I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello"

I was chastised (gently, yes, but chastised nonetheless) on Twitter the other day for not posting to the blog recently. I was a bit surprised, actually.

First, I was surprised because I hadn't realised it had been two months since my last post. We've been scrambling lately, trying to find a way to save a failing business, and it's been taking up a fair bit of my time and attention. We had to lay off 100% of our staff (we found her another job, though) and are moving into a much cheaper space in an effort to cut costs. We are also trying to find a way to expand into different markets, because theh best way to cut costs is to increase revenue. Or have some revenue. Things aren't going well on the business front, but I'm optimistic that we'll be able to stem the tide and reverse the fortunes and all that.

I've also started taking freelance writing work ( SEO articles and web copy mostly) from a couple of content mill sites. In a couple of months I've managed to nab 6 regular clients who pay reasonably well, and have managed to make a decent amount of money from writing. How cool is that? This has taken up the rest of my discretionary time, and I guess the blog has suffered.

I was also surprised because I always assumed that those who read my blog regularly did so out of some sense of obligation - the whole friends and family thing. To be told that someone actually misses my rambling, mumbled musings (sorry, I never could resist alliteration) took me aback somewhat. It was both heart warming and a bit of an ego trip, actually.

Here's the thing. I can't write this blog any more. I'm busy enough with important. life-related things (like trying to feed my family) that I can't really justify the time spent here. More importantly I don't have anything else to write about that fits with this blog.

I've been moving more and more towards the China related posts, because that's what people seem to enjoy reading the most, but I'm finding it harder and harder to maintain a sense of humour about a lot of the absurd and hurtful things I see here. Reading back over past posts it is clear to me that they are becoming more and more bitter and less and less amusing. I think it's better to stop now before I turn into one of those depressed, slightly insane foreigners you tend to meet in expat bars at 8:30 on a Tuesday night.

So. This will likely be the last post at the Lived-in Life. I'm not going to say I'll never pick it up again, but for the foreseeable future the last note has been played, the last encore performed, and Elvis is halfway to the airport. I need to focus on the things that move me closer to my goals, and this blog no longer does that.

Don't get me wrong, it has done quite a bit for me in that regard. One of my biggest and longest held goals is to make my living as a novelist. Starting this blog was a very important first step down that road. I learned a lot of the things a writer needs to know in order to market himself effectively, to develop a fanbase, and to build what they call "a platform". It is time, though, to move on.

And I am. Moving on, that is. This blog is done, its scaly carcass sinking into the tarry depths of the Internet. Perhaps it will rise again, like the Phoenix, to mix its metaphors and poke fun at stupid people. Perhaps it will fossilize and remain unchanged so that future generations can gaze in awe at the way the world used to be. Perhaps, and this one is more likely, it will rot away until nothing remains but a slightly metallic after-taste and a vague sense of shame.

Regardless of what happens to this blog, you might want to come with me to my new blog, which can be found at http://msmanz.com. I know, I know. I didn't realise until after I'd registered the domain that my initials without punctuation can be read as Ms. Manz. You can call me Susan.

My new blog will focus more on short fiction and what I'm doing in my writing career. I plan to post regular pieces of short fiction, as well as doing podcasts and... well, there's going to be quite a bit going on over there. The difference between here and there is that here was all about Mike the sarcastic guy, and there is all about Mike the story-teller. What I realised, quite recently as it happens, was that as much as I like writing and playing with words, what I am really, truly driven to do is tell stories. I hope you'll join me at my new home for the next chapter in this one.

***I will be re-directing the RSS feed from this blog to the new one in the next day or two, so if you are using the feedburner link to follow this blog, you'll automatically start getting the posts from the other one. I may eventually be deactivating the current feedburner link, so if you want to continue following through RSS I'd recommend you add the link at the new site to your reader and remove the old one. Or, if you'd prefer, you can follow the new site via email. I spent 3 hours figuring out how to enable that, just to make Eva Rieder happy. You're welcome, Eva.***