Do You Want To Quit Blogging?

Oh no, it's not about me about quitting. Not yet. I'm still enjoying it. I'm still having fresh ideas for this site and always on the lookout to improve on blogging.

I read this post from Problogger citing a case of a blogger deciding to call it quits. Does he have the right reasons to finally throw in the towel?

The article list down his observations of what might have caused the blog(s) to retire early. What strikes me the most is on the negative benefits of using Blogger and Blogspot hosting. I didn't know about that through my years of blogging since 2001 (which I authored a different blog before; this will be official my second blog). While I have admired and seen the ease of use and the improvements that Blogger has developer, now I'm beginning to have doubts of Blogger's capabilities. I’m still loyal (for now).

Yes, before, I was using Blogger's templates (especially when hosted under Blogspot domain). But the designer in me has always prevailed and soon I started to change my blog's layout with my own (I know Mel always admired my layout designs ever since we've met in one collaborated Filipino group blog). So besides blogging contents, my site still exists because of my endless desire to improve it through redesigning and experimenting with graphics and layouts. I refuse to wane my desire to blog and continue on, even if I don't get enough readership. I try to be realistic in my expectations. I don't want to post something in the hopes that someone might Digg it or Stumble it and bait some links from readers out there. Huge traffic and readership is indeed flattering and ego boosting. But sometimes being popular can add more stress to one's life, if not dangerous to some.

This is what I think most beginner bloggers are trying too high to aim for - to become as popular as the god bloggers like dooce, kottke, and others. To get the same (if not more) number of blog readers or fans as what these prominent bloggers have. The difference is most of these popular bloggers do write well, share very helpful tips, and post thought-provoking articles that will put to shame all other newbie bloggers that post nothing but egotistical matters (it's about I, me, and myself without truly interacting with your readers at all). Unless you are Paris Hilton and blogging about your life of mindless luxury (so be it).

Anyway, I'm no authority to state tips on how to write well and transform your blog from mediocre to great. I think Darren has stated enough information in the article to teach what should be done to help a blog become better (and even successful).

Here's some tips I could share: 1) Blog only if in the mood to tell a tale, or share some useful posts. 2) Harden not one's heart if one's blog is nearly dead, remember we do not live to blog. This is not the end of life. 3) Take some time off or vacation from blogging, or not blogging routines will become like chores - cumbersome and stressful.

Commenting On Comments

Here's an interesting article about how the author feels that comments on blogs are abused both for random link loves and spammers.

I do see some blogs (especially those hosted in blogspot) that received several comments which some of these are written by auto-spam bots. I guess these are the comments that start with positive remark on the blog in general but end with a sentence on checking out their site which happens to be an e-commerce site (as what is indicated in the linked article above).

So far, my blog site hasn't received any spam comments (coming from unknown e-commerce websites). Or so I think. I think that the comment settings of my site did a great job in hindering spam commenting (word verification upon sending comments). For those who haven't known this feature, especially to blogspot beginners, I recommend you turn on word verification (go to dashboard > settings tab > comments menu > then click Yes option to "Show word verification for comments?". Might as well turn on (click Yes) "Enable comment moderation?" as well if you have lots of free time to filter good comments from bad ones.

As for those begging for link love, I guess one should be the judge whether to reciprocate in return or not. A little snooping around their site would be better to determine whether they're site is link-worthy, in line with one's interest or just an e-commerce site disguising as one of your blog fans.

On the other hand, reciprocating links is one way to make new friends online, eventually making your site be known to more people to other communities in the Internet.

Afterthoughts... And Saying Prayers

I can't help but cut short my blog week vacation to post this one after the very tragic events that happened this week. One is the horrific event that occured in the campus of Virginia Tech, Virginia USA. The other, as Howie's blog pointed out, a journalist from the same state of Virginia turned Peace Corp volunteer back home in the Philippines who suddenly was reported missing and now found dead a few days later.

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I can't express enough condolences and shared sadness for the families and friends of those victims of last Monday's deadliest civilian shooting in US history (so far, but God no more of this). I can only say prayers at the moment.

I'd like to condemn and say hellish things to Cho for his psychotic motives in killing innocent lives but I know there's no point anymore now that he's gone too. All I could see from this kid (based from the videos and plays I've read in the Internet) was confusion, seething anger, and bitter outrage to those he deemed "privileged" and "rich" individuals of his school. Which makes me think, since during my college years, my university has a lot of very affluent students. I came from an average middle-income family who can (sometimes) barely pay for my tuition fees and that my parents had to work hard, even to the point of incurring huge debts just to ensure their son is educated. So yes, I'm not a rich person. And yet a lot of these affluent students were friends of mine. Some of them I still communicate and enjoy their company after graduation. While Cho's bitterness towards these "rich" kids caused his supposed hatred and rage, I never let the fact that my college friends are "richer and more comfortable" affect my perspective in making friends and enjoying their company. I never let myself be isolated and locked up in one's world. Cho made up that decision to do so. It's his choice. He paid for it with his life. The bad thing is he has left innocent people dead in his wake.

I don't know if the fact about Cho's life in Wikipedia is true or not, but from what was written, his early life was full of isolation and discrimination. Sadly, there will always be discrimination any where, no matter how hard developed countries want to get rid of it.

Let's not dwell anymore to this personified nightmare.

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Interesting read on how Cho lived and died as an American in 8Asians.com.

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I'm also saddened about the news that the missing Peace Corp volunteer Julia Campbell was found dead in Banaue, Ifugao.

Thanks to Howie's post, I visited Julia's blog and read her last post. It was poignant and truly moving. She wanted to offer any help that she could provide to the poor people like those in Padang, as she stated. In her last entry, she has full of hopes, as she indicated that a new relief group from America would be coming to lend volunteer work here. In the midst of disaster, she knew the risk of her calling, and yet she brushed those risks aside, as she became fond of the local phrase Buhay pa tayo (We're still alive) to keep her spirits up and look at things positively. That phrase keeps warmth and sanity to anyone who loses everything in life except themselves and their families - at least we are still alive and kicking. I remember Mom would also say that to us children, whenever she thinks that catastrophic events would happen like losing our house to a fire. What's important is we are alive. Alive to fight for another day.

Such hopes from a truly kind soul.

To Hostage Or Not To Hostage

I'm not surprised (again) to see and hear breaking (bad) news back home from the Philippines. This time it's about a day care center operator taking hostage of a bus full of school children.

Children taken hostage - Photo from Channelnewsasia TV live broadcast

Whatever his reasons, it's not justifiable to take hostage of these poor young kids. He can voice out his criticisms about the government (dirty and downright stinky with all the rampant graft, red tape, and corruption) through means other than resorting these children to grave danger (guns and a hand grenade). He can use the media, TV, radio, and even the Internet (like blogging) and kill all his precious time making sure everybody knows about the ills of the Philippine government. I can definitely do that through this blog. But definitely to endanger my fellowmen is a "no-no" option! Such an option backfires towards the criticizer instead of the one he or she criticizes.

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Until now, I'm still annoyed by how the current crop of Filipinos, while speaking English, always seems to grope for words and terms and frequently mumble "ah..." while pausing for a moment to get the right English word to say out loud. The Philippine news correspondent talked to by one of Channelnewsasia TV reporters frequently say "ah..." while reporting on the hostage event.

One thing I like about the English-speaking locals here in Singapore is that, even though I hear weird accents, mispronounced words, and missing "R"s (making it quite difficult for native English-speaking foreigners to grasp at once what Singaporeans are saying for the first time), I'm amazed by how smoothly and confidently they speak English to the point that they speak each word fast and almost in one continuous breath. Their vocabulary is fantastic and they speak as if they're reading an imaginary script held before their eyes.

Unlike some (if not most) of my fellow Filipinos who still have difficulty speaking whole sentences without pausing to think for the next word and saying out aloud "ah...". It's a nationwide habit I find really disturbing and should be avoided. If in doubt, pause (avoid "ahh"s or "uhh"s) before you speak. Or better yet, learn a new English word every day and broaden one's vocabulary.

But don't worry my fellowmen, I still love the way we speak English among other Asian countries. We're the only ones who can rival the Americans and even the British in speaking English words clearly, phonetically, syllable by syllable. Heck, we can copy both Northern and Southern American accents and the renowned (bloody hell) British accents and have a field day speaking out English to anyone every where.

Pacman Gobbled His Opponent

"It only took Manny Pacquiao three rounds to prove himself the stronger, faster fighter..." - this came from the article featured in HBO and all I could say is amen to that. Pacman has already proven himself in terms of skill and prowess, knocking down previous opponents like a raging pit bull. This afternoon, I had received two text (SMS in Singaporean lingo) messages from relatives abroad breaking the news of Manny winning his fight over Morales within 3 rounds only. Ah, the news made me smile all right, oblivious of the quizzical looks from the people around me while we were inside the MRT train.

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Meanwhile...

I was checking with other online news here, such as Channel NewsAsia, if they've picked up the news of Manny's winning the boxing match. Apparently the site did not mention anything about it. I even checked on their (apparently) latest news tab for (supposedly) recent events that happened in Asia (ehem, isn't the site named Channel NewsAsia?). I checked out their Sport section for any news about the fight, but alas, even this section did not anything about it. I've even used the site's search option and - tadah - as expected no Manny Pacquiao fights mentioned. The only Philippine related news to be cited is that of Imelda Marcos launching her (infamous) fashion collection to her "fellow Filipino". It's not interesting news at all, if you ask me. Who cares about her jewelries and stuffs (non-Filipinos I assume, or those who still have affinity with Madam Imelda Marcos). What the Philippines wants is justice and reparation for the damages done during the Marcos regime.

Bear with me here. I still flip out when other foreigners still know little of the Philippines (which they sometimes they fondly call as "Manila" as if it is a registered name for a country). Or that we once ruled by a dictator they knew only as "Marcos". Or that we had a movie actor for a president. Or... whatever...

Pride And Ancestry

Lately I've been... well, kinda soul-searching myself here in Singapore trying to make out of what I should I be doing (and planning) for the rest of my life now that I'm living independently from my family (well, yes, for Asians, it's a phenomenon that children get to grow older even beyond their 20's before they finally decide to move out and start a life of their own) unlike Western culture.

And part of that thinking and soul-searching is trying to blend myself among the millions of people living in this small island nation. To blend as in to try to align myself as one of the three major races of Singapore: Chinese, Indians, Malays. And most of the time I fail to blend well, especially when I speak out my English with the American accent (or that distinct Filipino accent sometimes local taxi drivers would quickly discern when you speak to them). I chuckle of the thought when one of my current officemates would tell his story of how he usually be mistaken to as an Indian, or (far-out) Nepalese (??) because of his looks. Another also told his story of how he was though of as an Indonesian or Malay. And to think, I was already mistaken to be a Japanese back in the Philippines. If I sport a bushy goatee, I'll be readily mistaken as a Malay.

The point is the current crop of Filipinos can't be stereotyped anymore as the small, dark brown skinned, flat-nosed race but more of a unique mixture of different blood races. This thanks to thousands of Filipinos going abroad and establishing relationships with other nationalities producing unique offsprings often quite better-looking(ehem).

Take for instance that big muscled wrestler of WWE Batista who my brother recently emailed me regarding his ancestry as half-Filipino (and in another source, he is half-Greek). Ah, no wonder he has that good nose bridge but bro... I mean brown skin color that Filipinos are known for (ok, I'll stop referring to the nose).

Still not convinced? See the flag on his left shoulder here. And this one one in another blog picture. Skirmish more in the Internet, he'll tell you he even idolized Manny Pacquiao.

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I just wonder why in this country I usually don't get much news about the sports winnings of the Philippines (such as Pacquiao) even though Philippines is part of Asia. And I get to hear and see more news of other Asian countries are India, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, and China.

Things I Learned So Far Here...

And here comes the list again. Here goes:

• The more I talk and act as non-Singaporeans do (accent, quirks and all), the more the locals know I am a foreigner. Even if my skin color almost matches theirs, my accent and clear spoken English still mystifies them (by the way they look at me in surprise or what). Beats me, but they would readily ask me if I'm a Filipino (and that lyrical way of saying English comes to mind again).


• Just like Filipinos, seems the locals here have that colonial mentality when it comes to conversing with a foreigner (especially the "white people"). They may deny, but really they seem to give that "awe" and "respect" to the "white people" (which they fondly call here as "kaypo"). I couldn't say the same thing when it comes to treating each other or other Asian-looking individuals. Beats me again, but it's a phenomenon nonetheless to think the Western people are far greater than the Eastern ones. Ah, we're not being bigots here, are we. It's just that I see the same kind of "Fascination with the West" back in the Philippines.


• I learned you can't really get to explore well this colorful country no matter how small it may seem to be in the Atlas map. This island nation belies its small size when it comes to colorful and cultural activities one can stumble upon. I'll let you know in my next posts (and hopefully with pictures once I purchase my own digital camera one of these days). Yes, you heard it right, I am planning to buy one, lah.


• I keep on saying "Salamat" (or pronouncing it as "Selamat") to Singaporeans here especially to those who I know of Malaysian descent (like those serving in restaurants and behind the cash counters). It's a good thing that the word actually meant I "something good". Because I had this belief that whenever Malay locals here speak "selamat" after a conversation, I thought the word is similar to the Pinoy word "salamat" meaning "thank you". What it actually meant is a greeting of goodwill similar to "good morning" or "good day" or "wishing you a good trip". Ah, now I know. :-)


• Conversation is a nightmare here. I need to learn Mandarin, Malay or Indian as soon as possible (or in any other way). There is something in their English that I still cannot understand at all. Even the British guys here intimidate me with their brand of "English" accent. Such a bloody hell, hehehe. :-D