Where oh where have I been?

Well. It has been a HOT minute.

From the outside, it has probably looked like I just vanished off the face of the planet. And the old Heidi would have worried so much about those optics that, frankly, it never would have happened!

But this is not her.

Heidi version 2.4.3(?)

— and the best selfie buddy

This is the new Heidi—the updated Heidi.

If Heidi 2.0 was what came about in 2022, we have to be at at least version 2.4.3 by now.

2.0 was a major reboot, but she was glitchy. She had some [in]security and language flaws. She second-guessed everything to the point of paralysis, side-eyed everyone like they were an internet scammer, both over and under-shared, catastrophized things well beyond her control and swore like a sailor.

2.4.3 included many, many fixes.

Alas, the verbal filter is still very, very thin and hardly functions. It can only be reliably deployed for use at work, in uncertain social interactions, or around tiny impressionable ears.

Honestly, that’s not too bad!

One of the more useful upgrades was a bigger pause-and-reflect function. It isn’t fool-proof, but it has a load-balancing effect that seems to benefit the whole system.

Have I taken this metaphor far enough yet?

I think so! 😂

Anyway . . .

While my efforts haven’t been all that visible, there has actually been a lot going on behind the scenes.

Life has been LIFE-ING!

First—don’t worry. I’m fine! Second—no really!

2022-2026 has been a blur of reconstructing nearly every aspect of my life.

If those years of my life had a formula, it has been:

(Big trauma + Bigger Trauma + Total Chaos + Average Circus) x Shite-on-a-Stick-to-the-Power-of-3 = Best Possible Outcome

How. Exactly. Does that happen?

I. Do not. Know.

But I will take it.

Worse for the wear. But none the worse for it.

After all of that—and even with the software upgrades, not to mention the scratched, dented and missing hardware—I’m happy.

And behind the scenes, that joy has been fueling renewal in the studio, too.

The ideas have been flooding my mind. My bench has been covered with experiments—some delightfully successful, several inspiring hopefuls, and few frustrating but necessary rejects.

Why necessary?

Remember my formula.

Failures are required ingredients.

Made anyway.

I can’t wait to show you what’s just around the corner.

— Heidi