I've been playing Eve-Online for a year and half or so. The first 6 months, I believe, were fairly typical to most players. I started out with a couple of corporations, did a stupefying amount of mining ("rock grinding"). I too did some deep-space work. As they say, nothing beats the smell of rockets and incoming... I lost my fair share of ships and gear. Had great times.

I then went bohemian and became a solo trader. I still lose ships while plying my practice, however it is now just a cost of business. The texture of the wilderness has changed. The trader role can be convenient for some players. Traders just do numbers and travel the dark gloom of space.