Farewell, in Four Parts

Part I:

Tiffany: "What are you doing?"

Me: "Trying to write a blog about not writing this blog anymore."

Tiffany: “Isn’t that an oxymoron?”

Part II:

Tiffany knows how to say thank you in Korean. She's not Korean, has never been to Korea, and, as far as I know, has eaten Korean food only once, at a little barbecue joint near our first apartment in Los Angeles where we cooked the food ourselves over a tiny grill at the table ("Can you put my beef back on for a little bit?" I whispered, "It's still bloody.")

Still, I went to pick up the pants we had hemmed the other day (at 5’3, all our pants require hemming) and was greeted at the cash register by the seamstress, who was beaming.

"Your friend," she said, gesturing at me in a double-handed wave that suggested another female with slightly larger breasts.

I blinked at her, then nodded. Besides thank you, I also don't know the Korean words for fiancée or partner or lesbian.

"Yeah?" I asked, suddenly nervous that Tiffany had forgotten to pay for our last batch or had dropped off more pants than I could afford to pick up.

"Your friend says thank you in Korean!"

I smiled.

"Really?" I asked. "How do you say it?"

"Kamsahamnida."

"Well," I said, handing over some cash and folding our plastic-wrapped pants over my arm, "Kamsahamnida."

We beamed at each other, and then I went out the door, beaming at everyone I passed on the street, all the way home until I could beam at Tiffany.

Part III:

I haven't written a blog in a while, and it's not because there isn't plenty to write about. I still make silly mistakes in the kitchen; ask blonde things like whether the pay-to-play pool table at the bar knows I scratched on the 8-ball or is it okay to keep playing; and walk home twice, sometimes, to be with the woman I love. But, after four years of sharing those stories here with you, it's time for a change.

But not before I say thanks.

I'm lucky to have a life with more happy things than sad, to have people to share both kinds of things when they happen, to be in love with a woman who thinks it's important to say thank you, and to have had at least 49 of you read my blog, on occasion.

Farewell for now. I hope to share my words with you in some other form or fashion in the future. Until then…

Part IV:

Kamsahamnida.

Drumroll, please...

It’s my 100^th post! Thank you for helping make it happen!

To celebrate, I’m bringing to life the post you’ve all been waiting for: the story of how I met my girlfriend who studies chemistry.

To keep you coming back for more, however, I’ve made it a serial post. It will appear in four parts, one for each week this month, along with my regular random posts about daily life in a relationship. The first in the series will appear as a separate post right after this one!

I’ve also updated my About This Blog page and added an About The Author page, so please click around and explore some.

As always, share me with anyone you think might enjoy what I’ve written and comment whenever you like!

Thanks for reading!

Ding (Almost)! Approaching 10,000 Hits!

Just a little update to let my multitudinous readers know that so far my blog posts have generated 9,842 hits. With 87 posts so far, that averages out to 113.13 hits per post, which I think we can round up to 114 since I know none of you would ever only read .13 of one of my posts.

Ding is the sound I imagine for my 10,000th hit, but, unfortunately, I don't know how to make my blog ding for you. And 10,000 is just a number, but it feels like a milestone so I thought I'd highlight it here and ask that if you are the person who tips me from 9,999 to 10,000, please leave me a comment and let me know! I have no prizes to offer, but I will be thankful for you and your click. (Please don't cheat, however--yes, Jessie, I'm talking to you--by clicking multiple times on a single post to up your chances and my numbers. I'd like all of my hits to be real hits.)

Also, if you haven't noticed you can search my blog with the search function on the right-hand side. It's kind of entertaining to type in random words and see if I've used them in a post.

And, for those of you who use feeds, the little orange icon under my "About this Blog" tab lets you subscribe to my posts in various "readers." I wish I could explain more about that, but I don't really know how it works. It does, though. I have gmail and when I clicked on it, I started receiving my own posts in my google reader, which I'd never used before. Since I write the posts, they aren't a real thrill for me, but such a thing could be just what you need!

Anyway, please keep reading. Follow me if you wish (I've been at 25 followers for a VERY LONG TIME) and share me with anyone you think might enjoy me.

January Special--U-Pick Posting!

To spice things up a bit (and encourage people to read and comment on my blog), I've got a sweepstakes of sorts for the month of January.

At the end of each post this month (including the first 2011 post immediately preceding this notice), you'll see this:

"Congratulations, you've just read a U-Pick blog post! If you know me (as most of my readers do), thank you for reading and feel free to suggest something you'd like me to blog about. If you don't know me, thank you for reading of your own free will and not out of a sense of obligation! Even though you're a stranger, feel free to suggest a topic, perhaps something you'd like to hear more about that you've read on my blog before. All suggestions must be made as comments on my blog (not on Facebook for those of you who find my blog via Facebook). I'll pick my favorite suggestion each week and blog on it within a few days."

Anyway, I hope you'll suggest freely. Or, if you don't care to suggest but particularly enjoy a post, comment on that. If you do not enjoy a post, kindly close your browser and go on about your day.

Happy New Year! Don't forget to follow me, bookmark me, link to me and email me* whenever you feel so moved! Most of all, keep reading. Over 7,000 page views so far :)

*I've even come up with a handy form-letter for you to share my blog with others:

Dear (fill in your acquaintance's name):

I'm sending along this blog by (choose one: my best friend; my token lesbian friend; this random girl on the Internet; my former neighbor; my old roommate; my little sister; my sister's girlfriend; my most amazing partner; my daughter; my daughter's girlfriend; my one-time teammate) about (choose another: dumb sh*t that happens in relationships; funny sh*t that happens in relationships; well, I don't really know what it's about) because (choose again: I love it!; it's fantastic!; it's genius!; it's something to read while you're bored)

Love,

(You)

Exclusive Offer... Coming Soon!

Check back Saturday for a New Year's special... ;)

Thank You!!

Thanks to all who read my blog last week and participated in the 50th Post Celebration extravaganza! You bumped my page views up by more than 1,000 in one week (prior to that it took me four months to get to 4,000, so that's quite an accomplishment).

I hope you keep reading, commenting and passing me along.

Bookmark me! Check back! I promise to keep posting... including one immediately following this post of gratitude.

50th Post Extravaganza! Blow-Out Posting!

Today's my 50th blog post. It's also almost Thanksgiving. So for my 50th blog post, I'm going to tell you something I'm thankful for: blog stats!

I just discovered them. And now that I have, I'm thankful for them. Because all this time I've been thinking I've been blogging away in obscurity, spurred along by the occasional comment from my family (usually when the blog post is about my family). But it turns out my page has been viewed more than 4,000 times! Considering I only have 4 people in my immediate family (and only three who are computer-literate... my 86-year-old grandmother has never turned a computer on) this is fantastic news. Someone has been reading my blog in Saudi Arabia. I don't know how that's even possible, but I'm thankful for that too.

Anyway, in honor of my 50th blog post, I'll be offering up a blog a day this week. That's right... even on Thanksgiving. So, when you need a break from your family, you can come read about mine. (First post to follow)

And now I beg of you... if you read me, follow me. Comment on my posts. Please. Link me on your facebook page. E-mail me to your co-workers. But mostly, keep reading. Because now that I know you're being counted, you count. No, really, you matter to me. Or your IP address does. But these days, what's the difference?