Recently, I posted in a thread and received a message from Marley, saying she was glad I was back.

I was a bit caught off-guard - I hadn't realised I'd been missed, and it made me feel quite warm and squishy (that's a good thing).

It also made me want to share some of where I've been.

Back in March (February? Earlier this year), I spent quite a lot of time parsing some of my shopping habits, and I came to a new understanding of myself and some of my habits. With that, I realised that I needed to re-evaluate some of those motivations and behaviours. As a result of that navel-gazing, I found I needed to really dial back the time I spent lurking around fashion sites - much in the same way a drunk would have difficulty relaxing in a bar, the temptation was REALLY high and difficult to battle.

Shortly thereafter, there was a lot of upheaval at work, wherein my role was eliminated, and I was working towards creating a new role - and all of the corporate hoo-rah that goes along with that. And then I was asked to speak at a Burning Man leadership conference, after which a lot of my free time got consumed with working on local events (I help organise and plan two smaller "regional" events in the same vein). At the same time, I began an application process to become an official regional contact for Burning Man - a sort of ambassador, if you will - and was working on a number of household improvements in order to get my house ready to sell. During this period, one of my best friends passed away very suddenly. Over the next several months, several more friends and aquaintences passed away quite rapidly (a total of four more), and at work, we continued to try to figure out what that new role was going to be, exactly.

It was a hectic summer. And then, in September, my younger brother went missing. And when we found him, we were devestated to learn that the HIM of him was gone - it was his body, but he had chosen to let his spirit move onto its next adventure. For the past several months, I've been trying to figure out hwo to incorporate the loss of him into my life in a way I can handle.

All of which has meant I haven't been around here as much as I would've liked. But through out it all, you have been on my mind. And it really helped me feel connected when Marley messaged me. So thank you for being here, even if you didn't realise you had been.