Art by paintedseals
Every time I work on this site, it feels like I'm stepping back in time for a bit.
Now, I didn't actually have a personal site back in the day. None that were actually online, anyway. In fact, I really didn't engage in any real social corners of the web. I didn't have a Myspace, I didn't play any MMOs or online games in general, really. But I sure was on the desktop computer a lot! I mean, you kinda had to be back before the advent of the smartphone. Nowadays, as I'm not really a PC gamer, aside from doing voiceover and editing the occasional video, I don't really use my PC all that much.
I'm not sure how to really explain it better than this, but working on this site is the most that anything in the current day feels like "getting on the computer" the same way it did when I was growing up. Like, writing HTML and exploring Neocities feels like "going online" in a way that nothing else really does anymore. YouTube is different. Social media is different. Even Google is different, and getting worse every day! So it's really cool to have such a pure "getting on the computer" experience still available to me. It's nice to throw on some of my old favorite songs while I write on here. Songs that bring me back to that era of the internet. Running in the 90s, anyone?
I'm not entirely sure if it's been intentional, but recently I've been doing a lot of things that have reconnected me with my youth. Working on this site as I said has been one such thing. I've revisited old favorite foods, old favorite shows, old favorite toys. Maybe it's cheating to mention my old favorite games, since I tend to replay most of my favorites more or less every year anyway, but it feels somehow different now. Not to mention that iztyping and I have just moved into a house that's right off the street where I grew up. To get from here to the exact house, it's about a ten second drive.
I don't think I'm running away from the present or anything like that—there's just a lot of comfort to be found in the familiar. And I mean, I like being comfortable. I'm an introvert on the spectrum. I don't really want to hit the town every weekend. Even if I had the money, I doubt I'd travel much. I don't need to take crazy risks in all walks of life all the time. I wouldn't say I'm retreating; I just know what I like. And I like this. My own little corner of the web. My virtual nest. I like being cozy and happy, online and off. And if you like hanging out in my nest, I'll scoot over. There's room.
I was most active on this site when I was working at my second-to-last traditional job. I freakin' hated that job. So, it was nice after a long day at work to whip up a game review or to write about something fun that happened. I'm unemployed currently, kinda just scraping by with income from voiceover commissions and help from my partner if that doesn't cut it. That is to say, what free time I have isn't exactly free, and I haven't been up to much worth writing about. Readers know about the last big convention I attended, and that was over a year ago! But, the site will always be here when I have something for it, or when I want to revisit my old stuff, some of which is now a whopping five years old. I have a few plans, but I dare not tease anything in case none of it comes to fruition. You guys will know if/when it does!
So, thanks for hangin' with me these last five years! Indie Web forever! Keep reading, keep creating, keep having fun and keep doing YOU!
Art by paintedseals