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Summer of Love, he calls it.
My name is kapgar and this is my first time taking part in the Summer of Love. Heck, in all honesty, I’m transcending virginal status in a couple ways right now. Not only is this my first time as a contributor to Karl Erikson’s Summer of Love, but it’s also my first time guest blogging, well, anywhere really. Guest blogging is something that has always intrigued me and I’ve had several great writers guest over on my blog. But this is the first chance I’ve had to return the favor to anyone else. I feel like a young prostitute walking the mean streets of LA for the first time. So dirty… so nasty… and yet, so frightened.
Don’t worry, he says. It won’t be so bad.
Am I the only one to feel an inordinate amount of pressure when blogging on someone else’s site? It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been blogging at your own place. For example, I’ve been blogging for just over three years and keeping an online journal since 1998. I’ve been writing out the yin yang for longer than I care to remember and I’m still sitting here trying to calm my incessantly pounding heart. Wiping sweat off my brow. Attempting to slow down my breathing. And nothing. This is Karl’s site, for Chrissake! Why am I feeling such performance anxiety about blogging here? This is a guy who has posed naked with a bottle of cologne, for the love of God! How bad can it be? What the hell do I have to worry about?
I’ll go easy on you, he promises.
And, yet, worried I am. I not only have to perform up to the standards expected of me by my own readers, but now I’ve got to live up to the expectations of Karl, all his readers, and all my fellow Summer of Love-ites. It would’ve been fine if I were the only person writing. That way, if I wasn’t up to snuff, you all could forget about me more easily. Now, however, my name is forever going to be part of the Summer of Love at Secondhand Tryptophan. People who go back and look will remember me as that guy who can’t write to save his life. If I had only paid attention to the list of people whose writing talents Karl requested for participation in this event. Holy flaming dogshit, Batman! This is a regular high rollers of blogging convention! How the hell do I fit in? Why the hell did I say yes?
You won’t feel a thing, he says.
Won’t feel it? I’m being fed to the dogs! Literally! My lead-in is NYC Watchdog! What the holy hell?!?! And I’m being followed by Whit Honea! Great, so I get dropped in the middle of a Whit/Watchdog sandwich!?!? It’s like the Golden Gate Bridge up in here. Dawg and Whit are the two massive steal pillars holding up either end… then there I am, the sagging cables in between. Karl, that’s how you define “going easy on me?” At least if you’re gonna stick me in the middle of high profile bloggers, make it enjoyable for me. Why not somewhere smack dab in the middle of that Bec-Sandra-Kyra threesome? At least if my writing sucks and I go down in flames (which I surely would with them as well), I’d be doing so with a smile on my face.
Summer of Love, my ass.
I hate you, Karl. You’re dead to me.
Nothing related. Huh, go figure. Filed under Guest Post, Uncategorized |23 Responses to “Sum-sum-sum-sum-summertime…”
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I’ve got a smirky smirk on my face now. And as a native of NoCal, I’ve always liked sagging cables. They give the Golden Gate and the Bay Bridge such graceful lines… Thanks for the chuckle!
nah, everyone feels the pressure! I mean, Dave posted himself NAKED for crying out loud! Totally upping the ante, in my opinion….
LOL! Like you don’t have your own fanpack of supporters, Kev.
You done good. It’s over. Now relax and enjoy your weekend.
How the hell did Karl get you guys to do his blog anyway? Are you being paid? Blackmailed? Promised “special” favors??? I had to promise Oh So Special Favors to my husband just to get him to post ONCE!
So, really…. what’s Karl got on ya?
If I had a nickle for every time someone called me a massive steal pillar I’d be halfway to a dime by now!
I don’t know why you fought it, I found it quite enjoyable. The money is on the nightstand.
LMAO you fucking crack me up, Kev!
I’m with you. Guest posting makes me nervous. I always feel like the blog’s readers are going to think, “who the hell is this guy?” But then again, I guess that’s the point.
Holy God, dude! Talk about the pressure. I nearly had a coronary when you asked… and now Karl… and talk about upping expectations! And I have the Brit thing (guilt, a weird sense of humour that no one understands and a massive inferiority complex)!
Okay, breathe… breathe… breathe…
Now I have to rewrite again.
Can’t believe this is your first time. I’ll be a veteran in comparison (y’know since you(r site) popped my cherry)… wait that’s saying I have experience in the matter… oh God! Am going away to go rock in the corner for a little while!
Posting about guest posting…turns out to be a brilliant guest post. Damn you are good.
Yes! DEATH TO KARL!
That could be our new blogging mantra!
Damn, this post had me rollin’. A steel pillar? Dude… take a closer look at that video… I’m more like Jello as much as I’m all about the cookies.
Rock on, Kevin - rock ON.
I’m his last guest blogger. If you want to talk about pressure, I have to top everybody that’s come before me. I still have no idea what I’m going to do, but it’s going to have to be stupendous.
It sounds more like Karl was trying to get into your pants… but maybe that’s just me.
Still - good job!
and now you know why i didn’t join the love fest. too much pressure!! but i do so love me some karl. and you did such a fine job. now i feel guilty for not helping karl out. dammit, kapgar, you might have to be dead to me for making me feel bad!
xoxo,
becky
Blondefabulous - Turns out all you have to do to get people to guest blog for you is ASK. Weird, right? Well, with Kevin and Britt I had to promise them eternal loyalty, but they already have that so it’s not like a penalty or anything.
Winter, happy to make you chuckle. Glad to know there’s hope for my sags.
Kyra, following up on naked posts is not easy.
SJ, relax and drink, right?
blondefabulous, he did make promises, but I’m not sure he’s going to follow through. The slacker.
Whit, that’s a nickel more than me! Don’t spend it all in one place.
DutchBitch, thanks!
Jeff, yeah, that’s the point. But with my luck, they’ll all say “who the hell is this?” and then not wanna find out.
Bec, ohmigod, you’re more experienced than I am!
Lisa, I’m known for that. In college, I got over a case of stagefright in a video class by acting out the role of someone who has stagefright. I got an A!
Dave2, let’s start the battle cry!
NYCWD, but I’m sure it’s very firm Jello.
Karl, happy to help.
Avitable, no more naked stuff, right?
Sybil Law, he’s been trying for years now.
hello haha narf, we just meet and already I’m dead to you??? No!!
I make no guarantees.
My rods and cones are starting to shut down early in anticipation.
Oh man, we all feel it. I mean, I’m even this little guest blogging whore lately and I still freak the fuck out about what I am going to say! I guest posted over at Avitable’s and was sure that I’d have juicy tomatoes thrown at me by the end of the day!
I think posting at Avitable’s might make me break down like Jim Bakker in the backseat of a limo.
OMG.. that was good. Way good. No pressure. And I get to finish the month out here. At least I still have another week to come up with something that people will want to read.
Congrats on your first guest post. I’ll have to have you guest over on BL one of these days.
Lord knows I’m full of all kinds of banal leakage. I’d be ideal!