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I'm a horrible blogger/vlogger
So, if you've been checking out my blog for a while, you'll notice that I tend to 'ghost' a lot. Quite a lot, actually. As I've probably stated before, this is due to non-virtual circumstances that I, unfortunately, don't have control over, or very little control over.
Onto the updates!
For real life updates:
I've been in school since Winter Quarter of January, 2018 to work and complete the program I'm currently in, to obtain my high school diploma. If you'd like to know the reasons, I could do a 'story time' post whether it be a formal blog post or by a vlog that I can post here as well!
When I first started the H.S 21+ Portfolio Program, I had approx. 13 credits to make up. I'm not sure how many I have accumulated since I first started, but I'm hoping to be done with this program by Winter Quarter of January, 2019. Preferably by Autumn/Fall Quarter, 2018, but that's wishful thinking on my part due to me slacking off this Summer Quarter, 2018. (Procrastination got the worst of me...)
I was also away from SL for several months due to my mom's health. If you don't know by now, I am her caregiver, so I can't be all willy dilly with my time all the time, especially if she's in need.
She suddenly started getting seizures and for about 6 months, our local ER doctor and her primary doctor didn't think what she was having were seizures even though she had several eye witnesses, 2 being nurses and 1 being a mother of their adult child that's had seizures their entire life, all telling us that they were indeed seizures. It took another doctor at our local imaging center (place that does ultrasounds and x-rays), to see her having 3-4 out of the 12 total seizures she ended up having within a 35 minute period, to call the hospital and tell them that my mom was having seizures. I haven't done enough research, but from what I've been told by those that have, seizures come in all shapes and sizes and there isn't one particular type that you must have to have it be considered a seizure. Thankfully, after having a couple seizures in front of the ER doctor (finally), he made his diagnoses that she was, in fact, having seizures. Because he didn't actually see it the first time, he didn't believe us that she was having them, even though she was having them in front of the nurses and other staff. It really pissed me off, to be completely honest, because it was like, she was having these things that neither one of us could control, and it felt like we were up against a brick wall when it came to treatment. She even had a couple in front of her primary doctor, but because her blood sugar and blood pressure didn't spike, he didn't consider them what they actually were. Thankfully, due to her FINALLY being on anti-seizure medication, she hasn't had them (until recently due to not taking her medication because she couldn't pick the renewed prescriptions up right away - $$ issues - but after that was all said, done, and dealt with, she's back to being A-OK!) and has gotten better!
Onto other RL news, my husband lost his wallet. Someone found it and decided to keep it for themselves and took $250 off the food side, and $40 off the cash side of our food stamp (SNAP) card. They tried to use his bank debit card and BioLife (plasma donation) card as well, but they didn't work. Well... first off, we're super duper poor. BEYOND poverty people... so of course we have more in food stamps, because we don't even get $400 from my husband's disability/SSI and SSA income.
To answer some frequently asked questions (FAQs):
Q: "Can you or your husband work?"
A: Yes, we are able to work. I, personally, am not disabled, however, because I didn't graduate high school, I've had a hard time finding permanent employment. I've had only two jobs since 2011 (I was 19), and my longest time being employed was 4 months at 3-5 hours per week. So obviously, that isn't much to live off of at all, and that was back in 2014 and I was laid off without any communication (phone, email, etc) until I came in on my scheduled day to work and was told I had been fired. Even when I asked the hiring manager exactly when that was - SHE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW!!!! Oh, and I was able to log into the computer system and clock in even though I was fired ...
Currently, I am actively looking for a job that I can do while still in school, and so far, no bites from the companies that I applied to. Can't say anything about what my husband is doing, because so far, he hasn't looked. Frustrating, but I can't force him or anyone else to do what they don't want to do. It has to be up to him to go out and find a job. He said he would look once he was able to get a new drivers licence and SSN card. Hopefully, he keeps his word.
Q: "Have you guys gone to your local food bank or Salvation Army? That's what they're there for."
A: First of all, no shit Sherlock. Second, yes we have. But they don't give you enough food for the whole month, at least when it comes to the food bank. They try to give you enough for the week (they hope), while the S.A is a little better, it's an only once a month occurrence.
We try to go to the food bank every week, but sometimes we can't because uncontrollable life events happens, whether we get sick, the place is closed, there's not enough donated food, etc.
Q: "What are you doing to help yourselves?"
A: As much as we can. We have to be able to fit the criteria for the different programs that are in place to help those in the community. You have to be literally living and sleeping on the streets to get emergency housing. Thankfully, we don't fit that criteria. There are places that help with getting a job, whether it's working on your resume, cover letters, looking up genuine job listings to even offering classes to help you build the needed experience and skills for whichever job/career you're interested in.
As stated earlier, I'm currently finishing my credentials for getting my high school diploma at my local Tech college, then I'll be transferring to my local community college to get an AA in Visual Communications, then I'll be transferring to a four year University to work on my BA and MA. By that time, I hope to have at least wedged my foot into the door of the career that I want to be a part of even before I get my BA, let alone my MA. So far, I'm doing my best with what I have to work with.
For Second Life updates:
So, I'm job hunting, yet again. I went onto Second Life's forum and posted a job post, which is linked, here, if anyone is currently hiring. In this post, I touched on the fact that I want to lean towards jobs that are not adult content like escorting and such. I have never escorted in SL before, and yes, I have thought about getting into it, but I feel uncomfortable about it since I am married in RL and I know for a fact that my husband would be completely against it and be understandably uncomfortable about me having virtual sex with others.
I know, I know, it's not real sex, but it's still something that provokes emotions that I wish to only share with my partners. I say partners because my husband and I are with another couple in real life, and that is only because we discussed in great detail on how it would change us and our relationship as a whole. We discussed the pros, the cons and set boundaries. So, I guess if I really wanted to become an escort on SL, I'd probably have a discussion with my husband about it, however, I still want to explore other outlets that doesn't require me to swing around a pole for some stray cash. I might write a post or vlog about my experiences with dancing in general and my likes and dislikes about it.
The jobs that I'm trying to gravitate towards is more people oriented, like photography and modeling and even exploring, reviewing items through my blog and YouTube channel. Something that doesn't have a direct connection with sexual content. Being photographed nude or reviewing a lingerie set isn't something I consider as something that would make me uncomfortable because that has nothing to do with having sex with another person, or just by myself. Feeling sexy is a beautiful thing, honestly.
Blogging is another thing that I've been wanting to get back into. I'm a student, and still looking for employment in real life, however, I feel like blogging could be a great outlet for when I need a break from school work or from everyday type chores. Since starting my blogging journey, I've been super interested in reviewing products, however, I don't want to get caught up in the drama and politics of reviewing. I want to put out content that I enjoy and have complete freedom in what I have out on my blog and YouTube channel.
Speaking of my YouTube channel, I've also wanted to get back into doing my videos, though I'm not sure how well that is going to work out since my laptop isn't very powerful. So I'm not sure how well it can handle SL, and OBS running at the same time. I don't want to put my channel on hold because I really do enjoy putting out content for you guys, but it seems like that's what's going to have to happen until I get a better suited machine that is better equipped to handle multiple memory gobbling programs at once. Until then, I want to be able to keep up with my blogging, especially when it comes to photography!
Here are some of my best photos (in my opinion of course) that I took a couple days ago!
If you're interested in my photography and would like me to do a photo shoot, please send me a note card to me in-world at CherryVodka2182. My IMs do get capped, so I should be able to get your note card without any problems!
I have a store on the Market Place (MP) called Essence of Cherry, so I decided to extend my branding to include photography, hence the Essence of Cherry Photography. Please note that I am still learning about photography in-world and about editing in general, so I would appreciate patience and understanding as well as communication with your wants and needs in what you are looking for!
Anyway, thank you guys for reaching this far in my post, I hope to keep posting on my blog, all social media links are around my blog and are easily accessible if you'd like to reach out to me!
Until next time,
Cherry