Unlocked! (10 Days Later....grumble...grumble...)...

What Blogger.com needs is a good handyman, perhaps someone like this guy. Because they sure don't know what they are doing, if my experience is any indication.

For those who didn't happen over to my other blog, Auto-Gratification, in the past few days or notice the little sidebar that I had up here on this blog, allow me to explain my extended absence from posting.

It started simply enough with my vacation to Cancun a couple weeks ago. When I returned from the trip, I submitted a post on Monday, September 11. However, almost immediately after submitting, I went to check something on the blog, and when I typed in the address, the following page came up instead of my blog (click to enlarge):



Somehow, someone managed to hijack my site address and redirect people to their site. I don't know why they would care enough about my site to do that, but such was the case. I did not know how to fix it, but finally by Tuesday night, I had figured out a solution, and the blog was back up (but not before I received several panicked e-mails from readers who thought I had taken the blog down. I can only imagine how many people just removed my blog from their lists without asking what had happened).

All was well for Wednesday and Thursday's posts, but then on Friday, as I attempted to post, I received the following message from Blogger (click to enlarge):



Apparently, my blog is so generic and non-specialized [uh, right], that it appeared to Blogger's spam robots to be a spam blog. Naturally, I immediately submitted the request for them to unlock the blog, trusting their promise that they would [direct quote:] "take a look at your blog and unlock it in less than a business day."

A week later, I had still heard nothing from Blogger.com, in spite of repeatedly filling out their request form and sending multiple e-mails asking for their assistance.

Finally, this past weekend, I was excited to see the following message in my e-mail inbox (click to enlarge):



Yay! My blog is unlocked! ....I say to myself. So, I do as they ask: I go to Blogger.com, sign out, sign back in, attempt to post, and (click to enlarge).....



.....I'm still locked out. I then proceeded to sign out again, shut down my computer entirely, restart, and yet it still refused to allow me to publish! After a few more e-mails, filled-out requests, and 3 more days (for a total of 10 days since they locked me out), today I finally am able to post again! Yay!



So, I'm back and ready to go. Tell your friends and neighbors....Once You Go Asian is riding again! (pun intended)

And here's more handymen that I'd like to see how "handy" they are in one particular room of the house....

Bespectacled

I have a confession. I think glasses are sexy. Is that odd? Rather than agreeing with the stereotype that one who wears glasses is a "four eyes" clumsy teacher's pet geek, I think that the right pair of glasses can give a guy a classy distinction from those around him. So, with very few exceptions, those guys I know who wear glasses, I prefer how they look with the glasses on than off. I realize this is not a particularly deep or profound post, but I'm curious if anyone else out there agrees with me. So tell me, do you crave a bespectacled man?



Grab those bifocals! These guys are worth the effort to see clearly....

Kiss

What is it about a kiss?

It is an act that is so natural, so instinctive, that we often do it without even realizing it. A quick peck on the cheek to greet a friend. A mother softly pressing her lips against her infant child's forehead. A lover tenderly kissing the back of his boyfriend's neck as they cuddle together and drift off to sleep.

But within this simple act lies a depth of meaning that surpasses almost any other. Before a child can create a sentence, he can communicate his love for his parents better than any poet could. Indeed, we all are more eloquent with our lips when we form a kiss than we will ever hope to be when we form mere words.



A kiss is poetry. It is song. It is dance, orchestration, and art. It raises the most awkward dullard to Shakespearean heights when he speaks directly to his lover's soul through that magical transference that can pass only by the touch of his lips.

A kiss puts to silence the cynic. It mocks the arguments of the skeptic and lays bare the emptiness of the scoffer. No word spoken, its voice can be heard without confusion or opacity. It says...

I am yours til death parts us. ~

I forgive you. ~

You are my strength when I have none. ~

You are my most valued treasure. ~

I love you alone and forever.

Never be critical of young love. As two idealistic youths feel that stirring of passion from within, smile with them when they cannot hold back any longer and they embrace, oblivious of anything but one another. And then hold on to a bit of that passion and take it back to the one you love. Because a kiss, whether it is the first nervous touch of new love or an aged, long-since-uncounted embrace of a life partner, never loses its power or meaning if it comes from a heart given to another without restraint or reserve.

For poetry that will put my words into the shadows....

Rested, Relaxed, and Refreshed

In case anyone out there is slightly alarmed that this blog will be one of those that starts with a bang and ends with a fizzle, allow me to put your mind at ease. I have just returned from a much-needed vacation in Cancun, Mexico, thus my lack of posting during the past number of days. However, I'm back now, fresh and ready to go. My posting might be a bit sporadic over the next couple days as I get back into my routine, but I am eager to continue working on this blog and, hopefully, making it a place that you will be glad to visit frequently!



Meanwhile, allow me to take one moment to savor the memory of those beautiful Caribbean beaches one more time....