I did it: I said “Happy Holidays.”

I don’t like it in place of regular greetings such as “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Hanukkah,” but to cover all the religions and occasions, it will work just fine.

2019 on Toronto Realty Blog is in the books, folks.

I’d like to thank my regular readers/commenters: Kyle, Chris, Appraiser, Condodweller, Professional Shanker, Housing Bear, Libertarian, Derek, GinaTO, Marina, Kramer, Bal/Batalha, A Grant, Izzy Bedibida, Ed, Mxyzptlk, jeff316, Joel, Francesca, Johnny Chase, Not Harold, Real Estate Millennial, Jimbo, IanC, Verbal Kint, J, Billy O, Peggy, Frances, Julia, Andrew, Graham, Jon, Clifford, Jason, Anthony, J G, Daniel, Mike, Steve, Max, Jeremy, M, Jennifer, Sigruper, Christopher, Numberco owner, Dan, O, crazyegg, Jonnathan, Newbie, Laurie, Nesa, Doug Frod, Lui, Jackie, Bitter Beet, Cyberd, Jenn, SW/Steamwhistle, WB, Chantel, Pete, FreeMoney, hoob, Linda, daniel b, Jules, m m, RPG, Paully, TOPlanner, Carl, another David, Michelle, Edwin, and anybody else I may have missed, for which I apologize, but sifting through a few thousand comments is not easy on the eyes!

I’d like to extend warm welcome back to the blog to Housing Bear and Long Time Realtor, who we dearly miss!  The blog just isn’t the same without you guys, and I fear that Housing Bear‘s bet with Kyle and Chris has forced him to sit quietly on the sidelines in 2019!

I’d also like to welcome (beg?) back Chroscklh, who hasn’t posed since the summer of 2018.  Whenever I meet people from the blog, they always mention Chroscklh.  I was sitting with GinaTO two weeks ago, whom I had just met in person after years of commenting back and forth, and she and her husband both asked about the whereabouts of Chroscklh, as well as his bear…

While I may not respond to all the commenters, I do read the comments.  All of them.  Maybe not on the day they’re posted, or even while that particular blog is live, but I read everything my readers write.  I have to.  It shows me what they’re thinking and feeling, whether it’s about the market, about Toronto, about my writings, or even about myself.

I don’t forget the names, folks.

Where’s Ralph Cramdown?  Where’s Joe Q.?  What about WEB, Potato, Devon, Negotiator, Boris, daveythej, Krupo, Floom, Asian Sensation, and Noel?

These are names I know by heart, because I remember just about everybody who’s been a regular commenter on TRB at any point in the last fifteen years.

And you know what else?  The readers know these other readers too.

I can’t tell you how often I get asked, “Do you know Chris?  Who is he?  What’s his deal?”  Or somebody will say, “Does Appraiser actually appraise houses?  Is he really an appraiser?  Is he a he or a she?”

You have no idea how interested your other readers and commenters are about you guys; the regular commenters.

In a world where everything, and everyone are on display, there’s something so curious and intriguing as names and voices with no faces or identities.  And on TRB, these identities have personalities, and the readers continue to guess at what one personality might say, based on what they’ve said before.

It’s all just so refreshing, is it not?

Log on to Instagram right now and you don’t have to guess what your friend Jenny is doing, because she’s posted 38 photos of herself on the beach, tagging the people she’s with, and pinpointing the locations.  It’s all right there, nothing to guess about.

There’s no mystery anymore.

Like when you were younger, and you’d pick up the phone and say, “Hello,” but in a sense where you actually meant it, as a question.  You didn’t know who was there!  You were genuinely asking!

Today, if you really wanted to know about a person, checking them out on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Google would speak volumes.

And this is why I think the readers on TRB are so incredibly intrigued by the commenters, not only by the comments themselves, but also these personalities that offer their opinions, insights, and arguments every day.

So once again, a huge thank you to my loyal readers and commenters for being the sprinkles on my donut, which is a far more appropriate analogy than a “ying versus yang” or “peanut butter and jelly.”  Because I write the blogs, and provide that tasty donut, but it wouldn’t be complete, nor would it be nearly as good, without that sprinkling of comments from the readers.

Actually, I think the fact that I go to Tim Horton’s every Saturday morning with my daughter, so I can get a coffee and she can get a sprinkle donut, has clearly influenced the above narrative, but I digress…

But seriously, I can’t thank you all enough.

Have a safe and happy holiday season, and I’ll see you all back here in 2020!

David.