You've come a long way, baby....

since September 25, 2001, when this blog started.

This is the third redesign. Entries were sporadic those first few years. I was writing more often over at my online journal back then. Also, Blogger was not as WYSIWYG as it is now. I was surprised in 2003/2004 when I returned to write here regularly that the post box had a WYSIWYG interface. It used to just be HTML and you had to type any links using HTML code. I learned quite a bit with Webmonkey's help, but there was certainly a steep learning curve. (It's handy to know HTML anyway, because sometimes those WYSIWYG editors leave codes in after you delete something that then mess up the layout or cause weird things to occur. If you know HTML, you can usually deduce where the mistake happened and delete or fix what is causing the problem.)

I obsessed over learning HTML and getting the template the way I wanted it and all the other stuff that goes along with setting up a website.

Then I promptly decamped to Diary-X (*sniff*) and set up a journal. The blog was more casual than the journal. Maintaining them both was difficult. But then Diary-X died and I started writing here again. In other words, I made my writing more of a priority. I still have no real focus on this blog, but that's okay. It's not really supposed to have one. I could have just imported all these entries over to my new journal, but I didn't want to give this site up. Plus, there is an even steeper learning curve with WordPress. So I will definitely continue to maintain this site and the other site, at least for the near future. :)

In September 2001, I was reeling from the events of 9/11, but I didn't want to clog up my blog with my thoughts. The blog didn't seem to be the place for it. Back then, I had a cutesy design with fat puppies, and they were too happy for such a depressing topic.

Now I just write when I find something that strikes my fancy. I still think there is a difference between a blog and a journal: the blog is chatty, whereas my journal is more reflective. *shrugs* Everyone has a different opinion.

I suppose my blog has been around a while, but I still feel like a newbie. Happy anniversary to me!

Oh, and I have two new journal entries posted, if you're interested in reading them.