Unlike my 18 year old daughter, Lauren, and her tribe, the internet does not come naturally to me, I am not a native to its landscape. In fact, while in 2nd grade, it was she who introduced me to google in 2000. It would then take me another five years to find Livejournal where, for the most part, I am happy.

Still, every year between 2005 and pretty much now, I have had an undeniable need to get away, and so consequently, for 3 to 4 months at a stretch each year, I have just stopped, never logging onto LJ, dealing with email as little as is humanly possible, no tumblr, no twitter, only opening my laptop when compelled to. I have found this yearly running away to be problematic. I come back each time feeling like a stranger and yet, I do come back, which must mean this place matters to me.

And which also explains, to my mind anyway, why I continue to do 100_snapshots and why I do my own interpretation of the 365 photo project because they compel me to post photographs hopefully twice a week, but at least once a week in order to keep up with the my related mission101 tasks, so I can't just run away and, since I'm on LJ anyway, I read my f-list, which I really do miss doing otherwise.

December to like last mid-last week, was my running away time hopefully for this year as up until then, I had been struggling to get even those 2 little photo posts posted. Still, get them posted I have meaning I haven't spent 3 or 4 months completely gone, so I think my idea has worked, which proves to me yet again, how important mission101 has become to my life.

Again, thank you, Alex. Without you (and Livejournal) I never would have found this community which has been of such a benefit to me.