Another Blog?

The past mundane days had me thinking of creating another blog. The irony of it! I've been in and out of blogging the past months - or years maybe yet here I am wanting another blog.

Hear me out.

This blog had lost it's identity. This is suppose to be the home of my random thoughts and unfiltered emotions that would fuel my love for writing. Anyhow, it's taking a different path.

I was talking to a friend yesterday and she suggested that I consider travel blogging. I'm not sold with the idea because there are lots of travel blogs than you could count. AND traveling is more of a hobby to me. An escape when everything doesn't feel normal anymore. I don't do it for a living. I do it for love. I don't do it for the sake of taking pictures that would soon flood my friends' FB walls. I do it for the memories, the lessons and experiences that are more valuable than money. I don't do it on a  weekly or monthly basis because I have a regular job. It could get in between my sometimes-busy-schedules. Not to mention the fact that traveling is EXPENSIVE.

Those are my predicament...

But the travel blog idea really struck me. I wanna do it and I wish I could. Blogging is easy. Sustaining the blog is difficult.

I haven't made up my mind though. But with or without the travel blog, I'm still here for my random thoughts. Because this is where I started.

whatever happened to my love for writing

For months I had literally ignored this blog. 

Not just blogging, but writing itself.

I'm not going to blame my job this time. I'm not going to say I'm too busy to sit down and write. I'm not going to say my masters program stole my whole time and drained me.

Maybe it's one of those times when you're too tired to care about everything. When you just want to deal with the present and savor it to yourself.

Or maybe I just lack focus.

Or doing many things at the same time is no longer true to me.

Whatever it is, I'm glad I have revisited this blog.

And hopefully, I can fill it with many stories just like what I used to do before.

P.S.

Hell yeah, I need to blog more often. I'm lost in this new blogger theme.

Since when did blogger inherited facebook's quirks?

I'm not ever gonna give up on writing

"Hello stranger!"

Oh that's me sayin' to myself. :)

It's been two months since I've written a post and I've barely written a good one. I'm not gonna point my fingers at my growing-busy-day-everyday-at-work ( I know. Confusing right there.), but somehow life over the past days had been one hella ride. It needed me to think, rethink, assess every situation. And for that, I've unknowingly shoved blogging aside.

It's kinda frustrating too. You know when there are lot of things going on with your life and you wanna write about it but you just can't find the time and you can hardly squeeze your brain to come up with the right things to say, it gets you down and you get the feeling of being detached from the very own world that made you comfortable.

Aryt, that was a 63-word sentence right there. Good sign. Must be my writing mode kicking in.

Anyhow, nothing has changed much, except that I had my hair permanently curled (for the lack of something worthwhile to do hehehe). I've also knocked one item down on my travel list (more on that later), the heavy days at work, and the usual random experiences which I think are worth sharing.

Meanwhile, I'm happy to be back (back from the grave haha!) And oh, this is my birth month. Don't yah think this post is kinda significant?

Just sayin'... :)

My Lenten Season To-do List

I think I'll start making this a tradition to make a to-do list for the whole Lenten week. Because what usually happens is that I just stay at home doing movie marathon like it's the most "meditating" thing to do.

To start off, I already did confession, at last after 6 long years. I could not forget the feeling when I did confession 6 years ago. I was really nervous. Huh! That goes to show how much of a sinner I am haha! Okay, I'm not making this a joke but it does get into my nerves when I'm spilling my sins to the priest. And last Friday was no exception. I had to muster enough courage to do it. But you know what? When I walked out of the room, I 've never felt so light and so happy. So happy that I did it.

But the downside was, that Friday night I went to have dinner with my colleagues. And who knows what happens after dinner? We had some Margaritas and sang our heart's out. Anyway that was clean fun. So I guess having multiple swigs of Margarita doesn't make you that much of a sinner, right? Right. I'm just human!

So when morning came my head was slightly throbbing and I knew why it was. Too bad for me.

Oh wait. I'm out of line. Isn't this post suppose to be my to-do list for the holy week?

So. Confession? Check.

Fasting? I haven't done this before. Maybe the only chance I could get closer to fast is because I'm too lazy to cook my own meal. But they say fasting isn't just about "not eating". It's about restraining yourself from doing the things you like doing. Like what? Like blogging? Facebooking? Texting? The whole nine yards? Uhhmm... can I negotiate? Blogging, maybe. But facebook? Ahhhhhhh!!!! Okay. Will try. After all it's sacrifice. What's 3 days without social network? waaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!

And because it's holy week - I must go to church. You know, exercise... Walk the faith. I won't just sit at home watching re-runs of my favorite TV show.

Most of all - PRAY. I missed a lot on that one. I'm not a prayerful person and it sure takes a lot of willpower to do it every night before going to bed and every waking day (which until now I'm a failure).

Lastly, I wanted to renew ties with a friend whom I haven't spoken to for 6 months. I don't hate her anymore. Or maybe I still do subconsciously... but I can't find it in my heart to talk to her. I don't know. Maybe I've reached saturation point whatever!

One thing I can give myself credit for is that I'm a good friend and I treat my friends well. But once I get hurt, I'm hurt and it won't be easy to mend it.

All in all I'm excited coz I'm going home and I get to rest for 4 days! Yeah baby yeah!

So if you won't read any post from me - that's because I'm serious about this!

Okay, this is supposed to be my year end post.

Before we finally say goodbye to 2010, I decided to look back and walk down memory lane. I would like to reminisce and recount all the good and “not so good” experiences I had this year.

2010 may not be a great year for me but, undoubtedly it brought so many changes that lead me to discover a lot of things. It has opened new exciting doors and allowed me to explore different things in different perspective. It was this year that I became active to blogging. I started this blog in 2009 and after writing a couple of posts, I took a hiatus. At the onset of 2010 I felt a new sense of passion to writing. I felt a need to speak up my mind every so often. I started joining forums, became visible to social networks until I came across with 20sb. 20sb inspired me to bring my blog back to life. I strived to publicize this blog and I was never wrong with the decision. I knew a lot of fantastic, awesome bloggers whom I considered friends even though I haven’t met them personally. These blog friends whom I was never ashamed or afraid of telling what I feel, what I’m thinking, and what I’m going through. This blog and my readers are the silent witness to my outrageous, somewhat borderline lunatic, yet ecstatic joyride to life.

This year was also full of travel opportunities. Thank God for the long weekends and holidays that I was able to spend some time on vacation. I’ve been to two beautiful places – places that I have always dreamed. Spending some time to those dream destinations was such a wonderful experience and a milestone for someone like me who adores nature and beautiful sights.

As they say, life isn’t always sunshine and blue skies. Halfway through the year was quite stormy for me. I was in the lowest point of my life. I found myself tangled in a confusing, compromising situation that eventually ended up in a heartache. It was on those times that I knew the real people who cared for me. The friends who listened, gave advice and pulled me into the right direction. I am just so glad I was over that situation.

I also had a lot of fun at work and enjoyed most of the company activities. Probably the unforgettable one was the fashion week where I get to represent our team for the 90s fashion show. Alright, I’m not gonna talk about it. I have written the details, so just re-read it.

There was much to tell about 2010. It was indeed a blast! Those wonderful memories I would surely take with me as I begin my journey to 2011.

To all my blog friends, cheers for the awesome year we had! Hoping to read more funny and inspiring post from you guys.

As for my wish, I pray for a better year ahead. More blessings, more travels, more blog posts, more blog friends, more fun, more enjoyable activities at work, less stress and no more heartaches hahaha!

Seriously, I hope I'd finally get to have what my heart truly desires....

Happy New Year to all!

Hello 2011!!!!

It's my BLOG's 1ST BiRtHdAy!!!

It's been a year since I started this blog. I still can remember what my first post was all about - it was an out of town adventure in a beautiful island. The  experience was wonderful that made me decide to write it down so I  wouldn't forget every detail. I'm always like that. I'm keen to memories.

So anyway, a year had passed and I'm still here blogging about everything that comes to mind. Write something which I believe is worth sharing to my readers. With that note (ehem, ehem... I'm trying to sound serious here and all...) I would like to THANK all of you guys for being such a darling. For reading my posts, for commenting, for sharing your ideas, for comforting when I turn myself into a nincompoop, for keeping up with my craziness and for being tolerant when I become a jerk! Yeah, seriously! Honestly speaking, I've shared and poured out all my thoughts and emotions to you and in this blog more than I have ever did in real life. Thanks for hearing me out.

Okay. Enough of the drama!

What I'm trying to say is.......................

You're invited to my parrrrttttyyyyyy!!!!!

go grab a chair and have  bite!

Earth, swallow me...!

Have you ever been in a situation that made you wish to run and just disappear? When it was too mortifying to even think about? That even your stomach turns when you recalled how stupid it was? And you silently wished you have amnesia, selective amnesia for that matter, so you can’t even try to think how awful it has been?

Well, I am.

And I’m in.

Right now!

At this very moment.

As I was writing this post.

Someone close to me, who knows darn well about my idiosyncrasies (sorry but I like to call the crazy stuff I do as idiosyncrasy), accidentally found the link to my blog on twitter. And as “luck” would have it, the first post she read was the poem I wrote! I really don’t understand why fate loves to poke fun at me. Of all the posts I’ve written this month, that particular post got her attention.

Alright. Your turn to ask, “What’s the big deal?”

I’m not quite a sharer in real life. But when it comes to blogging I don’t hide. I let it all out. If there’s one thing that writing has taught me, it’s that I can be honest with myself without being an over-sharer. I can freely speak up my mind without fearing that others may judge me.

So back to the poem…

She knows to whom that poem was meant for.

She knows what catapulted me to write such.

She knows I’ve stopped writing poetry long ago and it would take an inspiration for me to be able to write that again.

So when I was told she read the poem……. I jumped on my feet, heart racing, palms sweating…. Okay, I’m exaggerating. I WANT TO RUN AROUND THE HOUSE AND SCREAM!!!! WAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

I felt like busted for a crime I DID commit.

I felt so ashamed.

SOOOOoooooo M.O.R.T.I.F.I.E.D.

Not to myself. But to her! It’s like she found a golden secret and I’m doomed!

Please Earth, can you rip open for a second and swallow me? Alive???!

Or can I just bury my face into the sand?

This is the consequence of having a public blog. And what’s worse???? Mine’s personal! That’s the main reason why I don’t usually tell my friends that I blog coz the thought of them reading my writing scares me. It’s like they’re stalking at me. And there are things I talk on my blog that I never share to them.

Arrrrgggghhhhh!!!!!

Anyway, will someone sponsor a FACE MAKE-OVER? Dunno if there is such thing but I really need one right now!

the search for the perfect blog template

I didn't know that looking for a fitting and perfect blog template poses to be a tedious task. It all started with my desire to modify some settings, and eventually decided to change my template into something that would signify my taste and personality. Initially I wanted a black background with bright sparkling font colors embellished with girly stuff. Something refreshing and easy on the eye. Something that speaks about my blog with just one look at it. Simple but not too plain.

I found a couple feminine, arty designs and downloaded it immediately. Heck, the posting date doesn't work. It just says "undefined". Crap! Scratch that. I scoured several websites, downloaded a dozen template, uploaded the xml file at least 12 times until I finally settled with the "one", yes, the one I'm using right now. It's not exactly what I've been looking for but I love the color combination. And the caricature of that girl on the left is very much like me - loves to dress up, loves boots - stylish and fashionable in her own right.

forgot my account

I always prided myself for being unforgetful about usernames and passwords on every account I make - be it e-mail addresses, social networks account, software applications log-in, internet banking, and even on this one. I haven't visited my blogsite for awhile and when I attempted to do so, I could not remember whether I was using my gmail or yahoo account.

So first I tried my yahoo account since it's my primary e-mail address and I always make it a point to use it if not all, then most of my internet-related activity. But opppsss!! Can't get through. Ok, maybe I mistyped the password so let's try again. Hmmm... maybe I was using a different password on this one. Heck! Didn't work.

Since the log-in box said to sign in with your google account, I typed in my gmail address and still couldn't get through. Alright.... focus, think, think, think hard!

I scoured my inbox trying to retrieve that confirmation message saying I have successfully created an account and this is my password. But even that I can't find. Now I'm asking myself, "was there really a confirmation from the site?"

Now let's move on...

To make things easier for me, I created a new account and bid bye-bye to the blogs I had posted in my previous account. As a way of reminding myself that I should not curse when people forget their usernames and passwords, I decided to write about "when my memory faltered" as my first entry, with the hope this time my memory won't suck anymore.


P.S. to me:

In case I want to re-read my previous posts, I can always go to this site : http://janjanadventure.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html

P.S. to the reader:

This is a re-post since I was able to gain access on my first account - which is this one!