Photo Hunt’ s Theme today is Metal. The most obvious symbol of the Amish is their horse-drawn buggy which is made of metal.
I took shots of this buggy as my brother and I checked out a harness shop at the Amish/Mennonite Community in Jamesport, Missouri last month. I saw a lot of the Amish and Mennonite people and of course we saw many horse and buggies along the way.
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Update at the end of this entry
It is rare for me to rant in my blog unless of course, there is a positive resolution in the end. I also believe that when I have problems with services or products, I give the business owners or officers a way out. Ranting without doing anything about it is just not my cup of tea. In most cases, my bitch powers work and I often get satisfactory results. Being married to a lawyer, I often hear my husband say that one should try amicable settlement before filing a suit. Our courts are swamped with thousands and upon thousands of court cases that have yet to be resolved years later.
I also don’t believe in pulling strings to get my message across. I feel that one should start with the persons involved before bringing it to the highest officer or persons involved in my complaint.
I am into blogging for many reasons like all bloggers have their own reasons. I am in it for the long haul. Yes, I can be opinionated but it’s all part of being a blogger. I make a stand whether it is popular or not. My entries may have hurt a few bloggers and readers. I apologize (when given the opportunity) when feelings are hurt but it doesn’t mean I don’t stand by my entries.
I don’t even claim to be a good person. I am a mainstream blogger trying to make herself a better blogger and person and I fail sometimes. I am not afraid of failure. Pain is a wonderful teacher. I don’t pretend to be nice either especially when I summon my bitch powers to get what I want. I am firm when I know I am right. I admit when I am wrong. I can be civil even at the heat of an argument but I will never act like a palengkera (loudmouth) about it. It doesn’t mean I have not learned from my mistakes. Recovery from unhealthy behavioral pattern is a work in progress and I am not making excuses about it.
Reading Darren Rowse’ Psychology of Blogging affirmed my belief that bloggers should not just know the technical side of blogging. One must be able to stay on track, stay committed and hopefully stay sane. Reality is, not everyone will like you. The more high profile you are, the more the criticisms. The more successful you are, the more some people will want to see you fail. One of his tips is Develop a thick skin which I am quoting here . The bold highlight is mine.
If there is one place I want to add to my Europe Travel destination list, it would be Sabrosa, Portugal. Imagine rolling hills of vineyards and most importantly, a shared history. Let Butch , my husband and guest blogger, elaborate.
A Common Past, A Promising Future
So why should you subscribe to my weekly newsletter when you are already subscribed to my blog? Isn’t it redundant?
Before I encourage you to subscribe to my free weekly email newsletter, let me bring you back to Janette Toral’s commendable project, Philippines Top 100 Blogs for 2008. Unfortunately, I did not make it to the event but she sent a series of interview questions like What have you done this year for your blog that contributed to its growth?
I’d rather measure my blog’s growth to the rewards reaped from my blog’s goal than statistical measurement. Sure there was a rise in subscribers and readers but if there is one thing that touches my heart, it is Saving a life. Strange that this should come from a blog that promotes grief support in the Philippines but I figured that I can do both, save a life and comfort others.
I received an email from someone thanking me that my page on Suicide Prevention saved the life of his friend. The thing is the Suicide Prevention page was more for parents , health practitioners and educators to help prevent suicide deaths. Never did I imagine “suicide thinkers” to actually research on dying by suicide and re-think their plans.
Oh the irony of Enfakid A+ Milk Formula with Nourishing the Brain and the Pursuit of Excellence!
Milk Formula Manufacturers are quite aggressive in their marketing campaign that they are not checking their “trying to be smart” ads. Blooey first pointed out the Enfakid Milk Ad as shown in the Inquirer (Page D3, October 22) and I want to re-post the photos and explanation below.
Flap opens to…
And then the milk formula in the corner.
Their ad further shows that
Your child can learn, discover and imagine far richer with Enfakid A+. Now with enhanced DHA levels that help brain cells communicate well to support your kid’s rapid mental development. Nourish the brain. Pursue Excellence”.
Meet Casey, one of the first generation net kids. If you have read my daughter’s blog (then online journal) when it started in 1996, then you might have met Casey in a few of her entries. Casey is not his real name. I first met Casey and a few of my daughter’s online friends in 1996 because I was an internet safety head of World Kids Network. Back when modems were cranking screeching noises and webpages screaming with blinking fonts, I was a Web 1.0 designer where I built hand-coded HTML pages as the structure to house the content of our websites. I didn’t have an online journal. I thought it was for kids. Lauren and Casey were one of the few kids that started an online journal in 1996.
In the photos are FUTURE Bloggers who are active Filipino American leaders such as Yolanda Stern (President, Federation of Philippine American Chambers of Commerce), Jose Pecho (Chair, Regional NAFFAA Northern California) Larry Flores (Seattle Transportation), Maurese Owens and more!
My sister, Lorna, is quite active in the Filipino-American community . It is no wonder that she initiated a workshop, How to be a ““Techy” Non Techie with Internet and Technology Tools to Effective Communication for the National Federation of Filipino American Associations’ (NaFFAA) 8th Empowerment Conference in Seattle on September 26-28. The goal of the workshop was to provide a quick overview of “techy” stuff for the emerging or seasoned community leader to complement their grassroots efforts in advocating social change by using some of the exciting and simple internet and technology tools.
The thing was she didn’t feel confident about the blogging part. I taught my sister to blog in 2004 even way before I started my personal blog but she felt I could best handle the techy part.
