Sunday, December 30, 2007

The year in this blog

Angelo did a yearly blog recap, so I figured I'd do the same as it might be fun.

January

I didn't really blog then, so I can't remember much. The Colts beat the Patriots that month. That was fantastic. Let's hope history repeats itself.

February

I notice Angelo, Brad and others are blogging, and figure I'll join in as well. I make this my first post. There are posts before this, but they were second homes for the stuff I'd written for the Marianas Variety, which is all I ever expected this blog to be and where this blog might ultimately end up. A mere 255 people showed up that first month.

March

I went to the Philippines for my sister in law's wedding. I meet her family and they are supercool. They are a tight knit, fun loving bunch. I went to Baguio, which is a long bus ride from Manila to the "countryside," yet still crowded and polluted. It's supposed to be the summer capital, but I'm not getting the draw for the reasons noted. I find it wildly overrated. I went to Cebu, which has a lot of what Manila has without the horrific traffic. I also go to Bohol, which was nice, but seemingly lacking something. I am impressed with the Malate section of Manila, which reminds me a bit of New York City with all the bars, restaurants and bohemian young people.

April

The federalization debate really heats up. The CNMI hires a lobbyist both to remind people they once hired Jack Abramoff and to screw over a few Filipinos who have lived here a long time. I blast them while sitting in a computer room in Manila. I was the first to do so. PSS folks have to do the dance on whether they are getting the funding needed to function even moderately properly. I turn 35.

May

This is the month I did my best writing on this blog. There were a lot of good posts that month, toot toot. It was fun then, it was taking off, and there were big topics I still hadn't addressed. Dengre calls Bruce Bateman "the Drunken Face of Evil" in his headline, which is still the world's greatest headline. I didn't know Bruce too much at the time, other than column Bruce, who comes off as quite the dick on occasion, but I heard enough good things to add some balance to the debate. I find out liberals don't like shades of grey.

June

School ends. I go to Palau and relish a few days hanging in the coalition of the willing. I also put together my Variety profile on CNMI bloggers. Carl and Clarence become Carl and Alexander Turbitt and my legal kids. I get a Virginia teachers license, go on Harry Blalock's show to discuss blogging and a couple of us do a dive on Bruce's boat. I wrote what I think is my best post blasting Guam airport. Every week a disgruntled traveler googles Guam Airport and reads my post slamming them. This will deservedly go on into perpetuity. Cheers for my pea shooter. I head to the states to avail myself of urban pleasures like MLB games, Cuban food and museums. I meet my newborn niece Samantha Lynn, see Rush and the Dave Matthews Band in concert and visit a good friend in North Carolina. This was a great month.

July

Tao Tao Tano blows its credibility with its "Go home protest." I definitely was the first to blast them writing from the states as soon as those stories hit the website. Many others did as well. The sexiest and best blog contest rages. Angelo tries to cheat with a proxy server, but still loses. Brad and Harry win. The campaign was nasty, with Brad Ruszala getting the Nambla endorsement.

August

I get switched from senior to freshmen English and am not happy. Classes are wildly overcrowded. Cynthia gets her green card. I get offered a Marianas Variety column. I'm embroiled in the Korean tourists enrolling in PSS shitstorm.

September

I find out Cynthia is with my child. Distinction made so I don't have to slap Angelo. The blogger trolls come out finally and in force, largely because of Brad Ruszala's endless arguments with them on Middle Road. I was surprised it took that long.

October

PSS starts its bimonthly maybe we can't make payroll or keep school going talk. The Red Sox win another World Series as George Bush finishes Ph.D dissertation on Greek philosophy and Brad Ruszala practices monogamy. I dive a lot -- a real lot.

November

From 255 visitors in February, I'm now over 3,300 in November. In every month, until this one, traffic goes up. The CNMI has elections and goes for change by inserting all the people who lost the last election to do presumably the same things that didn't work last time. Tina Sablan and Galvin Guerrero win to provide some hope. I seek refuge in humor writing rather than focusing on our lousy government.

December

We find out Cynthia is having a girl. While waiting for her ultrasound, some guy wheeled in by ER folks and looking half dead picks his head up, smiles at me and says, "Love your column, man." Ambrose Bennett sets record for using the phrase "Common Sense" in a single calendar year for letters to the editor no one reads. Harry Blalock quits blogging -- for real this time. I hang out with friends during Christmas break and have fun.

10 comments:

Angelo Villagomez said...

It was a fun year. I hope some new bloggers pop up in 2008.

Bruce A. Bateman said...

Congratulations on a blog offering well written and well read for 2007, Jeff.

May your blog continue to grow and may your Family be healthy and prosperous during the coming New Year!

I'm glad we met in 2007. You have become a very good friend. I am thankful for that.

Angelo Villagomez said...

I figure I get about 200 regular reader per day, the rest are people looking for pictures of Nude Gay Pohnpei, Katie Rees, Vanessa Hudgens, and Midget Porn.

I'd like to see that number go up to about 1000 regular readers.

I think that linking to each other's blogs in our posts gets our readers to visit the other blogs. My traffic always spikes when somebody over at Middle Road is bitching about one of my posts.

We should think about putting together a blogger convention or something later this year. Might be fun. We could have people volunteer to give workshops.

If we planned it far enough out in advance, we could probably get MVA support and maybe even bring in people from off-island to participate.

I bet there are some dorky bloggers in Japan, Palau, Philippines, etc who wouldn't mind a little fun in the sand for a weekend of blogging.

Bev said...

Happy Holidays Jeff! I hope to have alot more fun diving adventures with you, Bruce, and Rose!

glend558 said...

Have a good year, Jeff and family

Jeff said...

Bruce and Bev, thanks so much and I agree with you both. Hope you're enjoying Bali, Bev. I love the place.

Angelo, a decent blog is a lot of work. I'm sure you've noticed on your master list how many have died. I think a lot of people are turned off by how nasty this blogosphere has gotten -- even from commenting, let alone starting their own. People have told me that, too.

I have been getting a lot of good feedback and hear the phrase "I'm addicted to the blogs" on multiple occasions. Anyway, I'd be willing to participate in your proposal.

Volunteer Guy said...

We could solve the nastiness problem over night if people would stop allowing anonymous comments.

The point of promoting the Saipan Blogosphere was for real people to write about real life in Saipan.

The anonymous people are just trolls, out to piss people off.

I think the top bloggers on this island have solved that problem. There is no nastiness on our blogs. There is some heated discussion, but none of the garbage that appears on the anonymous blogs.

Jeff said...

You'll have to convince Marconi to weed out the bullshit on his blog, which he doesn't seem inclined to do. All the other important blogs do so already. People don't put much stock in people they don't know or like and whose biases they can't evaluate, so I don't think monkey picture's blog matters one wit. Plus she's full of shit on her traffic like most everything else. Notice there is no counter and she/he lied about being George Jefferson. I'm sure people throughout the world care about he/her view on Bruce Bateman, me or you, which is her reason to be. Please.

Hey, but anonymity is important because you'll only attack them personally, not their ideas.

P.S. Angelo Villagomez is a hairgel ridden dickweed who corrects people's grammar.

Jeff Turbitt wears tennis shoes, used to go to Wild Bills, and doesn't bash his friends enough in his pathetic ramblings.

Bruce Bateman is a bat shit crazy haole with nutty politics who likes casinos and didn't answer questions even though he participated in a public debate on the matter, so boycott his bar because the real problem in Saipan is Bruce Bateman.

Ok, the last one might have some small truth - at least the first part.

Anonymous said...

Happy & Healthy New Year,everyone!

Bruce A. Bateman said...

I confess, I conspire with minions of the devil on a regular basis to confound mankind generally, and Saipanese specifically in their quest for Truth, Justice and the American way.

I am willing to bring my friend, Satan, to the Blogger Convention and will also help you to organize it and/or participate however to help make it happen.