Popularity Contest

I realized this morning that I have been blogging for three days short of a year. In that time I have managed to put up 154 posts (counting this one). At the beginning, sometimes those posts were simply links to news items I found interesting or recaps of hockey games (which have now been moved to the blog I share with Amanda, Double A Hockey) - you could say this blog lacked consistency and focus. However, some prevalent themes of this blog have revealed themselves as I look over old posts: lists (particularly lists of five things that I decide I like); reviews of east coast tourist attractions, and, of course, restaurants. There have also been a few random musings (mix tapes, high school memories) that have turned out to be some of the more greatly read posts.

In honor of my one year - or rather, my 362 day - anniversary, here are recaps and links to some of the more popular posts:

• "Board" To Tears (March 3, 2008): I hate board games. For some reason people see this as a personality defect. This post is me outlining and defending my hatred.
• I Was a Lonely Teenage Bronckin' Buck (April 17, 2008): People liked hearing about how weird Rose and I used to be...or at least enjoyed being relieved that we never rollerbladed past their houses. See also IDK, My BFF Rose.
• Raiders of the Lost Art (April 21, 2008): One of my personal favorites. I really miss mix tapes. I still maintain that a mix tape took way more effort (and was therefore more meaningful) than a mix CD.
• My Ever-Dwindling Bank Account (August 12, 2008): People enjoyed weighing in on their finances and solving the age-old mystery, "Where does my money go?"
• Things I Like That I Used to Dislike (September 6, 2008):For whatever reason, this one rated high on the comment scale.
• An Unwelcome Guest (November 3, 2008) and The Long Goodbye (November 5, 2008): The story of my cat Ralph catching a snake in our house and Noe's refusal to get rid of it were the two most-read posts on this blog other than RIP Nike and High School High (below). I'm still not that amused, by the way.
• High School High (December 9, 2008): Fun facts about my weird high school seemed to resonate with my readers - or at least with the Ypsi High alumns who saw the link on Facebook and checked it out. If you are reading this post for the first time, I swear that every single thing in it is true.

In addition to these posts, some of the more widely-read items have been my numerous postings on restaurants. I love restaurants and have been trying to make the most of my fairly limited selection. While I have not written a piece on every restaurant I've eaten at out here, here are links to the posts on the ones that I covered in any detail:

• Rice Spice Noodles (Mystic, CT)
• Daniel Packer Inne (Mystic, CT)
• South Side Bistro (New London, CT)
• Dev's On Bank Street (New London, CT) - dinner
• Dev's On Bank Street (New London, CT) - brunch
• Brie and Bleu (New London, CT)
• Alta Strada (MGM Grand at Foxwoods, Mashantucket, CT)
• The Broken Yolk (New London, CT)

Thank you so much for continuing to read this blog. I hope I am able to keep it interesting. I promise to have a new post - not a cheating recap post - up soon!