Coming Home (a year later)

Wow. Talk about a waste of space. It's been a WHOLE YEAR since my last post here? Tsk. I just think about the time I spent customizing this template and I get disappointed that I don't blog here often enough. 


Oh well. Guess what? I still don't drive!


And since the last post, I've launched two new blogs: The Newbie Photographer, and Between the Covers. Unlike all my previous blogs, these two are more targeted in the sense that they have themes. The first one, obviously, is for newbie photographers. The second, is where my book reviews are at. However, I did share my DC Ranch Scottsdale fantasy on Between the Covers recently too. Hehe.


So what have you been up to? 

Driver's Ed

I talked about getting my own car in my previous car. As it turns out, I need not shell out any money for that. Well okay, I'm not technically getting my own car, but it seems that I will have one at my disposal should I need it.

My dad got himself a bigger car (an SUV), but he decided not to sell the sedan. So I am planning to take driving lessons so I can drive. I don't plan on taking it out everyday, even when I finally learn to drive. Probably just to work occasionally, or when I'm really comfortable in my driving skills, to drive for the weekend or something.

But I gotta learn how to drive first, and that's one big challenge.

And it costs money too. I can't count on my brother to teach me, he has no patience with me. We tried that once and he gave up! haha :)

My Own Car

I wonder when will this happen? When will I ever get my very own car?

Last week on Executive Class, a TV show on ANC, they featured the Toyota Hybrid Prius among other high end cars. My dad and I watched closely and he started talking about how the Prius would be perfect for me. Yes, I agree. Until we heard the price tag - 2M pesos. No way.

One would think that being eco-friendly, such cars like the Hybrid Prius should be more affordable. Unfortunately, the car importers don't get any tax incentive for bringing in cars like these so it's very very expensive.

Then we talked about other small cars that may fit my budget more. Still, I don't think I can afford a car with my lifestyle. I'd have to do a lot of scrimping to make the monthly payments. Hehe.

Lately, my brother and my dad have been discussing getting another second hand car. This time they're interested in finding an SUV/AUV. I don't know if they will actually get one, but it won't be a third car so that their current used cars would go to me (like I'm next in line, haha). I think it will be bought to replace one of theirs, and then they'd sell one of the Toyotas.

So, no hand-me-down car for poor old me. Haha!

Setting up new blog?

I am thinking of building another blog (I know, don't I have enough). But I really feel strongly about setting up two additional blogs. Those two would be niche blogs, as in I will only be speaking of something specific rather than the mixed bag I have in my other sites.

Before I set them up though, I must consider a couple of things. Do I self host them? If so, I need to check out good webhosting plans and also decide if I'd sign up for a new one, or just add on to the existing one I have for my other sites. I'm even thinking of setting it up in Blogger and just signing up for a domain name.

There are really a lot of things to consider before setting up a blog or a website and deciding on webhosting is definitely one of the most important steps, next to picking out domain names.

Nothing to say and a Freebie find

I haven't posted to my main blog for two days. So what right? Well, I normally always have something to say and I rarely hesitate to say it. On other days I have photos that I'm aching to show. These past two days though...

It's not that there's a lack of things to discuss. There's MJ's and Farrah's passing. There's the first H1N1 death in the Philippines. There's definitely a lot more worthy news, then there's also personal stuff I can talk about (it is a personal blog after all).

Ahhh...

Anyway... I started browsing through some of my favorite digiscrap blogs and from KimB's I got a link to this beautiful freebie minikit made by one of her friends:

It's from LouCee creations, and you grab the freebie kit at her blog.

It's lovely isn't it?

Billiards hangout

Earlier this month, while at SM North's The Block, we saw the world pool championships for women. Little did we know that a Pinay will be winning that tournament, besting billiard athletes from the world over.

To be honest, I could care less for the event - I am not a billiards fan. But only because I don't know how to play billiards. I remember one time hanging out with Alfred at his old barkada hangout right beside Adamson and they were playing billiards. All I could remember is the smoke and the heat inside the place. Unfortunately. Haha.

Oh but of course I was the ever supportive girlfriend watching at the sidelines. :)

Recently, I read a blog post linking to this online venue for multiplayer games,8c1.net.http://www.8c1.net. It's a virtual hangout to play billiards with friends. Why not? :)

Project 365 Themed Kits

So I posted about the Project 365 Themed Kits available in the DigiscrapAddicts So you think you can design? contest over at my other blog.

Today though, as I was downloading away, I saw Monica's entry and it is such a wonderful freebie! P365 stuff in ten languages!  Definitely there's gotta be something there for everybody!

Go to the forum (register if you're not yet a member) and download it here!

LIke I need more books

I know I've still got piles of unread books but there's just more that I'm interested in getting:

• Showing up For Life by Bill Gates, Sr.
• The Little Black Book of Style by Nina Garcia (who would ever thought I'd be interested in this one, huh?)
• Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (the audio version isn't working for me even if I love listening to her voice)

I guess I'd better get on to reading the ones I have so I don't feel so guilty getting new ones...

Heavy traffic

No one wants heavy traffic on the streets, specially not when you're running late for an appointment or for work.  But all website and blog owners work to some extent just to get heavy traffic to their sites.

I used to not bother, and I think that when I wasn't making any reall effort, my second blog flourished and earned page rank without me even knowing.  But because I wanted to earn more online, creating traffic became important. 

I've joined a couple of communities with the hopes of increasing visitors to my site, while I refused (until very recently) to spend any money on advertising.  But lately, I've seen how advertising really can up your earning potential and that there's always a package that suits your needs. There are many online marketing services out there, you just need to do your homework. 

There are different ways of advertising too. You can just post links on forums and other sites, you could serve ads too.  One thing I haven't really tried is SEO marketing. I think that requires some expertise and though I'm familiar with it, I don't think my blogs have a dedicated niche that I can take advantage of SEO.

Photo Sharing

At work, the new Friendster is not Facebook but Windows Live. It's become an addiction for many of our agents because it's accessible through the corporate firewall. 

I've recently posted my so-called self portraits and added a link to a slideshow from a blog post I did the other day. The slide show feature is amazing!  Some time ago, I made a decision to upload photos in Multiply, but I've found that uploading is so much easier in Windows Live. 

I posted another set of random photos, some taken by me, others by the boyfriend.  Officemates also take credit for some of the beautiful ones. My Maxine has been held by so many hands in her first week, she's made so many people smile, both in front and behind the lens.