September 28, 2015

FSA's Last Post

It was a good run. Six years worth of writings, you know? That counts for something. I hope my posts will continue to help folks like you out. I really do.

But times have changed. Things will have changed in your life too over the past few years. Heck, probably even since the beginning of this year. Time waits for no man, and change rolls in as sure as the tide under the moon’s pull. Excuse the water analogies – I’m sat watching the sea lap at rock’s edge right now. What you gonna do?

A full time job became a major part of my life in May. I started ten days after my last graduate school exam, and spent until the end of August trying to balance moving home, starting over, the new job in advertising, and writing my thesis. It was a fun summer, a hard summer. Like something from a novel where the heroine grows from it all, but not without acquiring a few scratches along the way. Then it hit me.

University College London in the golden summer evening light 
I’ve had FSA in the back of my mind since the start of 2015. I’ve wanted to get back to posting more. I’ve written a few short bits, and I’ve promised a lot more. But it never happened. Time is man’s most precious resource, and you’d best spend it wisely. I’ve found myself wandering around the British Museum, drinking coffee in train stations with beloved friends, and working on my start-up in the free time I’ve had away from school and work. I did not find myself thinking about, or sitting down to write about, skating. It’s as simple as that.

To my earlier point of time being the most important of the things which we feel possession over in our everyday lives, I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to draw a line under writing for FSA. Because I’m not skating anymore, I feel like I don’t have anything fresh to bring to the blog, and I don’t feel inspired to write about the sport from the practical standpoint which I have taken since FSA opened in 2009. And that’s okay.

A little of London - the Renaissance Hotel at King's Cross 
I won’t lie, it hurt at first. It still does. It feels like maybe quitting writing here means skating really is over for me. In every single way. But it’s time for me to take the time I would have spent writing here, and go on a new adventure. As you may or may not have picked up over the past months if you follow the blog or indeed the Facebook page, I’m founding a skincare brand. As a biologist, I’m hugely excited about using science to build awesome products. And right now, that needs all of my focus. I’d like to finally learn how to bake great cookies too, and I’d like to learn how to take better photos. I’m taking Pilates, and hopefully I’ll run another 10km circuit before the end of the year. Aspirations change and grow with you. I’m excited for the future.

With my business partner earlier this year winning some nice bits and bobs for the skincare company 
I’m not closing FSA – frankly it gets a good amount of traffic, so I take this as an indication that the content found here is somewhat useful to some folks out there. I hope it is to you.

The low-down is as follows:
  •          There will be no new posts going forwards
  •          The blog will remain at www.figureskatingadvice.com
  •          The Facebook page will remain open for the time being, but I may close it in the future
  •           I will not reply to messages received either through the blog or Facebook page going forwards
  •          The blog will continue to serve Google ads, and the revenue from any clicks made on those ads helps me to pay the domain name and keep the blog at its current URL

Thanks for reading.

Happy skating,
Gigi

XOXO

3 comments

  1. Gigi thanks so much for your efforts and writings on this blog! All blog writers eventually reach the end of their productive content, sigh. A little idea I've tried on mine is to recycle (and re-edit) old posts, say once a month (that way the blog stays fresh in search engine rankings). Also I still discover that once a year or so, while sitting at a competition, something new will pop into my mind (so yikes, a new post)!

    And keep on writing (even if not on FSA)!! You have a lot of patience in describing things so your efforts are always valued.

    Your friend,
    Jeff
    L.A. SkateDad

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  2. Dear Gigi! I love your way of writing too, and I'm sad to see you are moving on from skating, exactly at the moment when I'd like to move "in" :-) Well, that's just life! Nevertheless have fun doing all the new things and I wish you all the success in your new company! So inspiring to see a young women going for her dreams :-)
    I'll be a regular coming back for advice, as the season is just starting for me, so thank you for letting the blog live a little longer!

    Icy greetings with warm chocolate milk,
    Ildikó from Delft

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  3. Life is awesome when loving person stay with you. Nice post, thanks for sharing with us.

    Reply Delete

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