Anniversary Waltz

Today marks one year since I began writing this blog. How fast 365 days fly by!

It's been fun. It's been a challenge. It's been rewarding. When I go for a few days without blogging (as I have done since last Monday), I feel a bit neglectful, like I've forgotten to feed a puppy.

The fact is, the past ten days have been unusually hectic in regard to my job. (Yes, even bloggers have to pay their bills. We can't sit around all day long in our pajamas with computers set upon our laps.) The coming week promises much more of the same, particular with the recount for the Attorney General's race arriving on Tuesday. (I received a written notice via snail mail from the Clerk of the Circuit Court in Richmond ordering me to be at the court house in Charlottesville that morning -- or else.)

I promise to return to more frequent blogging toward the end of this week. Christmas brings a richness of writing topics, and I have to incorporate my end-of-the-year letter into my postings for the final week of 2005.

I would like to thank all of you readers (we surpassed 40,000 unique visitors about 4 days ago) for keeping this enterprise worthwhile. Most of you are anonymous as well as distributed throughout the United States and Canada and in farflung places across the globe -- Malaysia, Finland, Poland, Japan, the Philippines. And the farther you get from the United States, the more likely you're looking for dish on Dave Moffatt or Aaron Carter.

I would also like to thank all of my fellow bloggers, particularly Virginia bloggers inside and outside the Old Dominion Blog Alliance, who link to things I write and bring new readers here.

Chad Dotson, the elected blogger formerly known as John Behan, has sent more readers my way than any other single source (besides Google). Thanks, Chad! Commonwealth Conservative deserves the praise it gets. With any luck, perhaps four years from now we'll be recounting your votes in the statewide Attorney General's race.

Others who have extraordinarily helpful in the past year include Waldo Jaquith, the father of the Virginia blogosphere; Norm Leahy; Tim Hulsey; Dan Blatt at GayPatriot; and Steve Miller at the Independent Gay Forum.

Thanks, too, to the mainstream media representatives who covered this blog: Bob Gibson at the Daily Progress in Charlottesville, Coy Barefoot of radio station WINA, Lisa Provence and Courteney Stuart at The Hook, and Linton Weeks at the Washington Post. And the MSM deserves my gratitude for providing so much, so much grist for this mill.

But most of all, I have to thank the aforementioned Dave Moffatt and Aaron Carter. If it weren't for your legions of fans looking for shirtless pictures of you guys, I wouldn't have half the traffic I do now. Thanks, guys! I promise I'll buy -- not download -- your next CDs.

And, remember, please -- comments and tips are always welcome!