Hey There Lonelygirl15

YouTube, its what's for dinner. And lunch. And late night snack.

YouTube is NewTube to me. I never visit the site on purpose. I normally just watch a video posted in someone else's blog and see the little logo at the bottom.

Recently, following a conversation at work, I decided to check out the actual site. I clicked. I searched. I clicked some more.

Then I stumbled upon something: a video of a girl and a purple monkey puppet. I didn't know what I was watching. I watched some more of the girl's videos. I still wasn't sure what I was watching. I went back and watched the 20-some videos in chronological order. A saga unfolded, a soap opera of sorts. I understood the storyline well enough: a young girl posting her video diary online has a dilemma with her best friend who confesses his love to her.

As I watched, I had many questions. First and foremost: is this for real? Who is lonelygirl15? Is this Bree a real girl? Is her best friend Daniel a real dude? Are they just characters? What the heck religion is she? If her parents are so strict, why is Daniel allowed in her room with the door closed? Why is she so insistent on proving science wrong? Why does she always play with a purple monkey puppet?

Looking at the responses to her very popular videos, I noticed I was not alone. Many YouTubers out there were suspicious. Not just suspicious, but actual conspiracy theorists. I could spend days talking about the theories (and many have in online forums), but I suppose the purpose of this post is two-fold:

1. I have nothing else to post about at the moment.
2. The reason I have nothing else to post about at the moment is that I have been completely consumed with this story. Like a creepy lurker, I have read all the forums and am completely fascinated by the sometimes reasonable, oftentimes ridiculous theories.

What have I learned from this adventure (besides the fact that I'm pathetic)? Either that I'm not observant or that I'm not a stalker. I'm not sure which. 90% of the little things, hints, visual and verbal cues, and innuendos in the lonelygirl15 videos are completely lost on me. Maybe that's because I've only watched the videos once, and hardcore stalker/fans have analyzed them with a microscope, magnifying glass and fine-tooth comb tens of thousands of times.

Right now I'm completely unable to sleep because I've been reading all night about the lonelygirl15 mystery. I'm awake as awake gets. I guess I'm officially pathetic.