I Have a Blogging Addiction

 Well, it's time for me to get sappy and pretentious again.


     It's been a little over three months since I started blogging. Time flies, right? I was originally planning on making this post later in the year (like six months in), but the way things are going, there would simply be too much to write. First off, though, is the stuff concerning the title. Really, there's not much more to say. I have a huge blogging addiction. While this is likely due to a lot of things, including approximately 0 hobbies and a social life that just barely exists, I spend a lot of time reading blogs and making posts. On a whim, I decided to look at how much I visit other blogs. To accomplish this, I took all the times I've visited the blogs on my blogroll and added them up into one big number (this includes viewing posts and whatnot - everything under the domain name). Keep in mind that a number of these came from before I added the blogs to my blogroll, when I would check the site fairly often to see if there were any new posts (as opposed to now, where Blogger just tells me). Anyways, here are the results:

Total visits: 2,695
Mean visits per site: 300 (rounding up to whole numbers)
Approximate time over which data was gathered: 3 months
Approximate visits to each site per day: 10
(Note: I didn't start following all of these bogs at once. In fact, I just found one of them around a week ago.)

So, once more: I have a blogging addiction.
     I realize that this may seem excessive to some of you (and it is, really), but do keep in mind that I have very few other obligations, so it's not like I'm damaging or neglecting other aspects of my life. That said, blogging is (ironically) quickly becoming the thing that is taking the most time away from anime watching and game playing, so I do want to take the time I spend on it down a notch. Also, I'll be going full time in the fall, so I obviously can't spend as much time on it and I don't want to have to go "cold turkey" or anything. Regardless, for the time being, it is what it is, and I'm enjoying it, so there you have it.

And this...is just a teaser for my next review, because I wanted to include another image.

     So by now you must be thinking, "That's nice and all...but why are you posting this? We don't really need (or want) to know about how much you're stalking us, so what's the big deal?" Well, when I saw the numbers and realized it had been about 3 months, I decided to look back on what I had done so far. Don't worry, I won't bore you with any more stats or figures. Instead, I want to thank everyone who's helped me reach this point. Again, I realize that it's only been 3 months and this may seem a little premature, but hey, I didn't want to wait and have to post a 10 page long list of all the people I feel indebted to and why. Here's the list.

Note: Because this is supposed to be a thank you, if you think I've said too little (or too much), or if anything I've said is untrue, please don't hesitate to speak up. If you don't feel thanked, then there's no point. So please, help me out here if I need to be helped. Also, let me know if I got your gender wrong. Immediately, so I can fix it before anyone else notices <sweats>. One more thing. I decided it would be fun to include the post I saw on these blogs that made me come back for more. Just felt it would be fun. Anyways, here we go.


     Big thanks go out to Snippettee for Inspiring me. Her wonderfully insightful and well-written posts raised the standard I had for quality, and her humble and friendly attitude has helped me recover from more bad days than I can count. One of the most important people to my life as a blogger.
     "Hook" Post: http://snippettee.wordpress.com/2011/11/20/reflectiononqualityandquantit/
(To be honest I absolutely love 95% (I haven't read the other 5%) of everything this blogger has posted, so it was really sort of an amalgamation of all her posts that drew me in. But the subject of this one has always been interesting to me and I loved seeing another opinion on it, so I'm gonna go ahead and choose this one.)


     Thanks to Tsurugiarashix for Including me. The first person to comment on my blog, he is, as far as I know, also the first person to come to my blog of his own accord because I commented on his.
     "Hook" Post: http://kaminarianime.wordpress.com/2012/02/
(It was not a single post that got me to start reading Kaminarianime, but rather a series of posts, specifically the string of editorials he released in February. That's why there's a month of posts rather than a single one.)


     In a similar vein, I'd like to thank AceRailgun and Sabishii Miruku for Acclimating me. The first two to add me to their blogrolls in efforts initiated by them (and not me), they are really the ones who integrated me (that is, if I can consider myself integrated) into the ani-blogging community. I always feel right at home when I visit their blogs.
     "Hook" Post (AceRailgun): http://acerailgun.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/anime-blog-carnival-what-makes-1010-anime/
     "Hook" Post (Sabishii Miruku): http://kanpai.kokidokom.net/2012/03/my-double-life-2d-vs-3d/


     Thanks to Ephemeral Dreamer and Yi for Expanding my views. Ephemeral Dreamer showed me a rather unique perspective on anime, and also helped me remember that the deaf can experience and share as much as those with normal hearing. As for Yi, I was actually a little surprised by her overt support of yuri at every turn. The...frankness with which she approached the topic actually took me aback a little, at first (looking at her Twitter feed didn't help. I've seen things there I will never forget). However, I grew to appreciate the bluntness of her works and the sharpness of her wit. Yi also helped me as a person by giving me an insight to how a yuri (it's an all-purpose noun) views...yuri. I feel like my world view, and not just my blogging view, is always widened a little more every time I visit Listless Ink.
     "Hook" Post (Ephemeral Dreamer): http://ephemeraldreamer.wordpress.com/2012/02/23/the-sound-of-life-in-mushishi/
(This was actually posted after I started following this blog, but it was this post that made me add the site to my blogroll. The first post I read and made me follow was probably this: http://ephemeraldreamer.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/learn-and-know-when-to-stop/)
     "Hook" Post (Yi): http://listlessink.wordpress.com/2010/01/12/queens-blade-rurou-no-senshi/
(Yup, it was her Queen's Blade review that got me interested in Yi's blog. I was so curious how someone could enjoy this, that I had to go found out more about their outlook and worldview. The review makes a weird kind of sense now (in a good way, though I still don't agree with some stuff).)


     Thanks to Marthaurion for Tempering me. This probably sounds a little weird, especially because I'm not super active on his site. However, Marthaurion's accepting viewpoints, singling out of the positive parts of my comments, and willingness to ignore me all made me better as a person and a blogger. I used the word "Tempering" because, due to him, I feel more tempered and calm in my dealings with the blogosphere.
     "Hook" Post: http://www.marthaurion.com/category/lifes-great-mysteries/
(As with lots of other blogs, it was actually a number of posts that got me interested here. The Sub vs. Dub and Protagonists posts especially piqued my interest.)


     And finally, thanks to SomewhatMystia and Kitsune & Neko for their Camaraderie. I know this might sound strange, especially after I've already listed Inclusion and Acclimation. The reason I include these two here is actually pretty simple. SomewhatMystia was the first real video game blogger with anime interests I ever found (he would also probably fall under acclimation as well), while Kitsune & Neko get points from me for being the first other blogspot anime blog I ever followed. It's not just their similarities to myself that got me interested, though; I really like these bloggers for their great style and viewpoints, too. So I guess in a way they also inspire me, too.
     "Hook" Post (SomewhatMystia): http://somewhatmystia.com/2012/02/21/a-lost-sense-of-wonder-grass-pants-muses-on-modern-rpgs/
     "Hook" Post (Kitsune & Neko): http://kitsunetoneko.blogspot.com/2012/03/ts-everywhere-twitter-tumblr-and-lot-of.html
(Surprisingly enough, it was a post on how the authors are using social networking to their advantage, or perhaps their response to my comment, that got me interested in this blog.)

I would also like to thank everybody who has visited and/or commented on the blog. I can't list each of you specifically (especially because a lot of you are anonymous), but I do appreciate everything you've done and the support you've given me. To everyone mentioned in this post, always remember: You guys (& gals) are great.

I'm sure a number of you have had this face at one point or another in you're dealings with me, and I just wanted to say I appreciate you putting up with me. Thanks for reading, and sorry for being so sappy.