It's my (blog) birthday! I'm a ninja!

Woo hoo! It’s all party hats and streamers and those little noisemaker things that never work here at Battling the Current headquarters because today is a most momentous day. Today marks the fourth anniversary of the launch of Battling the Current and the fulfillment of my original goal for the site. Within the first year I had given myself the goal of continuing this site for four years writing five nights a week every week until completion and I have done it. For those who are wondering, here are some stats about the whole endeavor.

· I’ve made 1,042 posts over the past four years.
· By my estimate that would entail over 600,000 words with a surprising number of those involving Lindsay Lohan.
· If my count is correct I’ve received 629 comments over the past four years and I appreciate them all. Well except…
· I’ve received one slightly veiled physical threat in my comments when I apparently insulted someone’s favorite musician by saying “when his set ended we weren’t clapping because we appreciated his performance. We were clapping because it meant that he was getting off the stage.”
· Thanks to my Google tracking gizmo I installed last month you can see that I truly get traffic from around the world. For the life of me I have no idea how someone from China comes across this site or what they make of it when they do. Even better is that I have received comments from around the world from people I have never met.
· And in what is still the coolest thing that I can ever claim, according to Facebook’s Blog Network application Battling the Current is the number one blog in both the Notre Dame and Sprint networks. That rocks.
· And the true sign that you’ve made it: Google “Battling the Current” and I’m the top link.

Not bad for something that was done as a lark because I had grown tired of emailing my friends with whatever was on my mind and decided to post it for the world to see instead. As I’ve told some people if I didn’t blog I would still write. I’ve been keeping a writer’s journal for ten years now (though the blog has morphed into it for the most part) and I cannot imagine not keeping a record of my thoughts about my life. What the blog does is provide me with a schedule and a guilt trip if I decide to try to skip a day. And I have to admit that having an audience is a nice thing.

Given that I have reached my goal some of you might ask the question, “So what is next?” Well, on my first post I listed my goals as a) write every day, b) have people actually read it, c) have people I don’t know read it, and d) do something significant so that I can truly say that I am a writer. I’ve accomplished all four of those goals and then some. But that doesn’t mean that I’m through. Now my goal is to improve the site, add in more multimedia and work to bring in more readers. Since my side blog that focused solely on relationships is on hiatus I might bring some of that material over here. Oh, and yes I do want to cull through all of the posts and put together a “Best of Battling the Current” book that I’ll self-publish. That is, if I can get my editor to sign on .

For all of you who have stuck with me this far, and for those who have just recently come across the site, I have a special gift for you. Consider this my way of saying thanks for paying attention to the words I put out into the ether every day. To anyone who wants one I will be producing Battling the Current: Volume 4, the latest in my set of CDs that was once described as “the soundtrack to the best Cameron Crowe film never made.” The playlist isn’t entirely set at the moment but I guarantee there will be tracks by Laura Cantrell, the Drive-By Truckers, Josh Rouse, and a special live Swell Season track. If you have ever been interested in the music I discuss but want a sampler before you make the full plunge this is your chance. Plus, just let me know and I’ll send you the first three volumes as well.

All I need from everyone is an address. I’ll take care of the rest. For those of you who are friends with me through Facebook you can message me there. Otherwise you can email me at whatever your favorite email address for me is (or barring that, the fabled kcgatsby dot aol dot com will do for those who don’t know me in the real world). I really do want to thank everyone who reads this. It is incredible to think just how much I look forward to sitting down at the laptop and writing every night knowing that someone out there will read it.

Four years down. Everyone up for another four? Alright, let’s go!