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Thank You and What's Next
Jan. 2nd, 2025 07:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
clauderainsrm Back in 2006, I was a few years into being single, and incredibly bored. Idol was the idea that filled that hole, and definitely made life "not boring" :)
Over the years, it stayed that way - through all the changes in my life, as well as the changes to Livejournal itself (that eventually got to the point of needing to leave it)
It was my passion, and the success of every single person who came through these doors felt like MY accomplishments, that I had played a small part in it. (even if it was only reflected) It was something that gave me a great deal of satisfaction and pride.
2023 was rough for me at the end, and got even worse during 2024. My job took up all of my time and energy. Those successes were huge, and the failures were draining. Losing it though, that meant that all of the damage I had done to the rest of my life by allowing my job to become who was, all of that were just more failures.
(deleted a lot of DARK, and honest stuff)
I need you to understand how important Idol is to me. How important all of you are to me. It's not just showing up and participating. Your successes make me feel like I've had a small part in them, which has kept me going through some pretty dark months.
I saw a comment during the finale about a couple writing communities where people sign up at the start of the year and the writers all motivate each other to meet their word count goals. Obviously it's a great idea. It feels like those are the people we need to reach, writers who WANT to be motivated to write, who are trying to complete their personal goals. Idol is definitely something that gives people an excuse to write!! So, if you happen to be a part of those groups, or any other writing activities - PLEASE spread the word about Idol.
I have two ideas, and neither of them are particularly "new member friendly". :) One being the 20 Year Celebration in 2026/All Stars/Legends/your name here which I really hope I can make into a giant homecoming party.
The other is what I want to do between now and then, which I can only describe as "What if everything that drives you crazy about LJ Idol were on massive amounts of drugs?" I don't know if that is the Idol I want to introduce newbies to, heck, I don't even know if veterans want to play it once you hear what it's about... but it's something that is exciting me at the moment. And I NEED something to be excited about. So I really hope you do decide to come out for it, and tell your friends. I'm still in the planning stages, and have someone working on brand new graphics for it, so that might take a couple months before things are ready to reveal. I WILL tell you the name though... because that tells you everything you need to know: LJ IDOL: The Wheel of Chaos I'll let that image haunt your dreams. :)
Anyway, this started out as me wanting to thank you and let you know how much it meant to me to have you come out for this particular mini season... so, again, thank you. I hope you had fun.
I still have the Patreon. I was using it to make fun of my old high school and college poetry for a few months, but no one seemed interested. :) It's still there if you're curious. In theory I'll post more about Idol in the coming months. Mostly it's there because people asked me how they could contribute and said I should have one. So if you want to, here's the link www.patreon.com/c/user
I've already had a couple people throw some money into the hat via Paypal today, which was very kind of them and reminded me that I usually end seasons by putting the hat out, again, just in case you feel like it: Venmo is @Gary-Dreslinski PayPal is @GDreslinski
Again, for people who are in a place where they feel like they can/want to. Idol is a passion project for me. I feel like I dropped the ball quite a few times this mini season, and appreciate people sticking with it. It means more to me than I can ever fully express.
Thank you for being here, and for being you. I hope to see you when The Wheel of Chaos starts to spin.
Dreslinski Out.
Over the years, it stayed that way - through all the changes in my life, as well as the changes to Livejournal itself (that eventually got to the point of needing to leave it)
It was my passion, and the success of every single person who came through these doors felt like MY accomplishments, that I had played a small part in it. (even if it was only reflected) It was something that gave me a great deal of satisfaction and pride.
2023 was rough for me at the end, and got even worse during 2024. My job took up all of my time and energy. Those successes were huge, and the failures were draining. Losing it though, that meant that all of the damage I had done to the rest of my life by allowing my job to become who was, all of that were just more failures.
(deleted a lot of DARK, and honest stuff)
I need you to understand how important Idol is to me. How important all of you are to me. It's not just showing up and participating. Your successes make me feel like I've had a small part in them, which has kept me going through some pretty dark months.
I saw a comment during the finale about a couple writing communities where people sign up at the start of the year and the writers all motivate each other to meet their word count goals. Obviously it's a great idea. It feels like those are the people we need to reach, writers who WANT to be motivated to write, who are trying to complete their personal goals. Idol is definitely something that gives people an excuse to write!! So, if you happen to be a part of those groups, or any other writing activities - PLEASE spread the word about Idol.
I have two ideas, and neither of them are particularly "new member friendly". :) One being the 20 Year Celebration in 2026/All Stars/Legends/your name here which I really hope I can make into a giant homecoming party.
The other is what I want to do between now and then, which I can only describe as "What if everything that drives you crazy about LJ Idol were on massive amounts of drugs?" I don't know if that is the Idol I want to introduce newbies to, heck, I don't even know if veterans want to play it once you hear what it's about... but it's something that is exciting me at the moment. And I NEED something to be excited about. So I really hope you do decide to come out for it, and tell your friends. I'm still in the planning stages, and have someone working on brand new graphics for it, so that might take a couple months before things are ready to reveal. I WILL tell you the name though... because that tells you everything you need to know: LJ IDOL: The Wheel of Chaos I'll let that image haunt your dreams. :)
Anyway, this started out as me wanting to thank you and let you know how much it meant to me to have you come out for this particular mini season... so, again, thank you. I hope you had fun.
I still have the Patreon. I was using it to make fun of my old high school and college poetry for a few months, but no one seemed interested. :) It's still there if you're curious. In theory I'll post more about Idol in the coming months. Mostly it's there because people asked me how they could contribute and said I should have one. So if you want to, here's the link www.patreon.com/c/user
I've already had a couple people throw some money into the hat via Paypal today, which was very kind of them and reminded me that I usually end seasons by putting the hat out, again, just in case you feel like it: Venmo is @Gary-Dreslinski PayPal is @GDreslinski
Again, for people who are in a place where they feel like they can/want to. Idol is a passion project for me. I feel like I dropped the ball quite a few times this mini season, and appreciate people sticking with it. It means more to me than I can ever fully express.
Thank you for being here, and for being you. I hope to see you when The Wheel of Chaos starts to spin.
Dreslinski Out.
