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Bo Sanchez interviews some bloggers

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Watch this video interview (Bo’s Daily Reality TV show) of Bo Sanchez with bloggers, Jun , Sorsi Aileen Apollo of Google Philippines and myself, during Saturday’s Blog Parteeh ([tag]blogparteeh07[/tag]) .

onetruelove.jpg In the video, watch as Jun ‘s vision for his blog is to spread the Good News of Jesus to just one blogger who in turn will reach out to another blogger. Imagine how Jun has reached out to Sorsi by recommeding the book, “How to Find your One True Love” by Bo Sanchez. Also in the same video, Sorsi tells Bo how the book made her re-examine her life to the point that she resigned from her current job to one with more responsibilities and leadership. Aileen Apollo discusses that her job at Google was God’s gift to her.

Bo’s site says:

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Blog Parteeh 07 Photos

I was so utterly busy so forgive me for the delay on the Blog Parteeh Aftermath ([tag]blogparteeh07[/tag]). Thanks to the Steering Committee. It was well organized considering we had barely two weeks to put it all together. This means we can really pull a party together in few weeks notice. I heard the next party is on June since there is an Iblog Summit 3 on April 13 and 14.

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The highlights according to me:

1. I won a Google T-shirt thru the kindess of Aileen Apollo, Google Philippines Country Consultant, which I in turn gave to my husband.

2. My daughter, Lauren finally joined the party but she was sooooo fashionably late. Thanks to her dad. I think she enjoyed
herself much as she thinks that she got stressed out.

3. I had fun even if I was the oldest among the bloggers. Haha! I felt like a Mother Hen making sure the tables, chairs, decors and food were all in place.

4. Abe treated the Steering Committee to coffee after the party.

5. Bo Sanchez interviewed me via a video podcast. Wow!

6. Even with less than two weeks preparation time, the event was quite organized. Kudos to Carlo, the logistics guy in charge. And the Steering Committee:

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Blogger Meet-up at Blog Parteeh! 2007

Being 25 years older than the average aged blogger (who are usually mid twenties), I discovered that my age is meaningless. Enjoying the company of bloggers even makes me feel ageless. It tickles me that I am NOT referred to as MAAM, Ate, Mrs. Dado or respectable titles like that. I am just plain Noemi to bloggers. I get a kick everytime Abe, Gail, Jayvee etc. calls me by my first name. See, I feel old when I am addressed as Maam. I cannot imagine a blogger calling me “Maam”. I’d rather combust. That’s how different I feel when I am among blogger friends.

I am digressing. This post is supposed to promote the next blogger meetup which is the Blog Parteeh! 2007

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The Blog Parteeh! 2007 is the largest blogger meet-up ever organized by bloggers for bloggers. The Steering Committee has worked so hard to organize this event and find sponsors. So, to make the process of joining the event more interesting and spicy with a bit of a buzz, read how you can be part of this parteeh!

What: Blog Parteeh! 2007
When: January 27, 2006 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Where: View Map
6th Floor (Poolside Area)
Classica Tower 2 Condominium
HV dela Costa St., Salcedo Village,
Makati City 1200

Without gracious sponsors , the party would have not been possible.

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Street Dancing Traffic Cop

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Meet Traffic Enforcer Noel Quilatan. Every morning on my way to the gym at The Fort, Taguig City, Noel is a sight to behold amidst the magnificent skyscrapers in the background. His cheery disposition lifts my spirits for the day and revs me up for my daily workout. You will find the Noel at the intersection of Mckinely Road, Makati and 5th ave of the Global City. What makes this traffic enforcer different ? Well for one, his traffic signals are choreographed to his own rhythm. It’s unlike other robotic traffic cops you see waving hand signals here and there. He executes slick dance steps unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Second, his sunny smile beams all day after hours and hours of dancing to the tune of traffic stop and go.

My husband surmises that Noel might be crazy. His reasoning “How can anyone smile all day handling Manila traffic with the tropical heat hitting on you? One has to be crazy to beat all that.” That got me thinking. Is Noel crazy? Or does Noel just have high endorphin levels? Or is he just enjoying his job? And again, I remember a series in Grey’s Anatomy where a woman was found to have high endorphins due to a brain tumor. I brushed my husband’s theory aside. Maybe he is just born with a positive spirit.

Noel is quite popular with the Makati and The Fort residents that he even got featured in Ms. Vicky Morales “Wish ko Lang”, a wish giving show. Surrounded by stuffed toys given by generous motorists, Noel’s wish was to see his mother whom he hadn’t seen in years. Noel could have asked for material gifts but he preferred to be with his mom. With tears streaming down his cheeks, Noel’s wish was granted.

I wish I had taken a video of Noel’s dancing moves . Here are a few photos posted by European websites:
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Hearts shoots up at the World Pyro Olympics 2007

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Imagine eating grilled prawns or even Angus steak amidst sparkling heart-shaped fireworks. Just add wonderful company to that scenario. What a perfect night to watch the World Pyro Olympics between Germany and the United Kingdom. It’s my first time to witness such a grand display of color and lights. The event was even more meaningful when I met up with famous adventurous blogger, Anton , problogger Abe together with Anton’s friends or followers (?) like Tanya, Brian, Ivan, Sam, and I forgot (sorry guys forgive me for my frail memory) at the Highland Steak , SM Mall of Asia. The plan was to take photos at the venue proper but Anton wanted a change of scenery. Dining at the second level where Highland Steak House is located proved to be an advantage. The spectacular view of the World Pyro Olympics was simply amazing. My point and shoot Canon Powershot A710 IS does not do justice to the spectacular fireworks. The captivating colors turned up overly exposed and white. Frustrated at my futile attempts to take great photos , I ended up taking short videos which I uploaded to youtube such as these.

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How to Promote your blog: Personal Blogging Experience Part 1

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I got invited as a resource person for the Digital Filipino’s Blogging and Social Networking Forum which was held at the swanky Microsoft office. My topic was Personal Blogging Experience. What great timing. Just a few days ago, an old office mate, Myrna Co dropped by to ask questions about blogging. You know, back at the old days when I was a researcher for UP Institute for Small Scale Industries, my research had to pass through the scrutiny of our editor, by who else, Myrna Co! I was always amazed at how my writing ended up so well-polished for publication. How I admire writers ! So I was pleased when she finally started a blog niche on retirement and growing old. It got me inspired to share the little knowledge I have of my 10 month blogging experience to others who are just starting.

A common question, and asked by my friend Myrna: ” how do I get people to go to my site, apart from begging my friends and relatives.?” When I started my blog, I wanted people to visit me. How else can I promote my advocacy if no one reads my blog? How else can I reach out to bereaved family members if they don’t know about my mission? I developed strategies to drawing in visitors. These [tag]Promote your blog[/tag] ideas are not original but they worked for me.

1. Write/show (not just tell) my unique experience and topics close to my heart.
Use senses (smell, taste, touch, sight, ) to show an entry. Without sounding sappy or appearing like a victim, I illustrated my grief journey with a few emotional insights. I’m sorry if I made some of you cry. It really wasn’t my intention.

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The Death of a Child

angelPyro died. Another child left too soon. I only found out today about Pyro’s death. I wished I had been there for his wake. For the past 11 months since I discovered Mec’s blog on her pain over Pyro’s illness, I longed for a miracle, hoping against hope that Pyro would make it. It reminds me of that fateful day when I thought Luijoe would also wake up from his unconsciousness. We always hope. We don’t give up. I can’t help but tear over Pyro’s fate. Just a month earlier, Pyro had been treated for germ-cell carcinoma, an already rare type of cancer, only to have doctors abroad find that what he actually had was Ewing’s Sarcoma… a rarer type of cancer. Despite having lost a child myself, I cannot say that I truly understand their pain. Pyro suffered for more than one year battling the ravages of a tumor that pressed on his heart and lungs. My Luijoe died a sudden death.

I cannot imagine their emotional roller-coaster of hope and fear: surgery or drug therapy may bring remission, a welcome period of normality and expectancy that the worst is past, only to have our hopes dashed as symptoms return with renewed intensity. The pain is unimaginable, unspeakable and excruciating.

Mec, the loving aunt of Pyro writes eloquently of her grief and her love for her nephew. Their grief journey has just started. For newly bereaved family members, everything has changed since the death of their child, especially their priorities. What was once so important is now comparatively trivial. What once gave them pleasure now feels somehow significant. Rather than make plans for a ‘new, year’, there are many who must learn to live with what has now become for them the ‘new normal.’

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Firecracker Blast Greet our New Year 2007

firecrackers[tag]Happy New Year[/tag] [tag]2007[/tag]. My ears are still ringing from the din of our neighbors merriment. The house across our home were filled with party revelers spewing [tag]firecrackers[/tag] blast and [tag]fireworks[/tag] display starting at 9:00 PM till midnight. It’s been a long time since I’ve inhaled so much toxic smoke considering the village we live is relatively peaceful. Next year, I should remind myself to check in at a hotel to avoid this racket. The street looked like a warzone with debris of the fireworks strewn all over. The firecrackers’ explosion created so much noise I could barely hear anyone beside me for the whole duration. The girls were furious and scared of the noise. I mean , we can take in some noise but these were like total destruction to our eardrums. While taking the video, sparks flew towards our front porch hitting me on my arms. That’s how powerful it was. Listen to this nerve-wracking firecrackers explosion.

Our celebration is so tame compared to our neighbors. Here are videos of our fireworks

1. Serenity fountains,
2. Dancing Dragons
3. Angels in the Sky (mini rockets) and
4. Peacock fountains.

I placed the garden hose beside us just in case the fireworks go haywire.

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Christmas Blogger Meetup

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Like Abe mentioned in his blog, it was the longest EB ever for me. I went home midnight. I thought I was only going to stay for 1 hour. Anyway, thanks to the following bloggers for the goodies and treats.

Marc and Gail for the candy treats and bookmark calendar
Aldrin and Leah Santos for the pens
Abe Olandres for the Ploghost polo shirt , and Indonesian magnet
Ajay for the playing cards and coffee buns.

blogger meetup

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Happy 10th Year Blog-sary

laurenIt’s December 22, 1996. My 10 year old Lauren sick with asthma comforted herself by writing her first journal entry at personal website at the worldkids.net project. Inspired by an online friend, Hayley , she started “Lauren’s Journal”. It continues to be shown at the worldkids.net because the domain owners believe it is a lifetime project. I mention “journal”. In the Web 1.0 era, blogging was unheard of. Instead, we saw personal home pages, the personal diary and daily opinion column. One of the most highly touted features of the Web 2.0 era is the rise of blogging. At its most basic, a blog is just a personal home page in diary format. For clarity sake, I now refer to it as a “blog” . They say Lauren is the First Pinoy Blogger.

I can’t help reading her archives and smiling at her childlike qualities. In all her 10 year old innocence, she still believed in Santa Claus…

Finally….the moment I’ve been waiting for. It’s already 8:00 and my mom and dad will soon pick my grandparents up. Then we will go to Midnight Mass and eat our Christmas dinner. And we get to open one present. Oh yeah, might as well sleep in the couch tonight so I can catch that Santa guy!

In those days, there were less than 20,000 internet users in the Philippines. Basically, it was new and alien. I think people do get especially worked up for some reason over the Internet. Internt transformed a fear driven society close to absolute paranoia where it was unhealthy to expose oneself online. “Loser”, “Loner”, “Geek” are words often used to describe the internet users. Lauren and I received so much criticism due to our internet presence. Here is one painful encounter from her English teacher culled from one of her entries…

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a mom blogger who advocates constructive engagement in issues on family & society.
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