Reasons you will hate me

A farewell to arms.

I started this blog on June 3rd, 2004. I was 28 years old.




Today is my birthday and I am turning 32 and I have decided after no small amount of soul-searching that it's time to graciously step aside and take an indefinite rest from the site.



There's no one particular thing that has led me to this decision. RYWHM has evolved over the years from anonymous rantings by a wild-eyed moron read by pretty much nobody to rather public dissertations by a wild-eyed moron commented upon by a not uninteresting variety of faceless onlookers, and it's been a fairly interesting ride. Though I'm not unhappy with the depth and breadth of current passerby I feel that the present model has probably run its course and it's time for me to focus my writing elsewhere. I have other blog projects at whispering stage and wish to spend the second half of the year reading, sleeping, drinking wine, taking trips in my van, and hopefully knocking together some sort of junkyard novel. It is my sneaking suspicion that perhaps reducing the amount of mind-numbing political photo based ring-rings and scouring the newspapers for vacuous crap to tear apart each day may lead to some more productive work, though this is of course all speculative at this stage.



I could come off like a slightly hysterical Oscar winner here and thank myriad helpful-type folks who have pitched in and made life easier for a technological retard like myself over the years, but I'd undoubtedly forget someone and have a drink thrown over me in a fit of pique at the next blogger drinks. If you held my hand in some way since RYWHM's inception, I am deeply grateful. Thank you.



Throughout my time poking about the blogosphere I have come across more than a few bad apples and experienced a handful of hair-raisingly vicious shoot-outs, but to be honest in the long run they're not the incidents or people I'll remember. It's the new and exciting friendships with fascinating, creative marvels, the warm, witty and engaging anonymous commenters leading me to endless hours of link-following procrastination, the soul-baring confessors, the as-yet undiscovered writers, the breathlessly entertaining minds. How lucky I feel to have met you, even if just through your words.



Most of all I thank you for reading. I may have infuriated you, puzzled you, called you names, forced you to throw things at your computer and generally made a nuisance of myself but I do hope that at some point over the past four years I have managed to entertain you. It has been entirely my pleasure and I am richer for the challenge.




I remain, humbly yours,




Marieke Josephine Hardy.

383 comments.