One year later

Today, December 19th, 2007 marks the one year anniversary since I wrote my first blog post. A lot has changed in the last 12 months. But, before I get into that, let me include some interesting blogging statistics. (At least they are interesting to me. But, I'm a nerd - and proud of it!)

• There have been 6,984 visits to my blog since May 1st when I started keeping web site statistics. The astute reader will note that number is much higher than the statistic that shows on my blog. The astute-er reader will note that the number which displays on my blog is since July 26, 2007. The astute-est reader will note that this number was obsolete as soon as I typed it.
  

• December 4, 2007 set an all time record of 96 visits on a single day. That is the day after I ended my month long sabbatical (I was averaging about a dozen visits/day during that month of no posting).
  

• Visitors to my blog come from 45 countries. Not surprisingly, the vast majority of visits originate in the united states; however, other countries which have a significant number of visits are: Austria, Canada, and Kazakhstan
  

• Firefox is the browser of choice for my blog visitors with 48%. Internet Explorer accounts for 45% of the visits. The remaining 7% is made up of miscellaneous browsers, such as Opera, Safari, etc. Does this mean that Firefox is the official gay browser?
  

• Counting this post, I've posted 164 times in the past year. My most prolific month was January 2007 (with 21 posts) followed by February and May 2007 (with 19 posts each). My least prolific month was November 2007 with zero posts.
  

• My most popular blog post (number of hits) is The "M"word, which is also the post which generated the most comments (29 comments). Which begs the question, what are you guys going doing when you're not reading my blog?
  

• My blog is referenced in a Wikipedia article titled Homosexuality and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (check me out, I'm #62). I am an example of someone who "identify themselves as gay or homosexual, even if they are heterosexually married."
  

• The blogs which I get the most links from are (in order): Keep Changing- A Gay Mormon Journey, Northern Lights, Beck, flying under the gaydar, Young Stranger, Gay BYU Student, Distinguishing Preoccupation, and Bobbing Gecko.

• February 15th marks my first blog post with an image attached. My most controversial image was this. I'm still a bit confused as to why it generated such negative feedback. I mean, I've used similarly edgy images before, such as this, this, this, this, and this with nary a "tsk tsk". I'm thinking it's because Beck posted this image the day before - and two edgy images in a 24 hour period was more than some people could handle.

• When I first started blogging, I would receive an occasional email from some stray straight LDS guy who happened upon my blog - usually calling me to repentance for heading down a dangerous path towards embracing a deviant lifestyle. I was really bothered by these emails at the time; but, now I look back and laugh. I haven't received one of those emails in quite a while. While I don't miss them, I do wonder why they stopped. Did straight people stop visiting my blog? Are the straight people who visit my blog more tolerant and understanding? Have the straight people who visit my blog given me up as a lost cause?

I've changed a lot in the past year. I've gone from wringing my hands saying "I'm gay, woe is me" to "I'm gay - deal with it!" OK, I'm not really quite there yet - but I'd like to be. But, I am much more comfortable in my gay skin than I was a year ago. I still revert back to my "I'm gay, woe is me" phase occasionally, but I'm getting much better about it.

I got this idea from Sean Tibbitts (who got the idea from Todd Hammer); so, here is my first year as a blogger in review

December 19, 2006 - Introduction
To be honest, I've never understood blogging. Why do some people post intimate details of their lives for everyone to see? And why to other people read blogs? Yet, I find myself reading blogs, and now I am writing my own blog.

January 3, 2007 - A new year
The holidays are over and we begin a new year. It's hard to believe that it's already 2007. I remember, as a young kid, wondering what it would be like when we got into the 21st century. It certainly isn't what I imagined it would be all those years ago. For one thing, where are the flying cars??? Weren't we supposed to be flying around like the Jetson's by now? And weren't we supposed to have robot maids to help around the house?

February 1, 2007 - Out of the closet, day 3
First of all, I have to say that I'm overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support I've received from my friends here in the blogosphere (or queerosphere, which ever term you prefer), both through comments to my blog entries and via emails sent directly to me. I want to publicly thank everyone who has reached out to me. I don't feel so alone anymore. I just wish there wasn't the geographic separation between us because I feel like I want to give each and everyone one of you a big hug.

March 7, 2007 - Back in Texas
We got back last night from our visit to my daughter/son-in-law/granddaughter in California. My granddaughter is beautiful, of course, I'm a bit prejudiced. I think I'm really going to enjoy being a grandfather. In some ways, it's even better than being a father. For one thing, when you think the baby needs a diaper change, you can just hand her back to mom or dad :-)

April 2, 2007 - Is it OK to be Mormon and gay?
A couple of weeks ago, in my blog posting titled Secrets, a blog reader named Brett commented:

Some of the language you've come to use and ideas you're growing to embrace are much more reminiscent of the Affirmation crowd than one who is as committed to the Church and your family as you say you are.

Ouch! That stings!

May 2, 2007 - In the gay world, but not of the gay world
There is a common axiom we often hear in the LDS church: We should be in the world, but not of the world. I've used this phrase with my children and when teaching lessons at church. It rolls off of our tongues so easily, but what does it really mean?

June 3, 2007 - Guidelines for Gay Mormons
There is an idea that has been brewing in the MoHo community for the past week or so. It started out in private chats, and became public in -L-'s blog; that is, the need for something like a "For the Strength of Gay Youth" pamphlet to help people with SSA understand what is OK and what is not in their unique situation. This has generated a whole lot of discussion over on -L-'s blog (here and here), with several interesting, and at times odd, tangents.

July 2, 2007 - Satisfying my urges
Lately I've been feeling an emptiness in my soul. I've been having these urges deep within my bosom, a burning desire to

o
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resume practicing the piano.

August 1, 2007 - God Loveth His Children
I just read the pamphlet, God Loveth His Children, that seems to be generating some amount of controversy in the gay Mormon community. To be honest, I didn't have the same negative reaction that others had when I read this pamphlet. Is it perfect? No! Is it better than anything else we've seen to date? A most definite Yes!

September 5, 2007 - It still sucks to be me
The other day I needed to go to the pet store to get some dog food. I opened up our A/C closet (which is where we happen to keep the dog leash) and there was water all over the floor of the closet - from a clogged condensation drain (another $250 down down the drain [pun intended]). Anyway, I walked into the pet store with my dog, and I felt really gay (in a good sort of way) - until she pooped on the floor. I sheepishly informed the clerk and ask for some towels to clean it up. Instead, she got on the PA and announced for all the world to hear "Service 92 near the ProPlan aisle, Service 92 near the ProPlan aisle". I don't think I'll ever be able to show my face in that store again.

October 2, 2007 - Maybe ...
A new pamphlet recently released.

December 3, 2007 - Can you believe it?
One of my responsibilities as a counselor in the bishopric is counting the tithing receipts. Yesterday, the financial clerk and I were concluding this task and were at the point in the process where we were just printing reports and sending the financial data to SLC (via modem). While we were waiting for it to complete, we were chatting.

December 19, 2007 - One year later
Today, December 19th, 2007 marks the one year anniversary since I wrote my first blog post. A lot has changed in the last 12 months. But, before I get into that, let me include some interesting blogging statistics. (At least they are interesting to me. But, I'm a nerd - and proud of it!)