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Dear everyone (^^; ),

Even though it's about a day early, I wanted to say a little something about my impending first Gaiaversary. It crept up on me a bit faster than I expected, and it still feels like it wasn't that long ago when I first arrived on Gaia, even though it really has been a year since then. Time flies and all that. ^^;

It's kinda funny, now that I think about it.... A few years before joining, I'd heard about Gaia from some other online friends who had brief stints here, and after a while their reactions amounted to something like the place was too hectic, nonsensical, or unwelcoming, and to my knowledge they all left pretty quickly. So for a while I went about online life pretty much ignoring the place, until my friend/surrogate little sister Aqua (AKA River, as I'm gonna be calling her every once in a while from now on... ^^) started verbally twisting my arm about joining. I was still a little hesitant at first, because I'm just slightly above the average age-range for the vast majority of Gaians, but when I found out that a few more friends of mine were on here, I finally decided to dive in.

And now, a year (give or take a day) later, I'm glad I did. Even though I can't say that what little online time I've had has let me be as sociable as I'd like, I've still managed to meet a lot of people (including ones that won't be able to read this message), the majority of whom have been very nice and welcoming. I've been able to share and discuss many of my interests with so many people, and in so many ways that I wouldn't have been able to otherwise.... but also, I've simply been able to just have fun again while talking to people online, which honestly is something I haven't been able to do all that much for a couple years now. It means a lot to me to have a place somewhere that I can unwind and enjoy talking to people, and just hang out with friends.... and I wanted to let you all know that I truly appreciate how nice all of you have been, even those of you who I haven't heard from or talked with for the past several months. You all helped welcome me here, and for that you all have my deepest thanks. But I suppose a lot of my thanks should go where it's due, so thanks for twisting my arm, River-chan. ^^

I'm not really sure if I should make a party topic where people can get together, because I don't know if it's necessary, or if anyone will show up... but if enough of you would like one, then I suppose I could. And if that's the case, people are welcome to invite their friends to the party too. It's just that.... my lack of online time hasn't given me much chance to earn a lot of gold in comparison to others, plus I haven't been questing or asking for donations for anything.... so I can't really give out gifts to people for showing up. Sorry. ^^;; But still, if people want a gathering-party, I'll give ya one. Likewise, I'm not going to ask for gifts or donations; I'll leave it up to all of you if any of you want to do either.

Anyway, thanks again to all of you for helping to make my first year on Gaia a fantastic one. Here's to another year of interest and fun, and to those I haven't talked to or heard from in a while, hope you're all doing well.


Thanks once again, and take care,
Elliot Rhymeless