Beginner’s Luck.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Have you, by chance, read my previous post? My essay on blogging? Well, it was really an entry for The Blog Awards Challenge. And guess what? I got in! I’m one of the ten finalists! How cool is that? Hahaha. (Thank You, LORD! Thank you so much, TBAC! Yeeey!) Well, for those who love me, love my entry, or just love blogging so much, please vote for I, Blogger: I Blog Therefore I Am HERE. I’d greatly appreciate it, guys! And let me know if you do ha, so I can tag-and-thank you. Haha. Also, please read my fellow finalists’ write-ups. They’re really good as well. (: Thanks in advance. Love you all! (:

 

P.S. I strongly encourage you guys to join Challenge #2 and blog about global warming. I’m sure you have a lot to say on that. Read here for more info. (:

I, Blogger: I Blog Therefore I Am.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Note: This is an entry for The Blog Awards Challenge #1. Vote HERE. Thank you! (:

Try to go around and ask “normal” out-in-the-real-world people what life is for them. Chances are, the answers would be:

1. God, faith and/or religion
2. beliefs, values, personality
3. family and friends
4. love, relationships, people in general
5. money, necessities, luxuries
6. career/education
7. success and losses
8. etcetera etcetera ad infinitum

I keep a very similar list. That makes me a normal out-in-the-real-world BLOGGER. Planet earth or blogosphere – I am my own person. I choose to exist in two realms just because I can. I choose not to dwell on any one side of the world just because I can. And yes, it so happened that I also choose to explore and make the most of what my list of life has to offer – blogging included – just because I friggin’ can.

Most, if not all, bloggers would say so, too. Why keep your most random thoughts, most memorable experiences, funniest moments, shittiest days, and most life-changing lessons stashed away in some private diary when you know you can have the whole world to share it to? The blogging scene is a good way to exchange information and ideas. The healthy discussions, interesting opinions, and mind-opening insights one gets have proven to help in one way or the other. Otherwise, we all wouldn’t be here now, would we?

Which brings us to the question: Why are we really here?

Perhaps because some of us have something to say to more than a single person or to our respective circle. Perhaps some of us cannot stand bottling up the message we long to deliver to the world. Perhaps some of us cannot just go out to the streets and recite our literary masterpieces. Perhaps some of us cannot just hold art and photo exhibits outside our homes. Perhaps some of us express better writing than speaking. Perhaps some of us just can’t be Manila Standard Today columnists. (wink wink wink) And even so, perhaps some of us still believe in “the pen is mightier than the sword”. Or perhaps, just perhaps, some of us feel responsible in sharing what we know and what we should know to make lives better for others.

I’ve been blogging for quite some time now and sure there were times when I felt that there’s nothing left to say. But I always end up coming back because it is in this world that I feel freest to share my stories without pressure or pretense. Well, second to conversations with God and myself, that is. It is in the blogosphere that I get to meet people who appreciate my style – honesty, shallowness, occasional pa-tweetums, grammar errors and all. I get to meet people who share my ideals, who don’t agree with my views, who challenge my convictions, and who encourage my being. On the general, these co-bloggers are like any other person I bump into in the real world, only more interactive and kilobytes away.

No, I am not a lonely person and I strongly refuse to be labeled such. Although there’s no denying that somewhere out there are people (e.g. ME) who blog about the drama side of their lives, we also have to know by now that this isn’t what all blogs – or bloggers, for that matter – are for. (Talk about bad stereotyping.) Just as the world grants its citizens freedom of expression, the blogosphere encourages its online diarists to be expressive – happy or sad, lonely or not. Besides, if we view the blogging industry as a home to lonesome losers, aren’t we also bashing other online social communities, and even chatting, in a way? (I have Friendster and Myspace accounts, and I’m obviously a blogger as well. I never thought these interests would lead some people into demoting me to "pathetic" level. Great.)

It’s also no secret that blogging has its cons. There is that “getting away” with anonymity, unsolicited hate, some irresponsible blogging here and there, etc. But these are just a portion of what the blogosphere is about. They do not necessarily reflect the blog’s or the blogger’s overall nature. Nor do they define the totality of blogging. These cons, however big or small their damages are, are just components of one’s blog life. Again, they’re just like in the real world, only easier to get out of (by clicking the X at the upper right corner of the window).

You see, I’ve had a pretty good (and bad) taste of both the blogosphere and the real world out there. And I’m just glad that I made that choice of being free to live out both existences, of being able to exit and enter one realm after the other. I am happy with how I live my normal out-in-the-real-world-blogger life. I have my “list” and I plan to keep BLOGGING in it. For the lonely kid who badmouths my passion for blogging, here’s a cyberhug.  (:

Pumorma!

Friday, April 25, 2008

Whew. Inumaga lang naman ako sa pag-ayos ng template. Waaah. Antok na talaga ‘ko! Ni di na nga ako makapag-ingles eh. Hahaha. =DD

Anyway, konting trivia lang. Yung theme ng bagong skin ko, kung di pa masyadong halata, ay ang kantang Deep Inside Of You ng 90’s band na Third Eye Blind. Isa sila sa mga paborito kong artists for life, at ang kantang ito naman yung pinakapaborito ko mula sa kanila. Ginamit ko sa header yung isa sa mga kuha ko nung Greatest Beach Date Ever. Actually, yan yung tinutukoy kong spot na inupuan ko. Ayun, konting edit gamit ang Ulead PhotoImpact 30-day trial ko (na na-expire pagkatapos kong gawin yan. awww) at voila! Instant emo header. Hahaha! ((:

Green. Masaya ang kulay green. Bukod sa pera (na di ko naman pwedeng i-associate sa ‘kin ngayon), ang green ay para sa new beginnings or fresh starts, ika nga. Kung ano man ang konek nun sa buhay ko at sa buhay niyo, eh kayo na bahalang mag-decide. Haha. At going back sa theme, yung mga header titles sa sidebar ay lyrics ng Deep Inside Of You. Wala lang. Ganyan ako kaarte eh. Dapat ultimo sidebar at blog title sunod sa theme. Bwahaha! =DD

Nga pala, nagdagdag ako ng bagong links na connected sa advocacies ko. You might want to check them out. (Naks, nosebleed!) Hahaha. ((:

Ano pa ba? Hmm. Wala na ‘no? Wala na rin akong maisip eh. Mistula na kasi akong zombie-ng nagta-type. Haha. Ayun, uupdate na lang ako paggising ko. LOL.

Magandang umaga, blogosphere! Cheapsentibox is awtttt!

 

P.S. Miss ko na talaga ang Blogger. Nakakapagod kasi kalikutin ‘tong i.ph eh. Huhu. Eyebags. ):

Of Stilts and Other Demons.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Hoping to redeem myself, I came up with another 55-fiction, but this time with more, um, heart. Or whatever. =D

Anyway, this shot means a lot to me (although there was no way I could hide all that heaviness from this angle. hahaha). This was one of the rare moments that I actually liked myself for two reasons: 1. I didn’t mind looking stupid in front of other people because I knew I had good reasons (i.e. I didn’t want my feet murdered!); and 2. I didn’t wallow in helplessness and was positive that I can do better (i.e. I just took the damned shoes off!).

It’s not everyday that I get to be this girl. And looking at her now — dressed, barefooted, killer stilettos on one hand, with her back turned against the stares and raised eyebrows — comforts me in a way that I am sure we’ll be one again soon. Or who knows, maybe we already are.

Maybe that’s why I’ve been going barefoot a lot lately.

Earth Day Greens.

Monday, April 21, 2008

I’m excited about tomorrow’s Earth Day. Not that I’m going to join marathons or the kind, although I really really REALLY wish I am. (Aww. I miss Dumaguete even more! I’m sure there’s a SolarGeneration activity tomorrow and I’m not there. Phbbt.) Wala lang. I just came up with the idea of doing a general cleaning of our house the whole day tomorrow. At least that way I’d be conserving energy (no TV, aircon, computer) and doing something productive at the same time. Yes, I won’t get to exercise my (ehem!) mala-Greenpeace activist side, but on the plus, I’m sure my parents would absolutely be delighted to come home to a cleaner abode courtesy of me. Sipsip. Hahaha. =DD

And one more thing that I’m really excited about is this:

Finally, I’ll be able to watch An Inconvenient Truth, and on a very fitting day, too. Sabay-sabay tayo manood ha? =)

Well-behaved youth rarely make history.

LOVE the planet? SAVE it.