Kyng going on 3-week break; Nilla taking over

[Tiger Eyes]

Take care, CJ and rest up!

[loves2chat]

Well CJ wanted me to update all of you on how he is doing and he told me this on Discord today:

Now that I'm a week into my break, I think I ought to update you guys on how I've been, and what I've been up to.

On the whole, I've been feeling pretty good . Just been putting my feet up and relaxing, for the most part. I got a Netflix account on the first day of my break - and I've watched all of Queen's Gambit, and made a start on Squid Game. I also finished some more bits and pieces on my model railway, and resumed work on my octagonal city from Cities: Skylines (which I flooded at one point, but that's all fixed now ). Does give me some things to talk about on my return!

Over the past week, I have missed the forum and the members. However, I haven't missed admin duties (at least, not yet ), so perhaps it's best that I just stay away for the remaining two weeks, as I had originally planned. See you then!

Thanks for the update Nilla and gald the break is doing him good.

[deyana]

CJ, as an Admin myself of a long running forum (over 11 years now), I fully understand how you feel.

Take care, rest up and let us know how things go.

Dey

[Pinky]

Kyng, you are one of the loveliest online blokes I know. I understand where you are coming from. I hope to see you back but most importantly, I hope you get the best break. Take care!

[J-Ster]

Enjoy your time off, Kyng! I hope you'll be okay and will be feeling better soon! 

Thanks for the update, @ Nilla!

[Nilla]

I've another update from the Kyng

Well, that's two weeks of my break gone now. So, I thought I should give you guys another update.

I'll start with the non-TCH stuff. First of all, I've finished watching Squid Game - which was great fun, but very intense, so I'll definitely watch something lighter next! I've also done quite a bit of offline socialising - first seeing my sister in Oxford on Saturday, then visiting a friend yesterday evening for a Chinese takeaway. And this weekend, Opal Fruit is coming to see me - so I'm really looking forward to that .

As for TCH... my thoughts have evolved quite a bit over the past week. During the first week, I didn't think about the forum very much, but the few thoughts I did have were very negative. This week, by contrast, I've had a lot more thoughts about TCH, but they haven't all been negative this time. They've been very up-and-down: there have been some days when I felt ready to come straight back, and others when I felt ready to announce a permanent retirement. Fortunately, my thoughts have stabilised now - and, I've figured out a plan for my return, where I'll be taking it slow at first, and gradually building up from there until I find the highest level I can sustain without stressing myself out. But I won't be doing anything on here for the next seven days, because I'm wary of returning too soon (and with Opal Fruit coming over, I'll have little or no time for internet stuff anyway )

On one final note, I would normally be planning Anniversary Week stuff right now; however, I'm not really in a position to do much of that this year. As a result, I am hoping the rest of the staff will be able to come up with something . But while they're busy with that, I'll see if I can fully re-charge in the seven days I have left!

[loves2chat]

I've another update from the Kyng

Well, that's two weeks of my break gone now. So, I thought I should give you guys another update.

I'll start with the non-TCH stuff. First of all, I've finished watching Squid Game - which was great fun, but very intense, so I'll definitely watch something lighter next! I've also done quite a bit of offline socialising - first seeing my sister in Oxford on Saturday, then visiting a friend yesterday evening for a Chinese takeaway. And this weekend, Opal Fruit is coming to see me - so I'm really looking forward to that .

As for TCH... my thoughts have evolved quite a bit over the past week. During the first week, I didn't think about the forum very much, but the few thoughts I did have were very negative. This week, by contrast, I've had a lot more thoughts about TCH, but they haven't all been negative this time. They've been very up-and-down: there have been some days when I felt ready to come straight back, and others when I felt ready to announce a permanent retirement. Fortunately, my thoughts have stabilised now - and, I've figured out a plan for my return, where I'll be taking it slow at first, and gradually building up from there until I find the highest level I can sustain without stressing myself out. But I won't be doing anything on here for the next seven days, because I'm wary of returning too soon (and with Opal Fruit coming over, I'll have little or no time for internet stuff anyway )

On one final note, I would normally be planning Anniversary Week stuff right now; however, I'm not really in a position to do much of that this year. As a result, I am hoping the rest of the staff will be able to come up with something . But while they're busy with that, I'll see if I can fully re-charge in the seven days I have left!

Thanks for this update Nilla it's good to hear how Kyng is getting on. I am really glad he is taking this brake since I would hate to see him burn out completely. I will be honest I am missing seeing his posts around here but I am glad he is taking the time out. When you next speak to him please pass on my best wishes.

[Photon]

Nilla taking over

Oh no....

May you get enough strength to start enjoying this forum again @ Kyng . You'll surely and sorely be missed. Good luck

[Kyng]

Today is the last day of my break - and, I thought I should pop in to say a few words before my proper return tomorrow.

First of all, a big thank you for all of the kind messages that people have been leaving in here. But even more than that, a big thank you to @ Nilla for keeping this place running over the past three weeks - and to everybody who has been helping to keep the community active in my absence. It really means a lot.

On the whole, I think my three-week break has been a success. It's put me in a much less stressful setting, and broken most of the unhealthy habits that were causing me so much grief in the first place. For the past few days, I've been itching to return... but I also don't want to go back to the stress that I was experiencing before. Therefore, for this first week of my comeback, I will still be heavily limiting my activity on TCH. In particular:

• I will only be coming online once a day to post (in a single session of 30-60 minutes). If I come online outside my once-a-day posting session, it'll be to do non-posting activities (such as software upgrades, if we have to do any of those );
  
• I will not be returning to staff duties just yet, unless I'm urgently required to do so;
  
• I will not be returning to the Discord server just yet.

Of course, I don't intend to stick to the above forever: I aim to make a more complete return eventually. But I want to build up gradually - because I want to avoid getting back into any unhealthy habits again. My goal is to contribute as much as I can to the community without it stressing me out or completely taking over my life - and it'll take me a while to find that level.

Anyway, it'll be good to be back tomorrow. See you then, for Anniversary Week and some posting !

[The Last Outlaw]

I know it's not official yet (one more day), but welcome back my friend!