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[personal profile] susandennis
Yesterday I was trying to explain to Barbara and [livejournal.com profile] machupicchu the other-than-sheer entertainment value that the community of Live Journal affords me. I've never been able to successfully define this to anyone else and I didn't do much better yesterday and probably won't here but he did give me a couple of examples to work with.

My Mom used to say that if you never married, you'd never have anyone to tell you that your slip was showing.

When you live alone and as relatively isolated as I do, you have to seek and find people to tell you when your slip is showing. That's what LJ does for me.

People read my entries and let me know with questions and comments that make me think about things differently or just make me think about things I would not or knock me off my self satisfied pedestal when I need it. [livejournal.com profile] pheon was great at this. He questioned and he offered up opposing views quietly and gently and oh so effectively. He died in a car wreck about 18 months ago and I still will write an entry every now and again and think 'wonder what Andy would say about this!' I wonder what he'd say about this one!

I also very much appreciate and need the validation I get from LJ - reading other peoples' journals and comments to my own. Sometimes I really do not know if I am on the right track or out in left field.

Yesterday Matthew asked me if I knew of many women my age who worked in IT. At the time I could not think of a one. Since then I've come up with a few - a couple on my LJ friends list. But, the question has stayed with me beyond what he asked. It points out how very lucky I have been in finding my niche in the world. I cannot imagine my life without computers - work life or other life. What if, because of my age or gender, I missed the byte boat??!! I never thought about it that way before and I'm sure glad I did.

And, he also offered up a great example in my own life of why my saying 'never' is as leaky as a sieve. For about 58 years I said and believed with every fiber of my being that I would never ever ever join a gym and most certainly would not start 6 days out of 7 in on one. And yet...

Looking back on that last night, I realized that several folks reading this journal had made much the same comment. Sometimes my soul mirror is foggy and I have to be shown stuff more than once.

I started keeping a journal here in 2002. At the time, I knew no one here and did not even really grasp the community part of the deal. I learned fast and while I still appreciate a good place to leave my daily journal thoughts, this is so much bigger. My LJ family is the perfect family. Many come for short visits. None stay for dinner (unless - bless their hearts- they bring it!). There are no holiday obligations.

The more I put in the more I get out and the better I am for it all. I know I have peops to tell me when my slip is showing. Thank you.

(no subject)

Date: 2008-04-29 06:34 pm (UTC)
kyrielle: Middle-aged woman in profile, black and white, looking left, with a scarf around her neck and a white background (Default)
From: [personal profile] kyrielle
You're welcome, and this is a really cool post. I wonder what Dad would have said, too. I suspect he would have been pleased that you found his words helpful, and that he would appreciate and agree with the feedback aspect, but of course I'm only guessing.

Isn't that an awesome aspect of LJ? Sometimes it can be uncomfortable or disconcerting, especially until you realize that's how the place works, but it's so so cool.

And I envy you your gym situation. I think that getting to one would help me, but there's no good options nearly as close to either my work or my home as yours is to you. I really ought to do another round of "investigate possible gyms along the route" I suppose. (There's one, I think in Tigard, I want to check out. They have a swimming pool. I like swimming, and we don't have a municipal pool, so....)

Hmm. I seem to have sidetracked. Your post made me think about things that I hadn't in a while, thus illustrating itself! :)

(no subject)

Date: 2008-04-29 06:51 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] silverthief2.livejournal.com
LJ does the same for me. I also started my journal here in 2002, mainly because writing a journal longhand was taking way too long! But the community I found is really irreplaceable, even though I've only met about 10% of my friends list IRL.

A great post

Date: 2008-04-29 06:55 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aellia.livejournal.com
I can't remember how we met,but I like you being part of my LJ family.
Do you still want to come back as my grandaughter?

I pop in from time to time. The wonders of the webcam :-)
x

(no subject)

Date: 2008-04-29 07:23 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fj.livejournal.com
Thank you too.

(no subject)

Date: 2008-04-29 08:39 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ruralrob.livejournal.com
Well, I just checked on your webcam and your slip isnt showing. Nice post though!

(no subject)

Date: 2008-04-29 11:53 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] babsbuni.livejournal.com
Very well said.

Since you can't keep your slip up, perhaps you should just take it off...

(no subject)

Date: 2008-04-30 01:40 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] babsbuni.livejournal.com
Beautiful.

(no subject)

Date: 2008-04-30 01:28 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] machupicchu.livejournal.com
.
.
For the record, I thought you explained the concept perfectly.
.
.

close but no cigar

Date: 2008-05-01 03:04 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] estis.livejournal.com
A slight misspelling kiddo;
It is machupicchu not machupichu hee hee.

Re: close but no cigar

Date: 2008-05-01 03:18 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] estis.livejournal.com
Actually I read it everyday but today was the first time I checked out his profile--machupichu only had one friend and it wasn't you--and he hasn't posted in quite a while.

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Susan Dennis

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