I wasn't going to do this. Didn't want to do this, don't really need to do this. But then I had to do it for making a year's Diamond Level payment to TrannyWeb.
I joined PayPal. You all can thank (or blame) Katie Glover, TrannyWeb's High Priestess, for this.
So what, no big deal, right? I mean, everyone does this. But I really didn't want to, because I knew that if I did, I would then have to think about putting those
cute little PayPal icons on the stuff that I sell here. I really didn't want to go there. Checks, cash, money orders…so easy to deal
with.
But…now that I have PayPal, I might as well curtsy to the prevailing wisdom and put this sucker to use. So, now you too can pay for my book (soon to be
three), beads, etc. with your credit or debit card, using PayPal. So go buy something already! J
The donations thing struck me kind of odd at first. I have seen other TG websites that were asking for donations for everything from their SRS expenses to
the costs of keeping their website online. (One Tripod site I visited had a somewhat nasty note asking for donations because Tripod had the audacity to ask
for $4.95/month for the bandwidth use…and I am guessing that this person felt that they shouldn't have to pay it.) My initial reaction was, "That's a bit lame."
Then I got to thinking about it…after all, I DO have this PayPal thing now….
So, at the bottom of this page is a donation icon. You won't be paying for hormones, SRS, or even the cost of bandwidth for this site. (Right now, I'm paying
Tripod $4.95/month. I don't think I'll be going bankrupt because of it soon.) Nope. Nothing that fancy at all.
What you are donating to is my existence expenses. Allow me to explain.
Tripod is $4.95/month. My Minako Sakura/Sakura Sousaku (Sakura Productions) PO box is $78/year. TrannyWeb is $69.99/year at the level I'm at.
Domain name upkeep is $34.95/year. The hormone regimen I take is variable for now. Hose is about $25/month, +/- 4 or 5 bucks. Shiseido makeup can set
me back $50-$125 every four months. (Cover Girl is a little less expensive, but once you use good makeup on a regular basis, you'll never want to go back.)
Clothing can be $160 bucks every time I walk into a store that carries Liz Claiborne…or $40-$100 a shot at CrossingPointe.com.
And that's just the femme stuff, luv! This is the stuff that allows me to live as Rev. Minako Sakura, DPrM, DD, "Almost-Angel, T-Girl Genius, and Ultra-Flirt."
I save my pennies across paychecks for this, and I do okay. I don't live fabulously darling, but I do well enough.
But the homme part of my life has $80/month for a failed Website building business I am paying for until 2005. Student loans of $320/month--forever. Credit
Card debt of $680/month to the local Consumer Credit Counseling people also until 2005, plus another $150/month to a personal loan-also forever. There's a
pledge I made of $20/month that I am sure will be done about 2005 as well. Then there's Broadband payments…they want $50/month for letting me on the web
at home. Plus general living expenses (gas, cell phone bill, food, etc.)
I make pretty good money doing what I do. I have to, or I'd have to declare bankruptcy. Which doesn't really do much anymore but that's not my point. The point
is that it's not cheap being a woman. Especially a woman up to her boobs in debt.
So, you don't have to make a donation to keep Sakuramina.com on the web. If you don't want to donate, you can buy something (like my books and beads) and
the effect is the same. I have so much tied up in beadwork that if I get any of it back at all I'll be a happy woman.
However, If you care to make a donation, I'd be most appreciative. Sadly, these aren't tax deductible, and all you are doing is helping me make it to 2005. Once I
get some stuff paid off, I'll probably either pull the donations button, or better yet…use it to pay my Tripod costs. J
