Happy Birthday to...

...ME!!!

Well, ok, maybe not me as in Glen, but me as in Getting Glenergized. That's right, 365 days ago I made the following post...

"Friday, October 27, 2006...a day which will live in infamy. I have officially joined the blogosphere. I don't so much have a concept, theme, or general idea as to what to have here but rest assured it should be filled with awesomness.

Tune in to find out!!!"

So here I sit, in front of a computer, typing away once more, and my opening post still rings true. I have no idea what the "concept, theme, or general idea" for this blog will be. I began posting quite a bit about myself and any of my adventures, but since then it has changed, as I have tried to make as many posts about politics, sports, the environment, wrestling, or (like the banner says), whatever the heck else I feel like.

Since I can't make a vegan cake for a website, I have decided that in honour of my Blogiversary, I went through each of my categories here on this site and found what I consider to be the best post in each of them. This way, if you are new to me or my blog and want to get a sense of what/who I am then this is your chance, but if you are someone who has been checking this out for a while, you can go on a little trip down memory lane.



About G: We kick of with my most narcissistic category, the one devoted solely to me, and things about my life. I started this one out when I was posting my "Random Acts of Glenness" posts, but it has changed to be a tag for anything where I divulge any insight into my own past/personality. My favourite post in this category was definetly "My 2006 (12/19/06)", where I described the details of a pretty tumultuous year. It probably was the last post where I focused on myself so much, having got all that I needed to say out of my system.

Cruising on the Information Superhighway: Now this is an odd categot, that I don't really post in too much. It's essentially just anything related to this wonderful thing called the internet. My post of choice would be "My Life is Now Over, and I Couldn’t Be Happier (12/6/06)", where I cave into the great temptation that is Facebook. I was right all along, it certainly did take over my life...uggh...

Glen News: Yet another egotistical category of mine. This one about news in my own life, such as graduation, getting a job, or some of the details of my trip to China, including the post "Culture Shock (5/30/07)", where I talk about going through a brief period of reverse culture shock after I get home.

Happy [Insert Holiday Here]: Instead of focusing just on me, these are the posts where I pass on some holiday wishes. Of course the usual suspects like Christmas and Hallowe'en are there, but I also try to include less celebrated days such as Guy Fawkes Night, Holocaust Memorial Day, or my Martin Luther King Day post, "What Would He Say Now? (1/15/07)".

Hockey and Other Sports: In attempt to assert some masculinity I discuss sports here on a semi-regular basis, with the vast majority of the focus being on hockey, including my Fantasy Pool, mine and Troy's Predictaculars, or my personal favourite the newly debuted feature, "The Puck Stop – Episode I (10/15/07)".

Muzzak: And yet another of my nerdy passions comes through. My music posts are generally talkign about how great The Arcade Fire, and Broken Social Scene are. I have made a few attempts at creating solid playlists, with "Music to Break-Up To (12/7/06)", being one of my proudest achievements. Oddly, this has been my most visited post since I started blogging. I guess there are always sad people out there.

Random Tales: This is a big category, where really, I just fill in some random story of my own that may be either entertaining or enlightening. In the past year I don't think that there was any story more personally meaningful than "The Universality of Kindness (4/15/07)".

Rants: The biggest category here, were essentially I just get on my high horse and rant about something bothering me. I have taken many posts out of this category by creating a few more, but these are the ones that slip through the crack. My first official rant, "Hallowe’en – The Critical Analysis (11/1/06)", holds a special place in my heart.

Rasslin’: I originally started hiding my most nerdy of passions from this blog, but then Travis had the idea for a joint post where we discuss wrestling (originally for his blog, which hasn't really been updated...), and hten I just began letting loose with many wrestling related posts. If I had to make one pick it would be "Heel Heat – Episode 3 (9/15/07)", mainly because I'm proud of my Photoshop work on the logo.

Real Politiking: The first splinter from the "Rants" category, and a nerdy historical homage to Otto Von Bismark. I usually stick to Canadian politics in here, but "The Death of a President (6/21/07)", is probably my post of choice in this category.

Remixes and Collaborations: So this one isn't really a category in and of itself, it is just a tag I put on any posts that feature some outside input. The contributors thus far have been McNutt, Travis, Kory and Troy, who have done a great job of stopping me from having to think up original content. I have a soft spot in my heart for "Shades of Wrestlemania – Part I (3/23/07)", because it had three special guests coming together in a pretty great post.

Teachin and Learnin': If the name doesn't tip it off to you, these are posts where I talk about some of the issues I face as either a teacher, or before as a B.Ed student. My favourite post, not only in this category, but that I have made is more than likely '"The Kids Are Alright" or "Why the Hell Do You Want to be a Teacher???" (1/10/07)'

Travelling Tales: A blanket post for anything about travelling, either while I was in China or looking back at any travels in Europe or Asia. A few days after I returned from China and wrote "Why I Love China (6/1/07)", which still rings true to me.

Tree Hugging Hippie Crap: Just last week, after realizign just how many of my rants were about the environment, I realized that I needed a seperate category and here we are. I am a big fan of "And the Counter Attack Begins…(2/01/07)", just because it uses Stephen Harper's own words to show just how little he cares about the environment.

Vegan Talk: Another new addition to the fold. I had made a few posts about animal rights, but they were pretty few and far between. About a month ago, I decided to start a feature explaining why I am a vegan, with "It Ain’t Easy Being Green – Take 2 – The Environment (9/26/07)" being something I'm expecially proud of.

Videos: Ok, so this is actually the biggest tab I have, but it just comes up every time I make a post with a video in it. I'm not going to look through all of them, I'm just going to make a post of the greatest gift YouTube has ever given us...



Why I Love…: This is the only recurring feature that merits its own category, because it really just fits in everywhere, "Why I Love Bloggin’ (4/16/07)", my special 100th post holds a special spot and is probably the best insight into why I keep at this blog thing.

Well that concludes this special birthday post, I hope that you've all enjoyed the past year in cyber-space as much as I have!!!

Until next time,

G