Theater of the Soul

Steve from Hog On Ice suggested a…ahem…shall we say ‘unique’ solution to Acidman’s problems a few days ago. There’s also a comment on that post that made me give some thought about a topic that I’ve encountered many times over the years.

I’ve been part of the worldwide internet community for around 10 years now. I’ve been an admin and supervisor for several online communities and have worked with people all over the world: Singapore, UAE, UK, Scotland, India, Ireland. Not bad for a girl who has only left her state of residence ONCE in her life.

When the dot-com bomb blew my place of virtual employment clear out of the water, the relationships with my coworkers changed into friendships built on a foundation of common misery. Some of them were so deeply disappointed and hurt, that they went their own ways and I rarely, if ever, ’see’ them online anymore. But there are several who are still a daily…sometimes hourly…part of my life, even after all this time.

I’ve never laid eyes on these people, yet…I dare say that a few of them know me better than many of my real life friends. One or two might even know me better than I know myself. I love these people as much as I possibly can, having never met them in person.

However, I’ve never had to face possibly losing one of them either.

I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting the AcidGod, or any of the other usual suspects, in person. Reading someone’s blog allows you to see only the parts of the author that they wish to reveal. Some authors are better at revealing themselves than others. I would never presume to KNOW any of the people on my blogroll, but I’ll say one thing:

I would truly grieve were any of you to drop dead tomorrow…not for the loss of daily entertainment…but for the loss of the unique ways that you all enrich my life across the miles.

And with that, I have officially reached my limit of warm fuzzies. Die Hard 2 is on the agenda for tonight…apparently I haven’t watched my quota of shit blowing up this week.