So, the time has come, the thread is soon to close, and even though I hoped so much that I'd be able to post here with some wedding photoes, we still didn't get to take them from the photographer, and I wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to post here altogether, so pictureless, late but still here:
Um, what's to tell about me? My name is Nilly, I'm a lecturer in physics (though I still have no idea what I'm going to do when I grow up), and so far I like it a lot - both the physics as well as the teaching and the ever-magical chance to see the lightbulbs go over people's heads with "oh, so *that* was what it means!" and letting myself be proud of having even a tiny bit of something to do with it.
I'm from Israel, and I'm here ever since the TT days. They showed BtVS here, and then abruptly stopped after the third season, and even though I never go after spoilers and never look at the ending of books before reading the whole story, I just couldn't bear not knowing what happened to my beloved characters. Reading episodes descriptions online wasn't enough - it never had the spirit of the episode, the feel of it. The Buffistas' discussions on TT did. I was hooked.
I've lurked forever, not daring to post in such an erudite articulate company with my not-first-tongue of an English. My first post was finally something that I felt only an outsider to both the USA and the English language could articulate (regarding "reading" cultural and temporal references in AYNOHYEB from afar), and I never shut my keyboard since.
I can't even begin to describe the effect b.org had on my English. It was so welcoming here - I was always (and still am!) encouraged to ask, to correct my mistakes and to play with the language. Fun in and of itself, even before the content.
And I can't even begin to describe the content, as well, because my horizons were widened beyong anything they could ever be, thanks to this place. Different cultures, religions, books, movies, music, history, ways of thought, and of describing those thoughts. My world is infinitely richer, brighter and more interesting thanks to b.org.
And that's even before taking into account the people. I feel so fortunate for being able to call people who post here my friends. This is the most precious gift of all, to me. The wonderful people, each on his or her own, and the lovely community and togetherness that all of them created here together. May I take this opportunity to thank y'all? Remember when we called each other "foamy"? That's what I remembered now, as well as how I'd never be able to comfortable use "y'all" without, um, well, y'all.
Sadly, I've had several long streches of not-enough-posting-time, for several life-stuff reasons, to the point where I may be a lurker in fact, even though I can never see myself this way. I check the board regularly, and try to keep up with at least the voting part of the community (IIRC, the one vote I missed was regarding this thread, and I was so glad to see that it passed so unanimously). Some of this I'm-not-a-lurker, at least in my eyes, may be attributed to the fact I'm honored enough to keep the Buffista Calendar (oh, and it's an opt-in calendar only, so if anybody wants to be included, or is not sure if they are, you are more than welcome to e-mail me! It's time to update the file, anyway, I think).
As the first paragraph more than hints, there are some facts that just got changed last month (which made it all feel like the thread was opened right for meMeME, with the update of the map right when I moved and all), with my marriage. I'm still getting used to that fact, and to realizing that it's for real. I've also moved to one of the loveliest towns in Israel (and I'm still getting used to *that*, as well! I keep thinking that such a nice place is for vacation purposes, and expect it to end). I sincerely hope that after getting used to all the changes, and the loooong commute, I'll return to a more regular posting schedule. I miss that.