Saturday, March 31, 2007

12 Months of Urf!

Urf! is one-year-old today. March 31, 2006, I wrote the first post Urf! as an experiment to see if writing a blog was something I would want to do, something I would actually keep up with. Twelve months, 243 posts and 17,447 hits later, I can safely say, “Eh, we’ll see.”

Truly, though, it’s been a hoot, and to celebrate, I decided to take Urf! out to dinner and discuss the past year. We went for steak because Urf! looooves steak, rare, and doesn’t give a second thought to spending lots of someone else’s money. After a drink at the bar, an appetizer, more drinks, the main course and still more drinks, this is how the interview went:

Me: So, how has your first year on the internet been?
Urf!: Not bad.
Me: But not great?
Urf!: Don’t push me, man.
Me: Why don’t you tell me what your favorite post has been.
Urf!: I’m not sure it’s been any particular post, as they are all wildly entertaining, but I must say that June of last year is certainly a highlight. That was followed up by July, of course, which is also brilliant.
Me: There were only three kids when Urf! began, The Trio, but shortly after that GK came along, turning them into The Quartet. How did this affect you and your work?
Urf!: Wait, there are four?
Me: Of course.
Urf!: Oookay.
Me: So it didn’t affect the flow of the writing? The themes? The comedic bent?
Urf!: I think you’ve been reading a different blog. Comedy? You know, I’m unwittingly attached to all these other blogs - Dining With Monkeys, Sassy Molassy, S.A.M. – maybe it’s one of these you’re thinking of?
Me: No, I don’t think so. http://uurrff.blogspot.com. That’s you.
Urf!: That’s the dumbest URL I’ve ever seen.
Me: Nevertheless, it is you.
Urf!: Oookay.
Me: Which is your favorite kid?
Urf!: Eddie Corbett.
Me: Eddie Corbett? I … I don’t believe he’s written about in the blog.
Urf!: What blog? I thought we were talking about television.
Me: We weren’t talking about television.
Urf!: But you’re always talking about television. And Pop-Tarts. And farts and old music and all your friends with all their blogs shouting, “Look at me, look at me!”
Me: I think you’ve had too much to drink.
Urf!: #%@&^% you.
Me: Thank you for your time. Have a happy second year.
Urf!: You’re getting the check, right?

On the drive home after dinner, Urf! became confused, perhaps due to the amount of scotch ingested, got lost and ended up at the wrong house where it crept into bed with a 47-year-old auto mechanic named Lloyd, originally from Baton Rouge. Urf! returned home the next morning, beaten and bloodied, but welcomed by The Quartet with one Pop-Tart, two fart jokes and three hours worth of television viewing. Everyone had a good laugh. Happy Birthday, Urf!

[A heartfelt thanks to everyone who reads regularly. --RJA]