Five Years in the Books

Filipino Halo Halo is but one of the culinary treats you can get at
Columbus's Asian Festival, held annually during Memorial Day weekend

Columbus’s Asian Festival, set again for Memorial Day Weekend this year on May 25th and 26th, represents a couple of important reference points for yours truly. One was finding out how truly few of folks like me were here during my first visit: the city where I grew up in California, despite having numerous times less folks than Central Ohio's population, has roughly eight times more folks with my background.

The second is it marks off another notch on the years I’ve been doing this blog. With this upcoming weekend, that will have been five in the book, the furthest I’ve ever taken a blog.

There are hundred of ways I could branch off from here, but I thought I’d just leave it simple. Thanks to all of you who have followed along, and I hope I can keep you entertained by our ventures and my writing as we go into year six.

A Blogoversary with a Twist

If this blog could eat the four cupcakes from Kittie's Cakes in celebration of
its fourth year anniversary, I'd let it.  But since it can't, I'll strive to do it myself

Well, four years are in the book for this blog, and suffice it to say it continues to chug along quite nicely. Stats are kind of boring, so I'll keep this section short and to the point. The blog continues at roughly two posts per week, we reached 1,000 Instagram followers at the end of 2017, and the combined road- and air-trip miles for us ended up close to 10,000 total, including at good quarter of those spent on a nicely epic seven-state excursion to catch the Great American Eclipse of 2017.

I had thought doing something similar to last year in posting some pictures from last year's adventures that didn't make the blog. However, a current saga from a local personality in combination with a picture I came across from what seems like many moons ago gave me the notion that this shouldn't be a typical blogoversary post.

Toddling Toward Three: A Second Year Blogiversary Post

Surprise, surprise - two years and this blog is still alive and kicking. I can't rightfully say whether I expected this or not, but I am quite happy to still be pounding on the keyboard on a regular basis cranking out these blog posts

My posting pace that first year was rather surprising and highly unsustainable (over 150 posts that first year) - for someone whose bills get paid by other time-consuming sources, that just wasn't going to workout in the long run. This year, I aimed for a more sustainable two posts per week and hit that mark pretty much on the mark; as Goldilocks might say, that number was "just right."

I could get into really specific detail about the breakdown of these posts, but that would be highly boring so I won't. Suffice it to say, the posts are nicely broken up mainly among Columbus-based eateries, beer and brewery related posts and travels from both within and outside of Ohio. Mix in some music events, local attractions and festivals, and my continuing ice cream journeys, and it made for a pretty nice cornucopia of topics covered this year.

I Can't Deny The Rhythm Here: My First Blogoversary

An early example of my blazing a trail to (Ohio) education

Well, the first anniversary in almost any endeavor is considered a milestone and a bit of an accomplishment; this is especially so in the often disposable, stop and start world of blogging (I know that aspect well, as I have a number of dead blogs to my name.) So I guess this would count as a celebration of sorts: one year ago, I started off with this simple post, a Cliff's Notes summary of my history and the general focus of this little blog of mine.

And here we are, 150 posts later. That number is a bit staggering to me - no way would I have thought I would have even half that many in a year's worth of time. But perhaps when I really think deeper about it, it's maybe not that surprising after all.

I have had essentially an eight-year association with the Buckeye State, with the last three years or so being of the continuous variety. In those years, I have been lucky enough to be in a position to not only explore the Central Ohio area fairly extensively, but also travel to many places within this state as well as its neighbors. I'm even more lucky to have a partner, the gal who drew me out here in the first place, who is as eager as I am to explore just what the heck really is out here. Our journeys both short and long, small and grand, have been memorable in many ways, and our discoveries within have provided ample fuel for my writing.

In addition, the community here has been truly wonderful. From my spouse's family, our circle of friends and colleagues, my fellow bloggers and others I have written about who I have had the pleasure to meet in person, and just plain neighbors have been a pleasure to meet, talk with, and learn from.

During my time here, there was one issue that remained for the spouse and I in terms of our relationship together. We decided early in the dating phase that if we did end up together, moving multiple times was not desirable. If we did move, it would be one big move, and we would also consider several places in the United States outside of Ohio, including to the area I will always hold special in my heart: the San Francisco Bay Area.

The result of that due consideration? Perhaps the answer can be best encapsulated by my very recent and first ever purchase of a lawn mower.

Well, at least it starts up pretty easily anyway...

Lawn mowers aren't exactly things you buy on a whim. Unless you are running a lawn care business or are buying it as a gift, there really is only one reason why you would buy this machine: you have a lawn to mow. Not that I'm looking forward to the act of mowing lawns for the next couple decades, but this modest machine represents the commitment we made to make the Buckeye State our home, hopefully for years to come.

For the last several months, we have encountered and engaged in the taxing trifecta of house hunting, finance securing and house bidding, and, of course, moving. The big stuff came over with the help of family and friends a couple weeks ago, and slowly but surely we along with our belongings are settling into our new environs.

That community feeling I earlier referred to has thankfully continued in our new place of residence. Our new neighbors have all been friendly and welcoming, and the previous owners of our home gave us an unexpected and incredibly touching housewarming gift in the form of a patio set that my spouse had been eyeing as a possible future acquisition.

A truly wonderful gesture from our new home's previous owners

Going into this second blog year, we plan keep exploring both our new neighborhood as well as the area in general, and I am sure I will have plenty more to write about in the upcoming months, whether it be new eateries, brand new music, community events and the like.

The post title, if you haven't guessed by now, is a reference to the rock band O.A.R.'s paean to this area, "Road Outside Columbus" from their 2003 album In Between Now and Then. Similar to many of the band members, this area of the world grew on me to the point where I can relate to that "Midwest way of ease." This verse in particular (with a little creative license) has struck a chord in my mind as I look back over the past several years:

Surprise, surprise
I traveled here.

Two-thousand miles from where I'm known.

My friends are here.

These three years I've spent
I found I have a second home.

Yes, indeed - I have found my second home, and I couldn't be any happier or more thankful.