Penned by Sterndal » blogging career

Bells will be ringing …

sterndal — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 22:51:39 +0000

This is going to be the most interesting topic I’m going to write about. Finally, I was given a writing assignment which I really like. They usually ask me to write about swimming pools, carpets, radiators, personal loans, gutters, or just about things I really don’t understand. My sister once asked me how I am able to write 300-word articles if I don’t know anything about them. Answer: Nothing. I just type whatever comes to my mind, try to make the paragraphs as long as possible, and make sure the articles will pass Copyscape.

But this time is going to be different. I’m not saying that I’m a know-all about weddings. In fact, I don’t know anything about them, too. Hehehe. I just think writing about church wedding music is so cool! If life were one big soap opera, that walk-down-the-aisle moment is a major highlight in the story. Imagine if there were no music playing in the background while the leading lady is marching towards the altar. Wouldn’t that be utterly boring? That is why I believe this topic is worth writing for. In the near future, brides-to-be will be reading my article and they’d find it useful and entertaining at the same time. Hopefully …

Anyway, I’m glad the turn-around time is not that fast. I was given a whole week to finish all the articles. So I have ample time to accomplish the task. So, literally speaking, bells will be ringing in my writing life. I’m still more interested with writing fictional stories but I’m not yet confident. It would have to wait a bit longer but it’s on the cards.

Update to WordPress 3.0

sterndal — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:22:05 +0000

Should I update my blog to WordPress 3.0? I really want a new look for my blog but most of the available themes today are compatible only with the latest version of WordPress. I just saw this Basic theme from Elegant Themes and I think it’s perfect. Its layout is more or less similar with my current theme. The web design is simple, classic and there are different colors to choose from. It’s just disappointing because it wouldn’t work in version 2.5. I spent sleepless nights just trying to make it work – couldn’t count how many times I downloaded the theme and uploaded it to my FTP. I really had a hard time uploading the files because I’m officially blocked from my CPanel. The technical support told me my IP is not blocked but he’s lying. I couldn’t log on. I think they’re already pissed off with me because I asked for a password reset a hundred times already. So, now I have no choice but to use Filezilla. Anyway, I’m not sure if I could update my WordPress version by myself. I’m scared that I’ll just ruin everything. The instructions are complicated. I wish there is a better way to update to the recent version of WordPress.

Writing about all types of loans

sterndal — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:54:43 +0000

I never imagined my self to be writing about different types of loans because honestly, I don’t have any idea about those things. But I really want to become a freelance writer. It’s my dream and so when I was asked to write about personal loans, I immediately grabbed the opportunity. The hourly rate is not that much but this could be my stepping stone to becoming a certified freelance writer. I researched about the topic and I learned that even those people whose credit background is not perfect are qualified to apply for bad credit loans. This type of loan is actually designed for them.

I’m learning a lot from this writing assignment. The person who hired me is very patient and has always been helpful from the start. He is training me to write fast, as in very fast. I was asked to download a timer/clock and the challenge is to write a 300-word post about personal loans in 30 minutes. Which means to say I have to write 10 words very minute. Well, I’m not good in Math but … more or less 10 words, right? To tell the truth, I couldn’t write that fast. He said he is not expecting me to meet the speed requirements as of now but he expecting improvement as we progress.

I miss my Manila Street

sterndal — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:51:44 +0000

My heart is aching, I’m dying to renew Manila Street. I know my posts there are crappy and non-sense but I still want to have it back. As in now, today, I can’t wait for tomorrow. But since my Paypal account has been suspended for more than a month, I have no choice but to wait until August. It’s really funny because Paypal said I had unusual account activity which is unbelievable. I just forgot my password and then I requested for a reset. A few days later, they are already asking for my credit card to verify my account. Problem is I don’t have one and I have no plans of getting one. I don’t need it. What I actually need is a webhosting guide to get a better understanding of web hosting plans that would suit my needs at the lowest possible price. I really don’t have a problem with my current web host. They’ve been very reliable from the start and the technical support team is always ready to assist in times of trouble especially every time I need a password reset. I just think I should have chosen a cheaper web host plan since MS is just for personal use and I might not be able to submit it in get-paid to blog sites. Perhaps, a one-dollar-a-month web plan will do for Manila Street.

Blogging for nothing?

sterndal — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 02:42:44 +0000

Almost two years ago when I was still a beginner in the world of blogging, still consider my self a beginner but after two years?! haha, my only wish was to be able to buy my own computer. I only wanted to stop renting in computer shops because it’s very costly. Also, I made a promise to my self that if it will happen, and I knew it’s going to happen, I’m going to write a lot of sponsored posts to earn money. I planned to make this simple hobby into a part-time job. And as an old saying goes: be careful what you wish for, what if you actually get it?

Luckily, I did get it. For the first time in my entire life, I got a laptop and an unlimited access to internet. This means I can blog my heart out, chat 24/7, surf till I drop, and visit my facebook account anytime I want. Take note, though, that the main purpose of this laptop is to earn money. But what am I doing? I’m spending so much time on Youtube and watching music videos will not give me money

It’s more than slightly disturbing how I’ll manage to find a way to chat with friends while watching the video of Pyramid by Charice but will not even bother to update my blogs. I can be a multi-tasker if I want to, but I just can’t do it in blogging. Battling lack of time is not the only problem. My laziness is always getting in the way, too. Worse, it seems that I’ve already lost my interest in submitting my sterndal.com to get-paid to blog websites. Okay, wait a minute, let me rephrase that. I think I’m just not doing my best to meet the requirements of PPP. I should be hurrying by now to finish that 20 required posts to start earning the soonest possible time, right? Yeah.

This is just foolish. What’s the use of having a laptop and an internet access if there are no earnings? It’s like investing my hard-earned dough in a business without profit. It’s just a waste of time if you will ask me. I mean, of course, I do love blogging. Reading has its own rewards, writing is another thing. I am genuinely flattered when people tell me they read my blog and some even say my posts are witty and interesting. I know you’ll find this hard to believe but there are about five persons who told me they like my blogging style

Having said these things, let me ask you a question. Isn’t it pathetic to blog for nothing? A lot of people will disagree, for sure, but please don’t get me wrong. It is quite understandable that most bloggers do it for the sole purpose of having fun. No money involved. Period. Besides, what is more liberating than to blog without worrying about audience interest, or traffic, or Page Rank, Alexa Rank and Technorati Rank?

Well, for me, blogging without earnings is disheartening. Wouldn’t it be nice to have it all? To be able to blog and earn at the same time? To have readers, visitors and advertisers as well? That is exactly my goal. So, I have to get real. I’m not blogging for nothing. I’m here in the blogosphere to do what I love, to earn money, and to socialize.

There isn’t always time for updating my blogs. I have a full-time job. I have no time. But I will make time. The trouble with me is that I’m not focused and I’m too lazy. Having a laptop is my biggest break in blogging. The opportunities are endless. One can never tell if this can change my life for the better. This is it! I’m gonna seize it!

Page Rank 1 is not so bad

sterndal — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:50:05 +0000

The four long months of waiting is finally over. My other blogs got PR too. All PR1 but I’m fine with that considering that I’m not exactly deserving even for page rank 1. I didn’t work much. I was too lazy to write new posts and although I was able to get a list of high ranking directories from a friend, I didn’t find the luxury of time to manually submit all my four blogs. Thing is, I’ll have to register and confirm the submission through e-mail one by one and unfortunately, I can only stay online for less than an hour everyday. I got other important things to attend to. I also asked a number of bloggers to exchange links with me but either they ignore me or they’d add me only to delete me after a few days or so. I have no idea what went wrong. I made sure their links were visible in my sidebar. So, there, I was discouraged to fill up my Blogroll. Good thing, Miss Vienna, Miss Ruthi and Kaye offered to exchange links with me. Makes me wonder why it was a lot easier back then to ask for exlinks? It only took me a few days to get 80 exlinks for my first blog. Now it’s taking me forever to get 20! Mmmm. I have an idea. I have a bad record. Haha! I used to talk to a lot of bloggers, telling them “exlinks please” and most often than not, I got a shining, shimmering, splendid “Yes, sure” in my chatbox. But, you know, I easily forget about a lot of things. Like awards, tags, memes. Nobody really complained, but I have a bad feeling I wasn’t able to add them all. Could it be that they don’t want to add me now because they think I don’t keep my word? I hope not. Anyway, PR1isn’t that bad, I can always wait for the next PR update.

This is final, promise!

sterndal — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:48:59 +0000

The problem with me is that everytime I’d stumble upon a great-looking theme, I’d immediately download the files without even thinking twice. Even if it’s not compatible with WordPress 2.6 or if its installation requirements are too complicated, it doesn’t matter. You see, I’m not scared of modifying (or ruining) any blog template mainly because I attended a short training on basic xml, html and LaTex tagging (LIAR! LIAR!). It was one of the prerequisites to become a Certified QA (JOKE! HEHE). But whatever I learned from that orientation was totally irrelevant to my blogging ambitions. It only gave me a little understanding on how to read simple equations and mathematical taggings. That is why, when I first opened a PHP file in my FTP, it didn’t look like a bunch of undecipherable characters. At least, that training familiarized me with start tag and end tag.

So, going back to changing themes, yes, I’m guilty. I simply couldn’t resist the urge. I change themes as if I’m just changing clothes. Imagine this, there are only 6 posts in Manila Street but I’ve changed its layout more than 10 times already! Instead of updating my blog during my spare time, I’ve been too busy trying different themes. Such a waste of time! I should have temporarily used the WP default theme until my blog reaches 20 posts or until the next Google Page Rank update

Anyway, I’m not really regretful about that. Regrets are nothing but a waste of time, so I say. I’ll just try to keep my current themes for a longer period of time. HOPEFULLY! Six months, perhaps? Besides, I’ve also grown tired of modifying errors like undefined call to function, missing stylesheet, etc. By the way, in case you are searching for new wordpress themes, try templatepanic dot com.

New Manila Street

sterndal — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:18:01 +0000

I’ve really worked hard on this and I’m so proud of my self Hihi! The screenshot below is the new Manila Street. The theme’s name is Urbane by Blogohblog! It’s template is a bit complicated, still having trouble on how am I going to make those thumbnails work. Chatbox is not working too! In fact, everything was malfunctioning when I first installed it. It took me hours to fix all those syntax / fatal errors, call to undefined function and all those chenylyn. I wasn’t able to fix the errors in the comments section so I decided to replace all the tags with a complete set of tags, which I copied from WP’s default theme. Is that valid? I don’t know but I think the appearance is cool. I’m so loving it! I also think it gave me a renewed zest for blogging, maybe I will update this blog more often. But I’m not done yet! I’m still thinking of new things (maybe widgets) to add, I’m in the mood for designing

new manila street

Should I pay for a premium theme?

sterndal — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:27:46 +0000

Surprisingly, I am not tired yet of my three blogs’ identical themes. I’m so loving WP Premium because the total appearance is clean and simple, it’s very easy to organize the sidebar and most importantly, tweaking its template doesn’t require professional knowledge about php, html and java script. It’s such an amazing thing that the creator has provided a short instruction on how to modify the tags for each part of the blog. The only problem I see is that the available colors for the free version is too limited. Only red, black and brown. I got red for Penned by Sterndal and black for Manila Street which seems appropriate. But I’m just not satisfied with brown for The Starlit Sky and I can’t update my blog as often as I want if I am bothered with something. My initial plan was to immediately change its layout as soon as find a suitable theme which I thought will take only a few days. I thought it’s gonna be easy to find something white with a little shade of blue, seo optimized, widget-ready, advertisement-ready and basically just something plain and neat-looking. I don’t like anything complicated so choosing templates that still need customization is never an option. I’ve seen a lot of elegant magazine themes in the web but they are not cheaply priced :-( Purchasing the license will cost me around 100 dollars and HELLO! That’s 5000 pesos when converted to my country’s currency, that’s worth more than my annual web host plan, and well, that’s worth a shopping spree at Divisoria Mall! Waah! I really don’t think I can spend a big amount of money for my blog’s beautification. NOT NOW. Maybe in the near future but not now.

US Immigration Support Link Exchange Program

sterndal — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:46:59 +0000

Today is a very pretty day I’ve been searching for ways on how to get free backlinks and I’m very lucky to discover about U.S. Immigration Support Link Exchange program. Somebody told me that I will need to spend lots of money if I want to have PR6 or above backlinks. But why will I pay if I can have it for free? All I have to do is go to this site tomorrow (because I’m too busy right now with some other things plus I’m too lazy to open my FTP):

http://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/linkexchange.html

Then add their link in my websites. Looks like the one below or if it doesn’t look good in my sidebar, I can also opt for banners and images.

Title: USCIS
URL: http://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/uscis.html
Description: The USCIS, or the United States Citizen and Immigration Service, is a department within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The USCIS was created by the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The USCIS consists of approximately 15,000 employees and 250 field offices around the world.

Next, fill up a short form about my sites and where they can find the reciprocal link and finally wait for two business days for processing.

I’m confident my blogs will be accepted because the only requirement is to add their link and as soon as they are able to locate it, a reciprocal link to my websites will be posted on their Resources Page. USCIS has a page rank of 6 and has more than 45,000 unique hits per day that’s why I really really really want to exchange links with them. I’ll let you know once my blog gets approved.