The Diary of a New York Lady

Style
Oh, the pain of delaying in reviewing a diary! Ms. Lovejoy should certainly tan my hide for being such a slacker, and now I have no one to blame but myself for the fact that Sarah, the author of this journal, changed her template and I have to loudly proclaim that she changed it for the worse.

Go back, Sarah, to the nice clean template you had before. Please.
However, I have to dance with the ladies present. This lady, however, presents herself in the most garish fashion possible. Perhaps it is just my Mac (but, honestly, the LCD monitor is high-quality and color calibrated), but the off-pink and teal(ish) blue just don�t work for me. The white type layered on top hurts my old eyes. The fact that the blue box ends abruptly and type continues is just an inexcusable design flaw. There is nothing readable, redeeming, or remotely pleasant about this design.

I often wonder why people change their journal designs. I know that I have only changed my own once since I started the journal (notwithstanding some tweaks to the current design to address concerns raised by others). Some journals I read seem to change their look every month or so. Everyone chooses a path, some paths just seem to lead deeper into the woods.
Sarah, I know you can do better. I know, in fact, that you can do much better. How do I know this? Because I have read your words. Your words are beautiful and you should frame them appropriately.

Substance
Sarah has a computer named Bub (for Beelzebub). She hangs out with an odd assortment of friends in and around New York City. She clearly is one of those individuals that can go from hanging out with a young cousin one minute to loitering with some snobby rich girl the next. Sarah doesn�t like snobby rich girls much. And, yes, Sarah can write.

I was afraid that this journal would be more of the typical 20 something female angst that is so pervasive in the world of online journals. I was afraid of having to read entry after entry that got nowhere. But, I was surprised to find that this journal actually goes somewhere, and the destination is very enjoyable.
This journal is written with style. The entries, many of which focus on a single incident or theme, provide coherent descriptions, cogent analyses, and a deft wit. I smiled many times while reading and even laughed out loud once or twice. Humor is hard to pull off in writing and Sarah does it well.

The adventures of our heroine span work, school, and lots of friends. It seems, to me at least, that Sarah has lots of people in her life. Many are friends, some are not. Some are boys (and we all know what happens with boys) and some are family. All are drawn in a clever style. All come to life. This is satisfying.
Read this entry (a href= "http://sydney453.diary-x.com/journal.cgi?entry=20030531" target=_blank) and marvel at the excerpts from Sarah�s childhood diary. She not only was clever as a kid, she can look back on it and provide interesting commentary. We jump from journal to meta-journal in one easy leap. Bless this writer.

Suggestions
My suggestions are simple.
1. Change the template, please.
2. Don�t be afraid to reveal even more of your inner dreams and desires.
3. Change the template, please.
4. Keep writing.

Acontent / D template

Atlas