It's 2023... What's new?

Hey everyone!

Long time no chat! 2024 is almost amongst us and the world as we once knew it has changed so much since we last chatted. I figured I'd write an update post as it's been awhile since the last time you heard from me here on the blog.

First and foremost, thank you to all the returning viewers and unique new visitors that has continued to read and show your support to this blog. I started this blog for fun in 2010, and it became a quick joy to write and cover the virtual world we all once loved as kids, Pandanda. It was such a tremendous joy to build this blog from the ground up and watch it blossom. For it to become a place, where players of the community would come for their Pandanda news, guides, tips, and community memories, is something that I never take for granted and always cherish and have appreciation for. 

This blog was made possible through you, the community. With viewers from across the globe (& over 110+ countries), we have surpassed 115,000 views on this blog! We have viewers located in the United States, Singapore, Romania, Brazil, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland, just to name a few, and so much more! These were only the top 10 countries!

From the moment I created this blog, I never anticipated or expected it to grow and reach players from around the world. I never knew how impactful and helpful my blog would be to the community during Pandanda's 6-year run. I never knew that this blog would continue to attract viewers for 10 more years, after the closure of our beloved childhood game in 2012. From the bottom of my heart, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude and appreciation. I hope that my blogging days, although now, are non-existent, have continued to bring you reminiscence, memories and nostalgia.

So... What's new?

Things are completely different! I wrote a post back in 2017, giving a life update regarding what plans were in store for myself, what I intended on going to college for, and gave you a little update with life. Nothing crazy, just a little something in case you wanted to know what was next for myself. I write all posts with the intention of looking back on them at some point. It's fun to track my growth and revisit things I wrote in the past, to see how well those things aged.

To keep things condense, I did the complete opposite of everything mentioned in that post and went a complete different route. I went to school for film and television and now work in live entertainment! Things have been great for myself. But as a word of advice, to my younger audience, never give up on things you are passionate for. This blog was a creative outlook for myself growing up, and has always been a method of expression. It was important for me to figure things out and choose a career path that allowed me to continue having creative expression, growth, yet ultimately find my place to work in an industry that allows me to do exactly just that. Computer engineering and computer science wasn't for myself, and I needed to pick a field that was related to the arts, as I've always enjoyed telling stories & creating engaging content that I enjoy and want to share with others.

That's all for now! I just wanted to touch base and give an update since it has been a few years! I know there will be a bunch of people who will read this in due time, but I hope to hear updates from you too!

Party on! -Randy