rabbit rabbit in the dog’s ear because his wife was still sleeping. And not because she had overindulged. In fact, I’ve been up to my ears working on some proposals and all I wanted to do last night was sit mindlessly in front of the television. Something I almost never do. The Three Stooges, an episode of Star Trek, and Justin Beiber, Pitbull and Lady Gaga at Times Square. We tumbled into bed just before the fireworks started (legal in New Hampshire, so a must have at any occasion). Poor Buddy, he of the rabbit rabbit early morning incident and, sadly, epileptic, was becoming more anxious with each boom. I tossed and I turned and it was already three hours into 2012 before I finally fell asleep.
WordPress, the online platform for my blog, emailed users end of the year stats. For what it’s worth, I’m honestly not sure how accurate their algorithm, hits = views, is. However, supposedly Life and Breath was viewed about 58,000 times last year. A drop in the bucket compared to say, the number of people who subscribe to Alec Baldwin’s twitter account (wait–I just tried to verify that number, and his account has been suspended). Okay, eat your heart out, Alec!
I was most tickled by the fact that there are quite literally people all over the world checking in. An icon of what looked like a little Russian nesting doll represented areas of greatest concentration, (bigger nesting doll, more people reading the blog) but it is also broken down by region, and the stats don’t all add up to 100%. I couldn’t tell you what’s up with that, but my best guess is that they stopped after the top 5 (or 2 or 3). Anyway, it’s interesting; this snapshot of our global community:
North America
92.9% US, 7% Canada, .1% Mexico
Europe
27.4% UK, 12% Finland, 10.2% Sweden, 8.3% Netherlands, 6.8% Belgium
Africa
46.7% South Africa, 20% Egypt, 6.7% Kenya, 6.7% Uganda, 3.3% Zambia
Asia
25.3% Japan, 14.9% Hong Kong, 14.7% India, 8.9% Phillippines, 8.3% Indonesia
Oceania
63.3% Australia, 36.7% New Zealand
So, to my friends all over the world, those I’ve met and those I have not, I wish you a happy and healthy New Year.
life and breath: outliving lung cancer 
Happy New Year Linnea. I was grateful to see another start to a New Year. Friend of NED for 18 months so far. Love your blog.
Hugs,
Sharon
Sharon, it is rather epic to be here for another. And let’s not just start it, but end it as well! Hope NED stays for a long, long time–congrats on that and I wish you a Happy New Year as well.
Linnea
And a wondeful NEW Year to you, Linnea. I have been reading your blog since I was diagnosed (2009) with Stage 1b nsclc. I am going into year 3 NED and am not surprised at the number of hits you get on your blog. You are a great writer who very vividly describes your journey with this disease and provides fellow travellers with hope and ,very important insights and information. I will have my next scan one week from today and will be checking your blog for inpsiration and courage…..thank you for sharing yourself with us all….Sincere wishes for health and happiness to you! Angela from MT
Angela, congrats on your three year NED-ness, and good luck on that upcoming scan (I believe my next one is in a week as well). Thank you too for your kind words and for checking in–it helps me much to know you are all out there. And say hello to Montana for me!
Linnea
Hi Linnéa, just want to wish you an Happy New Year. Keep going, you are an amazing woman and I miss some vocabulary to tell you in english how important your blog is for me. Take care
Elisabeth, no words are missing from your sentiments. I have great admiration for anyone who is able to master more than one language…and I am so glad you are here; knowing that there are so many people out there on this journey is what keeps me writing, even when I don’t feel like I want to.
I wish you a Happy New Year as well and that you should take good care.
Linnea
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Thanks, and stay awake a while longer.
Bob, your little snippet of poem (Mr. Frost) and personal sentiment is so very sweet and dear. Thank you.
Linnea (born in MI)