assalamu alaikum to you all. i must express regret about staying away so long just after i joined here over a year ago. please understand it had nothing to do with turn to islam, it was just me. however i never stopped my love for islam or my even now stronger desire to become within it's fold. all i can say is, as some of us in the west describe it, i was taking time to examine many things around me, or "pacing myself". many who first greeted me here were more outgoing and cordial than i expected. simply to say they are among allah's best. i'll stop for now, and i'm so glad i came back. i have more to share later. i checked my profile and is still here, will some one tell me if you can't see it.