Why I'm Going for the Cash Option

I've seen a lot of comments about how people should just enjoy the place or spitting distaste at point whores, so...

Wait...am I going to get flagged for saying "whore"? Hmmm.

Anywho, lol, I thought I'd take a few minutes to explain what prompted me to get back into the swing of things here and really go for it.

There is no doubt about it that I'm addicted to the internet. I don't mean "oh, I love it and like to spend time on the net." I mean....my internet was about for almost 6 hours on a Saturday a few months ago and I cried.  More than once. And I accomplished next to nothing. It wasn't so much that I had anything that I needed to do on the internet and actually, once it came back up, I went and did laundry and ran some errands. I know it's pathetic, but it's almost like a security blanket.

I don't use MySpace. I have a Facebook because my university used it a lot for classes and it might as well have been a necessity....but I have a practically empty profile minus a section that explains that I don't like Facebook and only sign into it when I get an annoying little message in my inbox saying that some Facebook addict has written on my wall or sent me a message that they could've just as easily emailed me instead.

So it's not like I'm obsessed with a mainstream social networking site where I have to get my fix. I 'am' a member of numerous sites, though, including many, many forums and a handful that I moderate or admin. I also own quirkyjessi.com and have a couple other sites in the works.

What is the point of saying all of that? Basically, I adore my time online and am a part of many groups of people, both beneficial (like acting as an adviser on a couple sites) and personal (purely sites for fun, although those are rare for me). The thing is, I get paid for none of the effort I put out and that's always been okay with me.

If you've been to my site, you'll notice there are no advertisements there even and I prefer to keep it that way. I don't make a dime off my site, but I obviously put time into it, just like I do with many of the places I'm associated with. Money 'is' starting to get tight, though, and if I plan on moving at the end of this year, then I've gotta step things up a bit.

So either I make money doing what I love....or I get another job and lose everything I adore. (Bolded for all of you who are just skimming)

I've been a member here for over a year, but each time I start to really get into it, life takes over and I'm pulled away, leaving the site barren of my quirkiness for months on end. After all, some things have to be cut for more important things. I had no special attachment here yet, so it was one of the first things to go. I cashed out for my first gift card after casually using the site for almost a year and I was perfectly happy with that.

But I don't use gift cards really. At least not the cards they offer here. I use money.

So my reasoning is, if I get the cash option this month, then I can get paid a little bit to enjoy the site. I'll be able to use it for what it's for and be able to justify it with "well, I'm getting paid to socialize and share my work," lol.

I mean, come on.....$50 isn't much compared to how much time a lot of people put into getting that many points. I saw someone quote it as about $.40 an hour for them and I had to giggle. But guess what? Even $.40 an hour is more than I'm making by doing other things online, so where's the harm in that?

It's a very conscious effort this month. I'm making it very clear that I'm trying for that 3125 mark, but I also have lots of things to share here that I wouldn't otherwise take the time to write up or upload because "I should be doing other things." I won't be obsessing over how many points I have or updating you guys every two seconds.

Instead, I'll be taking this as an opportunity to get out some of those things I think you guys would enjoy. Some of you really enjoyed my rewrite of "Some of my least favorite things," so maybe I'll be able to get some of my creative side on the page that I'd otherwise ignore. I'm a writer who isn't really writing much any more because other things have taken over. And hey, I owe you guys a pickle recipe and maybe a toenail clipping story.

After all, how many people can say they got paid to talk about clipping toenails?