For obvious reasons I can really identify with Christina Aguilera’s new song, Not Myself Tonight.
Things I’ve done since surgery (namely in the past month, since I’ve dropped from 331 to under 210, and from a size 28/30 in clothes to 16!):
- Danced… in public!
- Danced naughtily in public.
- Got quite tipsy at a bar twice, and wasn’t afraid to let it be known, haha.
- Jumped off of the diving board instead of stepping off of it as discreetly as possible.
- Walked out of the community pool (shallow end) instead of feeling like I was shoving my body through the water in order to get out.
- Went out in a skirt for no reason other than I wanted to wear it. ABOVE THE KNEE, FYI.
- Wore an above-the-knee skirt and heels to a wedding reception and danced my ass off with my husband.
- Run around outside with the kids.
- Jump off the side of our front steps, instead of walking down the steps.
- Had kinky, fun, interestingly-positioned sex… on multiple occasions!
- Smiled more.
207.6 as of yesterday, by the way.
Our local community pool opens on Friday. I’m very excited about going, but at the same time I’m very anxious about how I’ll look in a swimsuit. I’ve been spending the last month and a half looking at plus size swimwear both online and offline, and I finally settled on a black halter-top style one from Fashion Bug. Actually, what’s really funny is that it’s nearly identical to the suit I had last year, only this one is a size 16 instead of a size 26, and instead of having a gold ring around the fabric in the cleavage area, this one has a cute little twist.
Swimming, swimming, in a swimming pool… I am seriously excited to go swimming! Flab or not, I’m going to jump right in come Friday!
Update #1: As of 05/17/2010 at 6:00pm EST Blog Advertising Store AKA Paying Post blocked my home IP address. They also blocked my email address. Too bad they don’t know all of the IP addresses I use (mobile wifi ftw!), and hello multiple email accounts?
I was able to use an alternative wireless network connection to login to my Blog Advertising Store account, take more screenshots of the opps I have taken and have been approved for. I also copied down the URL of every advertiser that is currently working with Blog Advertising Store. I am going to contact them tomorrow to inform them of the shady business they are dealing with, since in the end scammed, pissed off bloggers will yank down their written posts, which will ultimately hurt the advertisers themselves.
Update #2: As of 05/18/2010 at 10:00am EST I have sent all of the advertisers listed in Blog Advertising Store’s aka Paying Post’s Open Opportunities page the following email:
To whom it may concern:
I am writing to give you a head’s up about Blog Advertising Store (http://www.blogadvertisingstore.com) aka Paying Post (http://www.payingpost.com). They have a disturbing trend of not paying bloggers on time, or paying them at all, for opportunities that were written by bloggers and accepted by the company. I, unfortunately, am their latest victim. I am contacting you because as the advertiser, you are the one that is ultimately being hurt by Blog Advertising Store’s despicable behavior. Like other bloggers, I will soon being pulling down the posts I have written for you and other advertisers; therefore you are paying Blog Advertising Store for a service that is not being fulfilled, except temporarily. Furthermore, I am sure that some of the other bloggers that have been scammed by Blog Advertising Store are now not only avoiding them, but you and the other advertisers as well, despite the fact that you personally have done nothing wrong in this situation.
For the good of the blogging community and for your bottom line, I would strongly suggest that you cease doing business with Blog Advertising Store. And since they are not using the money you have paid them to compensate bloggers such as myself, you may also wish to consider contacting them and getting a refund.
FYI, Blog Advertising Store owes me $109 for posts written between January 2009 and February 2010. I have been waiting for payment for over two months now, and two weeks of emails have gone unreturned. Additionally, as of yesterday evening, Blog Advertising Store blocked my home IP address from accessing their website (this was confirmed when friends of mine on other connections were able to access the site; I was also able to access the site using a work IP address), and also blocked my emails (also confirmed when I sent them an email from an alternative address).
Here is a detailed, organized blog post I put together explaining the situation and calling for action from the blogging community: http://www.blogging-girl.com/2010/05/17/blog-advertising-store-aka-paying-post-is-a-scam/
Thank you for taking the time to read my email.
Jenn
Well over a year ago I signed up for Blog Advertising Store, though at that time they were calling themselves Paying Post. Between then and this past February I have written $109.00 worth of opportunities. I followed the instructions on each opportunity, included the required links, wrote relevant, high quality content, and submitted each opportunity on time. Every opportunity that I did was approved, and as of April 2010 I was eligible to receive payment, as my balance had rolled over $100 (that is Blog Advertising Store’s / Paying Post’s minimum payout amount).
Only… I didn’t receive a payment in April. I didn’t receive one in May, either, despite Blog Advertising Store’s / Paying Post’s dashboard stating that I would be paid $109 on May 1st, 2010.
Screenshot of Blog Advertising Store’s / Paying Post’s Account page
Screenshot of Blog Advertising Store’s / Paying Post’s My Posts page
On May 6th, 2010, I sent the following email to support@blogadvertisingstore.com and support@payingpost.com:
To whom it may concern:
As of May 1st, 2010 I was due for a payout of $109.00 to my PayPal account x@jenn.nu. It is now May 6th, 2010 and I have not received anything.
I have been a bit wary completing posts for your company, as in the past I have read some unsavory things about your business practices and the handling of payouts. Please ease my anxieties and compensate me with the money I am rightfully owed. Again, the balance due is $109.00, and my PayPal account is x@jenn.nu.
Thank you very much.
I forwarded the email to them on May 8th, 2010, and again on May 9th, 2010.
As of May 11th, 2010, I still had not received any kind of response, so I sent the following email:
I will continue to email every day until I receive payment. I will continue blogging on multiple blogs about this issue. I will post on Facebook, Flickr, MySpace, Twitter. I will contact the Better Business Bureau. I am also going to contact all of the companies that bloggers have written posts on behalf of in order to let them know that while they are paying you, you are not doing your part in paying your bloggers.
Please, prove to me that you are not the scamming, fraudulent company that the majority of bloggers who have worked with you claim you are. Pay me what is rightfully owed. The balance is $109.00, and my PayPal address is x@jenn.nu.
I forwarded the May 11th email to them on May 12th, May 13th, May 14th, May 15th, May 16th, and May 17th.
Last night I sent the following email:
If I do not receive a payment of $109.00 to x@jenn.nu by 5pm EST tomorrow afternoon, I will be blogging about your company and its scamming practices on the following blogs:
http://www.blogging-girl.com
http://www.heytechgirl.com
http://www.in-my-bag.com
http://www.jenn.nu
http://www.kitty.nu
http://www.mamahood.org
http://www.thatfatchick.com
Additionally, I will be posting about your company on the following forums/public groups:
http://www.payu2blog.com
http://www.lavish.nu
http://www.ning.com (every single product review/paid blogging/mommy blogging community I can find)
Finally, I will be spreading the word on at least a dozen social networks, including:
Facebook, Flickr, MySpace, StumbleUpon, TwitterPlease, take the professional route and pay the money that is RIGHTFULLY OWED TO ME.
I sent yet another email this morning:
I will also be contacting every single company that I have written a post on behalf for through your company, as well as every company I find listed in the open opportunities list.
It is now after 5:00pm EST on May 17th, 2010 — over two months past the date I should have been paid $109 for the opportunities I wrote and had approved by Blog Advertising Store and Paying Post. Interestingly, I suddenly am unable to access blogadvertisingstore.com or payingpost.com, though the few people I asked on AIM reported being able to access it with no problem.
Summary
Blog Advertising Store aka Paying Post is a scam. Do NOT take any of their opportunities, as you will not be paid for the work that you do. Essentially, Blog Advertising Store aka Paying Post and the advertisers that they work with will be getting free advertisement on your blog(s).
Unless I am paid the $109 that Blog Advertising Store aka Paying Post owes me, I will stand firm in my belief that the company is a SCAM. They collect money from advertisers and turn around and provide opportunities to bloggers, only they do NOT hold up their end of the bargain and pay the bloggers for their work.
Spread the word
Spread the word about the SCAMMING COMPANY that Blog Advertising Store aka Paying Post is! Please don’t let them continue to get away with this behavior! We can effectively shut them down by refusing to work for them. With no bloggers to blog about their company and the companies and products of the advertisers they work with, Blog Advertising Store aka Paying Post will eventually go out of business.
If you have a Twitter account, please spread the word by tweeting about this post:
Blog Advertising Store AKA Paying Post is a scam! http://bit.ly/basppscam #paidblogging #scam
P.S. Now I’m going to go calm myself down by picking out some cute personalized baby gifts for a pregnant friend of mine!
The other day I popped into a DEB shop. I haven’t been in one in well over a decade. The last time I was in one, I was dismayed that I didn’t fit into their plus size clothes, and slunk out. This time I was able to fit into their clothes — in their 3X tops. See, that bothers me, because I KNOW I am not a 3X. According to Fashion Bug, Lane Bryant, Walmart and Target, I am somewhere between a 1X and a 2X — at this point more likely than not a 1X. So what gives with the 3X, DEB? Why must you deliberately size your clothing two sizes too small?
I don’t get it… but on the bright side I have a few new cute tank tops to wear over the summer!
This time a year ago I sat in this very Panera Bread, after driving from a nutritionist appointment at the surgical weight loss clinic to a Lane Bryant store, which took me right past Hershey Park. I remember sitting in my car at a red light, feeling so disgusted and disappointed and down on myself for getting to the point where I was too fat to ride a roller coaster — or just about any ride, really. Right then and there I vowed to keep chugging through and get the weight loss surgery. I even vowed to get small enough to fit on a roller coaster. And when the light changed, I nodded in the direction of the bit of roller coaster track I could see and said, “I’ll see you next year!”
Next year is here, and although I haven’t quite reached my “personal” goal of 200 lbs. by my 26th birthday (although I have another month until my birthday, so maybe I’ll get those 14 lbs. off in that time!), I’ve gotten close enough to where I KNOW I can ride any type of amusement park ride. I’m 214.4 lbs and I wear a size 18/juniors XXL in tops and a size 16 in pants. That’s a far cry from being 331 lbs. and a size 30/32 in tops and a size 26/28 in pants!
So Hershey Park? I will hopefully be seeing you very, very soon. ♥
The biggest change with losing all this weight is having so many more options for clothing. Not only that, but I can go more places to purchase it! Target has plenty of junior plus size that fits quite nicely and is stylish (unlike their standard plus size line, blech), so I’m sure I’ll continue to keep Target in mind for my clothing needs. I still check out Fashion Bug from time to time, but to be honest their pricing overhaul has resulted in their clothing line taking a hit; while the quality of clothing is still there, the style of it is most definitely not! If you like the Frumpy Old Lady look, you’re in luck. If not, well, you’re just S.O.L.
I like the idea of being able to shop online for funny tshirts without having to worry much about the sizing being off or just not big enough. If I want Eclipse merchandise, I can have it, since I can wear a juniors XXL now. Most importantly, most women’s fashion trends are available to me!
Speaking of clothing sizes, here’s a before/after of my sizes. On the left, the size I was when I was 331 lbs. On the right, the size I am now.
Pants: 28 / 16 (YES!!!)
Tops: 30-32 / 18
Panties: 28 / XL
Bras: 46DDD / 40DD
Even my shoes seem looser! It’s crazy! But good crazy!
Just today a guy (a really cute one, truth to be told) saw me heading to the Panera Bread entrance, and despite me being at least twenty feet away, he waited and held the door for me. It was very polite and sweet, and I thanked him for being so nice. But as we headed inside and went our separate ways, I couldn’t help but to simmer just a bit. If I had been a hundred pounds heavier, would he have held the door? I won’t say “probably not!”, but I will say that maybe he would have, maybe he wouldn’t have.
I can’t tell you how often I was discriminated against when I was heavier, because to be honest with you I didn’t really pay attention at the time, since it was just a way of life. But now I can definitely see a difference. Women don’t just dismiss me for being seriously fat and thus no competition. Men don’t just see through me, or worse yet, insult or mock me on the sly (not sly enough though, since I almost always picked up on it). People in general are nicer to me. They respect me more.
Whether or not obesity is caused by a person or is heavily influenced by genetics, it’s wrong for a society to treat a person as a lesser being because of their weight. It doesn’t matter if I’m 120 lbs. or 520 lbs. I deserve basic respect and courtesy. What does it say about a society, about a person, if they can’t see that or follow through on it?
