Happy Aniversary to Me!

On this date four years ago I first put fingers to the keyboard and started this blog. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. My main purpose was to try and kickstart my writing and to promote any writing I did do. Well I really haven't put the nose to the grindstone too well in that regards so there hasn't been that much of it to promote either.

You can tell by my first post I really didn't know what I was doing. I was pretty much lost about this whole blogging thing back then. But it didn't take me long to start blogging about some subjects that would become familiar around here. My third post featured the Wonder Dog Buffy herself. By the middle of the next month I was blogging about music. My first music post was about a concert by the Kings of Leon at the House of Blues. I predicted that they were poised for breakout stardom soon, well it's only four years later and they're selling out Madison Square Garden now, so better late than not. A couple posts after that was a review of the Wallflowers show I caught at the HOB. By April I was talking politics in a post. And before the end of April I was blogging about Jazz Fest in the first of countless posts over the years. That was the year I saw Wilco downtown at the State Palace and than a few days later got to see them again at Jazz Fest. Before the end of May I started my semi whenever posts trying to list all the musical acts I've seen.

The first year I ended up with a total of 368 posts. The next year I didn't quite make that same mark and ended the year with just 328 posts. But the following year was the year of the posts. I compiled 1751 posts for the year of 2007. Now this was the year when I was doing three daily posts of Word-A-Day, Rock n Roll Memories, and Book Fun. So that added up to an awful lot of posts right there.

2007 was also the year that my Dad died. If there are any posts that I'm most proud of writing, or perhaps care the most about, it's the posts I've written about my Dad, before and after his death. Ones like this one on his birthday, or this one on Veterans Day or this post about the one thing of my Dads I wanted after he passed or this post with one of my favorite pictures of me with my Dad.

2008 brought the amount of post back to normal, with 367. I just missed passing the first year's amount by two posts. For 2009 I'm up to 68 posts, not counting this one. So far this year I've been in a posting mood. Sometimes a month will come and I'll dry up with posting.

I'm not sure when I put the stat counter on my site, but I know it wasn't too long after I started. So far it shows 77, 361 hits. I know there are some blogs that is maybe a months worth, but I feel pretty good that I've had people want to visit my site and read my words that many times. Though I wish more would leave comments....but that's probably also because I'm terrible at answering any comments, which I hope to get better at this year. I'm trying to leave replies back to everyone as they leave a comment to any post this year. I haven't been perfect, but I'm getting better.

One of the side benefits of blogging is the friends that I've made over the years. You come to know people better than you expect in some instances on these blogs. I think some of us bloggers find it easier to confess our thoughts and worries on the computer screen than we do in person to real people. I've been amiss in keeping up with some of these electronic friends also. For some reason I've negelteced some and now find myself wishing I was still in touch.

I'm actually kind of surprised that I'm still blogging going on for over four years. And still enjoying it. In fact so much that I've created two other blogs that I don't spend enough time at, Voices to hear and Life in 4 colors.

Well, I hope in all these years that a few people have taken a little joy from these pages. I have found it very satsifying and hope to be back here in four more years with another anniversary post.