A Long-Delayed Admission

Let's not bury the lede: One Man's Pony Ramblings is closing its doors.

If you want or need to know more, I've got further information below the break.  But the big news is that I won't be resuming this blog.  It's been an amazing six and a half years; thank you all for making it such a fun and educational experience.



This has, frankly, been inevitable for weeks.  It's been a month since my last post, and I'd been sporadically updating for a couple of months before that.  But I've been trying to convince myself that things were going to turn around, and that when they did, I could pick up where I left off.

I've been debating how much of "things" to share; I mean, the knee-jerk reaction is to say that my business is my business, and all that.  But a surprising number of people have e-mailed or messaged me in the past month, to express concern or support, and frankly, that's been a comfort to me.  So the gist is this:

-For several months, I've been dealing with a chronic medical condition.  It's not life-threatening, but has resulted in frequent bouts of anemia.  I don't know if "bouts of anemia" is the right phrasing, but that's the English language for you.  Anyway, it (and the current treatments, which seem to be improving things) have made it hard for me to perform tasks that require a lot of focus, like, say, attentive reading and reviewing.

-There was a rather frustrating-and-exhausting-to-deal-with work issue before the New Year, too, though thankfully that's been addressed.  At least, until next school year, but frankly, I'm not thinking that far ahead right now.

-And in the last two weeks, a major health crisis for a family member has been unfolding, and it's very much uncertain what will happen day-to-day.

I hope I'm not being too vague, but I also don't feel comfortable being more specific in a basically-public place.  In any case, I've got lots of friends and family who I can count on, and a strong support network, so please don't take this as a cry for help; support and sympathy are appreciated, but I'm holding up.  I hope that's good enough to explain why the old "updates M-W-F" thing has gone the way of the dodo.

Anyway, I've resisted acknowledging this, but the fact is this: I'm not going to be able to get back to a regular posting and review schedule.  And while I briefly entertained the idea of scaling back or switching to an "update whenever" schedule, I know that that's not something I could keep up.  I need deadlines to be productive, and right now, I can't handle more deadlines than life is already throwing at me.  And I just can't see that changing soon.



To answer the blog-related questions: the OMPR catalogue isn't going anywhere, and I'm not deleting anything; the blog will keep existing, it just won't be updated further.  I'm not Leaving The Fandom Forever; you can still reach me at the same e-mail, or through my FiMFic account (I'm still up for casual reading; I don't know what I'd do if I literally couldn't read!).  Sometime in the future, but not necessarily soon, I'll probably put up a big honking retrospective with my thoughts about the OMPR "experience," and do a little tidying up around here (some of those links up top really need updating...).  If I ever do do any more reviewing, it will either be on FiMFic or I'll at least link to it from there, so that's the place to watch if you're hoping to hear more from me (which, to be clear, I am not promising).

And I'll probably hit on this more in that retrospective, whenever I get to it, but I want to take a moment to thank everyone who visits or visited this blog.  For the past six and a half years, you all have made fanfic analysis and commentary fun for me, and have helped me improve in countless ways.  I've made friends and gained insights that I never could have imagined.

(And, you know, the plushie was incredible too)

I may not be going away-away, but recognizing that I have to step back from this is still hard--that's why it's taken me so long, even as the lack of posts didn't pile up.  But I know that, as difficult as it is to give up something that's been a big part of your life for more than half a decade, this is the right choice for me now.  Thank you all again, from the bottom of my heart.