For anyone who may be interested, I thought I'd recap my experience with The Big V (vasectomy). I'm on day 3 of recovery. Here's everything that led to today...

First of all, meeting with my Urologist was the final step before having the procedure done. I was told that, according to CA state law, I had to wait at least 21 days from the date of my appointment with the Urologist before I could schedule the actual vasectomy. This is considered a "cooling down period" in case I change my mind or if I'd been pressured by my spouse. Who knew? lol

As far as the procedure itself, I can tell you that my doctor used a needle-delivered anesthetic. This stuck out in my mind for two reasons, 1) while the needle itself was not very large, the syringe looked like it held way more anesthetic than was necessary, and 2) apparently I was "more sensitive than most patients" <-- (the doc's words... excuse me if I don't particularly like my family jewels poked!) and required three applications of the anesthesia (on each side) before I was at the point where there was no sharp shooting pain... which eventually did happen.

He made the incision using a scalpel and from what I could tell (since I couldn't actually see a lot) he used clips to grab the vas deferens in two places and then used scissors to cut between them. He then cauterized both cut ends (that's not something you want to smell) and used internal and external stitches to patch me up. The entire process, for both sides combined, took about 15-20 minutes. And while it wasn't painful, that unnatural feeling of having your insides moving around is something I will not soon forget.

I was told to do absolutely nothing for the first 24 hours. So I've stayed in bed and watched movies and TV shows. I can take a shower after 72 hours and can resume sex after a week. I have an appointment in a week as a follow up to make sure everything is healing okay. He also mentioned that I won't be considered sterile until I come back in for a test after I've had 21 ejaculations (which apparently is the number necessary to ensure there is no residual sperm in the semen). Since there is no timeframe for how soon that might happen, they told me to count. lol My wife has agreed to assist me with this part.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.

So um, are you busy this afternoon?

Yep. I'm asking you out.

I'm thinking that you and me could maybe spend about an hour together this afternoon/early evening, perhaps? I'd love to just sit and talk with you about... well, anything. Because I'm rather smitten by you. Yeah, you.

Come meet me at Alex's place. Alex Chan, aka @Roadlesstaken, will discuss and reminisce about Xanga with me as the special guest for the 4th episode of his radio talk show! Listeners will get a chance to join in the conversation towards the second half of this 30 minute broadcast as well. You can call in to speak with the host and guest: (914) 338-0968. Live chat room is also available at http://roadlesstakenradio.chatango.com/.

So it's BlogTalkRadio with me and Alex Chan. This afternoon at 3pm PST/6pm EST. Spend some time with me. I  promise you'll be glad you did.

I put together this post for those who may be concerned that Xanga's transition to the WordPress platform means it'll simply be WordPress with a Xanga sticker across it. That couldn't be further from the truth. The WordPress platform is completely customizable. As such, Xanga has a ton of options if it decides to streamline the website and update the User Interface. Check out these other cool websites powered by WordPress! The names of the sites are links to the site if you'd like to explore a little further.

Prosperity Candle

FXB International

Healogix

CBS Local Los Angeles

Bear Grylls Live

Gadget-O

Where To Find Me

HERE... on Xanga.

I will be here on July 15, 2013. I will be here on July 16, 2013. I will be here on February 14, 2015 saying "Happy Valentine's Day" to all the TBO's (which should be well over 200 by then). And I will be here on December 25, 2021 wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and celebrating my 20th anniversary on Xanga.

Why am I saying this?

Because I want people to know that while many people are preparing for life away from Xanga, there are plenty of people who are not only sticking around, but looking forward to the renovations that are taking place and what they bring. There are also a ton of people contributing to the crowdhosting campaign: HERE. I think it's important to point out that, according to the number of crowdhosting rewards claimed (which only amounts to approximately $8,500), there's been more than $10,000 contributed in addition to memberships purchased. Many people have contributed to the campaign just because they love Xanga. That's very encouraging.

I do understand that not everyone can or even wants to stay. And that's fine. People have their reasons. They are free to choose and free to have their opinions. I just want make it very clear that when this ship finally leaves port heading for Xanga 2.0, I'll be on board.

Since people are so freely stating their opinions one way or another on the topic of Xanga asking for people to pay to blog, I figure I'd toss my own into the hat.

There's nothing inherently wrong with Xanga asking for the community's financial support. I've been on many social networks, dating all the way back to CompuServe (for those old enough to remember). Both CompuServe and AOL (as a start-up) were paid services. You couldn't even log on without paying. Sure, those days have come and gone. But I just want people to keep in mind that pay-to-play service is nothing new.

Nowadays, we see it all the time with apps for smart phones. You can download the free version and play up to a certain level, but if you want to play advanced levels or get additional enhancements, an in-app purchase is required. Xanga is woefully behind in this, and many other areas.

WordPress, on which I've had an account for several years now, is similar in that you can create a blog for free, but there are enhancements that require payment... certain themes, upgrades and the ability to customize your URL.  

Some people have asked the legitimate question, "Why would I pay for something I can get on WordPress for free?" I think the part that you may be missing is the fact that Xanga is not going to be a rebranded WordPress with a Xanga logo taped over it. WordPress is simply the engine over which to build Xanga's new blogwagan (so to speak). Much like Ford or Honda make engines that can then be used to build other types of vehicles. Xanga is not asking us to pay for WordPress. Although we don't yet know what the new car will look like, we're being asked to invest in bringing the prototype to market. If I were to guess, it'll probably be similar to the revamp of www.Lovelyish.com, if you haven't yet seen it.

For me, Xanga was never about who owned it or was in charge of it. It's always been about the people who chose to make a home there. Here's my crappy analogy... you don't buy a house in a particular city because you like the Mayor. You buy a house because you love the location, the schools and the community. That's what Xanga has been and still is for me.

So look at it like this... it isn't a campaign fundraiser for Xanga mayor, this a fundraiser to improve the neighborhood with new parks, street maintenance and a more effective community-led police force. If you enjoyed the community before, I think you'll enjoy it after the improvement are completed. Sure, there may be a few places still under construction when we move back in, but in the end it'll all be worth it.

You can donate here: Xanga Crowdhoster

Most of us have heard that Xanga, my beloved blogging platform of more than a decade, is in danger of closing it's doors. According to John, they are now at a crossroads, as their lease is up soon on the networking facility where they've been hosting their servers. As the status quo is no longer possible, they've been working to figure out the best way for the Xanga community to move forward.

They are currently working to port Xanga to the open source blogging software WordPress, and reinvent the site together with the community. But doing so costs money. So they are launching a Kickstarter-style fundraising effort to help cover the following:

* The costs of setting up new hardware at a new data center/hosting facility.
* The costs of programmer/webmasters to get the site up and keep it running.
* The costs of running the site day to day

Xanga has raised $14,900 with 64 people giving so far. That means the average gift was $232.00  They're offering a 5 year membership for $240.00. That means we would only need to get 187 people to give $240.00. That something we can definitely do. I would love if you could give more but getting 187 to give $240 is well within our reach! I'm seeking your help in making this a reality by contributing to the campaign. All you have to do is head on over to the crowdhoster site at the link below. Thanks!

https://xanga.crowdhoster.com/relaunch-xanga