Welcome to the 1st Anniversary edition of Beyond My Control.

I�d be lying if I said I thought we�d never make it this far, but time certainly does fly by.

So, the last year. Quite a bit has happened, both with the site, and in my life.

The site started out with a basic Diaryland template, a few ham-fisted entries, an average of one page view per day � and let�s face it, that was being generous, and most of them were me � and an author with no idea about html and no clear grasp of the difference between an online journal and a blog.

While I have been a writer all my life, and a semi-addicted internet surfer since about 1996, I only really came across the whole online journaling and blogging thing about six months before I signed up for this diary. It seemed like a good way to put my stuff out there, if only on a very casual basis. In fact it was the casualness of it all that really appealed to me, and still does.

So now, a year later, I�ve learnt some basic hmtl, given the template an overhaul, become infinitely more relaxed about my entries, taken a few successful and unsuccessful detours and actually gained some readers. Which I think is pretty damn cool.

People appear to have found the site through all number of means including by searching for �neighbours having loud sex� and by clicking on the banners proclaiming that �neighbours having loud sex� was the most popular search phrase in my referral logs. Which it was, until recently.

Now it appears to have been overtaken by searches for �high waisted jeans� for some reason. Actually, fashion commentary is clearly bringing more people to the site than anything else, which is good to know because I find it fun and plan to keep it up.

And because referral logs are always amusing (whether intentionally or unintentionally), in the past 24 hours people found their way here not only searching for the phrases mentioned above but also by searching �snot eating�, �boob dresses�, �callous hand writing� and �Catherine Zeta-Jones�, which I�m guessing did not all lead to the same entry.

But, regardless of how they�re getting here people seem to be staying, which is, as I said, pretty cool.

I�d also have to describe the last 12 months of non-site life as pretty cool. I have achieved a few things that will take me to me next birthday feeling like I haven�t passed another year away aimlessly. I finished a manuscript and submitted it to a competition (won�t hear about the outcome for months, but just finishing and submitting was enough of an achievement that actually winning would be a wholly unexpected bonus). I bought an apartment. I was reunited with an old friend. Sure, I also bought many pairs of shoes, books and DVDs, and watched much television, but for once it was nicely balanced out by saving money and using my time creatively and having something to show for it.

So, all in all, a pretty good year. Site-wise and non-site-wise.

I�m looking forward to the coming 12 months, and plan to do a few (hopefully) interesting things with the site, as well as ongoing fashion commentary and random observations. And I hope you�ll continue to come back to the site voluntarily and by searching for odd things.

Happy Anniversary!