In September of 2008, I began a voyage, a quest, nay, an adventure here on Active Rain. It began lame, as you can see, but I had hope that it would improve, and improve quickly.
I began by blogging about my new little Havanese named Gus. (aww, ain't he cute?)... I then posted about my daughter's recent wedding. Ahh... this was coming to me easily... Puppies and Weddings... you just can't go wrong... right?
I soon discovered that some groups take their rules seriously, as I had my first post deleted. Yikes! Made me reconsider 
quickly, and read some of those dang rules.
Soon I discovered Greg Nino, and responded to one of his great posts with my own "I am not a big boobed Realtor"... (you have to have read his to get mine... and his was well worth reading...)... which brought me my first "reblog"... woo hoo adrenaline rush.
A side comment by one of my daughter's friends, struck a chord with many of you... and I achieved my first milestone. (wow that seems so long ago). Then, suddenly, in an epiphany, it came to me... the way to really make points. Used Car Salesmen became a topic for me.
And then 
the ME-ME's struck. I ran my first 3-part series about the black sheep of our family, Leo Koretz. And then quickly removed all the graphics, as we ran into some copyright issues. Falling Rocks came to mind, and then it happened. After busting my hump, day in and day out... trying to come up with incredibly relevant content. This post got me my first feature! (what were they thinking?)
I gave a little history lesson, and learned one of my own, as they contacted me, 
and asked me to take some of my copywritten images down... d'oh! I had nightmares of Harlen the copyright enforcer!! (remember him?)
I blogged a little about bad MLS photographs... (okay, maybe more than a little). I waxed poetic, occasionally. Spoke a bit about my childhood in the Allegheny mountains. No holds were barred.
I talked with pride about Chicago politics, as the country learned more about them than they wanted. And much to the chagrin of my readership, the jokes began. And then suddenly, when you least expect it... my second feature.
My wife and I were then rescued by an angel, I was ME-ME'd some more, and found myself down the rabbit hole, and as the ME-ME's continued, found myself with chick flicks and uzi's...
You know you're in trouble when your kids start competing for equal time , equal time on your blog...(is there an echo in here?)
A little side trip to "drop the kids off at the pool"... ewwww. Thanks Jessica! Some management lessons, a valentine's card, (hey, I'm all over the boards), a few predictions about badges, and someone you should know.
It's hard coming up with posts, day in and day out, init?... but I try not to cross the line, and then... mememememememe OMG! Pushes you right over the edge.
You think everything's okay and suddenly Mr. Realtor Knowledgey rears his ugly puss. The death of a friend causes you to reevaluate everything. Then superman wreaks havoc on the KKK, along with views of Monday's Military Montage. And yet, I find myself with another feature.... yeah, I'm cool... you know it.... and another!! Wow! I am cool... y'all wanna be like me... dontcha?
Then I had a 400 post milestone. and it caused me to question my dogma... (I'm okay with the CATma however)... Suddenly a new and scary form of MEME appeared on the horizon... and we're featured again.
.. (this is getting a little embarrassing, isn't it?)
I then informed my readership, how to make a proper Chicago tube steak. Then i practically burn down the neighborhood. I compiled a list of the lovely ladies of AR (I'm thinkin' calendar... aren't you?)
Dropped in for a little pizza. And then my 500th post at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.... just seemed appropriate. And a little more poetry.
A short ode about a ziparella and a Realtor and some missed assessments. And then I assessed the Obama health plan. And then came my Six Reasons your house won't sell. Which got featured, and then reblogged an unbelievable 45 times. It was an article that was eventually picked up by a local publication called Chicago Agent (yes, I sent a copy to my mother).
I then blogged about a colleague, who was "stealing" images from google images. I talked about the fact that he was taking copywritten material, and how that was a dangerous game to play.
If you believe in serendipity and comeuppance... Judith Sinnard, explained nicely, politely and correctly that I'd been doing the same thing with my very popular Elvis iconage that I was using for my photo. So Elvis left the building.
I took my car in for service, only to meet a Realtor looking for clients... I then blogged about some of our "special things" that we do for our closings. We all have our little idiosyncracies. And then we met a lovely young couple, just starting their lives as an engaged couple. So fun to be there at the 
very beginning.
I talked a bit about agents who don't return their phone calls... a subject that's come up frequently on Active Rain... and really knowing your value as a real estate professional. (damn, I'm prolific.)
I then asked the question whether or not you should ask your agent for a referral to a good inspector... someone was raising a bit of ruckus on Trulia, and I wanted some input from the AR brain-trust... and I then went on to post that whatever you say on the internet... is forever. This one was highly popular, and brought over 200 responses.
And then we came to a post about a floor call, who insisted on talking with a male Realtor... another popular post.
Aren't y'all tired of reading yet? I know I am.
Mr. Realtor Knowledgey became a surprise hit... (a surprise, because nobody seems to realize he's a hit, except him!) Ain't he a handsome fella? And then I wrote a little about my new motto "lose less money with Alan"... (not that popular). And a recent controversial post that raised a few eyebrows in "does your managing broker compete with you", where I disconcertingly found myself disagreeing with (among others) Lenn Harley and Jason Crouch, major Rainers, whose opinions I respect and value.. including Renee Burrows who quick wrote a valid counterpoint. Yikes!
I talk a little about "knowing the contract you write".. as it refers to the mortgage contingency paragraph... and then jumped right into Phantom Offers. I know why I'm still here... what're YOU doing here?
Phew, I'm exhausted... aren't you?
Which drops us right here... And what's so special about HERE?? Well, this brings me up to 300,000 points. That's right 300,000 reasons to exist. And when I saw that it was 300,000 points, my whole AR life flashed in front of my eyes...
Did you guys see it too? Didja? Yeah, I thought so.
Thank you all... this is fun.
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