the merciful thing and lay this, the last of her blogs, to rest. Before she goes, though, she will have her last say.

One by one, the bloggers I knew and loved: Rorschach, Li, Ruby, Tript, Steph, the other Ruby(dot), Johanna, and more recently American Guy have taken their leave of blogland. Some of them became more immersed in their real lives. Some of them just got bored and migrated to Facebook and Twitter. And some of them were eaten by shark-shaped leprechauns. I have no evidence for this in any place except my imagination, yet I know it to be true.

My own reasons for departure are far more complex than that of any person who has ever ceased to blog, at any time, anywhere. You're not going to get it, but I get to justify my reasons anyway. I've been journaling a lot over the past several months (y'know, in the tradition ink pen and papyrus paper sense) and it's been very personal. I've tried several times to do a blog entry, and it felt like it was either going to be too superficial, or too raw. So I left it alone.

I've been accused of being too negative before, with the name of my first blog "Dream Inevitably Lead To Hideous Implosions" cited as a piece of primary evidence for this. I will admit to the court that I have indulged in the negative and obsessive, and as much as is possible, I intend to leave that luxury behind.

Lastly, and most importantly, my current employment situation is not ideal for me. I am now actively pursuing a viable career in writing, which is a fact that I scarcely believe, but there it is. I need to believe in it to make it happen, and to do that, I need to let all my various side projects go to nurture the belief and do the legwork for turning the dreams and vague possibilities into my day-to-day reality.

Nonetheless, it would be remiss of me to omit the fact that my blog(s) have given me many gifts. Through blogging, I have practiced my writing, creative and otherwise, and been fortunate enough to read some superbly talented writers express themselves freely. Using my blog as a propeller, I have achieved a really important, long-term dream of mine, which is coming to Melbourne to live. It has been one of the greatest gifts I have ever been able to give myself.

Above all, my blogging helped me be entertained and engaged by life (albeit in an artifical via fibre optic cables kinda way) throughout 3 out of 4 moderately depressed years of working in shitty finance/investment jobs. That's a blessing that can't be counted.

I don't know what else to say other than this: it's been real. Especially when it hasn't been.

Ciao folks.