Last was the record year in terms of the number of pieces and words written in a single year. Annoyed by my pursuit of records, I promised myself at the end of the year to relent in the future. And I am doing my best to keep both the number of pieces and words written this year well below that silly record. So far, so good. But a new record is lurking this year: that of the addenda. Until this year, year 2000 was the record year with two-hundred and twenty-four addenda. The last two years came second and third with one-hundred and seventy-seven and one-hundred and seventy-three addenda, respectively. This year, I have written one-hundred and eighty-six addenda already, which means that there are only thirty-eight to go to break the standing record. And I am liable to do it in the remaining four months minus a few days in spite of all my misgivings about records. For I am spending ever more time with my Residua, and I cannot but come up with a few addenda every single day. Indeed, I am quite powerless when it comes to the urge to respond to something or other I have written over no less than four full decades. In short, this will be the year of the addenda. But I will do my best to curtail my urge in the coming years. I solemnly promise!

Addendum I (September 4, 2015)

The explosion of addenda this year is quite amazing to follow in some detail. Thus I am examining my records every once in a while. By way of an example, only this month I have written a dozen addenda already. On the first day of the month, I wrote four of them, which extend pieces written in 1984, 2005, 2006, and 2015. I wrote two addenda on the second day, and they both go back to 2014. And yesterday, the third day of the month, I wrote six of them that extend pieces written in 2011, 2012, and two each in 2013 and 2015. That is an explosion, indeed. I spend hours upon hours each day reading my writings from years past and writing addenda to them whenever I feel that a few more words are called for by way of an explanation, correction, embellishment, or whatever. My random searches go back and forth without any plan. But enough. This is kind of boring, no doubt. But my records are teeming with information about my writing that ricochets through time like crazy. And there are no less than forty years to play with. The bliss.

Addendum II (September 14, 2015)

So far, I have written two-hundred and twenty-four addenda this year, which is equal to the record set sixteen years ago. That was in 2000, the year my Residua appeared on the World Wide Web. But this particular addendum will break the long-standing record. It will be the two-hundred and twenty-fifth one written this year, that is. As I am writing it, I am overcome with jubilation. Yes, I am over the moon. Till the end of the year, which is more than three months away, I am likely to write plenty more addenda, which will make this year unbeatable in this respect for many years to come, if not forever. And this is where my jubilation is actually coming from. I sincerely hope that this is the very last record in my magnum opus I will make. Or boast about, for that matter. Hooray!

Addendum III (October 24, 2015)

Not including this one, I have already written three-hundred addenda this year. Amazing! In a bit more than a month, I wrote no less than seventy-six of them, which matches my yearly output for many a year. And there are more than two whole months to go till the end of this one. All things considered, there is no way to tell how many addenda there will be this year. Which is why I will not even try to predict the magical number. By now, I am only watching my, as it were, progress and shaking my head in awe. The lunatic! As for the future years, it is anyone’s guess. Which is why my writing remains an endless source of entertainment for me.

Addendum IV (December 31, 2015)

The end of the year is only hours away, and my record for this year among years is taking its final shape. Amazingly, this will be four-hundred and twenty-eighth addendum written this special year. This beats the previous record, which was set in 2000, by no less than two-hundred and four addenda. Out of the total number of addenda written over the last twelve months, one-hundred and twenty-five of them extend the nine-hundred and thirty-three pieces written over the same period. This amounts to five addenda more than in 2012, when the previous record was set. Interestingly, the number of addenda written over the last forty years is now greater than three-thousand. To be exact, there are three-thousand and sixty-eight addenda, including this one. By comparison, the number of pieces written over this entire period is a bit less than seventeen-thousand. Out of close to twenty-thousand pieces and addenda all together, the addenda account for about fifteen percent of the total. Enough of silly statistics, though. This is the year of the addenda, all right. And I can only hope that it will remain the record year for ever and ever. I am already sick and tired of all records. I would be more than happy to break none of them ever again.

Addendum V (September 26, 2016)

Sadly, last year’s record lasted less than a year (“Another Year of the Addenda, June 9, 2016). In fact, I broke it on September 20, 2016, which was a bit less than a week ago. Since then, I have written twenty-four more addenda, including this one. Right now, there are four-hundred and fifty-four addenda written this year. And there are more than three months to go till the end of the year… One more time, I can only hope that this year’s record will remain unbroken for ever and ever. Tired as I have become of silly old hope, I am bereft of alternatives at this stage of my life. As of late, records stick to me with such ease that I am already resigned to them. Another one must be lurking just behind the corner, I am ready to bet.

Addendum VI (December 31, 2016)

Well, well. This year I have written seven-hundred and ninety-four addenda, including this one. And I hasten to add that a few more addenda can be expected by the end of the day. As well as the end of the year, which is a few hours away still. Last year’s record seems puny by comparison. The difference of more than three-hundred addenda boggles the mind, no less. In addition, one-hundred and thirty-one addendum extend five-hundred and thirty-three pieces written this year. This beats last year’s record, which is reported in Addendum IV above, by as many as six addenda. For the last time, I can only hope that no more records are in store. Zilch. Now that I have come up with fallow days, when not a word is written, everything will turn around. There will be ever more records in reverse, as it were. Fingers crossed.