I'm now officially a loser.

[Motorboat Cruiser]

I humbly ask your indulgence as I proceed to make a mountain out of a molehill.

For the past 5 years, I have been involved in a number of message boards. Some related to Disney, some not. I started out at a place called The Straight Dope Message Board, or SMDB, which I discovered as a result of becoming a fan of the Straight Dope books. I lurked for a long time until finally I decided to leap in and start posting and was hooked instantly. Always a fan of debate and discussion, it was like a dream come true. I quickly became a fan of the concept of a message board.

While others there had post counts well in the thousands, I didn’t have that kind of time. Still, I persevered, hoping that I could at least make the elusive 1000 post mark. It wasn’t meant to be. I had an unfortunate incident with a stalker that forced me to take some precautions, including changing my screen name and losing my post count. I think I was around 890 when this occurred.

Around this time, Matthew and I got our very first annual passes. After our first trip to the park in 10 years, I decided to see if there were any message boards that catered to those with a love of Disneyland. The first place I found was the place where I eventually met most of you. I grew to love getting involved with this Disney community and posted quite a bit. It was here that I first heard the term “loser”. I wanted to be a loser, who wouldn’t? But alas, it wasn’t meant to be. I made it to 385 posts before the exodus.

We made our way to a new fabulous place and I spent lots of time posting there, getting more involved in threads and seeing if I could finally become a loser. It wasn’t meant to be. I have no way of checking but I recall that I made it to somewhere around 750 posts before the exodus.

So then this place sprouted up and I finally found a place that I could call home, in the message board sense. It had everything I wanted, stimulating topics, dear friends, very little drama, and plenty of humor. I posted with wild abandon and, although I made no conscious effort to increase my post count, it was inevitable. I knew from the first day that this was the place that I belonged and hoped that I would finally be considered a loser.

In the past few weeks, terror began to rear its head as I saw that I was getting close. “Oh my god”, I started pondering, “What is going to happen to the message boards?” “Are they going to get hacked?” “Is Chris going to ban Lisa and then we will all go start another board?” “Are they going to make Jonvn a moderator”? “Earthquake”? Granted, these are all somewhat irrational fears, but I couldn’t help but wonder if some calamity was going to strike. I thought I was a jinx and we were all doomed.

And yet, the earth didn’t stop rotating. I have now reached the elusive 1000 posts and can finally say that I achieved the coveted title of loser. And as much as it might seem that this post is about me, it’s really about you, the wonderful people that make up the swankiest place on the web. It is because of you that I have spent countless hours here. It is because of your warmth and friendship that I truly feel I belong. This place means so much to me for the times it has made me think, the times it has made me laugh, and for the privilege of meeting and interacting with you fine people on a daily basis. While I may not have many relatives that live near me, I sure feel like I have a family here and I thank you for all the joy you have brought to my life.

And perhaps this is all melodramatic and silly babbling. Yet, I wanted to mark this insignificant occasion by just letting you all know that I care and am really thankful to all of you. I especially want to thank Lisa, Chris, Greg, Jennie, and everyone else that works hard to give us this wonderful place to play. I’m honored to be a part of it.