Do you know the story about the exact moment at which the bar inside Nordstrom on Michigan Avenue instituted their “no taking your alcohol with you while you shop” policy? As the tale goes, a very unlucky someone tripped, gesticulated, or sneezed – they did something – and spilled their glass of red all over a $40,000 dress.

Now, before you say anything, I get it. A $40,000 dress? There? My thoughts exactly. But this is the story as it was relayed to me, so let’s not get bogged down in details. The point is: Can you imagine the fear that clogged their veins? Their mouth agape in horror, eyes wide and watching the ruby liquid’s slow-mo arc?

I absolutely can because earlier this year, I logged into my dormant website to discover that I had accidentally deleted all of my website’s pages and all but three of my blog posts. Multiple years’ worth of writing had been vanquished by my own stupidity.

Hoisted by my own petard.

Done in by my own dumb-assery.

I realized that all of that into which I had poured so much heart and so many hours, and from which I had generated such tremendous income, was just gone. And in that moment, the why and the how of it all crashed upon me in a slow-mo arc of ruby-hued regret.

“I’m going to stop being Alyx,” I had said to myself in February upon – you guessed it – deciding to stop being Alyx. “I’m going to dismantle my site. But I’m going to be smart! Instead of permanently deleting my blog and all of my pages, I’ll just – you know – move everything to the trash folder. That way, if or when I return, I’ll be able to retrieve it!”

The thing is – and as a marginally intelligent human being, I really should have known this – WordPress doesn’t work like that. The trash folder auto-purges monthly.

So I sat at my desk on a sunny Tuesday afternoon with fear clogging my veins. My mouth was agape in horror, and my eyes were wide as they scanned the emptiness of the CPanel before me.

And tonight, dear reader, I am writing to express my commitment to rebuilding. I am writing. I am pouring more heart and love into what brings us such tremendous joy. My new blog-forward site launches in less than a month, and will – among other topics – hit upon:

• My new hobby of taking myself out for Michelin starred tasting menus.
• My love of designers who make things that look like other things.
• That time that I – as a civilian – enticed two devastatingly handsome German business partners into their first MFM threesome.

So please stay tuned. And please be patient. Because even after the new platform goes live, it will take a little time for me to reach what I feel is an adequate level of reconstruction. But I am inspired, determined, and – on some nights – fueled by a glass or two of safely translucent champagne. So all will be well. In fact, it will be amazing!