Unlucky?

With everything that is happening in my life right now, am I unlucky? First, I stepped on a rusty nail which pierced my left foot pretty deep. I hate needles but the thought of getting infected with tetanus scared me to death so I was convinced by ‘the people around me’ to get an anti-tetanus shot right away. Better be safe than sorry, huh? I just don’t want to die yet. Not now that my dream of becoming a freelance writer is starting to realize  Second, it seems that everyone in the family is getting sick My niece, my mom (and also me) were suspected of having dengue two weeks ago.  Third, for the first time I was asked to do a revision on one of my articles which is so discouraging because I am being paid by someone to write for him and he was unsatisfied with my work Ouch!

In truth, I always try to look at the silver lining. First, being pierced on the foot is such an excruciating pain but at least now I already got an anti-tetanus shot which is good for ten years. Somebody told me “ganon?! kailangan mapako muna bago magpabakuna?!” LOL. Second, because we are so scared of dengue, we tried harder to keep our house clean and dry, plus mosquito spray every morning and Off lotion for the babies (Note: don’t apply the lotion directly on baby’s skin). Third, I realized that revisions should not disappoint me. Mr. X is very professional in correcting my work. He said my grammar is correct but I could have written some of my phrases in a better way. He’s actually doing me a favor because he’s pushing me to improve my writing skills

Everything considered, I am so blessed. The fact that God is so kind to me has been my favorite thought during the past few days. I am still alive! No tetanus. No dengue. Best of all, my hands are full of writing assignments. I couldn’t care less if people are thinking that I’m not doing anything to improve my life. Haha.

My favorite animal

Writing essays was one of my favorite activities back in grade school and even until college. Our teacher would ask us to write a 100-word essay about our best friend or favorite animal and then we would have to read our work in front of the class one by one. I liked that part because everybody got the chance to speak up and to be heard. I liked it because I was sort of “forced” to participate in class discussions and recitations.

Things were a bit different in college. Our professor would choose a few students to read their essays by lottery. The rest of the students who weren’t called would listen and then afterwards they are free to criticize grammatical errors, incorrect sentence structures, poor writing style, etc. The professor said it’s a great way for us to learn to speak and write English better. However, nobody wanted to be corrected in front of the whole class. So, everyone’s praying not to be chosen. Except me Not that I wanted to be humiliated, I just thought it’s an opportunity to improve myself.

One time, I was called but somebody else was asked to read my paper. I was criticized for using the phrase “the smell of coffee,” they said it should be “the aroma of coffee.” They also hated me for using the words “I love my kid sister.” They said that is American slang so they changed it to “I love my little sister.” On the other hand, the girl who read my essay was criticized for pronouncing the word “behind” as “bi-hayn,” they said the correct pronunciation is “ba-haynd.” Whatever. She was also corrected for reading “Missouri” as “Miswari.”

If you have noticed, this post is really not about my favorite animal. But in case you are interested to know, giraffe is my favorite. Photo by F.R. Munich, Germany.

A secret blog

Last month, I was itching to write something very negative in this blog but my instinct was warning me I’m going to regret it in the future. Something very personal happened and I’m not supposed to write anything too personal in this blog and so I created a secret blog where all my evil clandestine thoughts will be expressed. I wanted to get a new domain but since I couldn’t afford one at the moment, I decided to sign up for a new WordPress account.

I had this weird idea of writing letters to myself. So all my 6 posts there start with Dear Me and end with Kind regards, Me. I write pretty much about intimate things like what irritates me, what makes me happy, people I hate, people I love, etc. Basically this clandestine blog means freedom to me. I can say whatever I want just like in Manila Street. No limitation. No restriction. No reservation. It’s just me documenting my life in details. Not that anyone is interested in reading my life story, I was just thinking it’s a great way to get even.

Reading my posts there, I can’t help but be amazed, not with my writing style, but with the things I said or wrote. Did I really say these things?

Self-absorbed and very stubborn, I find it somewhat difficult to make friends with people. I have my own world.

You see, even if I grew up in Manila, I still consider my self a province girl …

I swear I’d never see them again forever after that stupid payabangang walang kwentang get-together

Truth is, I’ve long accepted the fact that my eyes are too tiny, my nose is flat, the shape of my face is irregular. cheekbones too prominent, and my teeth are crooked.

Keeping a blog helps me get to know myself really well.

The Lure of Blogging

I’ve never wanted anything else but to have my own blog. Okay, aside maybe from having my own online dating site where scammers, RACISTS, and fake people are not allowed to join. I work in a company that publishes journals abroad and I’ve always admired authors who write something worth reading. Basically, having my own blog is an ambition fulfilled, and much more than that Why? Because I get the opportunity to be the author, editor, typesetter, proofreader and QA of my own article, all rolled into one hehe! I feel like I have my own Publishing House with my little blog How cute, right? In addition to that, it also gives me the chance to document my life as the ordinary Manila girl who has simple plans and dreams. I want to write about my thoughts, feelings and experiences so that maybe someday, when I grow old, I’d read again my posts and perhaps I’d ask myself “what the hell was I thinking?” haha! Now, isn’t that exciting? Only one thing is missing though. READERS. What is an article without readers? I am not really after the fame. But I think it would be nicer if someone would be interested to read my posts

Fearless Blogger

It’s been two weeks since I jump-started my blog and I’ll admit it’s not easy being a blogger. It takes good writing skills and also proper grammar in order to produce something worth reading. I don’t have any professional writing/editing experiences but I really want my posts to be written in “good taste” so I’m taking my time before I publish my articles online. Another thing is that I am not well-versed with complicated internet terms such as pings and tags. I am lucky because a new found friend just offered to familiarized me with all these things (Yippie! Thanks in advance Vienna! ). More so, I realized that I should at least have a strong personality to tackle controversial issues, to share my ideas and opinions to everyone without the fear of being criticized. You see, I have a lot of things brewing on my mind. I want to write about my one great love, my family and friends, my work, my favorite things, etc. But am I really prepared to put my private life on display just like that? Honestly, I am reluctant to reveal anything truly personal in my future posts. I get very sensitive when I hear negative remarks about the people and things I love. However, mine is a personal blog so I’ve made up my mind…I’d write whatever I fancy! All I want is an outlet to express myself so why put boundaries and limitations? If in case I’ll receive negative comments in the future, here’s what I intend to do: simply delete and ban the irate sender. I don’t want to engage because if I do, I’ll just end up empowering them. Well, that is “if, if , if and if” somebody would find interests in reading my blog hehe And of course, I’ve heard of bloggers who have become famous and have earned money through advertisements and sponsorhips. Really sounds interesting to me! The thought of reaping financial rewards through doing something I like is really exciting! But I have to keep things real. I’ve just started and there’s still a lot more to learn about professional blogging. I’m not ready yet to take my blog to the next level. In the meantime, I’ll just focus on enhancing my writing skills and on thinking of cool topics to blog about.