Tuesday, 3 May 2011

I Got Nothing


I'm a day behind, and so I should be writing two blog posts today in order to catch up.

But really. I got nothing.

Usually, I have something to complain about. Or I can walk you through my day, and spit out a thousand words that way. Today, I had the day off, and I mostly laid around in bed watching movies, reading, resting. It was fabulous, I assure you, but not a day I feel compelled to blog about. I suppose I could write a mini-thesis on the superiority of watching television in bed versus watching television while sitting on the couch, but I suspect you have your own Best Way, and my way is just my way. I could give you a review of The Girlfriend Experience, but if you want the tepid reviews, you can read them on Amazon. I could tell you everything I like about Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor, and the total cuteness/yummy-ness of Billie Piper, but fangirl squee makes for boring blogging.

I've been cruising around Googling "freelance writing" this evening. There's an amusingly vast number of "how to" articles written no doubt by freelance writers trying to generate web content, about freelancers generating web content. If you're not careful, you could fall into one of these black holes and lose every shred of hope you ever had of making a living as a writer. There are several websites that purport to list useful leads for freelancers, mostly for copywriters who can work in person, in SoHo, generating ad copy for the myriad of uninteresting products and services that require dull and uninspiring internet ad copy. I'm reminded of a million monkeys on a million typewriters, and also a documentary I saw about people in some Asian country living in internet cafes, making a dollar per webpage or some sad statistic like that, no doubt writing Nigerian e-mail scams and purchase cialis spam. Maybe writing code that spontaneously generates Nigerian e-mail scams and cheap cialis spam.

Freelance writing just doesn't seem to be a viable career. It seems sort of like eating celery, where you burn more calories chewing than you actually gain from digesting. And in the end, you have a portfolio full of badly spelled Nigerian e-mail scams and invitations to watch Mandy on LiveWebCam. It's what you do, I suppose, when you Got Nothing. Sort of like what I have today. I don't have any bright ideas for a new poem, short story, or novel. I don't have any bright ideas about brilliant blog posts. I checked my stats today, and the Top 10 Western Dumplings post is my current best-seller. It seems that a lot of people are seeking photographs of spaetzle and soup dumplings. My stats tracker says I should be blogging about unusual foods, not the existential angst of making a living as a writer. I should definitely NOT be posting poetry, or stories from my trunk. I should not be doing book reviews, especially if the books are several years old. Movies out in theaters now seem to be an ok draw. Perhaps that's it. I write about a movie and a weird food, every day.

I could give you a behind-the-scenes on the movie-theater hopping I wrote about the other day. When my friend and I used to spend the day at the movies, slinking from theater to theater, we would first make a food run. I had a huge, black, fake leather purse, and we'd make the rounds at our favorites places to fill the sucker up before seeing the first matinee. Candy. Sodas and chips. Loaded baked potatoes from Wendy's. With chili and cheese and sour cream. Red vines. All loaded into this great big shoulder bag and smuggled into the theater. There were many days when we were the only people in the theater, and we would unpack this disgusting picnic and make pigs of ourselves in the light of the silver screen. We'd eat enough calories to fuel an entire third world village, and wash it down with cold Coca Cola. Little did I know back then that I would be recounting the story in a desperate attempt to Have Something, when I Got Nothing.

This article about freelancing showed up on my Facebook wall today. Among other things, it says that you can't be a writer and have writer's block. You need to be able to sit down and generate copy on demand. You don't have time to be a prima donna. You have to put words on the page in order to eat. However uninspired. However awful and pointless. You have to make the words flow in order to live. If you have to beat yourself about the head and shoulders with a tire iron. If you stay up too late. If you piss everybody off. If you bore everyone to tears. You have to Have Something, because if you've Got Nothing, you'll starve. In a gutter. Without pants. And die.

So, even if I've Got Nothing, I'll write about that.

I'll write about anything. Even nothing at all.

Sex life can be better than ever after retirement

See also: cialis | 


Money and sex have a lot in common.

Both become an issue when you don't have enough.






For many people in later life the desire to be physically and intimately close to a loved one might be just as strong as ever. And, whilst ‘intimacy’ will mean very different things to different couples, some people over the age of 75 still wish to have just as active a sex life as they enjoyed in younger years. Fortunately, for many, this presents few, if any, problems but for others, the ageing process and medical concerns may mean changes and adjustments to enable a couple to still enjoy their most intimate moments.



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Medical Issues

A woman may experience many changes in her sexual organs as she gets older. With age, the vagina narrows and shortens and the vaginal walls become stiffer and a little thinner. This, in turn, often means that women will be able to produce less natural lubrication to facilitate sex with her partner but, providing there is no correlation between vaginal dryness and how a woman feels emotionally towards sex and/or her partner, then alternative forms of lubrication will often make intercourse easier.



For men, they often suffer impotence as they get older. This means that they’ll experience difficulty getting and maintaining an erection. Whilst this can be sometimes solely put down to the natural ageing process, it can also be a result of other medical problems they are experiencing such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes alongside any of the medications they are taking to alleviate these conditions. Impotence can be treated by the prescription drugs.



However, given that there may also be other underlying factors such as those mentioned above, it’s important that you speak with your GP first before taking medication to help with impotence. For both men and women, other conditions such as arthritis, stroke, incontinence, emotional issues and other forms of chronic pain can also have a marked effect on a couple’s sex life so speak to your GP if either or both of you have any medical concerns with regard to this matter.



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Keeping Your Sex Life Alive

If neither of you are hampered by any form of medical condition, there are plenty of things you can do to keep your sex life alive in later years. The most important thing is to communicate openly. Being intimate and close to one another and talking about any problems you might be facing and helping each other along in life in general is crucially important in establishing the foundations upon which you can still both enjoy an active sex life. It’s also equally important for both of you to understand each other’s needs and desires and to be sure that both of you understand the other’s idea of what you want your sex life to be like.



If you’re experiencing problems that are not specifically health related, you can still spice up your sex life by experimenting with different positions and having sex at different times of the day and spontaneity will always be a factor as there’s no greater pressure than when sex becomes routine and at a set time. Different positions can also help when either or both of you suffer from certain physical ailments such as arthritis, for example, where a certain might be so painful when you’re having sex but by altering that position, you might find that you can enjoy sex without experiencing pain. And remember, that good sex doesn’t simply have to end in penetration. There are plenty of other ways you can enjoy your sex life without having full sexual intercourse.



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Sex Enhancement Prescription Drugs

One of the most common types of prescription drugs that men use to help them enjoy sex is Viagra. This is a type of pill that a man takes when he is mentally excited to have sex but the penis isn’t getting or maintaining an erection. Many men have found Viagra and similar products have allowed them to have a very enjoyable sex life once again. Their age hasn’t been able to stop them from making this important element part of their normal lifestyle.



The pill known as order cialis has also become very popular. This is because a man can take it and then be able to maintain erections when he is ready over the course of the next 36 hours. This means you don’t have to plan the act of lovemaking such as you do with Viagra and similar types of prescription medications. It allows the process to be more natural and many men really enjoy having that control over their sexual activities.



There are similar types of prescription medication for women as well. One huge problem for them after menopause is a decrease in the hormone estrogen. As a result they may find they have very little interest in sex. Even if they engage in the act, they just aren’t getting the level of pleasure out of it as they once did. Estrogen pills can be prescribed to help a woman gain her libido back.



Prescription medications may be a good option for you if you are older and you really want to improve your sex life. You will need to talk to your doctor about it so a complete assessment can be performed. Identifying the true reasons why you struggle to get an erection or why you aren’t enjoying sexual activity is important so be honest with your answers.



There are certainly plenty of prescription medications offered today to help those over 60 be able to continue with a healthy and satisfying sex life. Keep in mind that some of them are a quite expensive though. There are also some side effects associated with each of them to be ready for. You may have to experiment with a variety of different types of prescription medications before you find the one that helps you get to the level of sexual activity you want in your life.



Prescription medications aren’t the answer for everyone though. There many be too many health issues for you to consider using them. You may also find that the various side effects also make it difficult for you to enjoy sex. Never use prescription medications for someone else because you are too embarrassed to talk to your doctor about it.



Having Difficulties

It’s important not to get frustrated, embarrassed or to feel as though you are letting your partner down if you experience changes and difficulties when having sex as you get older. You need to remain sympathetic and supportive of each other if either of you start to have difficulties when having sex, be them emotionally or physically based. Talk openly to each other and also to your GP if you’re concerned.



Other General Advice

As with people of all ages, sex is more enjoyable if you are on top of your health in general. So, maintain a healthy weight, keep physically active and avoid smoking and excess alcohol as both of those can hamper sexual drive and performance. You don’t need to be having sex every day but if you both have a similar level of sex drive, it’s far easier to maintain a good sex life if you are having sex regularly – and ‘regularly’ can mean different things to different couples, so whether it’s every day, once a week or once a month, keeping sexually active on a regular basis means it’s far less likely for you to encounter problems as opposed to trying to ‘relight the fire’ if you haven’t had sex for quite a while.



Finally, it goes without saying that sexually transmitted diseases can happen to anybody, no matter how old you are so, adopt the same attitude to safe sex as you would have done in your younger years.



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Why Sex after Retirement might be even better than in Youth?

You would be surprised, but many seniors consider their sex life to be better and more enjoyable in their senior years. There are just few of the reasons, we can list (based on the surveys):

  • No fear of pregnancy.
  • No need for birth control (if in a monogamous relationship and no venereal diseases).
  • No worry about the kids overhearing.
  • More time as child rearing is voluntary (grand parenting).
  • More time if you are retired (think of how many times couples say, "not tonight honey, I'm too tired").
  • While men take longer to get an erection and it isn't as firm, many men have more control and last longer.
  • It's the difference between guzzling beer and savoring a fine wine.
  • It's real cooking instead of microwave cooking.
  • Sex earlier in life is often hormone driven, but as a person ages it is sensuality driven.
Weaver, an anti-aging expert and host of a Blog Talk Radio show, however says that having a great relationship and sex does not automatically occur. "If you're having good sex after 60, it's because you've been having good sex for quite a few years before. Good sex is simple: Make sure your partner believes it's good sex too. "



Sources and Additional Information: