Five years
March 1 was the fifth anniversary of Vitamin Z's creation. Most of my friends who were blogging when I started either abandoned Blogger for better venues, or left blogging altogether.

And, there have been times when I wondered if this blog would survive. Growing up and growing responsibilities have shown me that I'm not a 23-year-old rookie having fun on his downtime anymore.

There's another blog out there (Baker Street) and a journalism career that require attention.

So it's been five years. I think VZ has lasted longer than almost all of Jennifer Lopez's marriages.

But I think lasting this long is an accomplishment. There's a list of people to thank.

1. Danny O'Brien: Got me interested in blogging, and writing about politics.

2. Curtis A.: My brother and one-time stand-in who continues to provide an important counterpoint in my daily life.

3. Vivek and Nihar Vasavada: My best friends and occasional stand-ins.

4. Aaron Rund: Good friend and long time reader.

5. Joel Hammond: Long time supporter of my efforts and one of the minds behind Pigskin Podcast.

6. Erik Cassano: Makes so many comments here he might as well be a contributor. Continues outstanding work over at PapaCass.

7. Andy Barch: Another Pigskin Podcaster and occasional contributor.

8. Phil Prusa: I lose to him every year in our 1-on-1 picks.

9. Matt Sussman: Given this blog plenty of readers from his links on Deadspin. Perhaps the funniest writer I know.

10. Vince Guerrieri: Fellow 210 West alum who has become the unofficial copy editor for this blog.

11:Dan Robinson: Mentor and friend who read my first post during downtime at work.

In honor of VZ's birthday, here's five things I always wanted to write but didn't:

1. I may not have done this three weeks if I hadn't found a hits counter online.

2. I don't think the writing on this blog was any good until the 2004 election.

3. I'm still ticked Nihar never posted the week I was in LA. Keys to the castle, Nihar. Keys to the CASTLE!

4. I never really hated Casey Blake that much. I sure did hate the way the Indians promoted him, though.

5. In the beginning, I didn't want to annoy anyone. In the middle, I wanted a lot of hits. Now, I'm just happy I have a vent spot.