16年06月09日 - 05:45 PM EST | Well...after so many months...I finally got around to posting the first post! I am going to put a real effort into making sure that this kind of time-lapse doesn't EVER happen again...but...life happens, ya know? Well...you didn't come here to listen to me ramble and babble...or...did you...*stares intently at the reader with a raised eyebrow* ｢(ﾟﾍﾟ)
When your iT everyone wants to TAG you! XD
As far back as I can remember I have always loved being social, chatty, and just plain 'fluttery' (is that even a thing someone can be...hmmm...*thinks about that*) while always having to stay 'professional and polite'. UGH!!! Its SO hard to be that way though...I mean...c'mon do you SEE how I write?! LOL (*≧▽≦)ﾉｼ)) Meeeeee?! Professional?! *looks away shyly with a giant smirk stretched across my face* Hard as it may be to believe it...I take a TON of pride in what I do, which before any of ALL THIS was strictly computer-y-fix-it stuff and server setup stuff. It dawned on me though that I wanted to make, and maintain my OWN website but like most people starting out was scared at the undertaking and thought of it all. The thought would come up from time to time when I least expect it over the last 5 years and I just didn't know what to do. A part of me wanted NOTHING to do with the mere idea of it, as it would add more responsibility and take away from my own personal time. But then...there was a HUGE part of me that felt trapped. Not trapped in the "oh my goodness I locked myself in the trunk" sense, but more like "duct tape stretched for layers over my mouth, hands bound with tight ties, finding it hard to breathe all the while wanting to scream and break free" sense. Ever feel that way? ICK!! TOTAL ICK! (⌣_⌣”)
Not quite trapped like this...but you get the idea
I still didn't know why I wanted to build a website...but something inside me knew somehow that it would set me free! I guess I secretly hoped that it would allow me to express myself in a way that I just wasn't able to before. *shrugs* ( ｡･-･｡｀) So...even after deciding and finally committing to building a website, I STILL didn't fully-commit to building it. LOL I'm so stubborn sometimes! xD I spoke to family and friends who were ALL SUPER supportive and told me to GO FOR IT! But...even after all the encouragement I STILL couldn't bring myself to actually building the website yet. DO YOU KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE IT IS TO RUN A WEBSITE?! LOL ꉂ (>ꇴ<⌯))л̵ʱªʱª⁎*.＊ The first thing I needed, I thought to myself, would be a name. I wanted a cheap name. I wanted a cool name, but cheap. I wanted the name to be fun and inviting, but...uhhh...cheap. Did I mention I wanted it cheap?! LOL It would have to be easy to type and remember, and be as upbeat and as quirky as yours truly! xD Weeks went by with thoughts of website names such as: sparky.net, caffeinated.com, websitename.com and THOUSANDS of variations of all of those and then some. One of my best friends said that the website name should reflect ME...and if I couldn't decide on one, then it just meant that now was not the time. I liked that. No pressure, no hassle, no stress! But what came to me next would shape everything to come. In a word...peekaboo!
Yup...this was pretty much my expression...mayyyyybeeeee more bulging of the eyes? LOL xD
Sooooo when I say peekaboo...what comes to mind? Im sure it isn't the image of both a Pikachu and a Boo together on a screen, right? Pikachu, for those who don't know, is a Pokémon (or pocket monster -- which is actually what Pokémon means in Japanese) from one of the best-selling Nintendo franchises, Pokémon. Boo, another video game character, is a ghost from the very well-known Super Mario Brothers series also released solely by Nintendo. This image haunted me as I thought it couldn't POSSIBLY be taken, right?! WRONG!!! Because I AM NOT NORMAL...I completely overlooked the goo-goo-ga-ga-scare-your-child-half-to-death-by-disappearing-act known to many as...*deep sighs* ((╬ಠิ﹏ಠิ)) ...peekaboo... o(╥﹏╥)o I mean...did it matter that I was spelling it P-I-K-A-B-O-O?! Super saddened...I almost gave up there...until I started making a list of ALL the different versions of the name and FINALLY came across what you all now know as pika.net. I liked it because ぴかぴか (prounounced pi-ka-pi-ka) means sparkle in Japanese! I thought that it was FANTASTIC! I HAD FINALLY FOUND A NAME!!! I was super overjoyed! SO HAPPY! And as you might suspect...when I looked over at the cost I literally fell over and my mouth hung wide open! I won't say how much...BUT IT WAS A LOT!!!! Ok...so think of a number you think is a lot...uh huh...did you do it yet? Ok...well...now double that number....yeah....and now....multiply it by like...i dunno...3! YEAH! *nods while pointing* Thats a BIG number right?! Well...now imagine if you had to PAY that for a name...not a site...not a fully-working website...ohhhhhh nooooo... *shakes head* ...that would be TOO easy! UGH! THAT IS NOT CHEAP!!!!
2015年06月 - Pathmark Supermarket in Parsippany, NJ that is now permanently closed where I was first presented with the challenge of helping my co-worker.
Back in June 2015, I finally had a name I think I'd like to use, some rough ideas for what I'd like to do, but...THAT PRICE!!!! It was haunting me and torturing me! I decided to call upon "the mystical powers-that-be" out there in the cosmos to help me decide whether or not this is something I should pursue. I should kindly side-note that I am VERY PROUD of being a spiritual Jewdeo-Christian and whenever I feel lost, I kinda just look up at the sky and ask for guidance in hopes of something or someone hearing my ramblings. Well...keeping that in mind...I remember it was a BEAUTIFUL day and I remember pulling up to the, now closed, Pathmark Supermarket shopping plaza in Parsippany, NJ. I had just finished some work and went there for a quick bite to eat. I parked my car, started walking to the supermarket and looked up and said, "if this is something I am suppose to do...give me a sign would ya?" No sooner from when I said that out loud, did my phone then start ringing. It was a co-worker who wanted to talk about the job I had completed but then brought up their own aspirations to have a website up and running. I told him of my plans and he thought I was CRAZY! He said he would NEVER pay that much just for a name. He then told me of about a website name he had once owned, with no website attached. He spent about half of what I was debating paying for his website name back in 2011. He told me that it deeply saddened him (OK...well it didn't really sadden him because he frankly put it all out of his mind) that he no longer had access to the website name, also sometimes referred to as a 'domain name'. I asked him why he lost access to the name in the first place and he told me that some internet online group stole it from him (In my mind I saw pirate ships and hostile take overs with swords and fights to the death and the sort...LOL) stating that they could build him a website and launch it for him. I was curious, so I asked him if he would want it back. He said he could take it or leave it at this point. We got off the phone and as I paid for my lunch, I looked back up pointing at the beautiful crystal blue sky shaking my finger saying, "so what you're telling me is that if I can get his name back to him then thats my sign to buy the super pricey name? Challenge accepted!"
2015年07月29日 - Congratulations text message from my friend once I secured ownership of the domain name pika.net.
A couple of e-mails back an forth with some not-so-nice people and about 2 weeks of arguing later...I had retrieved the rights to the domain name so that I could pass it over to my co-worker. I had done it! I had succeeded in getting his name back for him! He will NEVER admit it, but he was OVERJOYED that I pulled it off. Frankly...I'm quite surprised I did. It didn't look like a battle I was going to win AT ALL! So, can you believe even after all that...I still didn't buy and register the name! LOL ꉂ (>ꇴ<⌯))л̵ʱªʱª⁎*.＊ I TOLD YOU I was stubborn! In the end it took calling the domain company that originally owned the rights to pika.net and asking them to bring the cost down by 13% (a number that haunts me to this day...but...not in a bad way anymore) that finally secured me the ownership of pika.net. On Wednesday, July 29, 2015 at 2:00 PM EST I was the proud, proud, err...poor...so poor...yeah...SUPER-POOR owner of pika.net! xD I joke a lot about how I didn't want to buy the domain name but now...now I just smile and see UNBELIEVABLE potential. It wasn't until months later that I would actually find a website hosting company, encourage my friend to build a website, and start the TRUE journey of @pikadotnet, which has been ANYTHING but boring, as I find I am discovering FANTASTIC new opportunities and making really awesome friendships along the way!
As you can see, this wasn't a 1-2-3 easy-bake oven website born out of fandom, boredom, slight intrigue, desire to become famous, or any of those negative-nasty reasons to run and maintain a website. It was born out of good-will, desires, hopes, dreams, creativity, and a DRIVING DESIRE to do AMAZING things for you ABSOLUTELY AMAZING PEOPLE out there! ピカ Shoppe, my sister site, was born on Memorial Day 2016 to carry out EVEN MORE good-deed-doings by helping charities and special interests with 13% of profits going to support their causes! With so much exploding and doing so well, its hard to look back and imagine how this all wasn't in my life a year ago! But...again...none of this is AT ALL possible without YOU! So, if you managed to actually read all of this I want to first of all say THANK YOU...but...if you DM me on Instagram or on Twitter and mention the following phrase: "It was worth the cost Pika!" I will send the first 5 people something special! (If I don't respond right away its probbaly because I'm either busy or sleeping lol) THANKS AGAIN FOR MAKING THIS ALL POSSIBLE! I AM SO EXCITED TO SHARE ALL OF OUR (Pika and I) ADVENTURES WITH YOU!
FYI - Check back soon for a slideshow that will be <INSERTED_HERE> of the changes pika.net has went through through the past year!
Signed with a humble and honored heart,
