One Year of Dreaming!

Tomorrow is a special day.

What's that, you say? What makes it so special?

Is it because it's January 22nd? No, although that day is all fine and good.

Is it because it's my first day of the new semester. No, although I suppose that would make it somewhat significant.

No, no, my friends. Tomorrow, January 22nd, is the 1 year anniversary of The Lobotomist's Dream being online.

Think about that. One year ago tomorrow, I went onto Blogger and created a blog for a blog DeCal. In retrospect, I still feel that the DeCal proper was less than a success. There was a bit of flakiness on all ends, and a lot of times, it felt like some people just didn't care. (Keep in mind, though, that DeCal's are student-run, and unless you've put one on, you don't know how difficult that can be). However, it was a success in a few ways. First, it did get me writing on a more frequent basis. Second, I think it allowed people who were curious about blogging to learn whether or not it was for them. I'd say about a good 2/3 of the class stopped blogging either on the last day of class or when they reached their 60-post limit.

I tried searching for as many of the blogs as I could think of, but only came up with the following:
and then you explode - Apparently on hiatus since the end of November. Majority of older posts deleted.
Dimas's Blog [Beta] - Only three posts since last August (one this month).
Think.Kiwimonk - Only five posts since last August (though 2 of them are from this month).
This is the new life. - Seems to have updated relatively frequently since the DeCal ended. I never really followed it, as it was never my cup of tea.
The Catalytic Triad - Never stopped updating.

In the end, the only blog that I still follow out of a class of 15 or so is The Catalytic Triad. Is it because Chris was also an RA/PA and we get along well? Maybe, but perhaps being the only blog that updates with interesting content doesn't hurt, either.

So that's what been up with the classmates since last year. What about myself, though?

Well, my friends, let's take another look back at some of what made The Lobotomist's Dream the blog it is today. Luckily for you, even though I am a horrible navigator, Memory Lane is a place I am intimately familiar with.

It had to begin somewhere...
My first post. And I'll be honest. It sucks. It fails in humor, fails in directions, fails in general. I'd really, really like to think I've progressed quite a bit since this.

An Evening of Wii Boxing
My first good post. While there are a few things I'm not too hot-to-trot on (for example, I occasionally fell into the blogosphere trap of writing in flowery language to make myself seem more intelligent), I think it was pretty good. It was also my first post that I brought into the DeCal for a "thorough critique". By the way, because of all my hard work on Wii boxing, I'm am currently undefeated against human opponents.

A (Quelled) Announcement
My sister had a baby. Oh, wait, no she didn't (at least, not then).

Mini-Blogs, Set One
As evidenced by the title, this was the first appearance of the ADD-inspired Mini-Blogs (which I found to be some of the most fun to write for some reason). The Mini-Blogs have been semi-retired for a while now, mainly because I'm more willing to post short blogs by themselves, rather than worrying so much about making sure each post is a intensive read.

Notice Anything...Different
The post wasn't anything special, but this was (on February 6) the first day in which I had my special tiled picture. When I showed TLD to a friend once, he told me that "That has to be the most distinctive website background I've ever seen." Whether he meant that in a good way, I'll never know. :P Also of note is that I said there were more changes coming up. As far as I remember, I haven't changed a thing (to a major extent) since. I'm not even sure what I was referring to.

Music to My Ears
My first musical post. Some people have asked me how it's legal that I have songs available for listen on TLD. My response is that I am not endorsing the illegal download of any of these songs, and if you download them (as opposed to just listening to them), you only do so because you already own the CD, and want a copy. In any case, I never give out the full CD, instead giving a select few songs (samples, you could say), and encouraging the reader to buy the CD for themselves. Just wanted to, y'know, clear that up.

Required Reading
Still a good resource if you want to read any of my older, non-blog writings.

The Lobotomist's Dream Valentine's Eve Special!
My first holiday-oriented piece. My only real note is that my Aztec-inspired card still makes me smile to no end. Jim's a jerk.

Influences, Part I - The Incredible Quotable Oscar Wilde and His 1890s Companions
Notice how this says "Part I". There was supposed to be a series of posts describing my influences, but that plan kinda sorta fell through. In case you're wondering, The Simpsons was one, as was a short story called "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman. There's a couple more. Maybe I'll get to them one day (probably not). Also, this is the first appearance of my voice on TLD.

A Different Place to Hang My Hat
I believe this was my first real use of blogging as therapy. As an addendum to this, my life at Unit 2 has been just fine. I'm better at adapting than I think I am, apparently.

An (Ad)Sensory Experience
Although they never specified it when they informed me, I'm pretty sure it was this little sucker that got me banned from Google AdSense forever. C'mon, Google! I've learned my lesson! I've learned my lesson!

Haasta La Vista
Nowadays, my presence in Haas is just a matter-of-fact situation. I'm fairly well-known, and almost nobody questions my being in the school. Looking at this reminds me that things were not always so certain. Funny how life works like that sometimes.

An Important Announcement
What makes this April's Fools Day joke so interesting is that I specifically went back and edited several days later so that if anyone ever typed "andrew schnorr gay" into Google, there would be an all-important "NOT" in the very first result.

This Won't Make a Lick of Sense if You Don't Go to Cal...
This post currently holds the record for the greatest number of comments. And for the life of me, I still can't figure out why.

'Shopping Around: A Photoshop Evolution
After all this time, this is still one of my favorites. Not much else to say.

On Beards
Another one of my favorites. If I had to give a Martian a single post to sum up the whole of TLD with, this would probably be it.......and that's so sad, I think I could cry.

The Last 60 Posts: A Retrospective
My first post after completing the blog DeCal's 60 post requirement. In some respects, this was the first of the "real" blog; that is to say, it was the first post done purely for my own enjoyment and salf-satisfaction than for a class. Also, statistics!

Riddle Me This, Riddle Me...That?
My first attempt at creating my own riddles. I think I made many people angry and/or sad with it. I should make more.

Finals Time Cop-Out: A Skit!
The very first appearance of everyone's favorite socially-awkward neuropod, THE_BOLSHEVIK. With special guest appearance by his evil friend, Kris.

Supply & Demand & Nephews & ...What?
Okay, this time I got it right. My sister did have a baby. Although there were pictures in the post immediately after this one, I feel this is the true announcement. I still haven't figured out exactly what kind of uncle I'm going to be. I think that'll have to wait until l'il Sesi is capable of verbal interaction with me.

Ugh...
The first appearance of the "Ugh" label. I never fully explained what this was, mainly due to confidentiality reasons. However, I will say that it was basically referring to me convincing a person not to commit suicide. You'll be happy to know that since that time, his situation has improved greatly, and now he's doing just fine!

Are There Any Witty Quotes on Scavenging?
Besides just being a fun post/collection of pictures, this marks the first instance of what would soon become my internet-famous photo.

In the Past Twenty Years...
Whether you consider this a birthday reflection, a romp into the world of nostalgia, or just the world's longest setup for a mediocre, self-deprecating joke, this is always an interesting read.

My Message to the World
This probably confused more people than my evil riddle. I still expect it to become big one day.

By the Way...
This was just a little test to see how many people from the blog DeCal still read mine. Interestingly, nobody responded.

Comic-Con 2007!!! (Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6)
Without doubt, the most time and effort I've put into any of my blog posts. If you haven't read them, please do so. You'll make my writing nearly 17,000 words so much more worthwhile. And they're fun, too! Guaranteed to make your computer's processor cry!

I'm So Very, Very Sorry About This...
My first attempt at video logging (or "vlogging"). Also my last. Coincidence? (Actually, I might have done more if I had a camera that could record more than 3 minutes of video at a time. We'll see, my friends, we'll see.

Mini-Blogs, Set Seven
The only really important part of this is the fact that it was when I announced that TLD had gone into the big leagues by getting its own domain name. An important milestone, if I say so myself.

Getting My Face Out There (And Winning, Too!) & Postscript on Wedding Dresses
In one of my most shining moments, I was able to convert my toilet paper wedding dress into INTERNET FAME! I still love reading the comments that people gave. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

The V8 Chronicles
Warning: Do Not Click on Links If You Are Squeamish About Drinks
About the V8 Incident
Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend
Epilogue
If there was event that will stand out in the minds of the majority of my first-year readers, I'm sure this is it. What can be said about the V8 Incident that hasn't already been said. I've turned more people than I can count off from V8. According to Google Analytics, the "About" post was recently overtook "An Evening of Wii Boxing" in total views. Apparently, it was linked to on some website, and TLD's readership skyrocketed...for a day. Still, hopefully nothing like this will define the upcoming year.

The Lobotomist's Dream Needs You!
This was my plea to get people to use the Alexa toolbar in order to increase my website's ranking in the Intertube Pantheon. Since then, I've moved from 8, 250,000 to 1,980,000 and still moving up. Next milestone: Under one million! And if you haven't downloaded the Alexa Toolbar for either Internet Explorer or Firefox, please do so now to help the cause.

THE_BOLSHEVIK in "The Prank War"
Common consensus, both on and offline, is that this is the best THE_BOLSHEVIK skit thus far. As far as my favorite, I don't really have one. I love them all!

The Lobotomist's Dream All Purpose Holiday Cards
I just love these things in general. I was somewhat disappointed that nobody was able to guess who the mystery man was (and the people most able to guess correctly didn't even try). If you haven't seen these yet, be sure to do so. They may become important one day.

.......

Whew! And that's less than a sixth of all the posts I've done.

All in all, it's been a good year. Even though there were times when I was less than devout in my posting constancy, I still managed to post an average greater than one every other day. I'd call that a success in my book.

And, of course, I couldn't do it without my readers. Comments are my lifeblood. They inspire me to keep writing, mainly because they remind me that people are still reading. Were it not for all my good and faithful readers, I don't know where I'd be. So, to all of you, thank you!

Now, you may be wondering, why am I posting my one-year anniversary post a day before my one-year anniversary? Well, I'm going to be hush-hush about it for the moment, but I will say that it's because I have an announcement tomorrow. A pretty hefty one, too. Stay tuned!

But for now, let us eat, drink, and be merry! Here's to one year of The Lobotomist's Dream, and many more to come. Or, I suppose you could say (WARNING: Bad pun approaching) may the dream never end!