I decided to change my online name. It's like the fourth time. When I first came online I was julie_k -- not to unusual, eh? Later I changed it skumpy. skumpy was a nickname that we used to call The Son when he was little and I thought it made a good online nick. After my first turn through an online rock throwing fest, I changed my name to something that encompassed who I was at the time - soulseeker (because I was (and still am) seeking to know my soul). Awhile back I decided I wanted a name change and so I changed my name to suburbfreak because, to make a long story short, that identified who I was/am in my real life - sorta the freaky one in our community. I've had that name for awhile and it doesn't sit well with me. It doesn't identify who I am or what I want to imply. Usernames mean a lot, don't they? I really can tell something about a person based on their username. If your username is something silly, something spiritual, something snotty, just your name... they all impart something about our personality.

My new username is gassho. Gassho is a Japanese word which basically means the action of putting your palms together, face to face, to indicate respect, gratitude, humility, or all three. I chose this name in the hopes that anyone reading something I wrote knows that I am always filled with respect, gratitude and humility and that my being here in this online world is an indication that I am constantly striving to know myself better through what I read, what I write and with whom I'm interacting.

At some point I'll take a picture of me in gassho maybe and use that along with my new username!