Three years and counting

Three years, two days ago, I began blogging here, on my blog Just A (Running) Fool. My original purpose for blogging was to chronicle my journey to run a marathon by the time I was 40. On June 6, 2009, three days before my 40th birthday, I will be running that marathon, God’s Country Marathon in Potter County, Pa. (even though I am a long way from ready).

On Dec. 12, 2007, I began my second blog: Journeying with St. Ignatius to chronicle my journey that had begun in October to complete the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. My first post was What are these “Spiritual Exercises”? Since I completed the exercises in May, I have changed, and am continuing to change, the focus of the blog to incorporate other saints, hence, the title: Journeying with the Saints.

In January or February of 2008, I began a blog to chronicle my reading on a blogging platform I’d rather not mention because it sucked– and also I have since deleted that blog, though, some of the entries remain with another blog.

On March 31, 2008, I began a new blog an unfinished person (in an unfinished universe) with the idea of it serving as a portal to the other three blogs, connecting them all thematically: body, running; mind, reading and soul, devotions. The first post there was Hanging up and starting over (cue the music).

On April 21, 2008, I began a blog that didn’t fit into the body, mind, soul paradigm and was just for fun called Unfinished Rambling(s). My first post there was Sign sign everywhere a sign. Since then, the blog has become a “humor blog,” with it being listed on Humor-Blogs.com.

Then on April 25, 2008, I began another reading blog, Just A (Reading) Fool to chronicle my reading past, present and future with this post.

In all, since Oct. 27, 2005, I have had a total of 735 posts (not counting the posts on the blogging platform I didn’t want to mention and with some of those being cross-posts across several blogs) and a total of 30,446 viewers, which while nowhere nearing the number of viewers of Dooce (no link required, I’m sure you can find her), I’m still impressed, especially with the growth of my book blog, Just A (Reading) Fool, which continues to grow by leaps and bounds.

So what’s next?

What I’m planning on do within the next few months, probably toward the start of 2009, is combine four of the five blogs into one and switch from WordPress.com to WordPress.org. The four that will be combined under one umbrella, an unfinished person (in this unfinished universe) at unfinishedperson.com, are: just a (running) fool, Just A (Reading) Fool and Journeying with the Saints.

The fifth that will remain its own separate blog will be Unfinished Rambling(s), with the title perhaps being changed to (gasp! this is really drastic) Unfinished Rambling. I am leaving this one separate, because I consider it the alter ego to unfinished person with the persona there being unfinished rambler.

I already have four posts per subject, body: running; mind: reading; and soul: devotions, per week planned, which will include some themes I’ve already began. For example, I will continue participating in The Sunday Salon as well as my own Monday’s Memory and other theme-related days in which I either I participate or have started.

Why change it? The main reason is that from the start of unfinished person, I envisioned the other three blogs as showing the elements of what an unfinished person is: body, mind and soul. This will fit in with the holistic theme for which I was aiming from the beginning and give readers insights into the different pieces that make up this unfinished person (me) and in turn, make up us all.

At Just A (Reading) Fool, I already celebrated with a giveaway in celebration of my 200th post, but in the near future, I will celebrate my three-year anniversary of blogging on my other blogs with giveaways as well. I just haven’t decided what I will be giving away there, although I have one idea for just a running fool.