I've come and gone as a reader of YLF for the past two years, sometimes reading daily, and sometimes going a month or more without even looking at the blog. But I see it's been an eventful few days since I last wandered by--it's definitely truth time on the forum! Like other new members, I weighed the pros and cons of giving up a pleasant pastime versus committing more time to becoming an active member. I've hesitated to join in the past, despite wanting to jump into a discussion or two, in part because I do not feel that my career is conducive to posting photos of myself on the internet (even behind the new privacy features--probably), and in part because I tend toward strong, and possibly iconoclastic, opinions, which I have worried might not always be welcome on the forum. As much as I have watched the women on this forum with interest and affection, however, it seems to me that ever more fascinating developments may be taking place with the new policy: I see both a social experiment--new voices suddenly raised among familiar ones--and a thought experiment--oh, the tension of the requisite waiting period for the visual among us!--unfolding. So now I, too, find myself on the membership side of the new divide.

I've probably made myself sound like the creepiest of creepy lurkers, so let me share something about myself as well. I work in a visual profession, and I've recently returned to the US after several years in Europe, and find myself in an entirely new-to-me climate, although so far I can't say I miss the change of seasons a bit. I've spent the past year preparing for and adapting (happily!) to my new life and closet, but my wardrobe is a continual work in progress.

At the risk of further increasing my creepiness quotient, I will mention briefly how I already feel that I know so many of you, as a prelude to saying that I only hope I can find a way to give back to the ylf community that also allows you to get to know me.

Thanks for the warm welcome so many of you have already offered so many of us, and special thanks to Angie and Greg for creating the space that has allowed this community to flourish.