Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011!

I wanted to wish everyone a happy, festive, and safe New Year's.  If your 2010 was a particularly tough one, there's always hope that with the turning of the calendar, better things are ahead.  Please be careful if you're celebrating away from home, don't drink and drive, and be on the alert for those that do...

I wanted to thank some people for a particularly great 2010...

First off, my in-game Husband, StormyRain (IsseyWhiteRain, OOJiraiyaOO)... without whom I probably wouldn't have come back to Fiesta in 2009.  You made everything easy for me, my integration back into the game, my transition into a new guild, everything I needed, you were there for.  I'm sad that you've since moved on to other pursuits, but those times you do stop in are truly special.  I miss you tremendously, even though I may not always say it or show it, Isya just isn't as bright and cheerful as it used to be.

Secondly, I wanted to thank my guildmates both present and past for the impact you've all had on my life and the footprints you've left behind.  Although there was some turmoil towards the end of 2010 that saw major changes in our guild, I'll never stop thinking of you all as family.  So many hours we spent together chatting, laughing, comparing stories, and keeping each other grounded.  2010 was awesome wasn't it?  We continued to take down Helga, no matter what changes they threw at us, we took down Karen when everyone thought it was an impossibility, and we had our run at Malephar as well.  We led Bijou through the last 3 level caps, it was undoubtedly an impressive run.  I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything.

I also wanted to thank OutSpark and especially the newest influx of GMs.  Delita, Kobal, Razia, and the recently departed Straega, you guys have truly taken a community-first approach to your actions and it's paid off.  Fiesta continues to be thriving, with thousands of players making the journey every day on each of your six servers.  You've created exciting, challenging, and though-out-of-the-box events that have raised the bar in what we the community now expect.  Gameplay changes that had always fallen on deaf ears are now discussed, debated, and when a common ground is found, passed on back to OnsOn.  There will always be bumps in the road and I truly thank you four for sticking it out, keeping your chins up, and continue to give your all for us.  And once again, congratulations on your 3rd Year Anniversary!

To my home server of Bijou, thanks for all the drama!  Even though it's never centered around me, thank God, it's always entertaining.  It's often an eye-rolling, head-shaking, face-palming good time, but I can't imagine it any other way.  The rivalries have grown with the return of a dormant guild and with the passing of another, let's see how the future shapes up and where this all leads us.


To the Forum community, thanks for the hours upon hours of entertainment and information you all provide.  From the guides and research that some of you take hours to complete, to the wealth of information that some of you hold, and to the bright young newbies that come to the forum searching for answers, your threads are always interesting and the debates over what's best is always enjoyable.  Let's all do our best to try to stay positive in 2011, we continue to see the evolution of our game and I'm sure there are many more changes and updates in-store for us.

And lastly, to my faithful readers and infrequent visitors, an especially heartfelt thank you for me.  With meager beginnings back in May of this year, to nearly 14,000 hits in December, we've definitely come a long way!  I hope to continue finding things to write about, uncovering information to pass along, and just giving my opinion on the state of events as they occur.  Thanks for stopping by and keeping the faith.

Much love to you all,
FatalLace