A year of Lincoln In Cleveland

Today marks the end of the first year--and the beginning of the second--of Lincoln In Cleveland as a blog.

When I first started the blog, I summarized my etre as "Guy. Single. 25. Loves Art. Enjoys Travel. Works in Technology" and I declared no topic in particular.

The age has changed (now 26--wouldn't it be strange if, over the course of a year, my age had not increased?); I'm still single (I'm thinking I'm cursed--though I have dated more in the past few months than the remainder of my life combined), and I still love art, enjoy travel, and work in technology.

For the first few months of blogging I told no one about LincolnInCleveland. I labored under the impression that no one was reading; that impression was proven wrong when I found myself quoted. I still don't actively publicise the blog, although I did eventually feel that it was only proper to tell my parents. Since early November, I've seen visitors from 49 countries on 6 contents, including 47 US states plus Washington DC. [For those curious, the laggards are South Dakota, Alabama, and Delaware].

The question has been asked, "Why would you write if you weren't expecting anyone to read?"

As may be evident from the posts, I enjoy Cleveland's vibrant arts -- and performing arts scene; it is a key reason why I'm proud to call myself a Clevelander. I've discovered that I get so much more out of a performance or piece of art when I can discuss or even debate it with someone, ask questions, compare reactions. Without that benefit (See "Still single," above) the process of blogging allows me to make notes on my reactions, in essence talking to myself--and I have had my fair share of post-performance debates with myself.

For those who are reading, regularly or irregularly, you have my thanks. If I don't know who you are, feel free to introduce yourself either in a comment or email me at l /at/ lincolnincleveland /dot/ com. In keeping with the desire to grow from discussion, if you've attended the same events and have a different take, by all means feel free to leave a comment.

Blogging has certainly exposed me to the wonderful arts community in a way that I couldn't have expected. I've met some great people, made new friends, and had the opportunity to participate in unique experiences.

I've seen--and shared, I hope--great theatre (Cleveland Play House's Bill W. & Dr. Bob) great music (of course innumerable Cleveland Orchestra concerts, Diana Cohen's Second Master of Music Recital at the Cleveland Institute of Music) unique events (among them Cleveland Museum of Art's Summer Solstice--where my teammate and I won the photo scavenger hunt).

Of course, you not everything appeals to everyone--I've suffered through some amazingly bad theatre as well (In Cleveland, Chicago ranks as the worst thing I've seen on stage; in New York, Fela! the musical was amazingly awful*)--and it feels better to vent.

So thanks for reading; if you know of anything I'm missing out on... feel free to drop me a line. And here's to the next year!

Oh, and PS: The "Finder's Fee" is still on the table: Point me in the direction of someone female, independent, mature (as well as sane), and into arts and culture and if we clear 2 dates... well, I don't know what, but I'd be appreciative.

Lincoln

*- Combined with a gross misrepresentation about the location of the seat I was sold, it's also the only purchase of any kind where I have disputed the charge with my credit card issuer. I won the dispute. Considering that that's $80 out of nearly $5,000 of performing arts purchases in the past year, I think that's saying something.