Beth has started an online journal. This is both very cool and very weird; cool because I like Beth, what I know of her, and this is a fabulous way to see more sides of her than the precise control she exhibits on the mud we both play. And weird, because watching her be self-conscious and think about her voice reminds me of doing those things myself. I'm not self-conscious any more (well, I am a little about Wednesday's entry, because it's so unlike my usual blithe ramblings), and I think I've found my 'voice', inasmuch as this is a static unchanging thing, which I'm pretty sure it isn't. Voice to me is just the way of writing in which the author conveys herself most truly... and I think I'm conveying more in this recent renaissance than I was before, but I'm sure some people would disagree. Okay, now I'm about to diverge into a huge ramble about it being impossible not to have one's own voice, which I'm not even sure I believe, so I'll just stop here. I'm going to be late for lunch with Daniel anyway.

Back! I wasn't late for lunch after all; Daniel was a little but I forgave him. We had a nice lunch, a little awkward in places but I suppose that's not unusual given that it's been nearly two years since we've had a real conversation. I've changed a lot in that time and am very aware of the changes, whereas he seemed just the same despite the fact that I knew firmly in my head that he'd probably changed a lot too. We'll probably do it again; I think dinner with the right combination of people would work well. When it's just the two of us I slide too easily into the old dynamic of looking to him for advice and approval, even though I know that's not where I want to go. Hopefully in a group I wouldn't have to struggle to avoid it.

Tonight there's La Fondue with Kit, who is visiting from Alaska care of Stuart, who bought her a plane ticket for no reason but that he likes her and knew she'd enjoy the visit. Stuart is in Texas, Kit in Alaska; they've never met but online. Their developing friendship is both interesting and uncomfortable to watch, as neither of them tends to do things by half measures. Stuart... I could write a lot about Stuart; I've known him on and off (mostly off) for nearly six years now. For someone I've only spent days (weeks at the most, over all those years) with in person he's had an interesting impact on my life -- but this is definitely something to write at length about another time. We're friends again now, and better than before, and that's good. And, because of him, tonight Jim and I are having dinner at La Fondue, with Marith and Chrisber and hopefully Trip. I'm really looking forward to it.

Today is just my day for weird tangents, isn't it? Voice in writing, Stuart Lin... I'm going home to relax and talk with Jim and eventually get ready for dinner before I ramble off somewhere else. Not that I dislike the tangenting, but it does make it hard to finish an entry.