And on Sunday 03 March 2013 I woke up and everything I had created in my virtual world was in a pile of rubble and in ruins. It was a Sunday morning not unlike many before. I was up around 4 in the morning, took my medications, checked my blood sugar, took my blood pressure, poured me a big glass of Diet Mt. Dew, and headed out to the deck to smoke a few cigarettes while I checked e-mail and such. At first I thought my Wi-Fi was crapping out because I couldn’t get into my Google e-mail account or any of my blogs. It seemed really random and innocent at first but after I reset my Wi-Fi I was experiencing the same results, my e-mail of close to 9 years and my blogs were all just gone, they didn’t exist anymore. I won’t lie, I went into pure adrenalin panic mode. After the initial shock set in I began looking into the matter and had found that there were no survivors, indeed the IYAAYAS Moderator has flat-lined and can now be pronounced DOA. If it was connected to or associated with my IYAAYAS Moderator Google account it no longer existed, everything has vanished into thin air. Unfortunately the things that vanished were my Pinterest account, my Tumblr account, and of course my Google account which governed my e-mail and all of my blogs. Out of everything the biggest disappointment and loss for me was of course my IYAAYAS Moderator blog and my Bartender Stories blog. Those two blogs I actually put allot of blood, sweat, and tears into. Everything else was for fun or done out of boredom. Neither here nor there, they were all gone. I did happen to have 2 survivors in the whole collapse, my Facebook account and my Blogcatalog account. Both of which had to be re-vamped and re-coordinated with a new e-mail address. And I must mention that the Admin over at Blogcatalog were very accommodating to my needs and the changes I needed/wanted to make. I can’t thank them all enough.
Fortunately for me I was already in the process of re-discovering who I wanted to represent and how I wanted to represent myself, my blogs, and other pages I contributed to and built. I had already given birth to Scorpion Sting Productions and it was to be the mother of all that was created afterwords. But, not being a computer geek (no offense) by any stretch of the words I was sort of at a loss of how to “move” everything, rename everything, and basically “rebrand” myself and what I had to offer. I don’t state that like I actually have something great to offer but I did have a following that I didn’t want to lose or alienate. So, in an ass-backwards way of thinking about it, Google did me a favor because it scrapped everything and made me sit back and consider if I wanted to move forward or just toss in the towel and quit. Truth be told, I was leaning towards quitting because the juggling act was becoming allot like work. But, I wasn’t done yet, I wasn’t ready to quit, I still had much to say about many things. Writing was and actually is fun to me. I like the outlet my blog(s) provide. I like being able to share my thoughts on the world that surrounds all of us. Plus, I still have stories and I still live a life so I will most likely always have an opinion of sorts. I was ready to go big because I was not ready to go home. Granted, I did have to contend with Google handing me my own ass and giving me an opportunity to start fresh. But, I can’t say I really started fresh because I never changed, I am still me, and I still had much to do. Just, at this point, it was decide what, if anything, I could salvage. With the help of people at Blogcatalog and on Facebook I was pointed in a direction to find some of my prior blogs but most of the information was sketchy and incomplete at best. But I wanted to start fresh, I didn’t want to re-build what I had, so I created an Archive blogs to house all the relics I found and wanted on display. The evolution of that page will most likely remain unchanged as it stands today. It has what I could salvage and put up so people could read the old published posts if the wanted to.
It didn’t require much brain power to come up with The Sting Of The Scorpion. For me it was a very obvious choice since I wanted to incorporate the scorpion in my blogs, in my e-mail, and in my presence. I was asked once why I like scorpions and I am drawn to a story I was told by my deceased father many years ago. The story goes that a scorpion was on the bank of a river and desired to get to the other side. The scorpion knows he cannot swim and would not survive an attempt and would be lost in a watery grave. He searched high and low for an option and then a crocodile presented itself. The scorpion got the idea to ask the crocodile for a lift across the river. The crocodile agreed to the trip but was a little worried carrying a scorpion. The scorpion assured the crocodile that he was very safe. About halfway across the river the crocodile felt the sting of the scorpion and screamed out to the scorpion asking why he stung him because now they will both die. The scorpion replied by telling the crocodile that to sting is the nature of the scorpion. It fits me, not only because I’m a Scorpio, but because it seems to be the way I live my life. I tend to fuck up things for no good reason other than it was there to be fucked up. Now, with age comes a little wisdom based on past experiences. I know now not to bite the hand that feeds me (and my family) as well as not stinging those who I depend upon for my survival. The Sting Of The Scorpion is an oxymoron of sorts since a scorpion isn’t to be trusted because of it’s sting but everything else just bites. Neither here nor there, when the dust settled and the rubble was cleared The Sting Of The Scorpion was born. Or re-born however you choose to look at it. I am, and always will be, just me, myself, and I. I don’t offer anything spectacular, I just offer somewhat of a glimpse of my world and my life. I’m not much different than you, I just chose to speak my mind and be who I am.
I just like to have fun with my blogs, which is what I was doing before they all got iced. Perhaps I was having too much fun. But, that is in the past, I think I have rebuilt nicely (in my own opinion), and I continue to have fun. Granted, my tastes are not that of everyone. For that I have never apologized and I never will apologize. Love me or hate me I am still me and that can never be destroyed. After some work, my new blog was born under the name The Sting Of The Scorpion and it went live somewhere around 14 March 2013. At first I was worried about all the fans and followers I had lost and then I got to thinking about it and decided to just let the past be the past. I moved on and now I have found that I am moving even more in a forward direction than I could have ever hoped for. I had and still have great support for my blogs. For some reason people keep coming back and keep reading. Personally, I bore myself, which is why I “talk” on my blog. Might as well share, right? I learned that nothing is safe and there really isn’t a comfort zone. Everyone is always a target for one reason or another. Oh, I almost forgot about my haters. In the beginning I started a Hate Mail blog because of all the weird bullshit people would write to me about. It was funny to me so I wanted to share. That blog has since been retired because it became a total bore. Hate me, who gives a fuck. On the flip side, I get allot of fan mail which is very encouraging because I do not consider myself to have any special writing skills. I do, however, like to tell stories and report on what I see, how I see it. I guess, in the end, if you would like to see what I have done with the place feel free to follow a few links. If you like me, join me. I always like hearing from everyone which is why I have my contact information plastered everywhere. Use it at your discretion.
In the end I think its best to say that my sole purpose in life isn’t to offend people. Offending people seems to be a bi-product of what I do. I can’t help it and it doesn’t look like that will change anytime soon. If you are left with any questions I suppose I should point you to the information posted in my Disclaimer page and that should fill in the gaps. I am here to do what I do, whatever that may be. I hope y’all enjoy your stay and look forward to your safe return. I try, really I do, to keep all of my blogs updating on a regular basis. Just remember, life sometimes gets in my way.
And yes, my spellchecker is broken and I like it that way.
The Sting Of The Scorpion Blog (T.S.O.T.S.B.) 