Oh my god! I am so jacked up right now on caffeine and sugar! I don't even know how to handle myself! Look at all these exclamation points! I should be sued! If there was someone around I would make them slap me!
Okay. Simmah down now. It is the Lord's day after all, even if I don't believe in the Lord, can't take any chances, and some decorum is probably called for out of respect for all the Christians who are violating the Sabbath by reading this dirty, sinful blog.
Since I'm totally spazzing out and my pea brain is incapable of maintaining focus on anything for long right now, I think it's time for a Sunday Roundup. I've been getting tons of email and comments since I started blogging again and there are a couple of general classes of questions, which I will address herein.
The first issue is: Me ranting about politics. Apparently there is a great deal of disappointment in me on this, because I said in one of my first posts that I'd write about politics maybe 5% as much as I used to. People are pointing out that I'm a fool because it was my politics rants that made me semi-popular back in the day. Well, shit. I suppose they may be right. I hated Al Gore and people loved me for it. I called Michael Moore a fat shitfaced liar, and people LOVED me for it. I Photoshopped a crown on George Clooney and called him King of the Asshats (edit: Assclowns, I meant Assclowns), and people threw money into my tip jar in a frenzy of adoration.
But here's the thing: Even though I was in college back then and working and had a husband, I actually had more time on my hands to watch the news, read about assfaced celebrities, and pay attention to all that stuff in general. But my life is different now. I work FULL time on my medical transcription, meaning all the livelong day, and when I'm done with that, the thought of watching the news -just for the purpose of being able to rant about it, for nothing but other people's amusement - makes me want to cut myself. Also, the political rants are what garnered the most vicious hate mail and trolls, and while that doesn't bother me so much now, I certainly don't miss it.
But, here's the OTHER thing: I am not stupid, and I am a greedy capitalist. So I'll make you a deal, those of you who really want me to get back to that celeb- and politician-bashing jive: I'll call it Buy-A-Rant. I've put up a Paypal button on the lower right sidebar, and since time is money, I figure for every roughly $35-40 that's donated with a request for a political rant, I'll give it my best effort for at least an hour. If that's too much, that's too dang bad. I can make that much easy doing my transcription (which doesn't require me to think, be pissed off, or receive hate mail). The amount doesn't all have to be from the same person, and it doesn't have to be for a full hour. You tip me $10 and tell me what you want to hear me bitch about, and I'll spend 15-20 minutes Googling the subject, forming an opinion, and writing a ranty post with my opinion. I type pretty fast, ya know. I'm just trying to say that I need to maximize my free time, and I can't justify spending precious minutes or hours investigating a subject I wouldn't be interested in all on my own, for no payoff other than making someone else happy. I hope that makes sense. I have to get something out of it, too, and if that makes me a greedy jerk, I really don't care. Would you perform for free? I think not. Hmph.
Here's an example: A lot of people have been asking me about Cindy Sheehan. In order for me to have anything whatsoever to say about her, I would need to spend at least an hour getting up-to-date on what she's doing and why. Because I honestly have no everlovin' idea. And I have to ask myself, is it worth immersing my mind in that moonbat nutjob's shenanigans for an hour for the sole purpose of pleasing other people? No, no it is not. My dogs, yes I'll write about them for nothing because they do not make me angry except when they half-kill possums, and even then I think they're cute and amusing. But you throw some greenbacks into the equation, and baby, I will dive into the muck and set my inner bitch's target on Sheehan with no mercy. Money talks. I am only human.
While we're on the subject of money (which I know is so totally not the most appropriate subject for a Sunday but I told you I am spazzing out and have no control over myself), I hope you're all prepared for me to start carrying ads. And if you're not, stuff it. Mama needs to make more moolah. You see, I am a single woman now and I have grand plans for my future, and they all involve lots and lots of sweet, sweet cash. Never again will I count on a man to help fund my retirement. The whole time you knew me before, I was with John, and his earning potential pretty much neutered most of my ambition to build my own personal fat nest egg. It's shameful but it's the truth. I always worked my ass off, but I simply didn't worry about the future. Well, I'm very fucking worried about it now, and I'm going to do whatever it takes to make as much money as possible while I still can. After only two weeks blogging, my average unique hit count per day is over 2,500, which is more than enough for some BlogAds. And you better click on them or I will revert to pure dog-blogging. That is a threat.
Now. The other question I've been getting a lot, mainly in email, is why exactly I quit and why exactly I came back. People are just curious, and I understand that. The reasons I quit are kind of hard for me to explain but I'll try. One of the main ones had to do with my ex. John if you read this and want to disagree, just cram it, because you know everything I'm about to say is true. First, let me state for the record once again: My ex, John, is a wonderful guy and is a good friend of mine to this day. He never did me wrong; we just weren't right for each other on many levels and we both recognized that and cut our losses while we were still young enough to make out of our individual lives what we really wanted them to be, which did not include each other.
That said, we had major disagreements about my blog. Other bloggers with full-time jobs will back me up on this: it takes a LOT of your time. Since I had work and school, I had to spend hours in the evenings on the blog to write posts, answer emails, moderate comments, blah blah blah. It basically required me to abandon him during the only time he was at home, and he, understandably, resented the hell out of that. He also got very sick of hearing me complain every day about how my hands/back/neck/entire body hurt because of all the typing, and he thought it was pretty stupid that I was spending hours a day on something that didn't result in a paycheck. Totally understandable. I was getting donations in my tip jar, and lots of Totally Awesome readers bought me things from my Amazon wishlist, especially when we bought our house and got married, but it still wasn't anywhere near what I could earn during those hours doing a "real" job. So we argued about that.
Also, we disagreed about the tone of my blog. He wasn't a huge fan of all the cussing, for one thing. The guy can swear like a sailor just like me, but he didn't think it was the classiest thing in the world for me to put it on the Internet, where his parents and grandparents could and would read it. He's right, it's not the classiest thing in the world, but do you know what? I don't care. People need to get with the program: (1) most people cuss and (2) you don't have to read this blog. Pretty fuckin' simple. My own parents read this thing, and they are decent non-potty-mouthed people, but they can live with my foul language because they know it's just how I am and they love me anyway. It's not like I'm doing porn, fer crissakes.
Anyway, with John, I felt an awful lot of pressure to clean it up - no cussing, no hateful rants, nothing that would offend the hoity-toity people in his family. John you know it's true! Shut up. And one more time for the record so no one gets the wrong impression: he WAS supportive of my blog in many ways, he recognized I had some sort of bizarre talent, and he wasn't a jerk about it - he just wanted me to take it in a different direction, one that I realized I could never be truly myself with. We argued about it a lot, and I was tired of the arguing so I had to make a choice, and you all know what that choice was.
But it wasn't just about John. There were other problems, one being that I had managed to acquire a couple of genuinely scary "haters". Towards the end, one guy started emailing me every day, telling me he knew what city I lived in (which he did name correctly), and that he would search every online database until he found my home address, because he wanted to have a personal debate with me about my stupid ideas. I didn't even tell John about any of this because I knew he would completely flip out. Nothing ever came of it, but that may be because I stopped blogging and the stalker moved on to someone more interesting.
Another reason I quit: I was going through a "phase" - call it an early-30's existential crisis. I basically freaked out when I graduated from college. I was 31 and had no idea what I was going to do with the rest of my life. I started reading a lot of books about quantum physics, about death, about the purpose of life, you name it, and it all just made me feel worse - but I couldn't stop. And being at home alone all day is not exactly conducive to pulling oneself out of a downward spiral of angst and depression. I decided I needed to focus on myself and decide what my life was going to be all about, and I didn't want an audience for that process.
And last but not least: the pressure. Oh, the pressure I brought upon my own head. I had grand ideas to do a WWII veteran interview project and solicited donations for that purpose. And soon realized I was not in any way cut out to fulfill that goal, which resulted in an enormous amount of guilt and shame. I did keep a mostly-complete list of donor names for that, and tried to return the money to as many as I could, but I know for a fact I wasn't thorough enough on that and I still feel like a shitty person to this day because of it. If ANYONE reading this was one of those donors and you didn't get your money back, please email me and tell me. There's probably a few hundred bucks unaccounted for and I'll either Paypal your money back to you (if I can be sure you were really one of the donors) or will write a nice long post about anything you want. I really mean it. Please let me clean up my karma on this one. Anyway, the pressure of what I'd promised and couldn't deliver made blogging distinctly unpleasant for me. I did it to myself and I know it, but that doesn't change the facts.
There were other pressures besides the ones I brought on myself, though. Something that always drove me absolutely nuts was the way people wanted to label me or force me into some group that I did not truly identify with. I may have ranted about liberal asshats, but the fact of the matter is, I'M NOT A REPUBLICAN. The liberals are just fantastically easy targets. I supported the war, but I never really liked George Bush. I think the guy is a fucking dickhead. I voted for Republicans ONLY because I knew the libertarians or some other better party would never, ever win. People were saying I was the blogging version of Ann Coulter, and I can't even tell you how much I hated that. It was like they weren't even reading what I was really saying and just assumed that any mouthy woman was an "Ann Coulter". Jesus. I'm not a Christian, I'm actually a liberal on many social issues, I'm not a "conservative Texan", I'm not any of the things that people were happily calling me. It drove me absolutely INSANE. (I think one of my next posts will be a manifesto on my political and religious beliefs so that if people want to label me, at least they'll be accurate.) The point is, people wanted me to argue THEIR beliefs and cheer on THEIR causes, and I was too chickenshit to just say no, but I felt like I was being typecast or something, and that if I didn't say what people wanted to hear, they'd turn on me. I wasn't up for that kind of challenge at the time.
Holy mother of hell, this post is getting long. The caffeine hasn't worn off yet.
So in a nutshell, those are the reasons I quit blogging 2 1/2 years ago. Now for why I started again. First, I got divorced. Bam, gone were any domestic squabbles about blogging. I do have a wonderfully awesome fantastic boyfriend now, but he doesn't seem to have a problem with my foul language, and he's so busy himself that I have plenty of spare time to blog. No conflict there.
Second, I probably can make some decent money doing this now. Not enough to replace my "real" job, but enough to make me feel like I'm not wasting my time just in order to entertain people, as dear as you all are to me. You're going to have to help me on this part, though. I get a lot of mail from people who say they love my style, love my dogs, et cetera - if y'all really mean that, do me a huge favor and CLICK ON THE ADS when I start carrying them in the sidebar. You can always hit the tip jar if you're so inclined, but from what I hear, just clicking on the ads and occasionally buying something that you want anyway will do me almost as much good.
Third, I'm not afraid of stalkers anymore. I don't know why. I'm just not. I have two very large dogs who are healthily aggressive towards unwanted strangers, and who are also very well trained and have a shocking ability to sense when I'm uncomfortable. It's downright creepy, but I love them so much for it. And of course I have my guns, which I'm a crack shot with. I may be wrong, but it seems to me if someone wanted to find a female blogger to stalk, they'd pick a different one. Because me and my dogs would fuck them up real bad. Not to mention, my brother (who is mean, armed, and protective of me) lives 5 minutes away, my dad (who is mean, armed, and my father, so duh - protective of me) lives 10 minutes away, and best of all, my boyfriend (who is a former Army Captain and Gulf War veteran - you do the math) says he'll cut the balls off of anyone who messes with me.
Fourth, I'm no longer angst-ridden. I figured out what I needed to figure out, and I feel like a whole new person, who is much smarter and much happier. My antisocial/self-loathing streak has disappeared and I feel like I can be funny again. Whether or not YOU think I'm funny is a different question, haha. I've actually felt this way for over a year now, but I didn't start blogging again until recently because quite frankly, I didn't think anyone would notice or care. Then I got on the phone with and he talked sense into me. Rachel, he said, get off your ass. He said there was a market for me and that I should work it like a dancer at a strip club. Actually he didn't say THAT, but he got his point across.
Fifth, I no longer suffer from hand/wrist/back/head pain from all the typing. It took me years, but I finally managed to achieve a truly brilliant ergonomic setup for my home office, and it has done the trick. Plus, I now have a laptop, so I can blog all over the damn house and don't have to be stuck in my office 12 hours a day. That was pure hell. I am outside as I write this, enjoying the hell out of the 75-degree weather and fresh air.
And last but not least, I just missed blogging. It's such damn fun. I've said this repeatedly now but it is so important that I'll say it again: the commenters and emailers and other bloggers that I communicate with really do feel like a gorgeous big umbrella of friends and moral support and all that other happy horseshit that I think is missing from so many people's lives, especially in the suburbs. When I was going through my divorce last year, oh how I could have used all of you for encouragement. I would have loved to hear stories from you guys about your own divorces, even the horror stories, because it helps put everything in perspective. I have my family and a couple of very dear friends, who are all very much there for me when I need them, but they can only do so much "it-will-be-okay" support. Plus, out of everyone in my family and small group of close friends, only ONE has ever been divorced. Only ONE! And he lives in Minnesota. What I needed most at that time was to talk to people who knew exactly what it felt like. I could have had that in abundance if I'd been blogging.
Good Lord. I've managed to type a freaking treatise here. But that's okay; I wanted to answer those questions that so many have asked me, in detail, and now I've done it. So there. Enough boring you to death. Plus I have chores to do.
Comments (43)
If you watch the Dog Whisperer, you know why your dogs sense when you're uncomfortable. It's all about your energy or whatever. All dogs are like that, yours aren't creepy.
I'd like to say that the other female blogger to stalk should be NOT me, for pretty much the same reasons (gun owner with crack shottiness--meaning I shoot like a girl, husband with as much of crack shottiness as a man can have, etc.).
I'd also like to say that you're a genius, that bribing people for posts thing.
Posted by | June 3, 2007 3:11 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 15:11
I'm glad your back. :) I come here, when I get tired of politics. You do have a great talent for writing. heck, you do a helleva lot better than me, when I have to write my Opinion pieces, I use MS-Word, makes me look like a fart smeller, I mean, a smart feller. ;-P
Anyways, I'm a reader for life. I'd give you a little donation, but I'm in the boat alot of other people are. Broke and Unenjoyed. I hope to get hooked up with a Syndicate soon here. But no promises.
I thought I was crazy when I drank too much coffee.. 8-D
ttyl
-TP
Posted by | June 3, 2007 3:25 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 15:25
I for one have no problem with ads, if it is there go for it.
I know what you man about voting for the lesser of two evils since most of us do it all the time. The only thing worse is not voting at all but I would really like to have someone to vote FOR and not just against the other guy.
Rachel that was a pretty long post.
It seems like you are been channeling Bill W. Not that that is a bad thing.
Keep up the good work and if you are ever going to be in Houston let me know and I will buy you a dinner. Bring along anyone you like but I can only pay for you since I am still a man of humble means.
Posted by | June 3, 2007 3:32 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 15:32
Oddly enough, your personal political persuasion isn't all that important. Most of us non-trolls are here for your excellent writing.
Mr. Whittle was and is right. You belong in the game. Play it your way; balls to the wall, damn the torpedoes, and fire when ready, Mr. Gridley!
If a few whiners get hurt, well, maybe they'll stay the hell out of the way next time!
Posted by Kresh | June 3, 2007 3:42 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 15:42
I must express my admiration for you, Rachel; you've come up with a novel way to address the Free Ice Cream syndrome that plagues most popular bloggers. (I wish I could remember who coined that term, but it basically means that blogging is like giving away free ice cream: at first, people are appreciative, but pretty soon they start viewing it as an entitlement and complain because the ice cream isn't the flavor they wanted, or the portions are too small, or that it was late today, and so on.)
As I've said before, it's your blog, and you get to decide what you write about, when, how often, at what length, and using what vocabulary. But your idea is even better: if some of your readers still don't grasp this concept and want to tell what to write and how to write it, well, they can pay for the privilege. Put up or shut up!
And if they gripe about that, you can reply, "Well, if you don't think my writing is worth paying for, then you must not like it all that much. So why don't you go read something else?"
I agree with SarahK: you're a genius.
Posted by | June 3, 2007 3:50 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 15:50
I am still looking to hire myself an existensial detecitve, and I am 36...so there goes that. And i think my crises has been going on since I was 13 or so.
Glad you are back, you were missed!!
Posted by | June 3, 2007 3:58 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 15:58
I am still looking to hire myself an existensial detecitve, and I am 36...so there goes that. And i think my crises has been going on since I was 13 or so.
Glad you are back, you were missed!!
Posted by | June 3, 2007 3:58 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 15:58
Being a Budding Medical Professional (not yet licensed, but this summer), I'd find a post about [suitably anonymous] transcription foibles interesting. Not the cases, but the verbal tics and twists you have to overcome. 'Course, if you've been doing that all day, all week, I can see where you might avoid such here.
I've heard doctors dictate multiple coherent, organized paragraphs five minutes after completing some long task. I suspect that's a rare gift.
Posted by JohnS | June 3, 2007 4:00 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 16:00
Oh, I forgot to mention: I also love your Pay Me to Rant idea because it lets the rest of us off the hook. Those of us who don't want to tell you what to write and how to write it, that is. I mean, we can still drop some cash in your tip jar if we want, but we don't have to feel guilty if we don't, as long as we click your ads. Which I will do, because I have two kids in college and therefore have no money. But I don't want to tell you what to write, because I don't care what your topic is. As long as it's you writing, it's all delicious ice cream.
Plus, I like to think that I pay you with fawning, sycophantic comments that say you're a genius and I love everything you write. Not that that isn't true or anything, but geez! I sound like a total fanboy.
Posted by | June 3, 2007 4:02 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 16:02
Hey, you don't have to explain. I'm just tickled you're back!
Posted by Jeffro | June 3, 2007 4:10 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 16:10
Hadn't known about you before Whittle recently directed me to your Grand Re-Opening. Sorry I missed your first incarnation, and sorry as well to hear about the stalker bits.
And while it's nice to hear about all the very protective guys living within moments of your house, frankly, I think you had us all at, "And of course I have my guns".
Atta girl.
Posted by Rickbert | June 3, 2007 5:25 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 17:25
I'm glad you're back, and please keep on doing what you're doing with your blog.
Posted by | June 3, 2007 6:14 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 18:14
I also have to say "I'm glad you're back." Hey, rant about whatever the hell you want to. I'll read it, and when I get the bills paid I'll try to send a tip your way. Also... if you bring back items like the "Imagine No Liberals" mugs or similar items, I'll start saving up pennies to buy one.
Posted by pbmaltzman | June 3, 2007 6:53 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 18:53
So, tell us more about your ergonomic home office. Please.
Posted by sbowers3 | June 3, 2007 6:55 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 18:55
so, what would a C-note get me? Cuz I will if it is worth it.
W
Posted by wendy | June 3, 2007 7:09 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 19:09
Echoing what SarahK said (except for the part about energy, for reasons I cannot name Cesar Milan makes me want to punch him in the face), any dog that's bonded well with its owner will be damn near psychic when it comes to your emotions, especially anxiety about a person/place/thing.
My dog's a total teddy bear 99% of the time. When he's suddenly not, it's always either been because the other person is someone me or Tom doesn't necessarily get along with, or because they will very soon become someone we don't get along with. He knows the difference between dislike and wariness, too- someone we just plain don't like he will pointedly snub, someone we're concerned about he'll watch with an eagle eye to see they don't come closer or try anything funny. As a rule, they don't. Something about 110 pounds of dour glaring dog that looks like a German Shepherd that's discovered steroids seems to put them off.
If you're getting the impression I'd still read you even if you really did just dogblog all the time... you're absolutely right.
Posted by LabRat | June 3, 2007 7:29 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 19:29
Rachel, I am so glad to see you writing again. I started reading your stuff back in 03' when Glenn Reynolds linked to you. You should feel free to rant about whatever ails ya' as your passion and eloquent writing is what keeps us coming back. It's a shame your marriage did not work out, you seemed happy at the time. I'm really glad to read that you solved your typing fatigue issues, those problems can drive a person nuts. Best to you.
Posted by RAinKennewick | June 3, 2007 9:06 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 21:06
Wow. I'm tired now.
Your dog blogging is just fine. It's like having a fun, crazy neighbor I can come visit who happens to have a very similar outlook on life as I do ... at least about people & politics (well, for the most part, of course. It might be a little creepy otherwise). Anyway, that helps a lot since I'm less likely to get inadvertently irritated reading a wandering thought on a slaw-injury post.
Oh, and the cole slaw recipe. I'll have to try it. I'm also picky about cole slaw. Though lately I've been lazy and getting the pre-chopped cabbage and a jar of Marzetti's. Which I've discovered is actually pretty good, especially in a pinch.
And you even spent time in Missouri, eh? So you know about the summers here. Pleah!
Posted by | June 3, 2007 9:30 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 21:30
When you were on the phone with Whittle, did he advise you to write rilly rilly long posts? ;)
Seriously, that was one of the best blog posts ever. I mean it.
And the part about paying for rants? I love it. Capitalism rocks!
I echo those above who said they would still read you if you did nothing but write about your dogs. Or cole slaw. Or online dating. Or drainage.
Posted by rickl | June 3, 2007 10:10 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 22:10
Count me in the I-don't-care-why-I'm-just-glad-you're-back-because-I-missed-you crowd.
But if you can get a little... er...
Make a buck off it, more power to you! I love greedy capitalists. I get so sick of collectivists going "You need to give BACK." Screw that! How do you think I got rich? Stealing from people? No. I did things for them, made stuff they wanted, and they gave me MONEY for it! Nothing TO give back.
OK. So I'm not rich, yet. But you get the idea.
M
Posted by | June 3, 2007 10:22 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 22:22
Rachel, I'll read whatever you write. You have the uncanny ability to make even the most (seemingly) mundane events humorous and interesting. I've been a reader since '03, and I'm glad that I can once again get my Rachel Fix every day. Keep up the great work!
But, I won't lie... hearing. you. slam. Michael Moore. again. would bring back a lot of warm fuzzies...
Posted by | June 3, 2007 10:27 PM
Posted on June 3, 2007 22:27
Im glad youre back Rachel - I can totally relate to your words about how TIME intensive blogging is - I pretty much decided to fold shop on mine - while it was great for me to have a place to vent, I realized it was like any hobby : if you want to see results, you have to be willing to spend the time on it, and lately in the last several months, my enthusiasm for writing on current events has fallen to the wayside. Apathy + time = not much of a blog that people want to keep up with.
Am glad you got your mojo back! I look forward to reading your posts. Am glad Bill encouraged you to get back into and hope to see you around Ejectopia.
Posted by esgaroth | June 4, 2007 1:12 AM
Posted on June 4, 2007 01:12
grrrr - am a bit po'd with the way the comments program made me choose a username and then refused to let me use my real name...
esgaroth is a username I use a lot in other forums, simply because I know its unusual enough for the majority of people to not think of it.
esgaroth = Sharon Ferguson - I know it ends up making me seem so 'cute and precious'- Im many things, but I really try f'ing hard not to be 'cute and precious'...
...off to go kill the comments registrar...
Posted by esgaroth | June 4, 2007 1:16 AM
Posted on June 4, 2007 01:16
One thought on the WWII veterans thing. Why not donate the unreturned cash to a WWII veterans charity, that should sort out the karma thing. Then if you ever meet one of your donaters again I'm sure they would understand that because you couldn't contact them it went to a good cause.
Posted by | June 4, 2007 3:33 AM
Posted on June 4, 2007 03:33
Definitely need the "imagine no liberals" stuff back. I need a poster to nail to the front door.
Posted by ScottS | June 4, 2007 7:45 AM
Posted on June 4, 2007 07:45
We're just glad you're back. As Steve at HogOnIce said, political blogging gets very old indeed, and no one cares. It's not likely that a person will read a blog, slap their forehead, and say, "Jeepers,I've been wrong all along! I must change my ways!" Usually they just call you a fascist and leave.
We're all here becasue we agree with Whittle: you have a point and you make it well. "We really, really LIKE you!"
Pat Berry made a great point about "free ice cream". Don't let people get to you. You owe us NOTHING but what you choose to do.
Posted by Zarba | June 4, 2007 8:52 AM
Posted on June 4, 2007 08:52
Screw the free ice cream, I'm fat enough already. :-)
Seriously, I'm going to jump on the bandwagon of seriously loving the idea of letting people pay you to rant on about something.
Also going to add another supportive comment about saying whatever the heck you want to. If people want to read what you have to say, great. If not, they can just go off to some other site.
I hope it all does well, because I like to read your writing, too, though I didn't get to, when you were blogging before.
Posted by WayneB | June 4, 2007 10:21 AM
Posted on June 4, 2007 10:21
RED ALERT! RED ALERT! RED ALERT!
Headline from Reuters:
We now know that Rachel's blog is powered by tequila, so this is very bad news. A shortage of tequila means a shortage of piquant rants & sassy impudence! We must organize a protest campaign to head off this threat at once!
Posted by | June 4, 2007 10:55 AM
Posted on June 4, 2007 10:55
esgaroth, Sharon Ferguson, i had the opposite problem, because i wanted to use my sarahk name. if i remember correctly, you click the radio button to use your real name. then save your changes or whatever. then you have to actually come over here to RL and logout, or it will not comply with your wishes and will make you want to cut yourself or other people. me, i wanted to cut realtors. i hope that helps.
Posted by | June 4, 2007 11:10 AM
Posted on June 4, 2007 11:10
Dogblog gunblog blog what ever you want. Watch the caffeine and sugar it can come back and bite you. I was sent here by Bill and you havent disapointed me yet.
Posted by cliff | June 4, 2007 11:22 AM
Posted on June 4, 2007 11:22
Wow! Rachel, your first paragraph actually looks like it was written by Ted Nugent.
Posted by J.C._Corbett | June 4, 2007 11:22 AM
Posted on June 4, 2007 11:22
Awwwww!!!! Have I mentioned today how much I love you all? Only thing I can say is THANK YOU.
Posted by Rachel Lucas | June 4, 2007 12:07 PM
Posted on June 4, 2007 12:07
Just getting my feet wet ...you're my very first comment. Anyway, just wanted to thank you for resuming your Blog. I find you very witty and entertaining. Motivating, too. And as for potty-mouth, the sweetest poetry I ever heard came from the mouths of bos'n mates. Just be natural and keep letting fly what needs to fly.
Posted by ASAGUYTHINKETH | June 4, 2007 12:26 PM
Posted on June 4, 2007 12:26
Nothing at all wrong with making money doing what you're good at. I do ceramics; I'm not out there giving away my vases because it's WORK to make them, just like writing is WORK and I like to be paid for my work.
If someone doesn't like what you write, f**k 'em, they can shuffle on off to a site that kisses their ass and makes them feel special or they can buy your talents - nothing wrong with that at all
Posted by Instinct | June 4, 2007 1:52 PM
Posted on June 4, 2007 13:52
What you said about me, plus a little, DAD! :)
Posted by | June 4, 2007 2:45 PM
Posted on June 4, 2007 14:45
Re. Crazy Stalkers: If you put up a "buy Rachel a pistol" tipjar, I bet you could afford a ridiculous SIG within a few weeks, and a normal pistol within a day or three. Never hurts to have an ace up the figurative sleeve when dealing with crazies.
Re. politics and stuff: Man, I sure wish there was a sane libertarian-ish party out there, because the LP sure isn't one.
Can't there be non-isolationist libertarians, who don't confuse states with individuals and think the former have "rights"? (The one thing I wholeheartedly agree with Rand about is her statement to the effect that a totalitarian state has no right to exist.)
I'm not a Republican either, though I find them, of the two Big Parties, the more tolerable (if only because their crazies are marginalized, where the Democrat crazies are the Base, it seems, and because the Republicans at least aren't just a mishmash of interest groups).
But I'll be damned if I'll vote for a Democrat for the Executive at this point, and with the LP being Stark Raving Crazy-go-nuts, there aren't many real alternatives.
(I did vote for a Democrat for Governor, and one for Senator in 2006 - but our Governor here in Oregon is a decent sort and the Republican candidate was unimpressive, and the R. Senatorial candidate was likewise unimpressive, while the incumbent Democrat pointedly didn't put "pull out of Iraq" or "impeach Bushitler" in his campaign flier statement.)
Posted by Sigivald | June 4, 2007 2:57 PM
Posted on June 4, 2007 14:57
"Can't there be non-isolationist libertarians, who don't confuse states with individuals and think the former have 'rights'?"
Sure there can. I'm one. There's a big difference between Libertarians (capital L, meaning LP members) and libertarians (lowercase L, meaning people with libertarian views).
I'm a registered Independent. I don't vote a straight party ticket of any sort.
What I really am, politically, is an . Unfortunately, that party doesn't actually exist today. But there's always hope for the future.
Posted by | June 4, 2007 3:31 PM
Posted on June 4, 2007 15:31
I did love your rants because you made me laugh but I also liked everything else you wrote because you do have a way with words that makes even a coleslaw recipe entertaining to read.
I know you became popular because of your political rants and as I just admitted, I liked them but I think I like you even better now knowing you're not a die hard Republican.
This will come out so very wrong....here goes: You were always fun to read....but this time around, you seem more..human...by that I mean, approachable. Not that I'm going to approach you but hopefully you know what I mean.
I should just quit while I'm ahead. Ciao
Posted by | June 4, 2007 6:46 PM
Posted on June 4, 2007 18:46
Oh...and I'm so pissed I didn't think of the "charge 'em for what they want" deal before you.
THAT'S BRILLIANT!
Crap!!!!!!!!
Posted by | June 4, 2007 6:48 PM
Posted on June 4, 2007 18:48
Rachel. I have a suggestion that might make your "tip jar for a rant" even more fun and interesting. Why don't you hold an auction, based on a list of say 10 or 15 celeb/poll types that you think are good candidate for a robust verbal thumping? People can vote with dollars. When the total votes reach critical mass, you go to work.
I bet if the list covered the likes of Bill Maher, Rosie O'Donnell, and John Murtha, one of them will routinely say something that will piss off the right side of the blogosphere. And I'll bet when it does, you'll get a whole lot more than $35.
Posted by bob | June 4, 2007 7:43 PM
Posted on June 4, 2007 19:43
Re Transcription: Have you considered using voice response software (like Naturally Speaking) to reduce the amount of typing? My wife does a lot of her translation work with it. The technology has advanced significantly...
Welcome back.. although I liked the Impudence, Ordnance better ;-)
Posted by EarlWer | June 5, 2007 9:45 AM
Posted on June 5, 2007 09:45
Rachel,
I'm new to your blog and find your honesty and open-ness very refreshing. It's so hard to find someone who is just direct and honest and isn't afraid to show it. (even if it's in a bog) I especially like this post, as it allows newer visitors to find out more about the person behind the blog.
I'm so glad that you have started blogging again. You are really funny and entertaining to read... and your no-holds-barred style of writing is really refreshing!
Keep blogging - I check your site every day.
Posted by nstaats | June 5, 2007 11:48 AM
Posted on June 5, 2007 11:48
Cussing? I love it. Try inappropriate cussing...http://www.laughykate.com/ball.html...skip to the end and you will see what i mean. Please never change!
Posted by laughykate | June 7, 2007 5:06 PM
Posted on June 7, 2007 17:06