Stronger.

So yea, HI! Remember me?

First thing you'll probably notice...other then a NEW post. Is that Ive actually taken time to redesign my layout. *wipes brow* Finally!

A blog post is certainly well over due. My 'absence' lasted I think at the very least for 8 months and while Ive been back in SL for maybe a month or so, I'm still getting used to all the changes. Changes to SL of course, changes to SL fashion, changes in attitudes from people and changes to how my store is received.
One of the first things I noticed when getting back was how many people had cut me. I cant really hold it against them. Ive heard it from quite a few people and the shared consensus was that I probably wouldn't come back. I guess it really is out of sight out of mind. But for every person that gave up on me, there was someone genuinely happy to see me back regularly.
Time in SL really is condensed, being away for just a week can see you miss so much. So with my extended absence it really was like a system shock trying to compute everything that HAD changed. For the first few days I pretty much camped out at my work space trying to create new things. I felt really sheepish and the idea of IMing people just seemed awkward at best. I think friendships in a virtual environment without constant attention can easily break down. Your always meeting new people, sharing new experiences. So those that aren't regular can be left behind or forgotten and replaced. People I think can quickly turn from being a friend, to just another name on your list, to a collection of letters on a card that can be deleted - its all just a click away. So the idea of trying to build those bridges again was a scary thought. I didn't want to be rejected, thats how I felt. But people can surprise you, with as much thought as I was giving everything - analysing how big a douche people thought I was . There were those that just didn't care about any of that - they were just happy to see me at the end of the day. Of course there are still people I think that probably humor me with light conversation - I guess that connection kind of burnt out with me being away. But then I cant expect everything to be as it was, people move on and Ive begun to accept that.

So other then dealing with issues like that Ive been trying to get back to that designing thing. GearShift is and will always be something special to me. Its an outlet for me to share my ideas with people. And Im so glad to be back working on things that get me excited...things are fresh again and Im definately enjoying it. Before my break I was trying to develop another project called 'Rival Skoolz' It was going to coincide with my mainstore. Things sadly fell through with that, a few people let me down and with a new RL job, I couldnt see the idea through to completion. Looking back, I think I was tackling something a little too big for me at that time, its definately a project I want to see acomplished - But its a project for later down the line. I think my priority back then should have been getting GearShift grounded. So thats one thing Im trying to do with me coming back. On returning its almost like starting from ground zero. So I have a little work ahead of me re-establishing my brand name. And I have a few things that people have been excited about. Lets watch this space.

Peace out cool cats.

Don