Portia Fan

Posted by sterndal in Consider This, I'm Just a Human, personal thoughts on Jul 21st, 2010 | 0 comments

Aside from the lead character, Calista Flockhart, and Asian actress, Lucy Liu, Portia de Rossi is one of the many reasons why I was addicted with comedy-drama series Ally McBeal. I immediately liked her acting style when I first saw her on TV – she’s smart, witty and very pretty. At first, I couldn’t believe that she is gay because she’s so sexy and beautiful. I just believed it when I saw the videos of her wedding on youtube. She married Ellen de Generes, my favorite talk show host. I like Ellen’s sense of humor, she’s very funny

Honestly, I do not consider homosexual as a negative term. I don’t have a problem with gay people especially if they are as adorable as Portia In fact, I noticed that most of them are fun to be with and they’re not “plastic.” Most of the gay people I’ve met are very straightforward, they say what’s on their mind in a joking way which I appreciate much.

As I was searching for more photos of Portia and Ellen, I chanced upon this blog which is entitled gay Romania which is written in a foreign language, either Italian or French. I’m not sure. Good thing I have a google translator so I was able to translate the posts in English. I didn’t find any photos of Portia there but reading that blog reminded me that we all created equal.

For Jazz’s first birthday

Posted by sterndal in Consider This, family matters, happy sterndal! on Jul 15th, 2010 | 0 comments

In less than a month, Justin, my one and only nephew is going to turn one year old. Everyone in the family is very excited about it. His parents want a simple yet fun-filled birthday party for our man. In the place where we live, it’s a tradition to throw overgenerous parties for first birthdays. But my sister and brother-in-law don’t want to break the bank just to have a lavish celebration. So, nothing extravagant, just something they can afford and would make Jazz’s birthday memorable.

Funny is that we used to call him Baby Justin Boom Boom Pow because he dances every time he hears that popular Black-Eyed Peas’ song. Now that he’s turning one, we changed his nickname to Baby Justin Boom Boom Bakulaw. Bakulaw as in monster Not that he looks like one. My nephew is kidnap-worthy cute! But the fact that he already has four front teeth makes us feel that he’s growing fast. He started walking two weeks before he turned eleven months old and he’s very smart, you can’t trick him.

We want to invite all his cousins and some of our neighbors’s kids. Basically, it would be a small family gathering but we also want to invite a few close friends. They are still undecided if invitation cards are needed since most of the guests live very near our house. I think it would be great to send personalized invitation cards such as the ones I saw from luau invitations website. My sister is an artist so it would be very easy for her to design invitation cards for her son.

Blogging for nothing?

Posted by sterndal in Consider This, blogging career on Jun 27th, 2010 | 7 comments

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!

Plants vs. Zombies: how to fix invalid file version

Posted by sterndal in Consider This on Jun 18th, 2010 | 3 comments

How do you solve a problem like invalid file version? I purchased PvZ more than a month ago from PopCap Games and I loved it. My whole family’s officially addicted to it. We think this game is utterly exciting, it spells F-U-N, and best of all, playing this game made us feel updated. You know, everybody loves PvZ, everyone’s talking about the Zen Garden, Mister Crazy Dave, and the zombies, etc. And it’s cool that we can now relate, unlike before when I didn’t own a laptop, if you know what I mean.

That is why I was very disappointed when my brother told me the game is not running anymore. Just, all of a sudden, the game stopped working. I still have a copy of my order number and registration key, I’m quite sure ours is not pirated, I downloaded it from PopCap Games website, I paid 3 euros for it through Paypal,  so what could have possibly gone wrong?

I searched the internet for solutions and found an answer from Yahoo Answers. Apparently, somebody from the other side of world is experiencing the same dilemma, which means, well … we are not alone. It says the game is corrupted and that I should delete the users.dat in my program files. Unfortunately, the suggested solution didn’t work for me. Fortunately, though, I have a special talent in troubleshooting – joke.

I think the trouble with troubleshooting is that it requires a lot of guts. It’s not for the faint hearted. If you’re scared of clicking and saving, forget it, give it to an expert who can do things to it. As for me, I tried to troubleshoot and am glad that I was able to fix the error. I don’t know anything about computer systems so don’t believe everything I say, okay? But if you trust me, follow this:

1.  In Windows 7 Ultimate, open the program compatibility troubleshooter.

2.  Select PvZ from the list of programs and then click next.

3.  Try the recommended settings, in my case, Windows XP (service pack 2).

4. Test run the program, it should be working by now, save the settings, and you’re done.

Note: you will have to re-start to level 1 because all saved games will be lost.

Goal for 2010

Posted by sterndal in Consider This, personal thoughts on Jan 20th, 2010 | 0 comments

In spite of the financial pressures that I went through last year, I still would like to report in my journal that 2009 was a good year for me. Well first, I was able to acquire my own domain. Second, my first nephew was born. Third, my total annual income is higher compared with the previous years although the expenses still exceeded the earnings.  And then I also met a few nice friends and I have a good feeling they are for keeps.

Of course, I’ve also had some disappointments. Like not being able to meet my target blogging income and not being able to find a new job. But I’m not losing heart. In fact, these disappointments are just pushing me to work doubly hard so that 2010 will be better than 2009 In no particular order, here are my goals:

• make time for my blogging activities. I really intend to update my posts at least twice a week.
• get a new job – the kind that I really love doing. I’ve already gotten tired of being a QA.
• try my luck in freelance writing – I’m not sure if I have the talent but there’s no harm in trying, right?
• go back to school or at least get a TEFL certificate – this one’s a bit complicated as it will require time and money, lots of money.
• learn how to swim – only optional. Maybe if things get too boring, I might enroll in an inexpensive  swimming class.