They Say It's Your Birthday...

July 27 is the birthday of this here blog space, and quite honestly, I had no idea how I was going to mark the occassion. Until I read Tesco's July 9 post, and realized that was what I wanted to do. Since I'm on vacation(without Internet access--oh, the horror!) until the 30th, I'm posting today.

My online identity certainly ramped itself up once I created this space, but before my blog, it was limited to AIM and forum message boards, specifically, Bob Mould's forum board. I spent, well, OBSCENE amounts of time there, and was one of the bigger voices. So much a voice that when I finally met Bob, he knew who I was from reading all of my entries. I met several people there who I am proud to consider friends: Heather, Paul H, "Zeek", Scott, Jason, and John. Jason and John are the only ones I haven't met in person, but John's the one I probably know the best. John was there for me, via telephone, from ENGLAND, no less, when my friend Andrew committed suicide, and he listened to me pace my apartment and babble incoherently for what seemed an eternity on long distance rates, and for that I will be forever grateful.

During this time, I was also experimenting in online personals, which is where I met Dale. Dale has been a gift in my life in more ways than one, and I've been really happy since we've been together. Dale is also a web developer, and started gently nudging me in the direction of a blog after seeing how attached to the Granary board I was, and how, well, lost I felt when it was taken down. He started finding me blogs to read; among the first, and still daily, reads were Dooce, Boingboing, and Largeheartedboy. Dale helped me kick the AOL habit, helped me start my blog, and helped me buy my first Apple, this beloved iBook with which I write today. The title comes from a Far Side cartoon; my mother saw it and said, "that's you!" An old boyfriend actually started calling me Midvale, but since I loved the cartoon, after he was gone, the name stuck. FYI, I have actually pushed on the pull door before.

Through my blog, I have met many other people and kept in touch with others through their own blog spaces. New friends include Tesco, which started as almost an argument over artists giving up Mp3's, and has turned into a great new friend to talk punk rock (and other topics) with. Eric, an old dear friend, started his own blog not long after me, and through that space I can keep up with life in Wisconsin. Sue, another college friend, has one, and Jason from the Granary board does too, although I kept up with Jason by listening to his and his friend Brad's radio show on WKWUR, out of St. Louis, which had a chat room, and long winded discussions about Sloan, Sugar, and Sleater-Kinney (among others). My sister and her best friend also have blogs, and the list goes on.

I visit so many other blogs (see blogroll to left) that people are starting to read this one, people who don't know me personally. To everyone on my blog roll (ALa, AC, Michele, anyone I may have forgotten), who directly links to me, thank you! It's still a thrill to see myself on your side bar. To all these other random visitors, thank you. One of the great benefits of this medium is that it keeps me writing on a regular basis, something I used to do frequently and seriously when I was younger, and let slip away from me as life and its responsibilities took over. When I have something to say, I have a place to say it. When I have something utterly ridiculous to say, I have a place to say it. This is my space, and in this space, I am very much myself, sometimes funny, political, irrational, musical, ridiculous, corny, angry, whatever. It's my space, and you're all welcome.

Thanks to everyone for a great year.