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	This week's ReEntry editor slept fewer than 1000 hours in 1998, due in part to insomnia and in part to her voracious appetite for the printed (and pixelated) word. When she wasn't reading, she was tending her 4 kids, travelling, e-mailing and joining other journalers' notify lists. Oh, and occasionally working on the side. Meet... Dreama DreamaWorks

Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Dallas & Denver
Living in The Bonus Round

"He said the church should be a safe place for people, not a scary place that people have to leave because they don't measure up in some way.

When I took the stage and sat behind the piano I couldn't speak. I was choked up and drenched in my own tears. I just sat there weeping wondering how I was ever going to get through the night.

But I did."

Steve Schalchlin is an "unknown but somewhat famous" songwriter who is living with AIDS. From his account of performing songs from his musical "The Last Session" at the church he attended in his youth to stories about everyday life at home with his pets and his boyfriend, Steve's journal reminds me of a great novel. Completely sucked into the story, connecting with the characters and knee-deep in the action, I can't wait for the next chapter to unfold. The fact that I'm reading about the real life of a courageous and talented man makes it all the more exciting, inspiring and, more often than not, touching.

Little Girl Lost
A Tangerine Girl

"This weekend was a total bust. I still have not set up the scanner or printer properly....I did look around at digital cameras, but I came to no conclusions. I have felt the need to draw....to paint....to get this *FEELING* out of me...to clear my heart, my head, my soul. But when I sit in front of the pure blankness of that paper I become silently terrified at my own failures and I can't bring myself to lay brush or pencil, charcoal or conte', pen or chalk or even crayon to its surface. I feel lost in a sea of myself, and I am drowning in my dark bits and I can't even cajole myself into trying to swim for shore.....I've forgotten where it is. I keep trying for that back stroke, and every so often I get the rhythm right....enough to keep me floating a few moments...and get a glimpse of what Should Be....before sinking again. I search the Tao, I search myself....I gaze at sketches, paintings, and poems....I stare at photos, and this website....and I try to MOVE DAMNIT!....but I don't. Not enough. I am never enough.....in the end, not even for myself. "

Jessi isn't your typical 20-something angst-ridden artist, oh no. But wow, can she ever capture the feeling of all of the creative-types faced with various trials and tribulations of life, going up and down the roller coaster that is the modern existence. She has a powerful way of bringing words to emotions that we've all known, but haven't necessarily found a vocabulary to breathe life into the feelings. Jessi's a new kid on the block, only around for about four months, but I look forward to reading her emotion-filled recollections of her journeys, artistic and personal, for years to come. As an addendum to her written journal, Jessi also keeps her collection of Glances, an online portfolio of her compelling and vibrant artwork.

Killing Lazarus
Medea's Memoirs

"I feel alone.

She wasn’t just my patient. She was my fallen angel and I was her reluctant guardian. She was my hidden faith.

And as my fingers hesitantly left her soft pulseless neck, my faith left me.

Thank God I’m an atheist."

Forget about fictionalized accounts of medicine and the lives of TV doctors. George Clooney can't hold a candle to Scott Liles, MD. He brings readers into his world of life and death, where the people are real and won't be seen in a Doritos commercial the week after they die. Many other journalers' tongues were set to wagging (and eyes set to tearing) by Scott's retelling of the saga of Terminal Girl, one of his patients who touched him in a profound way. Even when the stories aren't as heart-wrenching as Terminal Girl's, there is always that kernel of truth you don't know which side your coin will land on today. As a plus, Scott also shares his amazing drawings. . .

Down Here
Irregular Joe

"Why I haven't written is, I've been feeling glum. I've slowly slid into a funk over the last several weeks, reaching a point while in Pittsburgh that was low enough that every time I tried to begin an entry, the only things that came out were DRIVEL!! DRIVEL AND WHINING!!"

I normally wouldn't include something so obviously "meta" in nature in such a compilation, but this one just grabbed me, as all of Michael's writings do (no, his name isn't Joe!) because finally someone else realised the complete soul-crushing feeling that can come from being in Pittsburgh! Just kidding actually, this is not indicative of Michael's usual offerings which are surprising (this is a Gen-X aged guy who crochets, for crummy sake!) and humourous, right from the title.

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