After a February so packed with work I hardly slept and the deposit of a juicy tax-refund check, my bank groaned under the unaccustomed weight of excess dollars. My mind raced with plans for them: Saving, heading off property tax payments, investing in the upkeep of my home.
Now, just one week later my poor account has been abused by:
Three months of expensive (and unexpected) medication for my son.
Replacement of a cracked windshield (how did that happen?).
An appointment with a pulmonologist (which I was hoping to avoid).
The necessity of a new (insert long string of obscene yet descriptive words here) transmission.
If your site has been reviewed by Jane’s Guide and you’re not yet displaying your Quality/Original icon, here’s a simple way to rectify that situation.
Nab the Jane’s Guide WordPress Plugin, add the link to your review, place the widget in your sidebar where you’d like it to appear and VOILA you’re good to go. You don’t have to mess around with saving images to your server or writing code. It couldn’t be much easier.
Thanks @maymaym for coming up with this ingenious solution!
In an attempt to post this lovely graphic (which, by the way, links to a cause everyone should check out), I somehow managed to delete three entire widgets full of text from the sidebar.
How did this happen? I’ve got no bleedin’ clue. Only one of them was open at the time, but after I hit “save” all three vanished. My Wordpress installation is (of course!) up to date; all my plug-ins were also current. Were things perhaps not playing nicely together? If that was the case, it was the first I saw of it.
During hours — yes, hours! — of restoring lost sidebar content (thank goodness for Google’s cache) I berated myself for being so incompetent. How simple would it have been to save all that information in a document on my hard drive, or send it to myself via email. How much work it would have saved. How stupid was I for not doing it sooner.
I’m not stupid enough to make the same mistake twice. As soon as everything was back in place I tucked the information away in a spot where it could not be destroyed by some random act of Widget Monster Nomming.
And you know what? You should do the same. Please learn from my misfortunes. Back up your work in some way right…NOW.
This post constitutes a disclosure about the various and sundry money-making activities engaged in by the site owner. You should know that I:
Receive free products occasionally.
Am paid by the advertisers whose ads you see.
Get a percentage of purchases made through affiliate links.
Earn a set rate for the website reviews I write for Jane’s Guide.
Money earned by running this site makes up the majority of my income right now. It is how I feed my children and put a roof over their heads, so when you take me with you on shopping trips or as you buy products of an adult nature, you’re helping out my little family.
Thank you. Sincerely.
The impetus for this post came from ProBlogger, who reminded me of the new FTC guidelines for bloggers who endorse products. While I cannot imagine the FTC taking time to prosecute humble sex-bloggers who are occasionally given wee bits of buzzy plastic, stranger things have happened in this bizarre world.
I hate to treat my readers as though they are wholly unschooled in the ways of advertising. However, as I also hate the thought of being thrown into jail, I’ve decided that it’s better to post and be safe than not to post and be sorry, because jail is notorious for its lack of good sex toys and lube.
Please feel free to quote, borrow, modify, repost, tweet, Facebook or gossip behind my back about this post. A link back would be most appreciated, unless you’re only gossiping behind my back, in which case you really don’t have to tell me about it.
Unbuckling his belt seemed easier than ever. Despite the fact that weeks had passed since our last meeting my fingers had not forgotten their skill, nor had my lips forgotten what to do when presented with cock. When I pushed him down onto the first soft surface available did he stumble? Did our limbs entangle awkwardly? Oh no they did not, not even when he thrust into my mouth so far that I gagged and choked on the impossible length.
What I failed to remember is how hard he bites and how rapaciously he sucks when the moment hits. The sharp pain cut through even the most intense serotonin high. “Oh,” I know I said, though I didn’t push him away. And then I promptly forgot about it, lost in a pleasurable haze of coming and listening.
I forgot about it until later when I stripped for a shower only to find minuscule crimson blisters on my nipples. “Oh,” I said again, in shock at the blood that spilled out when I gently squeezed. The bruises, also; I found them scattered about, black and blue mementos that will have to tide me over until our next meeting.
And I hope, I fervently hope, that they’ll last until then.
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Hey, did you notice the changes ’round here? I grew weary of updating aag, FringeSez and Tumblr separately, so after much angst and many neurotic tweets I smooshed them all together in one big mash-up of sexy-snarky-smart fun.
You don’t have to do a thing if you like how content is now delivered, but if you pine for the good old days where only words met your eyes, switch your bookmarks to this which will display only the writing. The main navigation bar above also has buttons which will take you to content from any of the three main site areas.
Want just the aag content in your feed reader? Click here. You’ll also notice at the top of the sidebar that you can select feeds for only FringeSez content or only Snippets.
A word of warning: Snippets will sometimes be NSFW. Thus far I’ve kept them above the cut (ie, they are visible on the main page without clicking any extra links). I’d like to hear some feedback on this–would you prefer that they go below the cut?
As usual, I’m open to other criticisms. Just leave them in the comments below or email aagblog at gmail dot com.
In an astonishingly arrogant display of internet entitlement, reader Copper opined yesterday, “Do you recall last year asking whether or not this blog had run it’s (sic) course? I commented ‘Of course not, you are as sharp and as sexually adventurous as when you started’. Well it might be time to revisit that topic.”
Although I shouldn’t have, although I should have known better after all this time than to have risen to the bait, I replied:
Thanks Copper! Not interested in what I’m talking about anymore? Check out my blogroll. There are tons of sharp, sexually adventurous authors there.
Funny thing about blogs. No one forces you to read.
Good day, sir!
Was Copper done playing critic? Oh no he was not. Apparently he’s also upset that I no longer participate in HNT. Perhaps he believes that since I did it at one point in the past I should continue to do it forever? Perhaps he feels that I owe him some more access into my personal and corporeal existence than I’m currently willing to give?
Although I know I shouldn’t have, I stewed over these comments. After all this time I shouldn’t pay attention to what anyone thinks about how or what I write, but the sad fact — which I’m almost ashamed to admit — is that I do. A comment like Copper’s can blacken my mood faster than stepping in a pile of cold cat upchuck first thing in the morning. Or forgetting to take my medicine. Call it the Achilles’s Heel of Online Writing, but sometimes it’s hard not to care.
I cared when people thought I was a sexbot, “not real” or a man pretending to be a woman. I cared when some thought I ended my marriage far too quickly — or too slowly. I cared when they said I shouldn’t write about the children–or that I should write more about them, or only about them. I cared when the people who raised me thought I should get out of the writing business entirely.
Trust me, I cared. I cared enough to evaluate the behavior and adjust accordingly. But I’m sorry to say that I can’t be someone I’m not, and oh yes I’ve tried. I’ve sat staring at a blank screen for long creeping-cold minutes trying to write on any topic other than the one most pressing upon my heart. It doesn’t work. Maybe for other lucky bloggers it does. I envy them.
Perhaps I should apologize for not writing more about sex? While I’ve certainly not given up writing about my bedroom activities, it’s just not been my priority lately. I wrote and wrote and wrote about doin’ it. In fact I’d challenge you to name anyone who has written online as much as I have about his or her own personal sex life. Should I try to write more about sex? Sorry. I’d rather write about what moves me rather than what I think might move you.
But here is the really nice thing about online writing. The internet is infinitely expandable. If you are not happy with the quality or type of writing here, begin a blog yourself. Call it MoreArousedThanAlwaysArousedGirl.com. Start telling sexy-time tales of your very own. Post eight or ten times a week for the first year, after which you may slow the pace to five or six times a week. Rarely skip a day even for sickness, vacation or holidays. Make sure you’re willing to spend hours writing and editing posts, learning about web design, keeping abreast of current events and the rest of the sex-blogosphere, and commenting on other sites. Make friends with other bloggers and support them in their various ventures.
Go for it! Then, once you’ve kept that blog afloat for four full years and used it to put food on your family’s table, then you may find fault with what’s written here. It’s not as easy as it looks, this writing thing. Try it for a while before feeling too entitled to complain about what you find on another site.
Yep, the sense of internet entitlement is pretty amazing. What’s even more amazing is that after four-plus years of being exposed in nearly every possible way a human being can be exposed, comments like Copper’s can still bother me.
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UPDATE:
I have another alternative for those unhappy with the writing I’m doing. You now have the option of buying a post.
Yes, for a limited time you can dictate your subject matter! I’ll write on any topic! Any length! Any genre! Any voice! I’ll even get naked if you’d like!
Just drop me a line with your desires fully articulated. Attach a receipt for your PayPal donation (email address aagblog@gmail.com). Prices start at $250/post.
Because I’ve developed the same viral ickiness that my children have had (go figure) and can think no farther than the tissue box and Tylenol, I leave you with some other reading unaffected by excessive snot:
—>Jane’s Guide New Reviews, wherein I rant about a “green” website that misses the mark (capsicum shrink cream, wtf?), enjoy some latexed ladies, and ponder the choice between “straight” and “gay” porn.
—>FringeSez, wherein you can enjoy the deep thoughts of those who:
enjoy playing blame the victim
theorize why the 2016 Olympics will not be held in the U.S.
imagine a country without immigrants
try to interpret the constitution
compare a former vice presidential candidate to a haunted house
Celebrate the release of our Limited Edition 2010 Calendar
Meet your favorite sex bloggers and the hot photographers who shot them, get a free gift bag and maybe win an amazing raffle prize donated by on of our many sponsors and supporters.
Support Sex Work Awareness with a $20 calendar purchase.
FREE ADMISSION
Friday, November 6, 2009
6:30 – 9:30 PM
This is an awesome opportunity to meet some of the hottest bloggers, photographers and sex toy manufacturers in the business today and at the same time support Sex Work Awareness.
If you can’t go, check out the awesome swag and raffle prizes donated by some very generous sponsors.
On the occasion of this auspicious event, I have a two little gifts for you and I’d like to ask for something in return.
First, someone told me a while ago that he could no longer read aag on his iPhone, so when I ran across a site that would format websites for mobile devices I had to try it. Click here to set up the service for your phone. I don’t have an iPhone, so I’m counting on you to keep me informed if you’re using it and something breaks, please. (And a big thank-you to Jarime for the help with testing!)
Next, you might have noticed from my twitterings that I’ve been following the news closely this past month or so. The fact that I pissed off a friend over health care reform prompted me to seek out more information about the issue; in the process I’ve lost a great deal of naivete about what’s going on in the US today.
I’ve been appalled more times than I can count over the incredible rhetoric spewed about by people from all parties — but (I’ve got to say) especially from the right. Instead of continuing to shout at my monitor and twitter into the void, I’ve begun a small side-project. My goal is to highlight foolishness much in the same way as This is Why You’re Fat, Why the F*** Do You Have a Kid, FailBlog or even the now-defunct You Knit What?.
We will ogle, ridicule and collectively mock those whose views are so terribly nonsensical; given some of the stuff I’ve collected in the single week the site’s been up we will have no end of fun. But mocking by itself accomplishes nothing. The real goal of the site is to encourage the propagation of reason. When you read some wing-nut comment listed there I hope you will blog about it, talk about, write to your representatives about it. Make a donation to your party. Take whatever righteous anger builds in you after reading and put it to some good. Don’t let the loudest, most insane voices be the only ones heard.
Finally, as a little bloggerversary gift for me, would you be willing to let me know why it is that you keep reading after all this time? What brings you back? Why do you keep this site in your reader or your bookmarks?
After four years of updates at least five times a week (that’s over 1000 entries, in case you’re keeping track), I’d love to have the feedback.
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This site is for adults only. If you are not of legal age in your community, please go here instead.
Contact me at aagblog @ gmail dot com.
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