2012: The Year in Stats

2012 was a pretty big year.  We all survived the end of the world, I got my wisdom teeth out, I got Twitter and Pinterest, I accomplished some goals, and I gave my blog a new title and then it grew like crazy!

If you'd like to compare, last year's Year in Stats is here.

The most striking thing to me is that on the day last year with the most views ever, I got less views than I get on average now.  That really just blows my mind.

I actually don't know how I figured out which day had the most blog views last year, but I remember that one day this year I watched my stats page incredulously as I got more than 900 pageviews in a single day.

The month with the most blog views was December again, with 9,695 views. (That's four times as much as the highest month last year!) Also, IT'S OVER 9,000!  (Dragonball Z reference because I am a nerd and I have watched many many many seasons of that show.)

Post with the most views: this one

Most popular search keyword: galaxy wallpaper

At the end of this year, I have 131 followers!!! You guys, last year I was crazy excited to have 26 followers. I can't even wrap my mind around how much my blog has grown in the past year.  I am still amazed that anyone wants to take time out of their day to read about my life and my random thoughts.  I've told you guys this before, but I'll say it many more times because it's true; You guys who read my blog are amazing!  My blog has been viewed a total of 75,154 times.  Again mind-blowing.  My head has exploded now and there are brain fragments scattered all across the room.  Not really though.  Awkward post ending is awkward.  Maybe next year I'll figure out how to end posts in a way that makes sense.  Probably not though.  This is the Rabbit Hole and we're all mad here.

Book Review: Seven Days in Berlin

Neil sent me a free copy of his new book and I adored it.  The comics are cute yet cause emotions at the same time.  Neil does an excellent job of making simple drawings really symbolic.  For example, there's a panel where the last leaf falls off a tree and it makes you feel really sad.  The book is so much more than an illustrated travelogue, because let's be honest here, I don't usually read travelogues.  And by I don't usually read travelogues, I mean that unless you count the Ancient History posts on Melbourne on My Mind, this is the first travelogue I've ever read.  This book made me laugh and cry numerous times.  I loved the part at the zoo and the abandoned themepark seemed so cool!  Did I mention that I loved this book?  I don't really review books, so that's the best I can do.  I would easily give this book 5 stars out of 5, and highly recommend it to everyone.  You can buy your own copy here for only $6.61 in U.S. dollars (4 pounds in British currency).

Things I Say When I Play Racing Games

I love playing video games but sometimes I'm not very good at them.  The two types of games that I am always bad at are racing games and first-person shooters.  The things I say while playing first-person shooters are either not very family-friendly or plain screaming every time I get shot (usually every 5 seconds to 1 minute), so here are the things that I say while playing racing games.



Obviously this isn't a screenshot of me playing because I am always in 8th place

1. Is this one of those games where your car repairs itself when you take enough damage?

2. I didn't go fast enough for that jump to help.

3. Wait, am I going backwards?!

4. How have I still not completed a full lap?!

5. I'm stuck against the wall.

6. How do I go in reverse?

7. Everybody just lapped me again.

8. Everybody already finished but I am almost done with my first lap now.

And these are the things that I say specifically while playing Mario Kart.

1. Yay, I'm in 7th place! Nope, 8th again.

2. I got a blue shell : )

3. I was too far behind everyone for the blue shell to actually help.

4. I fell off Rainbow Road again.

5. Stupid snowman!

So if you want to seriously beat someone at video games, play a racing game against me.

Sometimes You Just Have to Draw your Feelings



G and I broke up last night.  It was mutual.  My priorities in life aren't the same as the ones he thinks I should have.  For him, getting a degree should be the most important thing to me (after getting healthy again), even if it's in something I'm not interested in.  There are lots of other things too, but that is the only one I feel like sharing.  We dated for 15 and a half months.  We discussed getting married at some point in the future.  That's the part that's the hardest for me; whenever I pictured my future, I pictured us happily married and now that is never going to happen.  We had both been trying to ignore the fact that I'm not the girl he wants to be with.  If there was a checklist, I don't have the most important qualities on it.  I want him to be happy so I had to face the truth.  It really sucks.  This is my first real break-up ever (G and I broke up once before but that lasted for less than a day.)  This time it's for real.  We can still be friends but we'll probably hae to stop when he meets another girl.  I just won't be able to hang out with him and pretend that it doesn't bother me that someone else makes him as happy as I used to.  So I'm watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and devouring blog archives and drawing my feelings on Post-its.

My mom called when she noticed my single status on Facebook.  She said she's going to come get me and take me back home with her and my dad until I get better.  I asked her not to do that yet.  She said she doesn't want me to have to be alone on Christmas and I told her it would be even more depressing being around her delicious home-cooked food and not being able to eat any, which is true.

So on Christmas, I'll sit in my room alone with my cranberry citrus candle lit and open the Christmas gifts my dad brought me on Saturday.  I'll probably watch Buffy.  Maybe I'll try to put up my one strand of Christmas lights (these walls are really dense and very hard to put push pins in).  But I won't be with my family and I won't have Christmas dinner and I'm not looking forward to it.  I'm sad right now.  Half of the time I can keep it together and then the littlest thing turns me into a pile of snot and tears.  I won't post when I'm feeling the worst because I don't want people to be depressed by my posts.  I have a book review planned.  Spoiler alert: It's a really great book and I loved it.