Tag Archives: blogging

Hello Ho Ho Ho

Okay, I really meant to blog this week. And lats week.

Thing is, even with that intention, there were a lot of other things that caught up to me the past two weeks that made me not blog. Ugh. I have so much writing backlog that it’s driving me nuts.

But because it’s almost Christmas and it’s the last work day of the week today, I won’t go nuts.

Forgive me if I haven’t been blogging. I owe you guys a lot – two more lessons from the flood, reviews, year-end surveys, stories and yes, the Coron post.  Oh and there’s the post-NaNoWriMo post that’s long overdue. Work’s just been crazy and with that, workouts (I have to post about that, too!), and Christmas preparations, everything just goes crazy, you know?

It’s a good thing I don’t go to school, or else I don’t think I’ll be blogging now (although I think everyone who is in school is on vacation now).

Which reminds me, I need to renew my domains and pay stuff. Ahhh crazy — not enough to go to drug rehab, but still, too many!

But it’s okay. Because it’s Christmas in two days. I promise to post a Christmas story by tomorrow. But now I have to work. So close, so close!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Brutally Honest

Day 3Back when LIVEtheLIFE magazine was still alive, Ganns told me that one of the things he liked about my blog was it’s honesty. He called my blog brutally honest, if I remember correctly. Apparently, I write things as I see they are. Okay, maybe not always, as I was never the one to give an opinion on current events and politics (unless they’re really striking or if I really and actually care — more to that on another post), but if I am pissed, or stressed or sad or broken-hearted even, I’m sure to post it in my blog.

I did a rehaul of my blog back in June 2006, so all those entries are removed online. Plus, I lost the archives of my 2003-2006 entries during The Great Ginger Crash of 2007, so I can’t give you specific examples. Ever since I did the rehaul, I tried to stop posting really short one-liner entries because I feel like it’s a waste of blog space and I felt like I should be posting something meaningful. You know?

Somewhere along the way, I lost it. I don’t know what I lost, exactly, but I know I stopped posting as much as I did. I remember being able to find something to post about at least once or twice a week, even when I have to do some sponsored posts. Then, I started posting only book reviews, which was okay, but then some people told me I post too many book reviews and not enough about me. After all, this is a personal blog, right?

I don’t know why I stopped. I mean, I liked writing about my day. I liked writing about life, faith and everything else in between, but somewhere along the way, I lost it. I don’t know how I lost the creative juices to write here. Sometimes writing an entry here feels forced, and absolutely boring that I just stop writing. Sometimes I feel like I don’t make any sense, and that I’m writing this out to an empty audience because who wants to read someone who rambles on and on and on, you know?

So what happened? Maybe it’s because of all the problogging hoopla that I tried to get into a couple of years back? Maybe it’s because I know a lot of people in real life reading my blog? (Then again, what should I expect? It’s on the Internet, duh.) Maybe it’s because I feel like people don’t care about what happens to my day (and yes, I know people still don’t), but it’s not like I make this an actual diary, and write about every.single.detail. of my day. What happened to posts about God, my prayer time, my job and even my love life (or lack there of)?

Somehow this reminds me of how I still struggle with my prayer time ever since I got a new job two years ago (!), how having somewhat of a good life makes you stop doing the things that helped you through the hard times even if you need to do it. Okay, I don’t really need to blog as much as I need to pray, but you get hte point.

I miss being brutally honest. I miss being able to make this blog some kind of sounding board. I miss being able to write stuff that hopefully makes other people think, or inspires them in some way, or makes them laugh.

It’s not that I would bare my soul to the world all over again — oh yeah, I’ve learned not to do that the hard way — but there’s got to be something I can write. I do consider myself a writer, right?

Who said personal blogging is easy?

This is one of the reasons why I’m all for trying out the 30-day blog challenge, because, as Riz said, it’s going to force me to write something, anything. And I know it’s not always fun, and most of the time it’s going to be like pulling teeth…but if there’s one thing I learned from the past five years I’ve been participating in NaNoWriMo, sometimes a little challenge is all you need to get those words out.

I don’t know if I can be as brutally honest as I was before, but here’s to trying. :)

3/30.

Blogging Drought

Well someone hasn’t been blogging much lately. Who’s getting tired of book reviews and other random things I’ve been posting lately? I know I am.

I kind of want to have a fresh start with my blogging life. I kind of miss just blogging about what happened in my everyday life and not worry about who reads it, or if what I’m saying actually makes sense. I kind of miss blogging about what I’ve learned during my prayer time or something interesting that happened that I just have to post about. Or something fun that happened during work. Or maybe even something annoying and I just needed to vent. Sometimes I wish I could just go and get another domain and start posting there, like what these two did. But I can’t, really, because of two reasons: I can’t bear to part with this domain name and I earn a bit of extra income from this blog and…well, I need that. Just like everyone needs the best acne treatment, you know?

It’s just another blogging drought, I guess. I’m honestly itching to make a new layout here, and post something of substance. Something that would bring the personality of this blog.

Come to think of it, I’ve been a bit of a blogging failure lately. Like, who stopped Wordplay after two months? And see how un-updated this blog has been? (Which reminds me, there is supposed to be an update for this!) No wonder I can’t go pro on blogging. Or can’t stick to any niche (except maybe anything related to books? heh)

I guess I just miss it. Blogging. And I also miss going to blogging-related events (or anything geeky, for that matter).

Okay, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so depressing. I guess I just feel a bit dismayed at how impersonal this personal blog has been.

I want to change that.

I know I definitely need a new layout. And maybe I should make myself do a 30-day blogging challenge like her and her.

Let’s see. But I’ll definitely try harder this time.

WordCamp Philippines 2008

When my teammate, Mike, arrived, I immediately ambushed him with this question: Would it be an ultimate geekery if I say I want to attend WordCamp Philippines 2008?

The answer was yes, but then again, I’m a self-confessed geek, so why would this matter?

Anyway, I heard about this from Kyameel, and I decided to register if only to revive my blogging life and to fully understand WordPress more, since I’ve been using it for years now (which reminds me…I have to upgrade!), and I don’t see myself using another content management system and I’ve been missing programming and developing, AND admission is free…so I thought, why not? :)

WordCamp Philippines 2008

WordCamp Philippines 2008 will be on September 6, 2008, at College of Saint Benilde, Taft Avenue, Manila (hello, Taft, I missed you!). This event is organized by the Mindanao Bloggers (thank you!), and is made possible by the following sponsors:

Who else is going? This will be my first second blogging event for the year (I remember, 2008 Philippine Blog Awards on August!), and I think it’s just time to “revive” my offline blogging life. :P

Philippine Blog Awards 2008

Philippine Blog Awards 2008

And it’s back! :)

To quote (because they explained it way better than I can):

The Philippine Blog Awards aims to recognize notable Filipino-owned blogs in their respective niches. With topics ranging from the arts, culture, technology and politics, Filipinos have become more abreast because of the fast growing blogging industry here and abroad. The Philippine Blog Awards is a venue to showcase notable blogs with quality content that engages readers from around the globe.

Now on its second year, the Philippine Blog Awards continues to recognize Filipino blogging talent from around the world. This year, the awards extends its reach towards network blogs written by Filipinos, blogs written by mainstream media practitioners as well as local corporations that use blogs are effective communication tools.

The awards night is scheduled sometime in the second quarter of 2008, but volunteers and sponsors are already welcome. :) I’ve already volunteered, and based from experience, being an awards night volunteer is a fun thing — you get to see all the things going on behind the scenes, work with a lot of great people and everyone’s input is always welcome so as we could come up with a great awards night. :)

You may also help out by posting an entry on your blog about the awards night (just like this), or creating a PBA 2008 badge for use in other blogs (which will be credited to you, of course).

For news/updates about the Philippine Blog Awards, visit the official website or add the official blog to your RSS feed. :)

See you guys there!

Best Posts of 2007

And Christmas is now over, it’s just five more days until 2007 comes to a close. As with a lot of bloggers around the Net right now, I’ll also be making a list of my own best posts of 2007. Vain much, I know. :P By best, I mean those that contain a lot of meat in them, the ones that gives fond (or sometimes not) memories. Let’s see if I can remember what some cryptic entries meant. ;)

Warning: this is an insanely long entry.

January

  • Never Take Friendship Personal (January 15, 2007) – this post was an angry post. I was annoyed at some people from my previous work who I thought were my friends, but then they stopped including me in their breakfast/lunch plans…in fact, they stopped talking to me altogether, and I had no idea why. Things loosened up around March when one of them was resigning. It hurt a lot.
  • Passions (January 18, 2007) – this post is the start of my doubting if I was in the right job. Note that I was only four months into the job then. I wondered about quitting, and the entire thought of loving your job.
  • On Crushes (January 26, 2007) – Just because this entry is so…hee! Boys are brothers, not prospects!
  • Parteeh Hangover (January 28, 2007) – Because this is the most link-loving post I’ve ever done. :)

February

  • MUfHH: Are you ready to be offered? (February 6, 2007) – One of my early meaty reflections, about trusting God and letting go. Reading this reminds me of how deep Oswald Chambers’ reflections can be. And how deep I can reflect.
  • For My Love (February 14, 2007) – My “mandatory” Valentine’s post. I love how positive this sounded. :D Haha.

March

  • Hurt (March 4, 2007) – Reading this entry still gives me an ache in the heart. :( Written after totally eventful night which I really do not want to happen again.
  • Cryptic Entry # 2: Why? (March 13, 2007) – Ah, I guess I can divulge the reason for this one. :) I wrote this after hearing from a friend that my low exam results in the pre-employment exam in the company where I currently work now did not make me qualify for the next step. How sad. But look where I am now. :)
  • The Great Adventure (March 18, 2007) – The obligatory (post-)birthday post, where I psych myself up for my 21st year.
  • Cryptic Entry # 3: I Want Out (March 23, 2007) – This is where I cracked from all the dislike I had for my previous job, because it seemed like people could not bear to give even the smallest of encouragement to their colleagues. Hay.
  • Skimming the Surface (March 29, 2007) – This is where I elaborated on why I wanted out. I just re-read the entry and was surprised at how emotional, broken and angry it sounded. Wow.

Other notable entries here are the “What happened when I was ___” in preparation for the birthday. :)

Continue reading Best Posts of 2007

Once, I was a magazine model

I was meaning to clean my room today, but I’m not in the mood to do so just yet. I will later, promise. Or at least, I will get started on it by finally removing the clothes I haven’t been wearing already (not my style or they don’t fit anymore). But before that, I had this sudden burst of nostalgia and I decided to pull out my old magazines and got this particular one out:

LIVEtheLIFE magazine

Ganns! Rick! JM! Trish! Remember this? :)

LIVEtheLIFE magazine is Ganns’ brainchild. It’s a magazine for Filipino youth, which, according to the tag line, is Relevant reading for the lifestyle with a purpose. Simply speaking, it’s a Christian glossy magazine. I remember all the meetings we used to have for this, as well as the email trails and even the launch we had (but I did not get to attend to) at Shepherd’s Voice in Greenbelt. I remember the photo shoots, the planning and the ideas thrown around. I even had grand dreams of us having an office eventually, where we’d be having brainstorming sessions and studio photo shoots and whatnot.

What’s really special about this issue (besides it being the first and only issue) is that this is my first time to be published in a magazine, not only as a writer but as a…er, model.

Yes dear friends, I was once a magazine model. :P

Continue reading Once, I was a magazine model

Why I am a Human Calendar

Back in college, one of the things I say when I was asked something unique about me was I’m a human calendar. Not that I can give you the day of the date of the certain year, but because I can remember how things happened exactly on a certain given day a year or two ago. And it’s not just a vague recollection, but a specific blow by blow detail — down to what the person wore, to the people around us, to what he/she said and approximately what time it happened. Yes, my long term memory is that good; don’t count on my short term though. :D

My friend Baban had a very scientific explanation for that: what I tend to remember are happy moments — moments where my brain secretes a specific hormone which makes me store the specific moment in my long term memory, even down to the smallest details. Yes, that’s a nice explanation, but I have a better reason why I remember things.

I write.

It occured to me one time during college that I remember the things I take time to write down — the things I blog about or the things I write in my offline journal. No matter how cryptic the entry may seem that other people may never understand it, these specific words trigger something in my memory once they are written down. They tend to stay in my memory longer than the ones I don’t get to write. I bet that if I was given extra time to write everything that happens in the spur of the moment, I’d have a pretty good short term memory too.

Anyway. I was digging through some of the files that I had transferred from an old back-up CD to Aslan‘s hard drive and I found journal entries from one of my first “proper” online journals. It was named Gratitude, from a Chicken Soup for the Soul story I read one time (let me just say: WOW. It’s been a long time since I last read anything from that book). It was my journal from 2000-2001, was powered by Blogger back when it hasn’t been acquired by Google, and its commenting system is still by a third party website called Blogvoices (now closed). I moved it to Greymatter, then finally to b2 (WordPress’ predecessor) before finally closing it down as I moved domains. As far as I know, problogging was not a thing back then, and blogs are usually used to make quick updates to a website without the hassle of re-uploading and re-uploading modified pages. A blog then was also different from a journal — journals are supposed to be deeper, more private (even if people hardly have friends-only journals or password-protected domains), while a blog contains mostly website updates, plugs and incessant calls to sign the website owner’s guestbook. :P Come on, admit it! ;)

So I found old Gratitude archives and I decided to go through them…and man! How immature can one person be?! I found myself cringing at everything I wrote seven years ago, how self-centered I was and how all I focused on was my angst, how much I can’t relate to my high school classmates, how cool I am for having a website, and yes, my current crush. I was also obssessed with having cable internet and a scanner and a digital camera then — laptops, DSL and HDMI were known but waaaay out of my league — and budget. :P Let me quote my entry this day, seven years ago (December 17, 2000):

Good morning! :) Hehe…it’s 6 am here…just came home from dawn mass. You know what suddenly occured to me? People go to mass just for the heck of going. No other serious intentions. I mean, the church was PACKED with people, but not all of them are taking it seriously. My dad even said that it’s probably the first time they even entered the church for a year.
It suddenly irked me that they won’t go to church. I mean, going to mass every Sunday is a Holy Day of Obligation. If you don’t go to mass on purpose, it’s a mortal sin. Some people just weren’t raised to go to church like some other people. Parents support aren’t present. :(
Oh well. Enough about that. Last night, we went caroling! It was SO fun! Today we’re going to do it again. :) We earned P 750 last night. Then we headed over to the CFC’s party to eat and then went to Ryan’s house to watch Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw. Sort of like the Filipino version of Notting Hill, but of course, you won’t really notice. ;)

AGH! And I actually thought I was a good writer then! See how my paragraphs seem so…hanging. So bitin. I could not even explain myself properly — nothing about my deep thoughts nor an explanation of why I believe what I believed. And speaking of beliefs…see how self-righteous that entry was? Ugh.

But as icky as our past journal entries are, it’s fun to look back. It’s fun to laugh at how dorky and moronic we can be before, yes? And because this year’s ending, and there’s nothing more interesting than looking back before a year ends and another one starts, I’ll be re-posting some old journal posts here just so we could laugh at myself, and learn something from the past too. :)

This should be interesting. :)