Celebrating 200 and 2010 with a List of 10

There were a number of directions I could go with this, my 200th post. It's the first post of 2010, so I figured since 10 is a timely number, I would do a top 10 list of the first 199 posts on this site. For those of you who were waiting for the next installment of the "name everyone mentioned in previous posts" a la post #100...well...you're just going to have to keep waiting.

So without further delay, here they are. My top 10 blog posts since I started this stupid thing a little over a year ago.

10. Friday Zen Moment (2/6/09)
What can you say about the great Earl Weaver that he hasn't already said in an unnecessarily high volume in the face of an umpire and laced with multiple F bombs? It's debatable as to how much he really contributed to the greatness of the Orioles teams who had so much success under him, but one thing is not debatable. Earl was not boring. Or PC.

9. Things that are Overrated (9/17/09)
I'm kind of surprised this one didn't start more fights than it did...clearly an indication that I have no readership. Yes, SoCal. I said it. In N Out is the most overrated thing on the planet. More overrated than those little candy hearts that taste like chalk. More overrated than U2. It's even more overrated than Starbucks.

8. Conficius Say... (7/1/09)
Fortune cookies are a source of endless amusement for some people. Many of us add "in bed" onto the end of the vague and ambiguous statements on the little paper inside the cookie and laugh like middle school kids. Good times, but that's not what this post is about. It's my own running commentary on them in the context of my life. Better times.

7. Myspace Sucks (11/12/08)
This is where it all started. I used to blog occasionally on this God-forsaken den of virtual child predators, but one day their blog function wouldn't work for me. I realized that, by then, the occasional posts were all I was really using the site for anyway, so I put up a bulletin to notify people and 86ed my profile about a week later. I posted my first blog here, and now were are at #200.

6. Song of the Day - "Simple Man" (2/25/09)
Ash Wednesday, 2009...the birth of Jophes. Enough said. (Also pertinent, as the songs became a running feature...usually indicative of my mood at the time of the post.)

5. New Place Power Rankings (2/24/09)
This one made the cut primarily because my roommate loved it. She loved that she and Spuds beat out multiple other people for the burden privilege of being my roommates. Clearly this has worked out well for all involved, since we are now in a house and finally have Internet (so I can post this!)

4. People of Subway (1/9/09)
This one is especially pertinent on workdays, as I frequent this establishment and consider it one of my staple lunching options during the week. I love Subway. It's a great quick, reasonably healthy food option for the busy professional. You see a wide cross section of people in there: from the buttoned-down executive types in suits to the high school kids working as seasonal employees across the street at Best Buy during their holiday break. However, as is the case with any grouping in the middle of a workday, there is always some form of "that guy" involved that has to go in and screw up everyone's otherwise peaceful lunch experience. This day featured a few of them.

3. Urinal Etiquette (2/5/09)
I'm peeing. You're peeing. We're already standing uncomfortably close to each other while this is going on. Don't talk to me. Don't talk to anyone...this goes for the phone as well. Just. Don't. Do. It.

2. Letter from a Great Man (8/11/09)
My family suffered a great loss this calendar year--my grandfather passed away as a result of cancer that one had been able to find until it was way too late. On the upside, once we knew what was going on, we got to say our goodbyes and he went quickly. Like really quickly. While it's obviously been a difficult time for all of us, I took a post to reflect on my relationship with this great man and the invaluable life lessons he taught me in a style and tone that only he could. He was a man universally loved by those who met him--including a number of my friends who make up my readership. This post is just a little shout-out to my Grandpa Jerry. As it turned out, he passed away just two days after I wrote this. Rest in peace, G-pa. You are missed always but forgotten never.

1. 5 Tools (2/9/09)
And here is #1...the post that combines the thought process, snark, language elitism and baseball jargon that are essentially my personality.

Coincidentally, as I was polishing off what has become the #1 post, some drunk idiot was driving his automobile into mine, fleeing the scene and pretty much setting the tone for the rest of my 2009.

Here's to better this upcoming year. Lots of good stuff going on...housewarming party, new clients, out of town visitors, natives returning, etc. I wish all of my readership the best this upcoming calendar year. I sincerely hope 2010 is great for all of you! (Or at least I hope it doesn't suck.)