As it is past midnight, and therefore officially September 3rd, I have two things to say:

First, I would like to wish the happiest of birthdays to doctorgogol! It still amazes me that I had the good fortune to come across someone who would end up becoming so dear to me through this medium. Back in December, when the doctor was still a professor in these parts, I certainly didn't anticipate that doing a "similar interests" search would lead me to someone who would end up being not just an online acquaintance, but a trusted friend. I was very, very lucky. And, good doctor, you have a package on the way, but it will be late, because I never manage to send birthday presents on time.

Second, as of today, I have had a LiveJournal for exactly one year. I hereby post my stats:

Account Number: 13685
Account type: Paid Account, previously an Early Adopter
Date created: 09-03-2000
Journal entries: 320
Support points: 8
Comments: Posted: 2,037 - Received: 1,715

Holy cow. The thing is—and I know I've told a few of you this—I never meant to keep a journal here. I had been following some other people's journals, and I created an account so that I wouldn't have to post anonymous comments all the time. I signed my name when I commented anonymously, but still, I felt like I needed to jump into the fray more officially, especially "Shasta" is one of those names that seems made-up to many people.

It took a while, but I got sucked in. I look back at my early journal entries, and it's obvious that I wasn't very comfortable posting in my journal. I used the account mainly to post comments for a while, but after a few weeks, I decided to add some people to my friends list. I kept coming across interesting people, and going through several other people's friends lists started to seem silly. I remember adding blackhellkat and unquietmind and whorlpool and zuul very early on, and I also remember being shocked that they were adding me back.

I don't think I actually started feeling comfortable here until January or so. I think that at some point, I decided that it might not be such a bad thing for me to share parts of myself in this format. There are all sorts of things I just won't say here. At the same time, there are things I say here that I don't say to most of my real-life friends. I've written about things that have been painful, and I've found the process cathartic. Writing here has challenged me—and I think it's because the pressure I sometimes feel to come up with something interesting makes me to dig a little bit deeper, to be more introspective than I might otherwise be. And I'm thankful that LJ's features make it possible for me to do this in a way that seems safe to me.

I didn't know that a few of you would be people I count among my closest friends. The surprise was both unexpected and delightful. As for what I did expect: I enjoy following your adventures, plunging into your darker moments, wondering along with you when you're feeling doubtful, joking with you when you're feeling silly, and celebrating with you when you're feeling cheerful.

I like it here. I like it a great deal.