domain – Being Margaret

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Hello People! Finally, after months and months of trying to resolve the issue of losing my domain, (oopsie-daisey!) I’ve taken the plunge & registered a brand new, shiny domain!! And no, you’re not seeing things. I’ve also revamped my site a wee little bit with a new, updated, fresh title!!

I had been thinking about changing my site title for a very long time. Changing it from ‘Twenty Thirteen’ to, well, anything else.

A few months ago I went through an exhausting ordeal while attempting to renew my domain. It was stolen right out from under me!! – and is currently being held for some ridiculously large amount of ransom by an evil domain shark!! (I may or may not have felt forced to temporarily turn to the bottle during this ordeal – devastating!!) There’s an entire racket built around snatching expired domains from current owners and selling them back at exorbitant prices. (my previous domain is now valued at over $1000. – ridiculous!!) It’s a sad situation that many unsuspecting people fall prey to out of laziness, procrastination or in my case, simply by being caught up in the system. This article explains how the entire process works. Bookmark it! No, first set your domains and upgrades to Auto-renew (which I THOUGHT mine WERE set on) and then do yourself a favor and read this article.

Fast forward 4 months. Like so many devastating situations in life, there was a hidden, silver lining. The loss of my domain forced me to step out of my old, familiar, blogging comfort zone and take a good, deep look at the branding of my blog and the direction in which I wanted to head towards in the future. (I know, deep!!)

After much ~~obsession~~ thought and discussion with my friends, spouse, kids, neighbors, friendly checkout lady at the grocery store, – pretty much anyone I could corner – I realized a small revamp was in order. I had put much thought into leaving my original title behind. It was restricting and limiting. It did not really point to the purpose behind my blog. It did not give my readers a clear vision of what my blog was about. In short, it had to go. (whoa, I surprised myself! Being as fickle as I am, who knew that a title change would be in order because I’d still be blogging a year after I began?!?!)

It was a decision that I did not take lightly. I thought about it for months. I weighed all of the pros and cons and finally decided that it was a step in the right direction. I was moving away from my lost domain and taking control! (Evil Domain Sharks!!) Still, it’s a change. And, a big one. Anyone who knows me personally knows I am just a teeny tiny itsy bitty uncomfortable with change. When it comes down to it, aren’t we all?

But I forged through my fear and today I introduce to you my new title – Being Margaret!! – Hey! That’s me!..Hurray!!! That’s right, I’ve taken the leap – it’s goodbye to Twenty Thirteen and hello to Being Margaret. I’m excited for this new chapter. I’m thrilled that I was able to not only arrive at a solution that worked in my favor, but also, that I was able to outsmart the evil Domain Sharks!! AHA! Take that, you evil doers!

Change is inevitable. It’s never easy. Often it pulls on our heartstrings. We try to stop it because we like our comfort zone. But also, because it signifies the beginning of the end of something. Of moving on. We like staying put right where we are. We are not ready to say goodbye. Or to say so long for now. We like keeping things just the way they are, comfortable and familiar.

So as you all mull over my new site title and become familiar with it, I will leave you with one of my VERY FAVORITE quotes about change and about endings. As for me, I get a shiny new star for outsmarting the evil domain sharks. Hmmmm, Being Margaret – I like it!!!

“There is a universal truth we all have to face, whether we want to or not, everything eventually ends. Last day of summer, the final chapter of a great book, parting ways with a close friend. But endings are inevitable, Leaves fall, you close the book. You say goodbye. Today is one of those days for us. Today we say goodbye to everything that was familiar, everything that was comfortable. We’re moving on. But just because we’re leaving, and that hurts, there’s some people who are so much a part of us, they’ll be with us no matter what. They are our solid ground. Our North Star. And the small clear voices in our hearts that will be with us … always.”

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Some days are just like that.

As a matter of fact, some weeks are like that. Stressful. And nightmarish. Where you just want to say “forget it!!”…and sit and drink coffee all day. Or Wine. And scream at the person who is causing your blood pressure to rise.

In this case, it was an old blog service I used when I first started writing. I will refrain from mentioning their #%$%#$ing name because they are evil. (BLog.com).

After about one week of using their site when I first joined the blogosphere, I knew immediately that it was not going to work between us. That union was anything but healthy. I wanted a divorce! So I jumped ship and made my way over to WordPress.

Jumping-ship

Ahhhhh. WordPress. They were like a breath of fresh air. Reliable. Professional. And, most of all, they knew what they were doing. They even had an amazing support network. One that was actually available to me when I needed some help. Afterall, I was new to this blogging bit and I had questions. Lots of them. Yes, switching to WordPress was joyous. And smart.

I was sitting in my kitchen last week, lighthearted and happy, ready to log onto my blog to write about something witty that Clark had said or done, and – BOOM – Just like that, tragedy!

I was redirected to some foreign, evil-looking page that tells me my Margber domain is no longer available to me. Therefor, I had no access to my blog. Huh???? What-the-%&$&$&%##*!!!! What’s this nonsense?? That’s MY blog! MY hard work went into it. Someone was trying to take control. It was like a mini-hijacking. I was the captain of the ship and it was going down.

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My heart started to race and I did what I do best in those type of situations. In a slightly high-pitched, louder than normal tone, I yelled at Clark for it. Then, I took a deep breath, or two, and started to deal with the entire mess.

I had left the incompetent Blog.com after only one week of association with them, and they were still haunting me a year later. I could not believe it. Hadn’t I jumped the ship to avoid just this kind of disaster? I thought I had done everything right. I was diligent in following the rules and renewing fee’s. But, one had slipped through the crack.

I had my WordPress upgrades set to auto-renew and was well aware that my renew date was approaching. I had checked it a few weeks before the payment was due. I decided to override the auto-renew and pay early because, well, that is just how I am. I worry. I did not want anything to happen or come between myself and my uber awesome domain. If it were to lapse, my readers would not know where to find me. My email subscribers would be lost to me.

And, that is exactly what happened. pulling-hair-out-2

I was so focused on the WordPress end of it all, that I had neglected to even considered that the evil Blog.com side of it needed attention as well. After all, My domain originated over there (evil place) and because of that, I was linked to them. Forever. And ever. Until death do us part. OYYYYY. My divorce to the miserable Blog.com had never been official. I was still at their mercy but didn’t even know it. Ohhh, how disastrous!!!

So, after weeks of unsuccessfully trying to contact and get a reply from Blog.com (the trail went cold) I finally turned to the accessible and willingly available support team at WordPress, With a special shout-out to auxclass (Woot woot!!) and after hours of guidance, the entire mess has finally been resolved. Sort of. It did not come without casualties. While I have finally and completely cut all ties with the vile Blog.com (they’re evil!!!) it came at a high price. I had to temporarily give up my domain Margber. (SOOO sad!!) For the next few months, I will sit and wait and stress over its release. And then I will grab it again!! YaY!

Until then, I can be found at https://margber.wordpress.com/ and I gladly and proudly accept the WordPress name snuggled right in the middle of my shiny new URL. Temporarily. Until I can once again regain control my original domain.

So what does all of this mumbo jumbo mean? It simply means that if you are looking for moi, I can be found at the URL

margber.wordpress.com

It might also mean that you may possibly need to re-follow me by clicking the follow tab again. (it’s down there in the right hand corner. Go ahead, click it!)

So sorry for the inconvenience, folks ~ Feeling a bit like a block head. : )

At the time of press for this post, I had still not heard from the evil Blog.com to help straighten the domain mess out from their end. I had tried, unsuccessfully, for-everrrrrrrrr to contact someone from their (non-existent) support network. It has now been 3 weeks and counting. Im not going to hold my breath….

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