The First "Milestone Post" of Impossible Numbers · 10:18pm Sep 16th, 2016
Blog Number 21: The "I Did It! I Did It!" Edition
Yes, yes, ignoring the statistics I post virtually every blog, this is my own "milestone post" for tallying important numbers I've achieved. Now is as good a time as any to break my silence with a (relatively) brief retrospective.
Almost five years after my introduction to the colourful world of ponies, I still feel dizzy about how much of an influence it has over my thinking, and it's great! Even during the many conspicuous gaps in my fanfiction writing, my imagination has been captured by what I've watched and it's leaked out in other ways: as subtle influences over my original fiction; as idle daydreams during quiet moments; even as an unexpected dose of good cheer when I could do with some. I released a blog in January of this year about my feelings towards the earliest seasons, and I can cheerfully say that they haven't changed since. 
Which is strange, because ever since some point around the end of the fourth season - arguably some point around the third season, or even near the end of the second one - I haven't been as fired up about new episodes of the show as I used to be. Maybe the novelty factor's wearing off, or I'm bringing preconceptions to the proceedings that don't quite fit where the show's been going these last few seasons. Maybe it's unthinking nostalgia kicking in. Maybe part of me just feels weird about this comfortable, small pleasure growing to over a hundred episodes and counting.
I'm guessing, sadly. It could be a host of things, none of which seem to me entirely wrong or entirely convincing. In any case, the result is that I haven't watched a single episode of the sixth season. Not one. Last year, I struggled to finish the fifth one, and the only reason I'm not including the fourth here is because, when I did get around to watching it, I cheerfully watched about half of the episodes in one day.
Weird. 
I can't feel too put off by it, though.
I still feel cheered up when I remember that moment in Dragonshy, the one when Fluttershy hilariously and yet awesomely tells off the dragon she's been frightened of since the beginning of the episode. I still feel awestruck when I remember first watching the sonic rainboom, especially the fact that it happens because Rainbow Dash just forgets about the stressful competition and immediately dives to save her friend. Does Suited for Success even really need me to talk about what makes it so good, or why it turned Rarity into such a winning character? And that moment when Twilight Sparkle realizes the significance of the elements... corny as it is, it's still a classic moment of the show, combining friendship and heartwarming character development with a traditional fantasy quest and great visuals.
If the show up and died tomorrow, I could still point to the first few seasons and say, "That was time well spent, as far as I'm concerned." I think I'm going to dig up those DVDs and rewatch the first season again. I'll do it at some point in the not-too-distant future. I'm actually kinda surprised I haven't done it in a while. Five years later, it's still time well spent. 
Anyway, I am posting this as recognition of a few milestones being crossed. As of today, I have posted 32 stories, gained over 30,000 views, and written over 250,000 published words. Considering the huge gap in my history on this site, to have done that much seems like an achievement, even if the numbers are really just arbitrary figures. And I have only one thing to say...
Finally. 
That's all for now, I think. Impossible Numbers out.
Statistics
New Stories?: Productivity at last! Nine fics released since January of this year. Nine! I like seeing them up there, all shiny and complete, and saying to myself, "I did that. Me."
Windbags
Rise of the Solar Wind (also successfully submitted onto Equestria Daily! Yay!)
The King and the Changeling (currently waiting for a response from Equestria Daily)
Rejuvenation
Lapidify: To See and Die
Banal Evil
Work and Play
The Literary Hypothesis
Villainy Abroad
New Updates: No.
Story Count: 32
My Total Story View Count: 30,004
Age: 1,739 days, or 248 weeks and 3 days
My Follower Count: 82
My Followed Count: 70
