State of the Ramblings

Five years. It's amazing that as of last Friday, I have written this blog for five years. Is this the point where I receive a lifetime achievement award or at least a fountain pen? Am I now considered an elder states person in the blogging community?



I actually started Sean's Ramblings through a bit of peer pressure as several of my friends wrote blogs at the time. I thought it would be fun to create my own site, and they encouraged me to do so. Now, most of those blogs are gone. I've also seen many other blogs come and go over the past five years. Most of these bloggers simply burned out. Somehow, I'm still here. So with that, let's look back at the past year.

It's funny how blogging works sometimes. I can spend hours writing personal stories, yet receive few comments or site visits. Conversely, I saw a funny video of Charlie Brown throwing out a first pitch at the Pirates game, posted it, and soon became a star in Taiwan!

From this past year, I am most proud of the interviews I did with Sarah Wendell, author, founder/blogger of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and one of NPR's Ten Favorite Pop-Culture Humans Of 2009 and Jim Shearer of VH1 and Yinz Luv Da Stillers and Yinz Luv Da Guins. I also enjoyed the collaborative pieces where I asked other bloggers for predictions about the Steelers and Penguins seasons, their fashion choices for the Super Bowl and if they had any questions about the Pirates' spring training. As you can tell from this last sentence, Pittsburgh sports continues to be a major focus of my blog. That's what happens when the Steelers win the Super Bowl, the Penguins win the Stanley Cup and the Pirates, um, well, hold their spring training in Bradenton. I also created and hosted the 1st Annual Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament in order to celebrate the accomplishments of the Pittsburgh sports blogging community. (Yes, the tournament will return in 2010; I'll have more on this soon.) Plus, I met Hall of Famer Franco Harris.



While I write a great deal about Pittsburgh sports, I think what makes my blog unique is that I touch on a wide variety of other topics. That's what makes this blog fun for me. I can sarcastically suggest that the Steelers sign Brett Favre (too many people took this seriously) and share experiences of winning the lottery. I analyzed a Britney Spears song and gave concert reviews of Fleetwood Mac, Def Leppard, Poison and Cheap Trick. This was the year where I participated in Movember and made my television debut on Rizzo Sports Live (pre-mustache).



I've also been able to earn a small amount of money through advertisements and gave away an incredible watch. Hopefully, there will be more contests in 2010. In addition, I'd like to thank Turner Publishing for sending me free books and to Ile de France Cheese for sending me free Brie cheese. I am certainly willing to accept more free items, so keep them coming!

Unfortunately, not everything worked out perfectly at Sean's Ramblings. After attending a DC Bloggers Happy Hour near the end of 2008, I wrote in last year's State of the Ramblings that I hoped to continue to attend future events. That didn't happen. Hopefully this year. I also wrote a story about how I got in an argument with a former Pittsburgh Steeler. Thanks to one of my readers, Lee Tunnell, I got in touch with this individual. While he accepted the apology, was amazed that I even remembered this incident from 25+ years ago, and said that he may agree to participate in an interview, he never replied when I sent him the questions. I also insulted a clothing company who in turn insulted me back. I contacted them about doing an interview but that fell apart as well. I'm not too upset about that last one.

As for the coming year, I'll continue with Trivia Tuesdays and TMI Thursdays. I probably share too much information in TMI Thursdays (hence the name) though it was somewhat exhilarating sharing a heart-warming story about my first kiss. Whether you like it or not, I'll also write more about Ziggy. I'm sure that some of you don't care about my cat, but I do. If you want to blame anyone, blame the Steelers for using their 1st round draft pick on a guy named Ziggy. Naturally, I'm going to write about Ziggy & Ziggy!



I've mentioned this before but I write my blog for me. This has been a great journal of my life (or at least of the parts of my life I'm willing to share) and has truly become a big part of my life. I spend far too much time writing Sean's Ramblings, but I enjoy it. However, this blog wouldn't be around without you. I appreciate all of you for visiting, reading, commenting and supporting me. Thank you!

Now I'm off to start the next five years!