Allow me to explain a little about why you will see me refer to Diana as Katie or Kate from time to time.
We met online, back in 1996 on Prodigy. We knew her as
Kate The Shrew, it after we had talked to her online for some time, like a year or more, when I finally met her - well I just kept right on calling her Katie - since that's what I always called her online.
She would call me either Kay or Rainy, and we'd just flip flop as we spoke as we used our real names and our screen names as easily as the next.
To be honest, I don't think I called her Diana much at all until after she died ... and for some reason, I have largely reverted to her real name.
This blog will hold ALL her names, because sadly, we never were able to contact *everyone* she was in contact with online, so there is undoubtedly people out there that loved her, that simply still do not know.
This was a HUGE thing for her and I , as we knew others online that passed away or just disappeared, and we both had people that we had befriended online and cared deeply for, that just one day never came back online. We have no idea if they died, got bored, just walked away, couldn't get back online, etc. It leaves a person with no closure, and we used to think how sad it was that they might have died, and that we'd just never know.
We each made a promise - which we spoke about often over the years - how we would leave a file on our computers with our passwords and a note with contact info of the people that we should tell.
To my knowledge, neither of us actually followed through. :(
But since she passed away before me, it is part of what I feel to be a friend's obligation to try to do for her what I'd promised I would do if she should ever die and not be able to say goodbye to those that she loved and cared about online.
Thus, the blog that you see here.
In part it is to allow those that might through the years do a Google search for her websites or her screen names - so that they might learn that she has passed away, and to perhaps help them find closure too for the void that they will likely find they have.
Also it is to celebrate her memory, her life, her spunk, her orneriness, her zest for life and that amazing sense of humor and inner strength that she had. Also, to allow us to share our thoughts of her and share our memories, pictures, experiences, and whatever we'd like to throw out there to the open universe and out to her - wherever she might be.
I will say now - yes, she had a tongue that could rip fire and acid all over your ass, gods love her, and she called it like she saw it and she rarely pulled her punches. She cut through melodramatic episodes, gossip, and bullshit like a bull stomping through a glass shop. So yeah, she PISSED people off.
So if you are someone she pissed off - get over it. Just turn around and walk away. This is NOT an arena to bash her, insult her, bitch about her, and the time for allll of that was a long fucking time ago, so just deal with it.
ANY negative crap will be deleted, and not tolerated. I know that she wasn't a saint, but there is a time and a place for venting one's grievances, and doing so on a memorial blog is NOT the place. And for the record, my tongue is just as sharp and I'm just as much as a royal bitch as she was, and I loved her unconditionally, no strings attached, for everything that she was - flaws and all.
But if you liked her and loved her and have something positive and nice to share, please do so. I and others will most certainly look forward to it.
