Daily Archive

And so my holidays between years of university come to an end. Funny, I had some plans to make the last two days enjoyable. But some of them fell through. So I ended up working an insane amount. My shift on Saturday was 15 and a half hours. Today was better, as I was able to get lunch with a good friend I don’t see a whole lot of anymore (which is a real shame), but still went on for work.

I think that this weekend has been the summary of my holidays. They began when I took up my second job, and I worked as much as I could. I took that week off just a little while ago, but that was really the only vacation time I asked for. In going back for both those links, I was astounded at how fast the time had gone by. Four months isn’t exactly short, and yet that’s where I find myself at now.

In all that time, the world has changed a little. Australia had an election, in which Labor was swept into power. The campaigning was interesting to watch, and so too was the fallout. There was a whole heap of cricket played. There were some funny stories, some serious ones, and tales about different holidays (neither finished still). This blog made some new friends, and gathered a lot more frequenters. There was a lot more to this blog in the past 4 months.

I guess that’s all reflected in the stats. November was the first month this blog broke 1,000 visitors (1,109). While December was the weakest of the months (907), the New Year brought with it a flurry of viewers. 2,116 for January and a record 4,494 for February. Many a record was broken in February, which will be talked about in a post to come. As for my post rate, well, after a more-than-tardy 2007, I had hoped to up my output. November saw 38 posts for the month. December saw only 21. But January saw 45 posts, and then February saw a monster 51. These are what I’m most proud of - the blog’s activity in January and February.

But the biggest hit, and probably the reason the blog got so popular, was my frequent ramblings on the current state of U.S. politics. In particular, my favourite candidate: Barack Obama. Iowa, and the start of the primary voting process, came in January. They voted, and voted for Obama. Little did we know for sure then that that would start a huge tide of change. People had thought it possible, but probably not as successful as what has unfolded. Super Tuesday came along, and that was when things started looking definite. Now, as we sit a couple of days out from March 4, and the Texas and Ohio vote, we are on the verge of the Obama nomination. Truly exciting.

There’s a lot more I could write about the holidays, perhaps the bad parts, maybe the agonising parts, but it would bring everything down. And I’m not down about the holidays. I’m up about them. I’m bummed that they are ending, but glad that I have a few different things to show for them. My bank balance, for one. I earned more in those 4 months than I have full years. And, soon, I’m going to be able to reap the rewards of my hard work. On a personal note, I lost quite a bit of weight, working that second job. Weight that I know I wouldn’t have shed any other way. Not that it’s off, I completely intend to keep it off. I met a bunch of great new people through the holidays too. Some from work and friends of friends. Some really great people.

But what I’m most pleased about is that I have actually got something to show everyone for my holidays. And it’s this blog. These days I’m always thinking about what to write, trying to get on, and putting  a lot of effort into it. I’m glad I’ve got something to show for it (155 posts for 122 days), even if some of the important people in my life don’t read it. This blog has been one of my favourite thing of these holidays, and I really hope that it continues through the year.

Thomas.