Day’s Verse:
The Word was first,
the Word present to God,
God present to the Word.
The Word was God,
in readiness for God from day one.
John 1:1-2

This marks my 2,002^nd blog post. I mention this specifically, rather than a round number like (say) 2,000 because ever since learning about them in fifth grade, I have always had a soft spot for palindromes. A man, a plan, a canal: Panama! etc. never fails to make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

SO: I started this blog since September 19, 2003, which — according to Internet shenanigans that have spared me from even a quick simple unit conversion analysis — I now know equals

• 3,335 days
• 476 weeks (rounded down)
• 80,040 hours
• 4,802,400 minutes, or
• 288,144,000 seconds

It appears that I’ve written about 60% of the time, not a stunning percentage but 60% consistently for nine years surely counts for something. I have posted several novels in their entirety (PDFs here) during National Novel Writing Month, posted lots of pictures, refreshed the look every couple years. But mostly it’s served the purpose I set out to achieve: First, to share part of my life with far-flung family members (remember, I started this when I lived in Massachusetts); and second, to help me remember my own life.

It seems a little sad to have to keep a digital memory of what happens to me; after all, shouldn’t I remember the important stuff on my own? But I’m that person who reads a book, enjoys it, and a year later can’t remember the plot and so can re-read the book and enjoy it absolutely fresh. I have read Time Traveler’s Wife more times than I like to think about, and although I remember that plot just fine, I forget enough details that I get a new experience every time.

So I continue blogging, not prolifically, not even interestingly*, but consistently enough that when I wonder “When did I do X?” I can usually check back here and find it. And boy, a lot of things changed since I started writing this blog. Instead of enumerating them — redundant, since it’s almost all recorded in previous posts anyway! — here are a few pictures from those years.

August 2003: Woodinville, WA

March 2004: Edinburgh, UK

September 2005: Mt. Monadnock, NH

May 2006: Cape Cod, MA

May 2007: Marlborough, MA

October 2008: Marlborough, MA

May 2009: Sudbury, MA

June 2010: Crater Lake, OR

July 2011: Eatonville, WA

January 2012: Snoqualmie Pass, WA

October 2012: Bothell, WA

*I think the most interesting blogs are topical; the only interest in a diary-type blog is if you know the writer, or if the author is an exceptionally talented writer, lives an astonishingly unusual life, or is funny. I know my blog hits none of those high points, so I don’t harbor any illusions about my readership. I assume it’s my mom, my mother-in-law, Ian’s grandma, and Future Katie; when other friends read and enjoy it, that’s a bonus!