This is my 10k post

[Aliantha]

So I'm going to make the most of it.

First of all, I'd like to say thanks to UT for providing this site which I've enjoyed for a number of years now. I really appreciate the effort you go to in order to keep it up and running and I hope my small contributions along the way have helped.

To those of you who've become special to me over these years, let me just say that your insight and support have meant the world to me. There have been times when things have been a bit tough, but knowing you'd be here has made all the difference to me. I think you know who you are but to name a few there's Ducks, SG, Dani, classic, merc and there's a few others too such as Cloud and Case who just always seem to say the right sort of thing when you need to hear it. I thank you all and those of you I've missed too.

To those of you who've had differences with me...well, what can I say. I realize I can be prickly at times and short tempered, but I hope that you can at least appreciate my honesty. It has never been my intention to upset you or cause you grief, and if I have done so inadvertantly then please consider this an apology for any slight you feel I've served you.

To everyone else who has touched my life in some small way, I thank you. You've made my time here on the cellar fun, informative, entertaining and sometimes just downright weird, but I wouldn't want it any other way.

I often find the people here inspirational, and maybe I don't say that often enough. There are some very exceptional people here and I consider myself to be in very good company most of the time. I know we're all very different and come from different cultures and countries and this sometimes causes conflict. I know I've had my part in that, but I honestly don't think it's reasonable to expect everyone to always get along and agree. We've all been to generic sites where everyone pretends to love each other, and we know it gets a bit boring after a while. I'm not saying I enjoy fighting and arguing, but I do find the debate here stimulating when it's measured and reasonable, and that's one of the special things I like about this place. The fact that, for the main part, most of us are permitted to go our own way and make this into something meaningful to ourselves.

So, this is 10,000 posts for me. It's taken a few years and I've said a lot of dumb stuff, but I hope I have touched your life in some way that isn't just about words on a screen with some of my more well chosen words. I hope that we can all try and think of the good things about our fellow posters more often and spend less time categorising each other. No matter what you might think of me, it is my promise to you that I will always try to see the good in you.

Trish.
xoxox