So, I've got some explaining to do to you all. Like why I pulled Sakuramina.com off the web, and now, have put it back. And not even all of it, really. Not yet.
I won't go into all the details; some of it is just not anyone's business but mine. But here's a sample of why it went away: the amount I was having to write. Not
only on the website, but books, work stuff, yet another degree program I'm in, and so forth. Plus taking pictures, etc. Add to that things like money (or the lack
of), our living arrangements, and so on. On top of it all, my S.O. lost her job in August.
But, what you do get to know about this time out is this: There were some issues in my life that needed to be addressed. Most of them had nothing to do with my
transsexuality. (I admit, a few did.) Plus, I had always said that when the website got to be too much work and not enough fun, I'd pull it.
So one day, I did. Just like that. I was tired of the upkeep that a site like this requires on top of a very hectic schedule.
See, most of the stuff you'll find on, say a TrannyWeb or a Crissywild.com isn't as personal. There is stuff from other sources. Sakuramina.com is all my own
thoughts, and work. It became too labor intensive for me at that moment in time. So I yanked it.
Then I discovered that you all really read what I was saying. I got e-mail like you wouldn't believe. People who needed to read things like Tranny Psych 101, Travels
with Mina, and Dear Diary. (I always wondered about the Dear Diary thing...!) Many people were unhappy. (Some probably got pissed off that I didn't respond to them.
That, as they say, is life.)
But, I can take a hint. Sakuramina.com needed to return. (Fortunately, I had thought to renew the web domain.)
I put it back online April 8th, 2008, after a six month absence. We went back online with the only functioning copy of the website I could find: dated late 2006. I've
added (as of this writing) all the remaining 2006 articles, all the found 2007 articles, all the Sakura Nekki's, and the only poem from 2007. I have some pictures to
add, and one article (I'm missing “On Ramen”, and maybe that's okay) that I remember having. (If there's more, I simply don't have them.) I have also lost the Las
Vegas trip from “Travels”, but if I can find the notes on it (or can get the Internet Archive to function), may be able to get that back.
That's not all that's missing, either.
I lost the nearly completed manuscript for my fifth book. That hurt! However, I have copies of all the complete stories but one. I do recall much of what was written,
and so I'm reworking it. (It has become a better story as a result.) There was another story that was in a formative stage, but I wasn't too thrilled with that one, so that
may be better lost.
I know what the next question is: What the hell happened to all that stuff?
Chill, sugah. I get to be frustrated…not you. You didn't write all the missing stuff.
What happened is this: I sold my workhorse HP to my father in law. I'm now on a Dell laptop, that I had to drop a new 80 GB drive in, and attach a wireless router
to. Which means the memory on that HP had to get cleaned pretty good. I've checked the laptop's old 40GB drive, in hopes I got clever…but to no avail. There's a
handful of discs that I normally keep backups on; not much there, either. I have one last call out for help finding an archived copy of the site from a group that does
that sort of thing. If that crops up as fruitless…well, then, we move forward and won't miss much, okay?
The good news is that my S.O. now has her own laptop. The days of sharing a computer are over, so I can keep things on the drive, as well as on a disc and/or
flashdrive. The better news is, I am working to replace as much as I can find. And before long, I'm going to start paying to get rid of the buttons and banners. They
annoy me no end.
So, welcome back. I'm glad to be back out on the web…and I hope you're just as glad to see back here as well.
