A Lesbian and Her Laptop Returns

A Lesbian and Her Laptop is making a comeback, folks! While this blog has been inactive for over a year now (yes, it’s been that long), she’s ready to return. Let’s dive into what I have coming up for you over the next few months!

I Published Nothing for x Months and Here Are my Excuses:

• I was depressed
• and in therapy that wasn’t helping with said depression.
• Every single other activity known to humankind became infinitely more interesting the moment I gave the action of writing any space in my brain.
• I had to work for money instead of work for no money. (Working for my own blog is only work for money when YOU, gracious reader, decide to give me a few bucks.)
• I became a Real Writer and writing became a job. Therefore I never wanted to write outside of work.
• Grew obsessed with houseplants and had to redistribute energy to keep them alive. Failed only four times in the past year.
• The blog title, URL, and all associated marketing materials include the pronoun her, which I no longer use. I use they/them pronouns and avoided confronting the fact that changing the blog to reflect this is way too much work.

What Happened to A Lesbian And Her Laptop While We Were Gone

Actually, something very cool happened. In my attempt to earn money and pay my own bills, I began writing blogs for other people for a living. This forced me to actually learn solid SEO practices. Before abandoning the blog at the end of June 2021, I wrote some posts that reflected what I’d learned and began editing old posts to employ basic SEO practices. And it actually paid off.

In that time that I did no writing or publishing on this blog whatsoever, AL&HL gathered more visitors than ever before. It kicked off that June, with the 3 posts I did manage to publish, finding 12k views that month. (This is almost double the all-time high.) In July, 18k. August peaked at just shy of 20k views. Views gradually declined (as to be expected), but still remain higher than anything before June 2021. After publishing literally nothing.

The thing that’s getting all the attention? My blog post on what the word “sapphic” means. It’s a little heartbreaking to know that if I’d taken a few hours to learn some SEO basics something like 3 years ago, the blog might’ve survived 2021. But, better late than never. And I’m glad I decided to torture myself one day by looking at blog stats, feeling sad that I let it die out, only to find it never died and was collecting more views than ever, all whilst I thought AL&HL was collecting nothing but dust. It gave me the motivation to bring her back. As a bonus, the blog also has over 500 followers, a goal I’ve been striving toward for years. All that from just letting this place rot for a year. Who knew?

What’s To Come on A Lesbian And Her Laptop

Lucky for you, I made the very wise decision to stockpile posts before launching. I will be posting once every other week. This means you will have a guarantee of 2 months worth of content. Hopefully, in those 2 months, I continue writing and keep adding to the content stockpile.

Here’s what’s currently in the stockpile:

• Some LGBT book review posts. I’ve been reading like crazy these days. A book a week is my average, which is unreal. I haven’t read this much since high school. I’m finding it’s a better coping mechanism than napping four times a day. Again–who knew?
• Posts about my gender identity. One of which discusses how my gender has evolved since publishing “Am I Nonbinary?” The other is about how I changed the gender marker on my ID to sex “X.”
• I have a “How I Met My Girlfriend” updates coming your way. I’m so behind on writing these that the latest “update” takes us back to a New Year’s party as we jumped into 2020 before the whole world fell apart. Catch up on this wholesome series before the new post comes out. (You’ll definitely want to catch up before I write about our wedding.) (Don’t hold your breath though. I have 2 years of writing to catch up on.)

Some ideas I have for what’s to come include more LGBT content reviews and HIMMGF updates. Further than that, I want to discuss again what it’s been like trying to find a therapist as a queer/trans person (it’s hell). I wrote about finding my first queer (-friendly) therapist before. I’m back at it now, and it’s still difficult.

Less-solid ideas include:

• Lesbian hobbies you should try
• Romantic friendships and queerness (there’s like, a literal history of this)
• A post about how much my wife and best friend love each other
• A satire piece on how to dress gay
• How to handle being misgendered in “safe spaces” (personal experience)
• A clothing shopping guide for transmasc people
• A taping/binding pros and cons

I’m developing these posts in no particular order, so if you see something on this list that you want sooner rather than later, let me know in the comments and I’ll prioritize it.

Personal Updates from Jess, your AL&HL Blogger

A year has passed, so I’ll try to keep this brief:

• I moved to Ferndale, MI (if you live here tell me–I need more friends) (I’m actually probably moving soon though so idk)
• Went to therapy for a few months in 2021. It didn’t work out that well. I lost a friend whom I loved very much. (She didn’t die, she just ghosted me.) (Damage still present.)
• After 2 years of separation (due to COVID) I flew to England November 21-January 22 to be with my girlfriend. My best friend came with me for a few weeks and we had a blast.
• I am a full-fledged freelance writer, blogger, content creator. I have a few clients. I work from home and set my own hours. I could not imagine my life in an office at this point.
• I moved in with my best friend last April.
• I fully embraced my non-binary gender identity.
• Jasmin (my gf) came to the US May – July.
• We decided to get MARRIED while she was here!!!!!
• My British friends came to the US for the first time.
• I’m depressed but trying very hard every day to find ways to pull myself out of it. In therapy again, trying hard to find friends, etc etc etc.
• Jas is applying for a spousal visa.

How to Support A Lesbian and Her Laptop

It is my dream to keep this blog running. I know I took a long break, but I want to be back for good.

The break happened in part because Depression, and in part because I ran out of money. I had to pay rent, and that forced me to put all my work energy into jobs that pay bills. I have no ill feelings over it now, because that forced focus helped me build solid footing in my freelance career. But I miss being here. I miss connecting with you all through our shared and varied experiences.

Thankfully, I have jobs that pay the bills now. (For the most part.) But any and all support that comes directly from this blog goes into savings for big things. First up, financing a new WordPress package. Second, funding for my top surgery. (Expensive!) Both of these things are priorities right now, which means I have to prioritize the things that will help me accomplish savings goals faster. (AKA, working the highest-paying gigs.)

That being said, it is still a goal of mine to keep AL&HL running smoothly, even when I have to focus on other work. That’s why, over the course of the 2022’s fall and winter, I’ve been slowly building a safety net of blog posts for when I can’t make AL&HL a priority. Help me make it possible by sending me $3 today!