How My Gay Pride Jello Did

On By Michel McDonaldIn gay prideLeave a comment

Last night was the Christmas Potluck dinner with PFLAG of Bakersfield.  I was so excited to bring in my Gay Pride Jello mold and nervous at the same time because I have never made one before.  I took it out of the mold at the house for this picture but then put it back in to go to the church.  We got there and flipped it out onto the plate and all was good until people started cutting into it.  The layers didn’t stick so they started coming apart.  Oh the humiliation!

Apparently nobody really gave two shits about the fact that they didn’t stick because there wasn’t that much left on the plate when we left.

We have never been to a pot luck together that didn’t involve his family reunions so Darrin was pretty bored.  I figured he would have gotten up and started mingling with people, I mean, he does that all the time so I was shocked when he picked this venue to become shy.  I on the other hand am always overly shy and never even look at anyone much less get up and walk around.  I do when I know people but I barely knew any of them.  The only way to do that is to continue to join in these events so I can get to know them better.

I did meet a few people who ended up becoming friends on Facebook with me.  One of them just so happens to share the same name with my first boyfriend, although I’m pretty sure it’s not him because my first boyfriend was deaf and this guy isn’t.  Unless there was a cure I didn’t hear about.

During one of the PFLAG announcements, the guy who had the Mic, named Ike who commented at our table how our names are Mike and Ike… you know, like the candy?, anyway he was naming names and telling people who they were yadda yadda yadda and he came to me and I was like whoa dude, I’m nobody yet lol.  But he mentioned me because we were new there and I made a comment to him at our table about how I never even knew Bakersfield had such a huge gay population.

Anyway, I had fun and I hope to be invited to more events.  Whether I will be able to go is another matter.

Norton Small Business by Symantec

On By Michel McDonaldIn AdLeave a comment

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Norton Small Business by Symantec for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

NortonLogo_white.jpg

Mashed potatoes and gravy.  Peanut butter and Jelly.  Computers and Anti-virus software.  There are some things that are better when combined with another thing.  You wouldn’t eat a peanut butter sandwich without jelly would you?  You certainly wouldn’t eat mashed potatoes with gravy.  So why would you have a computer without anti-virus software installed?

I can’t count how many times my Norton Anti-virus software saved my computer from viruses that I downloaded when I got my first computer.  Not only did it stop the threat, but it wiped it before it destroyed my computer or emailed my personal information to a hacker.

You couldn’t run a business without anti-virus software, and why would you want to?  You need Norton Small Business by Symantec to keep all of your companies computers safe, especially when you cannot control the websites your employees go to or what files they download.

Norton 360 v5.0 has many more features than Norton Antivirus 2012 and Norton Internet Security 2012 and it’s only $20 more.  You can also get 30% off Norton Small Business Products now so you can save even more money.  You cannot afford to pass that up, can you?  No, I dare say you cannot.

How has Norton helped you with your security issues?  Please let me know by leaving a comment telling me which version of the software would most benefit you and why.  I would love to hear your feedback.

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Gay Pride Jello

On By Michel McDonaldIn gay prideLeave a comment

A few weeks ago I was sent an invitation to a pot luck here in Bakersfield at Grace Episcopal Church.  I don’t normally go to church but since I am trying to be a part of the gay community in Bakersfield, I figured I would pitch in with something.  What better dish than a gay pride jello mold?  Of course I have never made a jello mold in my life so I’m hoping this works out so wish me luck lol.

I found the idea because I was curious to see if it was even a real thing and I found an image.  I also found a recipe on a typepad blog called Porter House complete with pictures for all of the steps.

They don’t show any measurements or what size boxes you need.  The instructions just say to use half of the jello then use the other half with the yogurt or cool whip.  Of course I had to pour water into the mold to make sure I knew how much it could hold so I don’t make any mistakes.  Mine holds 13 cups so I can do 2 layers of each color which is 1 cup each layer.  It doesn’t have to be filled to the top.

I will be using cool whip because I’m not a huge yogurt fan.  I’d rather use something light anyway because this thing is going to have so many calories and I don’t want to make everyone fat lol.

My gay pride jello mold is finished but I have to leave it in the mold overnight.  I will take it out tomorrow before we go to the church so I can get a picture then.  It took me 3 hours to make so it better not fall apart when I take it out of the mold lol.  We will see tomorrow.

The LG DoublePlay by T-Mobile

On By Michel McDonaldIn AdLeave a comment

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of LG DoublePlay™ for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

LG DoublePlay

I recently saw the review for the new T-Mobile exclusive phone the LG DoublePlay™.  It showed many of the good points of the phone, such as the amazing multi-tasking ability with it’s dual touch screen displays.  You can browse the internet with the screen above while posting the links to Facebook and Twitter.  Or you can be chatting in an instant message while playing a game or watching a movie.

It has a 3.5 inch main display and a 2 inch sub display.  Does your phone do that?  Mine certainly does not.  Mine has a slide out QWERTY keyboard but the buttons are so tiny that I can barely text with it.  This phone has a very strange split keyboard, which at first looks very difficult to use but the woman who reviewed the phone in the video that I saw today said that it doesn’t take very long to get used to it.  In fact she typed out a sentence in just a few short seconds with not one typo.  I can’t even type one word on mine without making an error.

This phone uses Android 2.3 Gingerbread and uses the Android market.  Ok I have no idea what Gingerbread is but doesn’t it sound cool?  I can just hear this conversation now “Hey, what OS does your phone have?  Oh, gingerbread, that’s cool.”

I spend 16 hours a day on social networking websites on my laptop.  I would use my phone if it wasn’t a pre-paid cell phone.  If I had one of these phones, I’m almost sure I would rarely ever use my laptop, well, except to blog.  I’m pretty sure that if I had this phone, I would never look up again.

How many hours a day do you spend on social networks on your phone?  What about per month?  How would this phone change the way you spent your time online?  Don’t you think it’s worth checking out at T-Mobile?  I do.

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Keep Your Chin Up Jonah

On By Michel McDonaldIn Anti-Gay, Bullying, NOH81 Comment

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdkNn3Ei-Lg

This was shared with me on Facebook today and I couldn’t help but cry throughout the whole video.  This kid named Jonah who just started the 8th grade this year has been bullied since the 1st grade is showing that although he is terrified of being bullied, he has a million reasons to not kill himself.

He talks about cutting himself and even shows where his scars are, you can’t really see them but I’ll take his word for it.  I think that was when he started to cry which was what set me off and I started bawling.

Dear Jonah if you are reading this, I know what you are going through because I went through something very similar.  I know how tough life is and I’m sure you keep hearing “It Gets Better” but it really does.  You have to hold your chin up and just try to get by day-to-day.

Let me tell you something about me.  I didn’t actually start to get bullied until junior high school and the only reason it took that long was because we moved around so much that nobody really got to know me to start bullying me until the 7th grade.

I was abused by my step-dad mentally and physically since I was a baby so I know what it’s like to be bullied on a daily basis.  When the kids started bullying me was when I tried to end my life because I just couldn’t take being bullied at school and at home.  I attempted suicide almost every night.  I almost killed myself when I was 13 years old by choking myself.  I would choke myself until I became unconscious but then I’d wake up in the morning.  I finally gave up after weeks of killing myself every night because it wasn’t working.

It isn’t worth dying over because even though you are still so young, you will have something to offer the world and I know you will succeed because I believe in you.  You do have a million things to live for and I applaud you for making this video to hopefully open people’s eyes to what you are going through.  Maybe you will write a book some day and when you do I hope you share it with me.

Speaking of which, I wrote my own book and I would like to give it to you for free when it is published.  It is a bit depressing and you have enough to worry about but perhaps it might provide some inspiration.

I believe in Karma and I know that those bullies will get what is coming to them when they are older.  Believe me, they will be fat, bald and in the middle of their third divorce while paying $1000-$5000 a month in child support.

Stay positive and keep being you. *hug*

Publishing My Book

On By Michel McDonaldIn Books, eBookLeave a comment

I spent this summer writing my life story into a 289 page e-book.  It took a lot of time to write and it has taken even longer to edit because I am not what most would consider to be a writer.  I barely manage writing a blog, I have a difficult enough time thinking of what to write in a greeting card.

I have already copyrighted (pending) my book (title and unedited contents) so that when I am ready to publish it, I won’t have to worry about waiting for the copyright to kick in.

I have already signed up with Amazon and Barnes & Noble as a self publisher, which was so easy that anyone can do it.  I also wanted to sign up on the Rainbow Ebook website as a self publisher because I want to support them as an e-book store.  It’s nice to give back to my community in any way that I can.

As soon as it is completely edited, I will publish it and start advertising and promoting via here, twitter, Facebook, my space and anywhere else that I can advertise it for free.  I may even pay gay and gay friendly bloggers to advertise it for me.

I am not looking to get rich on this book, in fact I mean to do the opposite.  I can only make so much money per year on top of my disability so I can’t get rich off of it.  I am only going to sell it for $6.99 so that I only profit a few dollars from the sale of each book and 10% of those profits will go to charity.  10% from Amazon, B&N and Rainbow Ebooks combined will be split up to go to the Human Rights Campaign, ChildHelp.org and Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors fund.

My book will hopefully raise awareness to so many issues in our society about the way children are being raised to be as abusive, racist and bigoted as the parents who are raising them.  I feel it’s important not just to tell my story about the trauma I went through, but hope that it will help parents to change their hateful ways and views and know what they are doing to their children when they raise them full of so much hatred.

I wanted to be able to publish it before Christmas but then I got to thinking that it’s not the kind of thing you want to read during a happy time of year.  Instead, I will probably publish it after Christmas or maybe after New Years.  Keep in mind that it is still being edited so it is possible that I won’t have it ready to publish until January.

So until then…

Update: I signed up for the free trial of Grammarly and was shocked to see that they raised the price from $20 to $70.  I thought that I would just go ahead and do the trial and get it done as quick as I could but it was catching too many errors that weren’t even errors.  So screw that, if my grammar checker in Open Office doesn’t show me those errors then they aren’t errors in my opinion.  I will read it one more time and fix any errors I think need to be fixed and then publish it when my copyright goes through or January like I said before.

Create a Holiday Browser Theme and Win an iPad 2.

On By Michel McDonaldIn Ad1 Comment

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of BrandThunder for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Holiday Browser Theme Contest

Would you believe me if I told you that you might win an iPad 2 for 5 minutes of work?  Of course you wouldn’t because it’s crazy.  How could you win something so expensive in 5 minutes?  It’s as simple as creating a browser theme with Brand Thunder, tweeting, emailing then waiting until December 23rd to see if you have won.  It’s 100% free to create your own browser theme with Brand Thunder’s BT: Engage.

I entered the Brand Thunder Holiday Theme Contest by making my own image in Gimp and creating a toolbar for Firefox and Internet Explorer.  I could have used one of the images that came provided but that was too easy, I wanted to create my own original design.

It wasn’t that long ago when I was searching for a way to create my own toolbar.  I wanted to make something that was personal to me instead of having to settle for what other people have made.  I never thought that I might be able to enter a contest to win an iPad 2.  What are the odds right?

The judges will announce the 5 best themes on December 17th and then I guess people can vote.  The winner will get the iPad 2, the others will win a $25 gift card for Amazon.  Hey, it’s something right?  If I am in the top 5, I will blog about it again so you can vote for me.

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I Haven’t Blogged in Ages

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

I wrote a book and ever since I finished writing it, it seems like I have abandoned my blog.  Well, that just isn’t true.  I just haven’t had anything to blog about.

I would like to give an update on my progress though.  A long time friend of mine volunteered to edit my book but it was taking her way too long. She couldn’t really work on it due to the fact that she is running her own online business and doesn’t have time for my book.

Well, I can’t let my book collect dust while she is too busy with her own stuff so I told her that I would do it myself.  Of course I don’t know what the heck I’m doing so I can’t really do it myself.

I can’t afford to hire someone to do it so I thought I could just do an online course in English grammar but I have a learning disability and ADD.  I am not learning jack squat.

I found a software that I can use called Grammarly.  They charge $20 a month to use their software.  I signed up for their free 7 day trial but closed my account immediately because it wasn’t what I thought it would be.  I thought they were going to tell you what the issues were then you could click the correction.  Instead, they explain what the issue is and YOU have to figure it out.

The reason I closed my account so soon was because I knew I wouldn’t have any time to work own it this week so my free 7 day trial would have just gone to waste and I don’t have the money to pay them after the trial is up so I canceled.

I emailed them telling them what happened but they have a strict policy, you only get one 7-day free trial.  If you cancel then that’s on you.  Which I think is stupid, especially since they knew I canceled after 5 minutes.  They could manually delete my account information to give me the opportunity to try again but they chose not to do that.  I’m pretty sure I could try the trial again with a different email address though.  I won’t know for sure until I try, and you know that I will try lol.

So other than that I’ve been playing Lord of the Rings Online.  Not really much else to report…

Well, see ya when I have something else to blog about.

‎30-40% of Homeless Youth Identify as LGBT

On By Michel McDonaldIn Anti-Gay1 Comment

I saw this link on the Bakersfield Gay and Lesbian Center Facebook page this morning.

Young, Gay And Homeless: Fighting For Resources – NPR

I was a homeless gay teen.  I was kicked out of the house when I was 15 years old for not wanting to visit my mother in the hospital.  I was homeless for 6 months wondering day-to-day when I was going to get my next meal.

I was homeless again when I was 17 years old because my mother rejected me for being gay.  She confronted me about being gay then 2 weeks later kicked me out of the house.  She made me choose between being gay and being her son.

I know what it’s like to be homeless so I understand this story more than anyone in the world.

This article says that there are 3,800 homeless teens in New York City and only 250 beds.  I have a solution if anyone will hear me out.  Anyone who identifies as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgendered or even a PFLAG member can invite them into their home to stay with them for a short time.  Help them get their GED (if they didn’t get to graduate high school) and help them find a job.  After 3 months they will have enough money saved up to get their own apartment and it will all be because you helped them.

When I was homeless the second time around, the Salvation Army church helped me but they weren’t allowed to know that I was gay because if they found out, they would have kicked me out.  Being rejected once by your family is one thing but then to be rejected by the church is devastating.  If we are going to tell them that it gets better, we need to prove it by showing them that it gets better by helping them.

Think of it as adopting a child, because they are still children after all.  These children are teenagers but they are still children whose childhood was taken away from them.  Give it back to them by helping them get off the streets.

And you parents, you should be ashamed of yourselves.  Waiting until their 18th birthday to kick out your own child just because they are gay.  Especially around the holidays.  SHAME SHAME SHAME!  You kick them out of the house because your religion says that it’s wrong.  So abandoning them is right?  You think they are going to hell?  So you think that God will approve of how you treated your child?  Think again.

Beard Beanie

On By Michel McDonaldIn Christmas, crafts1 Comment

I saw this on Attack of the Show today. At first I couldn’t stop laughing because of how silly it looks but it occurred to me that maybe it might be a good idea in really cold climates.  Instead of having to wear a ski mask you could wear a beard beanie.  I mean, if someone sees you walking down the street in a ski mask they might think that you’re gonna rob them but if they see this guy, they’re just gonna think he has a beard.

I think it is inventive and I endorse it lol.

Their website is http://beardbeanie.com/ and apparently they started on Etsy.  I’ve never even seen a beard beanie until today and even though I think it’s cool, it’s still a bit silly.  I mean, they sell them for $50, who is going to pay $50 to wear a crocheted beard?

With that in mind, I decided to go on a little pattern hunt since I can crochet.  I found a few websites actually.  Here is my favorite one and it’s a free pattern on Ravelry.  The pattern was written by Jen Spears and I have already made the beard so I know it’s a good pattern.  You can also substitute the yarn for fun fur so it looks more like a beard.

I also found a Santa Hat and Beard pattern on the Red Heart website.  This pattern seems a bit complicated because of the way you have to crochet to the right instead of the left.  I haven’t tried it but I’m sure once I get the hang of it I might find it to work easier.

I was thinking of using the Santa beard pattern with the brown yarn instead of the white and putting that on a regular hat.  I like the Santa beard because it has more texture to it and it looks more believable than the other ones.  Ok so it’s not really believable but you know what I mean.

Then again, when the heck am I ever going to wear one of these?  Probably never so why bother right?  Even though I will probably only wear it once right after I make it then put it in a drawer forever, it would be funny just to see what it would look like on me just once.  And who knows, I might wear the Santa one every year for shits and giggles.