Wow! Time really does fly when you’re having fun!  While going through old blog posts, fixing categories and what not, I realized that this blog is turning one year old this week.  Amazing! I never really thought it would last this long or get this far, but just look at it now!  I’m even starting a whole new chapter after moving it to my own domain and looking for ways to improve it and make it grow!

Boy, I still remember that very first week…  I had just accepted the invitation to become a blogger and I asked Richard Doyle for a suggestion on how often to post something on the blog. He answered very matter of fact, that three times a week would be fine for a start, then blog even more often as I became comfortable and experienced. With that in mind, I pulled out an old notebook and wrote down my ideas for topics to blog about.  I had almost two week’s worth of ideas, but after that…  This is the part where I became a little bit worried that I’d soon run out of things to talk about.  Thank goodness I haven’t just yet, although I must admit that I haven’t quite broken the three-per-week barrier either, as I don’t find the time to blog as often as some of my other fellow bloggers do… but it’s still fun, and I’m still learning a lot, and if it helps someone, anyone, out there, then it’s all been worth it.  

I must say that 2008 was a really great year for me. Writing the blog has helped me keep focused and remain faithful to my goals of learning SolidWorks and updating my skills. Perhaps, it’s simply because it’s easier to follow through when you’ve made your intentions public and then you’re held accountable by whoever reads the blog.  I also like to think that I’m helping others in the process. That’s the most rewarding part of it. Now that I’m hosting the blog myself, I’m able to see for the first time just how many people visit the blog and where those visitors come from. I now know for sure what I always suspected: my audience is not really that big, as I only get between 400 and 600 visits on average, and that’s on a good day, but even so, it’s still amazing to see there are people reading this blog from 50 different countries all around the world. Amazing indeed! And humbling too. It makes me want to do a much better job, to have something really good to offer to all those who visit.

 I hope this new year will be even greater than the last one. I have a lot of ideas, a lot of goals I wish I will be able to accomplish… I guess I’ll just see where this year takes me and this blog… and hope I don’t run out of things to talk about, at least not just yet.

Thanks to all that read! It’s been great so far!