Archives Past ReEntry Sites Apply What grabs you? Schedule Upcoming ReEntry Editors
	This week's ReEntry editor is... Greg Bueno Book of Days

I read only five other journals on Open Pages, which is a good 1/100 of the entire ring. Four-fifths of those journals are written by people I know. Call it nepotism, but these online journal writers are all expressive and well-written.

Of course, I derive most of my amusement from context. Unlike other readers in, say, Austin, Texas, I know Christy Wong's "m" (much to my bemusement), talk to Ryan Ozawa's wife regularly, and have low opinions about some of Del-Burt Lau's recent acquaintances. I've never met Jay, but we're on each other's notify lists.

Perhaps it's some hidden maternal-paternal instict in me to make sure people in my "in-group" live healthy, productive lives, if not adventurous and interesting. Maybe I'm just too lazy to explore the ring or not voyeuristic enough to read the life of a complete stranger.

Who am I kidding? I read these journals because these writers reflect my own writing style. And nothing grabs me more than a writer who sounds a lot like me.

You can add egotism to the neoptism now.

I got considerably more than a rise
In Medias Res

"It's so unfair. The way things work out sometimes makes me want to put my fist through a wall."

Now, that's a suggestion I wouldn't make. My brother did the exact same thing. The wall didn't care; his right hand did.

Still, that one sentence sums up the emotion of this In Medias Res entry. Ryan talks about receiving government assistance and all its accompanying baggage, stepping back to take a look at the Big, Bad, Scary Picture. It's one of the most reflective entries in In Medias Res, a journal which focuses more on reporting.

The first half of the entry is raw. The rest of it is a disguised flame.

Ryan's writing is incredibly visual and rhythmic. He rattles off lists of injustices like a well-performed marching cadence, and his entries, while well-edited, maintain a singular sense of voice. He writes as he speaks but also as he reads.

December 10, 1997
Hale Kilinahe

"His life as we knew it is pretty much over. He can't just take up projects on a whim anymore and that must scare him to death."

Perhaps the most intriging aspect of this entry in Hale Kilinahe is how it complements Ryan's same entry that day  and vice versa. Readers see both aspects of a whole: the concerned husband; the worrying wife. It's the best kind of voyeurism  watching a pair of human beings declare their feelings to each other and letting a potential 20,000,000 listen in.

Jen Ozawa's writing is articulate and honest. Her conversational tone makes a nice contrast to her husband's polished essay-ing. Just wish she updated more.

hey there, Miscreation
Re-visions

"Some things are way better left unsaid. Other things are too sacred to describe."

So begins one of the best cases of brevity in online journal writing. "hey there, Miscreation" is so short, you don't need to scroll! And while Christy Wong makes no mention of why she describes her mood, how she expresses them is poetry enough.

And that last sentence is a classic conclusion.

Most people may be turned off by Christy's stream-of-consciousness and unique punctuation. Hang in there. Christy's biting wit fits the long-winded sentences quite nicely. Can't imagine them written any other way.

The moon like a testicle hangs low
In My Mind's Eye Theatre

"Tobie activated the Wave Motion Gun and proceeded to pursuade me to fire it by runing her hand along my leg."

Dream entries are damn hard to write. Remembering them is a bitch; accurately transcribing them even more so.

Del-Burt Lau manages to successfully recapture the action and adventure of his dream, while sacrificing none of the nonsense which makes it a nocturnal story. He first saves the world from invaders, runs late for a student newspaper meeting, punches out his editor, flirts with a perpetual crush, engages in battle with a fellow student and goes shopping for lingerie.

How can anyone beat a plot like that?

Of course, I'm in the dream, too.

Del's Mind's Eye Theatre is extremely confessional, and a person doesn't need much insight into his life to understand the basic emotions running through some of his entries. If you've ever had doubts about your career choice, browse through some of his late-spring, early-summer entries of 1997.

dear santa...
mu

"I know Minna Hamaleinen from Suomi, Finland and I'm gonna tell her to walk the few miles to your house and kick your cookie munching ass!"

Any one of Jay's entries could qualify, but this particular satirization of Christmas stands out. At once a letter, an essay and a diary entry, "dear santa" could work in any medium  newspaper, magazine, web, whatever.

The column could have worked as a purely humorous vehicle, but Jay's second to the last paragraph nails his theme  something vital in excellent essay writing. And every paragraph preceding it builds to that point.

Like Christy, Jay handles stream-of-consciousness well, although his creative use of punctuation is a bit more traditional.

Original "ReEntry" concept by Gus () and other DIARY-L participants.