langer:

It’s a pretty awesome thing this World Wide Web.

There are so many wonderful people in my life that I didn’t meet in school, or at a bar, or in the neighborhood growing up, but people I’ve met nonetheless, and for whose lives I have just as much of an emotional investment as I do for anyone else I know.

You’ve all in your own way opened up about your lives, and as a result I find myself genuinely invested in your younger sister’s upcoming wedding, your boyfriend’s health, your kitten rescue operations, your sex life, your cross country couch-surfing adventures, the writing desk in your bay window, your new job—the list is endless.

I’ve long believed that the Web is not just some hi-tech tool but rather an extension of our everyday lived experience, something fundamentally human. But it wasn’t until yesterday that this belief was personally and tangibly confirmed. When tragedy (nearly*) struck, I found myself on the receiving end of an outpouring of support through emails, comments, and blog entries, definitively proving that all of you aren’t just “people I know on the internet,” you’re friends.

Long story short: you’re all awesome. And the internet is awesome.

—-

* so the fire got contained before our apartment burned — we’re fine, as is all our stuff… so glad everything is ok.