Be Positive!

Hi there,

So many things have changed over the past few months that you have to ask yourself.. how and why?! Today, I thought I'd make a blog post to say hello a few months after I announced that I would no longer be making blog posts. These are truly crazy times that we're living in, but it's not all doom & gloom. There are actually many things that we can look forward to doing during this brief period of time!

One major way I've got my mind off the stuff going on in real life has been logging into this awesome game named Wizard101. I don't know how many of you have heard of this amazing game, but it's kept my mind off the chaos going on offline. I've leveled my myth wizard, participated in gardening, pet leveling, and more, over the past few weeks. If you check the various realms in the game, you may have noticed that there are many others doing the same thing! I'm extremely thankful for Kingsisle's work to keep the game going during these times. Keep up the great work, Kingsisle, and stay safe!

One other thing that I've been doing that is listening to Christmas music. Christmas has always been a time of year that lifts my spirits. One day I was listening to a song that we played for quite a few Santa Run events and thought that it would be awesome and different to host a Santa Run event this Spring. So, I will be announcing more details about an upcoming Santa Run event within the next week! Keep an eye out for more information about this upcoming event. I'll be sure to host it during a time that most are able to attend. 

Overall, I wanted to make this blog post to let you all know that I've been thinking about you. I will continue to keep each and every one of you in my prayers. Please continue to stay safe by taking this virus seriously. Follow the CDC guidelines - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/prevention.html - by washing your hands and avoiding close contact (especially in large groups of people). It's very important that you continue following these guidelines no matter where you live. We will get through this time. In the meantime, know that not everything is as it seems. It's not the end of the world, but we do have time to do things we normally don't do such as finding a new hobby, hanging out with our family a lot more, and overall, appreciating life more than we do when we're busy. Stay safe everyone and be positive! Until next time, I'll see you around the spiral.

All Good Things Must Come To An End

Hello!

Today, I wanted to announce something that I wasn't planning on announcing until after my website's 10th Birthday (which I still plan on celebrating - but that'll be my final blog post). After long thought, I've decided that it is time for me to move forward in life. That means, not being as active in the community.

Today I wanted to talk about what made me decide it was time for me to move on. Over the past several years, there has been a lot of craziness in the community. I've also involved myself in the dreaded word - drama. During these times, I said I wanted to leave, but never really left. That was because I felt there was more I wanted to do to try to bring the community together. Recently, I've determined that I have indeed done my part over the past 10 years to bring the community together through online safety, events, group questing, etc. 

I was recently watching The Abracadoodle Show - that was released 10 years ago last week by BasicWizards. I was reading through the comments and I read one that was posted 10 years ago. I kept reading "10 years ago" over and over again. I couldn't even believe that time flew by this quickly. After that, I started thinking about the things that I've done over the past nearly 11 years that I've played Wizard101. I've made so many great friends and while I've had friends come and go, I wouldn't change anything. 

I can't even begin to thank ALL of you enough for the amazing memories I've had in this community. Y'all helped me through so many difficult times in my life. Three of the times being the loss of three close family members. And two other times were times when I had severe depression & anxiety. I can say today that I'm a happier person than I was when I joined the community and game. So thank you all so much for helping me through all of the crazy times.

I truly love this community & the games that Kingsisle works on. I have no doubt in my mind that this community will continue to grow & unite as one. I hope it's your goal over the next 10 years to unite the community. Make it different than what this crazy world is currently like. That's really what got me so involved in the community in 2009. Now that it's 2020, I'll be focusing on being the best order filler that I can be, earning a business degree, living my life as a gay man (the shocking revelation or maybe not so shocking to all of you - haha), etc. By the way, I'm also visiting a beach for the first time this year! I'm so excited! I have so much to look forward to in life. And so do you. Continue supporting the game while you can AND please live your life. I love ALL of you. Until May 10th, 2020. I'll see you around the spiral. 

Welcome To 2020

Hello!

Happy New Year to each and every one of you! Today, I wanted to make a new blog post about the new year of 2020 and about the future of this website. This year marks a major milestone for this website as it will turn ten years old this upcoming May! With that, I have a lot planned for this website.

Over the past year, I've been lacking new blog posts here on my website. This year, I want that to change! Starting soon, I'd like to share more news, ideas, contests, and more, here on Around The Spiral. Like I said, this year is a very special year since Around The Spiral is officially turning 10 years old. Not only that, but I would also like to update my site to make it fit with the current times while also having that nostalgic late 2000s feel to it. There are so many things I'd like to do, but you'll just have to stick around to see them! 

With that, events will take place this year. I'd like to put work into making them feel more welcoming to the community. I'll need your help spreading the word about each event as we near each Holiday this upcoming year. So keep an eye out this year for new event announcements! Be sure to follow SpiralVision on Twitch (twitch.tv/spiralvision) and Twitter (twitter.com/thespiralvision) for stream and event updates! I hope you're able to join us this year as we continue our tradition of Holiday events (and a new type of event later this year - keep an eye out for more information; you won't want to miss it)!

Now, we can't forget about Pirate101 in 2020. I would like to make more Pirate101 posts and hopefully have a few Pirate101 events here and there! I don't know where or how we'll start, but I can assure you that I'll pay more attention to this wonderful game this year. Pirate101 is such an underrated game. If you haven't played Pirate101, please check it out. It's definitely an amazing game and deserves all of the attention that it can get. I'll certainly pay a lot more attention to Pirate101 this year whether it's streams, contests, etc. 

Overall, I would like to make this year a great year, not just for me, but for the community in general. I don't believe I was able to do that last year, so this year, I'm going to try my best to make your stay in the community an amazing one. The community truly means a lot to me and I will try my best to adapt to the current times, while also bringing back the nostalgic feeling of the late 2000s and early 2010s. I look forward to working with the community and Kingsisle to making this year an amazing year. Happy 2020 to each and every one of you. Now let's add that additional year to the blog archives! Until next time, I'll see you around the spiral. 

Happy 7th Birthday, Pirate101!

Ahoy Pirates!

Did you know that today is Pirate101's official 7th Birthday? Seven years ago, Kingsisle officially released Pirate101 to the public. I remember logging into the game with my new pirate and watching all of the new pirates join in. It was crazy to see so many people logging in all at once! But before I get into screenshots. I thought I'd a share a few of my favorite memories of the game!

One of my favorite memories was being able to participate in Pirate101 Beta. I have to say that it was definitely the coolest experience I had involving video games. It was the first time that I got to test out a game before the official release. One thing is that I had to keep silent and couldn't share any screenshots or videos. Towards the end of August of 2012, I finally got to release a few of my screenshots from my first pirate - Edward (a Buccaneer). You'll see a video above of those screenshots! So overall, I'd say Pirate101 Beta was definitely one of my favorite moments! 

One other thing that I really love about Pirate101 was the events! I remember attending so many great events and even hosting one here and there! Pirate events have always been different since we had pirate ships. With those, we got to participate in NXP Events where we'd earn nautical experience all at once with tons of pirates. I know you may see us hosting Wizard events, but the pirate events were always the most fun to host. While I can't pick one certain event, I will say that every Pirate event was a blast to attend. 

Anyway, I'd love to wish Pirate101 a very Happy 7th Birthday! Lucky Number 7! I'm happy to see the game still going & being updated to this day. Pirate is definitely an underrated game. There's so much possibility. I hope that possibility is one day discovered. Until then, let's eat cake & celebrate that we still have the game! Thank you all so much for reading this random Birthday post. And thank you, Kingsisle, for continuing to update the game, even if it isn't as much as you'd like to update it. Keep up the great work... P.S. ADD Friend Chat Channels in the game! 

KI Live: Pirate101's 7th Birthday

Ahoy Pirates!

Don't forget that a new episode of Kingsisle Live will air on Twitch on Thursday, September 26th. This month's Kingsisle Live will be centered around Pirate101's 7th Birthday - isn't it crazy that it's already nearly been 7 years since it's release to the public?! Maybe we'll get a glimpse of what's to come for Pirate101. Here's more information about when & where you can watch this upcoming stream!

Thursday, September 26th

4pm Central / 5pm Eastern

https://www.twitch.tv/kingsisleentertainment