Okay, for those that need 'em, grab your tissues. No I haven't been into my
fermented seeds, or anything else, but what I have to say is straight from the heart.
On this day last year, I got a computer. Two days later, internet access lay purring
at my feet. Two and I/2 days later, I was ready to shoot both the machine, and
myself. True, I had experienced the 'net before, but that was in 1999 and only for a
very short time - wow, what a difference 8 years can make! This new internet, was
big, fast, and scary, and I had nobody in my life who was computer oriented to ask for help. My roommate has told me if I start one more conversation with the word
"computer" in it, I'm dead meat. The only reason I'm still alive is that I have been
walking around the house with duct tape over my mouth - its the only way to keep
me from chattering on about "our thing" (see Men Of Respect; if you like your
MacBeth mixed with The Godfather, its a great flick; they use that phrase a LOT).
What I may lack in experience I make up for with passion - so, one day while doing my (daily) search for artsy type freeware via Google, I found GOTD. Ha! I almost passed it by, it sounded like a scam, I mean, one free program a day? After doing a little homework, I decided to take the chance and here we are, and thank goodness I did. Like many others, I suspect, the front page was where I stayed at first. But one day, I checked out the forum and began reading.........and reading.......and reading some more...........hey, this was nothing like I had expected! The forum wasn't just about activation problems, or for overamped techheads - people actually HELPED each other! More importantly, no one laughed at the newbies(well, at least not in print!)- sad to say, but this is not always the case in other forums. So for a time, I simply read, learned, and even laughed my way thru these pages - but post, me? What could I possibly add to this mix? Finally, I had a question one day that needed an answer, so I posted,and you all responded. Then it happened again. And you reponded again, etc., etc. And, to my surprise, one day someone posed a question that I actually had an answer to! Finally I had a chance to return in some small measure, some of the generosity that is that is poured daily into this forum, and damn, did it feel good! Eventually, my shyness wore off just a bit with each and every post I made or answered. In fact, if I had swallowed my pride a month ago, and asked for help here instead of cowgirling (cowhamstering?) my way through, my computer might not have been reduced to a smoking ruin......
I want to wish each and every one of you, a Merry Merry and a Happy Happy of
whatever it is you celebrate at this time of year. I would list all your names, but
when you do that, someone always inadvertently gets left out - you know who you
all are. You are the people that come here every day, who have been so generous
with your time and expertise, and who go more than just the extra mile to share them. You are the mods - to do a job like this must be an enormous imposition on your time; yet you still do it, and well - as volunteers no less! You are the people who have said "thanks, hamstergirl" not realizing how much it would mean to me, each and every time you said it. You are the people responsible for much of my progress this past year, and I want to thank all of you. Most of all, you are the people I am happy to have as friends.
Merry Trails,
hamstergirl
P.S.: Hey guys, in January, can I leave kindergarten and go on to 1st grade?