10:04 p.m. | 2005-12-31 The Year of 2005. Hmm. Not sure what to say. My attention was so divided this year. Between the tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes and floods and the war� yeah. Not such a good year. On the other hand, my own personal progress reached a new high. Reconnected with estranged family members, became comfortable in my own skin and adopted a whole new outlook on life. That�d be a good year. For me, anyway. I don�t know what, if anything, I expected out of this year but it�s generally been good. (Pushing aside all the world tragedies.) JournalCon was definitely a highlight. I was so disappointed that I couldn�t attend last year that I made a special effort this year. One that was rewarded. Quite handsomely. I met a lot of new people, connected with friends and had an absolute blast. It restored my faith in humanity actually. There is just no ill will at JCon. None. Everybody wishes you well. Absolutely. If anyone comes away with a different experience � as someone always does � that�s something they brought with them. It�s not something that happens there. JournalCon was the biggest surprise too. As is the fact I have an online diary. Both are amazing things. I don�t rightfully remember how it was that I learned people were writing online diaries, but I found that out. I�m fascinated by people and as such, I started reading diaries. I picked diaries randomly off the membership page. The first page I hit was Trance. The second was Tuff. Wow. Two different styles but both very engaging. I was blown away by such eloquent and creative verbosity. Awesome stuff. I remained a voyeur for quite a while. A long time. But finally, I started my own diary. And, I�m proud of it. It�s a record if nothing else. A record of my life. I write for a living � very proper and technical stuff � so it�s fun to come here and just chat. I can throw away all the rules and just write whatever. My �whatever� is usually not so entertaining. That�s fine. I have no issue with my lackadaisical writing here. I�m merely happy to have created some sort of written record of my life. One that I don�t have to actually �write� in longhand and all. And, I have to say, I love not following any sort of rules. That? I do that everyday. Here? I can play. What I didn�t expect though, was that I�d meet so many great people. In this esoteric, ether world. Who knew that penning a few anonymous words would garner invaluable friendships. The type of friendships where you don�t even know the last name of the person you�re sharing a hotel room with. Really. It is that kind of crazy. For example, I love, love, love Ray. No idea what his last name is. (Just to be clear, I didn�t share a hotel room with him. I would�ve though. It�s like that. Really, it is.) This online community is such a blessing. It�s odd, singular and wonderful all at the same time. Most folks who settle in to update on a regular basis? By their own, and my own admission, aren�t so comfortable with other people as much as they are with a blank screen and a keyboard. But, mix us up in the same space? Amazing. For me? Without a doubt the safest place in the world is amongst the online diary community. When I started my diary, I had no idea. I really didn�t. I set about to �practice� informal writing because I do so much technical writing. I wanted to force myself to do �conversational-type� writing. Write like I speak. That kind of thing. No clue that it�d evolve into wonderful and lasting relationships with really remarkable people. People I want to spend time with. People I enjoy. People who inspire me. What a world. That�s what I think about when I think of 2005. I think, What a Wonderful World. your thoughts? seed flower