THE LAST FIVE ...

Closing up shop
- Wednesday, Aug. 02, 2006

It may be time for a change
- Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Entry in the air
- Friday, April 21, 2006

Still here
- Thursday, April 20, 2006

Music of the moment
- Wednesday, March 1, 2006

Or ... BE RANDOM!


GOOD READS

101 in 1001
American Road Trip, 1998


OTHER PEOPLE

Chupatintas
Dancing Brave
Fugging It Up
Kitty Sandwich
Mister Zero
Sideways Rain
Ultratart
Velcrometer


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Monday, Apr. 14, 2003 - 9:06 p.m.

Having your cover blown

It can be thrilling in some ways to have this outlet, to be able to write for your own enjoyment and also have people read it, get to know you, correspond with you. Naturally, as an anonymous poster in cyberspace, you can be as detailed and intimate as you would in a private, offline diary, because unless you tell people, no one here knows you.

When I started writing here in November 2000, I did so because my previous attempts at keeping a journal had failed. Growing up just as familes started owning computers like they owned televisions, teachers became enamoured with typewritten essays and term papers. Where they used to prefer that students submit work by using a typewriter, once computers came along and with them computer labs, they began refusing to accept papers written in longhand. So I grew up typeing and gradually became so comfortable with it, it became hard to go back. Writing longhand is romantic and intimate -- I feel closer to what I'm writing sometimes when I put pen to paper -- but typing everything became more convenient and efficient. With a keyboard beneath my fingers, my body is more able to keep up with my mind. Suffice it to say, Diaryland has helped me keep up with the journaling.

Because this is my diary, and I prefer to write as true and open as I can, I prefer to name names and places rather than resorting to "D said to H that L was mad at me" or the more creative and easier to read naming of key figures: "Lazy Gay Boss told me today that Ass-Kissing Co-Worker gets to go on the business trip to Miami and I have to come in on Saturday to keep up with the work." But that, of course, can lead to some creative sleuths -- or even clueless web surfers -- to stumble across a diary and maybe put two and two and three together to figure out the real name behind the alias. As a result, I keep last names out of it, didn't mention my former emplolyer, the newspaper, until I'd left and you won't see the name of my magazine on these pages.

Unfortunately, Kinetix was not as lucky. Apparently, a student at his college found his diary (read the first entry at the bottom) and he's had to protect his words with a password. There's not any other way to go about it -- Kinetix was often candid and open about his life, his job, and the school where he works. He'd post photographs of himself and campus, and with that info out there, there's certainly a chance he'll be recognized if he kept his diary open to the public. It's a shame, though. In a way, it's probably something we're all afraid of -- someone we work with or someone we otherwise know whom we don't want looking into our private thoughts finding a way to do just that. I found Kinetix from Casey and, after getting away from him for a few months last year, returned and became a regular reader last fall. I'd say that, outside of Lauren and Jessica, whom I know of through Heather and therefore don't count, Kinetix was one of the two diaries of strangers I enjoy the most. To have that taken away from me by likely some yuppie loser the likes of which Kinetix often griped in his diary is disappointing.

When I first signed up, I got a thrill out of searching for new diaries and people with similar tastes to mine. While I didn't go out looking for new friends, it was fun to find people my age, in cities I enjoyed, with interests akin to my own. When e-mail correspondence happened, it was uplifting, but in all but one case, it eventually faded to nonexistent. I haven't had any desire to go around looking for new "regulars." I'm happy with what I get from my modest list of favorites, though I find that some are on the verge of falling off. It was easier two years ago to find diaries. Looking at the "recently updated" list, I'd see one or two I recognized. Uncle Bob talks aobut how few members Diaryland had when he started, and while there were certainly more when I came along, it was still a managable number. Now there are so many users, it's hard to wander through them, browsing as if at a flea market or something.

I don't know if I'll go out and look for new diaries, or if I'll start reading more favorites of my favorites, but not having Kinetix is certainly going to leave me more time on the internet.

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Some horny people in the past 24 hours got here by searching: "Looking at her panties," "thong Kelly Clarkson" and "Kathie Lee Gifford perfect nipples." In response, I say, "OK," "Eh," and "FUCKING DISGUSTING!"

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Yeah, sorry I have to be all legal on you here, but unless otherwise indicated, all that you read here is mine, mine, mine. But feel free to quote me or make fun of me or borrow what I write and send it out as an e-mail forward to all your friends, family and coworkers. Just don't say it's yours, you know?