TABULA RASA

it's been a while since i've felt like bothering with something like this. when my domain expired in september last year, i felt a pang because i hadn't gone without a website in years. i figured it out -- it's been ten years since i first began to publish on the web. it's weird how much changes with time. when i first made a webpage, i think it was hosted by tripod or geocities, i was teaching myself html... and i was asserting my adolescent need for self-expression (to an audience), i guess. over the years, having a website became like having a business card: i exchanged addresses with friends and acquaintances, and we all kept in touch with each others' lives via these little spots of code in the vast intarwebz. then one day, poof! i didn't exist anymore.

granted, there are internet archive sites that leave my e-trail a little more vividly than maybe even i would like to have be the case, but i don't really regret any decisions i made. i certainly never attached a full, real name to a website that could be accessed by just anyone, and even if i had, i think i maintained a fair amount of dignity despite the fact that i was publishing my life for anyone to read.

all this said, i'm not really sure why i'm here now. i've been meaning to come up with something that would enable me to keep in touch with my friends that i've made over the years (who knew that a silly tripod webpage with terrible design would lead to lifelong friendships?) since my website went kaput. i haven't bothered with any of my traditional means, i guess maybe i wanted a fresh start. i don't know that i particularly want to share much with anyone -- these days, a sketchbook or notebook in my backpack suffices very well for me. i think if nothing else, i'd like to keep track of the books i'm reading. i've been meaning to start an official list, but it's one of those things that gets shoved to the end of the to-do list, especially when there are delicious tomes i could be devouring in my free time instead.