An online friend died last week.  Her real name was Vicki, but I knew her as “Save The Humans” or STH.  She was a member of The Fuselage, a LOST message board.  She was also a member of the DIMPLES group, admirers of James “Sawyer” Ford, who is a character on the show.  She was, of course, so much more than that, but this is how I knew her. 

Being part of an online group is a funny thing.  It’s uniquely intimate, yet oddly de-personalized at the same time.  I think that’s why it appeals to so many people—in real life, most times you do not have the luxury of only sharing the pieces of yourself that you most want to share.  Online, you can be whoever you want to be.  Most of us choose to be as much ourselves as possible, and STH was no different.  She could be just as crabby as the next person (nobody’s perfect), but she was so very often thoughtful and supportive.  She thought nothing of reaching out to someone in need, maybe because she understood what it was like to be in need herself.

She was an incredibly prolific poster at the Fuselage.  She had over 15,000 posts amassed, and she was always so genuinely excited to discuss all aspects the show.  She was a staunch supporter of Sawyer, although once we found out that Sawyer’s real name was James, she insisted on calling him that even when the rest of us were still transitioning to it.  I remember a discussion in the DIMPLES thread about how she felt that James was who he really is, so she refused to continue to call him Sawyer once we learned his real name.

She was so excited about participating in the “Secret Sawyer” gift exchange with the DIMPLES.  She was looking forward to it so much that she already knew what she wanted to buy for her giftee in October, when most of us were still trying to decide whether or not to even participate.  One of her last posts in DIMPLES was about how she’d found the perfect gift for her person--and I bet it was.

She was funny, she was loyal, she could be harsh, but she was also kind.  I did not know her as well as some, and I regret that I will never get to know her better.  Rest in peace, STH.  You are missed.

I don't know, using "google" as a verb always sounds vaguely smutty to me.  That said, I was googling myself the other day (heh heh), and I ran across a couple interesting things.  Well, to be clear, I was googling my screen name, not my real name.  I thought that my screen name, LisiBee, was fairly original and unique.  Sadly, not the case.  As it is, I couldn't use it here at LJ because someone had already taken it (or at Yahoo mail, come to think of it).  So who is this other LisiBee?  Or is there more than one?

This is not me:  http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=39969642  I would just like to say right now, I do not have a MySpace page, so if you ever see "me" over there, it's not me.  ;)

Same MySpace girl who's not me (also, just so you all know, I would never jump off of a 35-foot cliff, nor shoot video of myself doing so.  Just an FYI.)  http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.channel&ChannelID=39969642

I'm pretty sure this isn't me, but I can't be 100% sure as it's in German:  http://www.eventshooters.com/u/Lisibee/?ES-Session=1031ac6afccc9df4e13c3048be6dd0a2

I was a little alarmed at the sheer number of "Jericho" and "Lost" links that popped up in my search.  Uh, those are all me.

And boy, I didn't realize how those YouTube vids make their way around the 'net.  Oddly enough, one of mine ended up on a nutritional supplements website.  I have no idea why.

The USPS gives with one hand (see yesterday's entry about my Jericho DVD), and cruelly mocks and taunts with the other.  Also arriving in yesterday's mail was my credit card statement with a mystery $100 payment.  That sounds like a good thing, right?  Well, it would have been good had the payment actually arrived at its destination shortly after I sent it, in JULY.  Yeah, you heard me:  my check took two-and-a-half months to be delivered.  I have no idea why it took so long, and I'm unlikely to get any kind of explanation.  

A brief backstory on that particular payment:  I was out of town for the month of July, I knew I'd be leaving, so I pre-paid some bills in anticipation of not being here when the statements arrived.  This was one of those bills, a check sent to an un-named credit card company.  It wasn't until I returned in August that I saw on my next statement that the account was delinquent.  This kind of thing never happens, I'm so anal about my credit score it's not even funny.  (Especially after the nonsense with my identity-theiving cousins, but that's a story for another day.)  I got in touch with customer service, explained the situation, made a payment by phone, and asked for the $29 late fee to be refunded.  They were unsympathetic and refused.  (To be fair, I'm sure they must hear all the time about peoples' checks getting "lost in the mail.")  So, I call them back today, explain what happened, they did a little investigating, and have now agreed to refund the $29.  I guess they believe me now that they have the payment in hand--it was even noted on the account that the check was dated back in July.  

So to recap:  USPS bad (where the heck has that envelope been for 2.5 months?), un-named credit card company good (29 dollars is 29 dollars, and I feel somewhat vindicated.  Plus, they get extra points for having customer service people working on a Sunday.  The first guy I talked too, despite his excellent English, sounded like he was in China.  The second guy told me he was in Arizona.  Hat's off to you, un-named credit card company, for fulfilling my need for instant gratification!). 

I am so excited, this afternoon the mailman delivered my Season one Jericho DVD from Amazon.com!  Now, those of you who know me know that I've had beefs in the past with Amazon, and I most definitely wouldn't have used them for this if I hadn't had a gift certificate to spend.  (I really need to put the word out that no one is to buy me an Amazon gift certificate again.  Ever.)

Oh, the DVD is all pretty and shiny, and it has that new DVD smell, and Skeet's face is on the front....  Sorry, I drifted off there for a moment.  I'd probably enjoy it even more if I actually watched it.  But before I go, I just want to remind you guys that it's available at a reasonable price at Target, and I hear that they have a bonus DVD with their copies.  But it doesn't matter where you buy it, just go buy it!  You'll be happy that you did.  :)

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date with Skeet.

• http://jerichomonster.blogspot.com/2007/09/blogging-against-abuse-verbal-abuse.html

• http://arabellesalley.blogspot.com/2007/09/bloggers-unite-elder-abuse.html