I don't know how common it is, but I always feel somewhat special when I consider the fact that I still have the very first world I generated when I began playing Minecraft. I've explored a wide area in that world, but still haven't gotten to really know it. There's been quite a few times when I'll be exploring around an area that I think I've never been in before, when suddenly I crest a hill, and I spot a creation of mine from ages ago. Like that time I re-found a dirt house next to the ocean I had built years ago. I thought I had made that on another world altogether, so I was quite happy to see it. It was while I was working at that house, smelting the ore from a cave below it, that I found my first patch of pumpkins. (They had recently been added to the game.) The jack-o-lantern I had made before trying to reach home again was still there, face pointing in the direction I had gone. I ended up dying on the return trip, so I never found where in the world my temporary base was, till that moment. Course, even now if I had to re-find my way to it, I wouldn't be able to. But at least now I know that it's out there.

There is ONE downside to having generated so much of the map around my base, from back before a lot of different updates. If I wanted to find any jungles, or NPC villages, or a varied assortment of other new features, I would have to travel for many in-game days. For instance, the place where my stronghold should be was an area I had been to previously, so it's not there. Luckily, I hear there might be two others out there... I just have to find them. I don't think I'll head out to find them anytime soon though. My Homestead has my attention at the moment, and now that the area around my base has finally thawed out, I can remove the ice and snow that's been bugging me for so long. But maybe after those two big projects are at least mostly taken care of, I'll think about settling a totally different area, far away from my 0,0 spawn point. I'll just have to make sure I have a compass so I have the option of finding my way back to home-sweet home :)

Next blog post I'll write about my main base, the first thing I ever built that I was remotely happy/impressed with!