This is a
pretty monumental moment, my dear friends.
This post, the one you are currently reading right this second, is the
700th blog post in Q’s Adventures history! Take a moment to consider that and allow your
mind to be blown!
I know,
right???
700
posts…and 650 of them are some of the worst drivel I've ever read in my
life. Maybe half a dozen were written by
someone else (and are brilliant), and the rest I actually find
interesting. I go back and read some of
my old posts, and its terrifying how naive, dumb, ill-informed, and whiny I
come across! But it’s a pretty good
snapshot of my 20's. I mean, my first
post came just after my 21st birthday. And I’m now a few months shy of 30. There have been rants, random life updates,
and recaps of vacations and various feats of athletic prowess. I've discussed sports, politics, and religion
to excess. I've never hidden my views on
anything, and…for the most part…have just presented myself. So while I may look back on the blog and
wonder what the hell I was thinking…or even be embarrassed by past me…I
wouldn't change it for all the world!
And I’d certainly never go back and delete anything. For better or worse, this blog is me. And while I may not have always been the
coolest cat in the yard, everything that’s happened between then and now has
shaped the person I've become today…which is slowly, but surely, getting to
where I want to be. Always a work in
progress, but I’m a better man today than I was yesterday…and I damn well
better be better tomorrow…
So, first
and foremost, I should thank everyone for reading…and putting up with the crazy
shit I spew here from time to time and not judging me too harshly because of
it! You guys are the best. I wonder, actually, if there’s anyone out
there who’s read all 700 posts to this point.
You know, besides me. I assume it
would be someone who’s been reading since I started back in college. That’s what I need…a Q’s Adventures Hall of
Fame…one wing for the super readers, one wing for the guest bloggers, and one
wing for my favorite posts! Maybe I’ll
get on that at some point! Anyways, to
everyone, from long time readers to those of you who are new to the Life of Q, thanks
for stopping by! While I say I only do
this blog to amuse myself, I certainly hope you all have been amused as well.
In honor of
700 posts, I’m going to give you some highlights from my past. I’m going to post links to my five favorite
blog posts from the last 700 posts. I’m
going to post my three favorite pictures from my last 700 blog posts. And, finally, I’m going to give an award to
the blog’s #1 guest writer…the Q’s Adventures Lifetime Guest Blogger
Award! Very prestigious!
Let's get to it!
Q’s Five Favorite Blog Posts
5. The
12 Days of Patmas
I almost feel like I should populate this entire list
with posts from the 12 Days of Patmas series I put out every year. December is my blogging zenith, and starting
up the 12 Days of Patmas is a huge reason why.
I started in 2010 as a way to celebrate the holiday, and bitch about it
quite a bit too! Hey, sometimes I’m a
cynical asshole! But I do enjoy certain
parts of Christmas…and this blog highlights them! I could have gone many directions here. There’s a Calvin and Hobbes post I’m
particularly fond of,
and Christmas Lights certainly are pretty. But in the end, I decided to give this spot
as a tie for two of my favorite all time Patmas posts:
In 2012, I outdid myself with the Days of
Patmas, and really came up with some interesting stuff. My favorite very well might have been my
rundown of all the best villains of Christmas stories. From Ebenezer Scrooge to Hans Gruber, I cover
all the best villains that we love to hate.
Some find redemption, others die…but in the end, all added to our
enjoyment of the holidays!
Back when I started this in 2010, I used the
6th day of Patmas for Christmas customs from 6 random spots around
the world. In 2011, I decided to make
that a tradition. So the 6th
Day of Patmas each year, I look at how people celebrate Christmas in 6 other
countries. I thought this year was the
most interesting of the bunch…especially the last one about Iceland. But they’re all really interesting, if you
ask me…and worthy of inclusion on this list.
(You know,
maybe I should have picked The 5th Day of Patmas from 2012 for this
spot…PENGUINS!!!)
I still find this post to be hilarious!
Just…go back and read it. What an
amazing story. Also, please note my epic
MS Paint skills to illustrate my point.
I’m so freaking artistic sometimes it astounds me.
In the aftermath of the Lance Armstrong thing
(but before the Oprah interview, it turns out), I penned a piece on my thoughts
on Lance, what it all meant, and how I felt about it. I’m pretty conflicted on the whole thing to
this day…because I feel he is a dirty, rotten cheater…but he’s also raised
MILLIONS for cancer research, and cancer has affected my life enough to think
this is a particularly noble goal. He’s
also, literally, the only reason anyone gives a shit about cycling in America
today…so for the cycling bodies to spit such vitriol at him seems
shortsighted. Anyways, I thought this
was a well thought out and researched piece, and I wanted to include it in this
list.
During the holiday season, I’m a well known
proponent of Thanksgiving. I refuse to
even acknowledge the existence of Christmas until after the turkey has been
digested (unless I’m bitching about how everyone else is overlooking
Thanksgiving for Christmas). So, in
2008, I wrote a piece about why Thanksgiving is so great. In it, my Three F’s of Thanksgiving were
created…and are still used as my reasoning for why Thanksgiving is one of the
better holidays around. I've re-posted it
a few times over the years…so this particular post probably accounts for 3-5 of
my 700 posts! Not bad…
I rang in 2009 in New Orleans, and out of that a new blog series was formed
that eventually became the title of my revamped blog: Q’s Adventures! I had always posted about my various
meanderings, but never really in a formatted, structured way. When I got home from New Orleans, I wanted to
tell the story of the trip. Bubba and I
had so much fun, I just needed to share.
Thus, Q’s Adventures was launched, and it’s a blog feature that still
exists to this day. This first Q’s
Adventures post was all narrative…no pictures at all. But it tells a good story. I've since started adding in pictures from my
trips (since I take 100's when I’m out and about, it makes sense), but it all
started here…and thus, is deserving of the top spot in my favorite blogs…simply
for its importance (and it’s amusing take on my New Orleans trip).
Q’s Three Favorite Pictures
So, it turns
out I didn't really start posting pictures on my blog until the Olympics of
2010. From then on, it was a slow
transition to the way I write my Q’s Adventures posts now (with loads of
pictures). Needless to say, all three of
my favorite pictures will come from the last few years! Not exactly the historical look at the blog
that I had hoped…but apparently I was boring back in the day and made people
read instead of looking at pretty pictures!
Sorry!
HM.
From RIP Tabitha, 2011: This
one really doesn't quite fit here…but I wanted to bring this picture of Tabitha
back out as an honorable mention.
Tabitha was the greatest…such an amazing kitty. I still miss her. And she definitely loved me. After I moved out, she would still spend most
of her time back in my old room. And, as
you can tell from this picture, she had quite the attitude!
3. From
Q’s Adventures: Alturas, 2013: My
third favorite picture will be one of my most recent submissions. It’s literally my favorite picture ever taken
as Uncle Pat. Shayleigh is such a
goofball, which is amazing. And we both
dominated the fishing hole that day. I
dunno, I just really love this picture.
What a niece I have!
2.
From Q’s Adventures: Central Oregon, 2012: My second favorite picture might just be this
one…golfing in Central Oregon. It has
many of the qualities I look for in a Q’s Adventures picture…beautiful
landscapes, an orange shirt…and holy crap, look at those calfs! Sorry, quick vanity moment. But I think this picture is pretty cool…and
is the essence of what Q’s Adventures is all about!
1.
From Q’s Adventures: Kauai, 2011:
My favorite picture has to be this one…the best sunset picture I've ever
taken in Kauai. We had the perfect
combination of the sun going down right when the thunderstorms were building
up…amazing color, tall clouds, and the camera captured the green, the blue, and
the orange/yellow…I just love it! I need
to get this one printed…
Q’s Adventures Lifetime Guest Blogger
Achievement Award!
To close the
700’s blog post, I wanted to give out a Lifetime Guest Blogger Achievement
Award! So, of course this is going to
Chaz…the #1 guest writer this illustrious blog has ever had. And on that note…here’s Chaz, chiming in once
again!
It is an honor and a pleasure to be asked to write another piece for my best friend. Q and I have seen and done a lot over the years and as we mature, our adventures most certainly do not. Who else can I say I've been to New Orleans with… twice… only to hook up with a random girl I met at the airport? Or of the myriad Vegas trips consisting of shows, some New Yorkers that we detoured to Denver, a Hooters Calendar Model (October 2009 - it really happened), meeting Michael Godard, or simply getting eye-fucked on our way to the Grand Canyon… Q was there for it all. We've trotted the globe together only to face down what ended up a hurricane and still managed to find an oasis on a dry isle, a few lesbians to chicken fight with, and have other guests shag our drinks from the bar for us in the pool.
To say we've lived inside a bubble would be a lie. We've shared our ups and downs as well. Q was my right hand man through two nasty divorces and the passing of my father. He was, in all truth, with me the last time I ever saw my Dad alive… an image forever etched into my memory. In recent years we continued to motivate one another through dramatic life transformations. Q donned the running shoes and I the wrist straps. He runs miles upon miles while I dead lift 500 pounds, but at the end of the day we still can talk, and understand, the plights of fitness and the continued battle to keep energy high and body fat low. Many times simply providing motivation to get to the gym, or convince the other to take a lighter day to nurse an injury back to health.
Our list of accomplishments exists in both the real and online universe. We've taken down dragons, ass slapped Diablo, and conquered Norway. We've been to pro sports games, concerts, and National landmarks. I can say in my life I've had no truer or better friend than Q… and when he asked me to be a part of his 700th blog post, I knew I had to deliver on the grand scale. No other person has been through what I call life and always willing to offer a hand, opinion, or wing a drunk or fatty for me like Q.
Through the years, we have each grown as men and learned the values of family, hard work, health, and perseverance. These lessons have not always come easy or without cost, but as we look back over the years we can see they were justified and necessary for us to become the men we are today. Just reading over some of the blog posts in this very blog, I can see the passage of time hone the coal and harden it to diamond. It will be exciting to see what happens over the next 700, and you can bet your ass I will continue to chime in periodically offering my somewhat offensive opinion.
Curve balls are for pussies, we stare down knucklers and swing for the fences every chance we get. We earned a golf trophy together along with The Local Legend and The Hammer, we stared into the depths of the Grand Canyon then proceeded to devour the most delicious corn bread the world has ever known, and we can be found waiving and cheering my daughter on like she’s the queen of the world during the Pioneer Day Parade like the proud father and godfathers we are. Friendship with us comes at a price… the price of being fucking amazing people. We don’t have time for those that can’t keep up with our quick wit, our ability to drive for thirteen hours in sweats only to drop slacks and sport coats to tear up the Vegas strip, or simply to take poorly written introductory emails – rewrite them – then dismiss the Grundel that composed them. Our motto reads “No Fat Chicks” and our lifestyles scream “Rockstar”. We would have it no other way!
You guys aren't reading this momentous blog just to hear me go on about how awesome Q and I are, our worldwide conquests, or our ability to make light of the darkest hours… You’re here to partake in his 700th blog. I suppose I should get on with why I’m really here today.
Now, onto accepting my award for being the Q’s Adventures Lifetime Guest Blogging Achievement Award recipient…
I’m that fucking awesome. That shit really fucking happened. You can bet we’d do it again if given the chance. Boom!
Congratulations
to L. Alexander Gerhart, aka Bubba, aka Chaz…a true friend of the blog, and a
writer with no peer. Thank you for your
contributions to the blog over the years.
I look forward to whatever you have to contribute in the future!
And with
that, I’m going to bring Blog Post 700 to a close! My 20's have been a wild ride. I've graduated college, traveled around the
U.S., and changed as a person a whole bunch.
I've been an angry hothead, and a laid back goofball. I've been a sarcastic asshole and a lovable
oaf. I've been myself…for better or
worse…and this blog has captured it all.
I plan to keep it going as long as I have the will to do so…and I hope
everyone reading enjoys the ride.
Thanks, and
see you all back here for #800!
2 comments:
Homerun tunnel for number 800, right?
Nicely done. I love the Peru story and the picture of you and Shayleigh. I thought Bubba summed things up nicely. Look forward to the next 700.
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