Ch-ch-ch-changes

Has it been a week since my last post already? Much has happened since March 12 (the last time I posted apparently), and I will bore you now with all of it :)

There have been some radical changes going lately, from Tam’s gquit, to Gelvon’s newest experiment, to Vid’s stunning transformation of her Dranaei into something a bit toothier; and Svenn has been no exception. Over the course of the last month I have transformed from “I must tank on everything including my hunter and warlock guy” to “I have teh epic healz guy”. While this change has come naturally and easily to me, it was a small change compared to what transpired along with it…

Svenn has left FIST :( To understand this decision and the process behind it, you have to understand the guild. In FIST it’s all or nothing; there are no half measures so if one lvl 80 goes they all go (this does not apply to lowbie alts outside the guild/ 80s on other servers/faction, just Alliance 80s on EI). It was an extremely difficult decision to make as I really only wanted to move the tree into a friends raiding guild to help out her healer situation, but I understood the rule; FIST deserves complete dedication from its members. I had put so much into the guild, posted countless articles and responses on the guild forums, and even featured various guildies in “spotlights” here on the Misadventures so the parting was necessarily difficult.

As I really like the people that make up FIST, it was equally agonizing on that front as well. FIST was so much more than a “project” that I had worked hard on. It was(is) a network of friends with whom I connected; shared the mundaneness of day to day life as well as the exceptional events of promotions, new babies, etc. To further complicate things, Grayce, Shaara, and Acima (wife, sister, and bro-in-law respectively) are staying in the guild- and why not, it is a great place to be!

I have tried to make as graceful an exit as possible. I have family and friends there that I want to continue to have fun. I want the guild to continue to thrive and, should one day down the road, should a decision be reached which would allow Svenn and his army of Alts back in- I won’t hesitate to jump at the chance to regain my tags.

Grayce has been incredibly supportive in my decision. We have been in different guilds before, but it has been awhile since we weren’t both reading the same green chat. I think she is more disappointed than she lets on, but at the same time she understands my reasons. Of course we still run things together so I can stay connected to FIST through her- that helps a lot.

I still can’t help but feel I have let some folks down, hurt some feelings, and not affected as smooth an exit as I would have liked. Things moved pretty quickly, forcing a decision that was months in the making into the open in a matter of a few days. As one of my fellow officers (former fellow officer now I suppose) pointed out to me though, “It’s OK Grayce is who we wanted anyways.” While that may seem harsh to an outsider, it is emblematic of the character of FIST- not harsh but rather, enduring. FIST was in existence long before Svenn got there and will persist long after Svenn is forgotten, and it will deal with the rough patches with the good spirits and humor that that comment was intended (at least I hope it was humor :).