The Yule Ball, and Happy Holidays

As part of my New Year’s resolution going into 2007, I posted the following on my personal blog.

I will stop being an observer who samples from different plates. I will choose a direction and accomplish something.

It was shortly after I made that statement that I thought about creating a fan fiction podcast. I knew virtually nothing about the fandom, didn’t have any contacts, and knew nothing about producing a quality podcast. (One could argue I still don’t.) This project has been so successful for me personally because I never expected anything in return. I don’t care about the fandom itself. I could care less if five people or five thousand people are listening. It’s not meant to be stressful. It’s not work. The day it’s no longer fun, I’m absolutely out of here.

I don’t see that happening for quite a while because of the people I’ve met and the bonds I’ve formed over the past ten months. I never imagined I’d make friends doing this, and yet Jen, Chi, Meg and I are extremely close. We’ve been together such a short time, but it’s been an undeniable rollercoaster and I wouldn’t trade them for anything. The community that’s come together is literally that. It’s not a meeting place for occasional visitors to talk shop. It’s family. I never imagined that this project would be less about the content and more about the community, but it’s happened, and I could never recreate the conditions that brought these hundreds of people together. We’re friends, and we’ll continue to be friends long after we put Harry back up on a shelf. The outpouring of kindness we’ve encountered over the past year truly gives me a lot of faith in the power of strangers.

I am pleased to announce that PFW’s first Yule Ball will commence in the forum on Friday, December 14th at 2PM. If you’re not yet a member of the community, we’d love to welcome you to the group. This is a party from the members for the members. On behalf of the hosts, we wish you a safe and happy holiday season. This one’s from us.