By now some of the readers of this blog know about the catastrophe of Live Spaces™ being taken over by WordPress™. Who would've known that such a great concept for versatility in blogs would ever be upgraded (actually, downgraded !) to the point of non-existence? You'll have to excuse me if I take a moment to cry. Let me explain.
I started that little blog late in 2005 and was in awe of the fact that I could put something up on the WWW all by my novice self. I had not started my official web site yet but I had purchased the name http://www.ilovecastles.com/ and had a marker in place years before I finally put it up in 2006 with all the castles I had personally visited. I started my Live Space Castlelady™ blog after this one, so this blog was my first attempt but I did not start it with a clear concept in mind. To me, it is an online diary for which I intended to write everyday. So much for that ! This blog became more of a mosaic of my thoughts, aspirations, trials and hopes put into small essay forms, often. Sometimes it is only a hodgepodge of my pet peeves, strong opinions and inspirational lightning bolts from heaven. This blog has served a special need in my life and I really appreciate it for every purpose I have set it to do. However, when I started the Castlelady™ blog my purpose was very clear and my concept was set in stone. After a couple of years, I knew exactly how I wanted to lay out the photos, text and the lists organized just so.
When I found out on September 29th that Live Spaces™ were being shut down and migrated to WordPress™, at our discretion, I was crestfallen. I thought of all the work I have put up on it. I have been saving all of my entries on it for quite some time and keep two types of backup files so the information put up will not be lost. What concerns me most is that it took quite a bit of time to finally get my lists, my WMP and the layout of the blog exactly the way I wanted it to look and sound. http://castlelady.spaces.live.com/ has been through many changes that would be almost too subtle for most people to notice but became very important to me. I have enjoyed it for some time in its present format. I wrote and formatted the text precisely to target a casual reading audience or professors on the subject. That wasn't easy, considering the vast difference in knowledge of the diverse audiences. Doesn't it figure that someone had to come along and start rearranging the furniture- so to speak? It almost feels like we all got an eviction notice on Live Spaces™.
So I have a big decision to make in a matter of days. Being at a crossroads is never easy and making a determination on moving or deleting my blog like this was certainly not on my agenda for this year. Obviously, I have bigger fish to fry. I need to sit down and rearrange a schedule to get more writing done, in general. There is a matter of finding my way back to a regular income which won't cut into my writing time completely. There are so many things to be done and yet I am frozen on this platform of resolution. It almost makes me angry that I have been forced to make a decision that I didn't ever want to have to make.
The other day I asked myself," If Elvis was put in such a situation, what would he do ?" It helped because it was a bit of nonsense. I think Elvis would sing his way out of the mess to cut the tension. He always did that in the movies. In real life, he would write a song about the problem and record it. Maybe that helped him make choices that fit but probably didn't always work because I remember he went through several divorces.
Well, I don't want to divorce my blog and I don't like anyone forcing me to change something I have grown to cherish. Every time Live Spaces™ has upgraded it has always been a removal of this feature.. then a removal of that, etc. Now they don't even want to be bothered with providing a free blog to their members. How can that be considered an upgrade? It reminds me of products that have the words New and Improved emblazoned on their packaging. The caveat emptor is taking it home and finding out they just put two or more less ounces of the product in the package than before. WWED ?? Probably punch their lights out ! Since that is not an option I guess I'll have to go with the change...
NOT!
The Castle Lady
