The 100th Post

 

It is the last day of the year, December 31st.  With the posting of this piece, I will have 100 blog posts for this year. 

Back on January 1, was a notion perhaps an aspiration but not a full-fledged and firm objective.  I started out strong posting every day in January.  The months of February, July, August, October, and now December were good months getting to this century mark with a day to spare.  The goal became a true and doable objective on the 4^th of July when I realized I was at 52 posts for the first half of the year.  I could do this.  This could happen.  By November, it was more like I absolutely will do this.  All of my postings are written in an MS Word document.  I have written over 75,700 words across 132 pages.

I was not interested in just breaking my old record of 92.  I was not interested in 105, 110, or 120.  I was interested in exactly 100.  Why exactly 100?  Beyond it being the first three digit good round number, I don’t exactly know.

It will feel good to post this bloggy bit.  I will have achieved an objective.  I will be happy and feel like I accomplished something… and, for me, I have.  But the happiness and small celebration will not last.  These kinds of objectives are fleeting.  The very next day, January 1, the year 2023 will begin and the counter will be at 0 once again.  Will I want to go for 120 which is 10 postings a month? Or might I want to go with something different?  Perhaps I could set out to write a book and use the blog/journal approach to write it over the course of the year.  That was my original intent with my daily journal back in 2002.  Maybe I just blog a few times a month as topics inspire me and put together a Best of This Side of Fifty book?  This is not a bad idea as in February 2023, I begin my 20^th year of This Side of Fifty.

What were my favorite posts of this year?  That is a hard question.  The Top 5 that I provide today may be very different from the list I would give a week or two from now.  One thing I know for sure is that this piece, More of a Crumble than a Ramble, got a few readers revved up to provide comments like:

You’ll blog about anything won’t you?

Where do you get these stupid ideas?

How does your mind work?

Of course, these dear friends have totally missed, as usual, all my claims of this being a blog about nothing.  They totally glossed over the subtitle that includes the words Musings and Meanderings.  The Crumble piece was a perfect post about nothing.  I definitely mused and meandered on this one.  Thus, it is one of my favorites.

Other favorites include:

• Thank You Dennis
• February 2022: 19th Anniversary Letter - Part II
• The Glory of Fall – The Rainy Edition
• Buying School Supplies
• Çidem İnç: Driving into Van

Thanks to everyone that reads this blog.  Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.  Let’s see what 2023 will bring.