Life's kicking me in the head

No, I'm not dead. Nor have I abandoned EQ2.

Life has been kicking me in the head recently. There's a lot going on that's keeping me away.

My brother got engaged and is getting married this year, so there's wedding mania. He's on the opposite coast, but is having a reception on this coast. Since he's in med school and his fiancée is working (she's an RN) while finishing up her BSN, they don't have the time to do the research. That means that we're his eyes and hands setting it up. From taste testing restaurants looking for caterers to choosing a venue, we're it.

A family member's kidney disease has progressed to the point where dialysis begins next month, and a kidney transplant is in the cards. This means I'm working hard on getting back in shape so that if my kidney is a match, I can donate (and getting in shape is tough when your health is less than stellar!).

And my own health hasn't been great these past six months. I've been diagnosed with some other things that I won't get into now, which means I'm wrestling with more than just migraines these days. Plus my migraines have shifted into high gear. I won't even get into the insomnia.

To be completely honest, I can't handle the stress of being Jazabelle on top of everything else. EQ2 used to be my escape. Unfortunately, as Jazabelle, I'm often the tech support of the Homeshow community. If it has to do with housing, I probably have the answer, and people know that. It's not as bad as it used to be--I can log in and sometimes go a few hours without someone sending me a tell with a question. But I can't predict when that's going to be. Right now, I don't have the energy to answer questions, troubleshoot problems, and give housing advice.

Add in the fact that in EQ2 I run a guild, and the stress goes through the roof. Rosaphina has been doing an amazing job of keeping up on guild admin. However, every time I log in, there's at least an hour of admin to tackle. Despite the fact that Rosa is my right hand, there's always someone who'd rather talk to the guild leader rather than "just" an officer.

Stress is a huge migraine trigger for me. With everything else that's going on in my life, EQ2 is the straw that breaks this camel's back. Until now, I hadn't taken any sort of break from EQ2 for the past five or six years.

All of this is a really long-winded way of saying, "I haven't left EQ2, but I'm on hiatus until further notice." If there's an EQ2 emergency (such as someone stealing the materials from our crafting depot. Again), I'm around. Rosaphina knows how to reach me, and email always goes through. But for the day to day stuff, I've taken a step back.