Hello OSers. This is an odd post. You will see that I've pretty much deleted my presence here. Apparently, my blog about babysitting got spread around Craigslist using me as an example for people to be careful about who they hire to watch their kids. I feel bad about that, because I never intended my blog to freak people out. I wrote it for entertainment. 90% of that story was fictional. I took something that happened to me and made it crazier and more extreme and, well, you know, made it funny and entertaining. Like people are apt to do on internet blogs. Or any written medium, for that matter. I apologize to anyone who came across my blog and was offended. I apologize to any parents out there that think I am the scum of the earth and shouldn't be allowed around children. Let me repeat, very little of that blog post was true. I made it more entertaining. It was my mistake to mention Craigslist or to try to portray it as true in any way. There were kernels of truth, but the majority was greatly exaggerated. I thought folks who read Open Salon were into entertaining satire and extreme stories, but I guess some people freaked out on me. Such is life. I'm not terribly concerned about my name being besmirched and my life being wrecked for a misunderstanding... but I do want to say I'm sorry if anyone took offense.

In that vein, I want to reach out to Michelle on MySpace. I don't know if she'll return here (and if anyone has any clue who this might be, can you direct her this way? thanks) but I just wanted to apologize for the comments I sent in reply to her telling me that my blog was being spread around. I tried to write her back privately, but she blocked me from doing so. Which I totally understand, if she thinks I am as nasty and icky as she figures I am, she wouldn't want my response to her reply. But in a way I deserved it. I replied off-the-cuff; I was out of town and sick, I was doing about a dozen things at once, and I thought my reply was in a joking manner. It was completely misinterpreted, and for that I apologize, as I see how it could be misinterpreted. I genuinely appreciate the head's up about my writing being spread around the internet (especially out of context, but I didn't explain that properly). I am very sorry that I didn't re-read my reply and that Michelle determined that I was a bitch and being rude. That was not my intent, and I feel bad about it. I was being sarcastic, and I realize that I came across as harsh. However, I did feel condescended to in the original message, and that could be where my brief reply stemmed from. But I was wrong, and I hope she can stumble across this apology some how. I thought about posting the reply I wrote here, but I don't want to breech our privacy in any way. I was hurt by what she wrote to me, but I understand. I won't say any more about that here.

So, to all who may read this, I'm sorry you might think I'm a horrible human. I'm not. I wrote my blog in a spirit of entertainment and I was trying to be wicked and sardonic. I feel bad that it wasn't taken that way.  However, it would have been nice if someone would have emailed me before spreading my writing without my consent or knowledge. I'm not big on copyright laws, but that may be an infringement if it was taken without my consent or it wasn't credited to me. But that's beside the point. I'm a little frustrated about how the internet can let people put you in a bad light without your knowledge or ability to defend yourself. I will be VERY hesitant to post any blog in the future. I enjoyed the endeavor, but if I can be so easily misinterpreted and smeared, I will definitely think twice. I won't stop writing, but I probably won't share much.