Boy Oh Boy!

Dear Neglected Blog,
Hi, how are you? So sorry I haven't updated you in a while. Well, a baby shower cake was the last cake I made this month before I lost my sense of humerus a second time. Translation: I redislocated my shoulder. I am sorry it took me an injury to remember your existence. Isn't it ironic?
But check out the tic-tac-toe tiled icing on the sides:

I went to the Philippines last month for a two-week vacation, right smack when the rainy season started there. I got to stay in the Eastwood area the first week. It seemed I ate somewhere everyday, but it also meant meeting family and friends again...including two who were pregnant. I tell ya, 'tis the season to be having baby boys!
I purchased an iPad and I've been wifi-hunting with it wherever I go. This is actually my first blog post using my iPad which is quite challenging, especially photo-editing on flickr with Aviary (it used to be Picnik, but they've closed basket...I mean, shop.).
The doctor wants me to remain sling-bound for another two weeks. I look forward to be able to dance again, and bake again. And get a healthy dose of *his* smile again.

And The Winner Is....

I would like to thank the people who took part in my blog anniversary giveaway, especially the comments you shared. I am touched. I knew one of you was going to mention the pesky pop-ups! Haha.

It's nice to know what people think about how I blog and what similar interests we have. We write blogs to confirm that we saw things, experienced things, and want to preserve them in a way that would nudge other kindred spirits online. Because online, it really is a small worldwideweb, after all.

And now, as promised, here's the lucky winner of my prize package as chosen by Random.org:

 

Congratulations, Mr. Sidney Snoeck! I don't know if he wouldn't mind getting my girly loot as it does not include any Epson printers, but I'm sure he has someone to give them to if he chooses to receive them! :)

My Tenth Year of Blogging

Time really flies. And time has swifter, WIFI wings ten years since I first started this blog.

I named this blog "Writings on the Wall" partly because of Madonna's "Live to Tell" song which has the lyrics "Too blind to see the writing on the wall," and partly because blogging is essentially writing, albeit on a wall located on the world-wide-web. This was way before Facebook "Walls" existed.

My blog URL is prefixed by "Fairywinkle," partly because I am fond of faeries, and partly because I think "periwinkle" is a magical-sounding color name.

I've had multiple blog existence in such other platforms as Xanga, LiveJournal, Buzznet and Multiply (basically just a mirror-site of my Blogspot blog), but this is the one that really stuck. It's like my favorite pair of shoes. My ballet flats. Worn-out, but comfortable. At some point so soiled that the airport security lady in Japan tossed my shoes in the x-ray bin with disguised disgust. Haha!

Back then, Blogger was a company of its own; now it's absorbed by internet giant Google. Mostly everything is now linked with Google, even Feedburner.

Back then, I was blogging mostly in the Philippines, as that was where I still was physically. Our internet was the dial-up kind, the type that enslaves your phone line everytime you need to go online. It was slow and we couldn't make phone calls. Primitive times! But let me proudly say, though, that while internet was "primitive" during those times, we were already texting pioneers with our then-primitive celfones in the Philippines!

Back then, Blogger didn't have a separate title field for your posts, so if you wanted a blog title, it was part of your post's body. Also, for some reason, I had used a different comment form service called HaloScan, which later shut down. This forced me to switch to Blogger's own comment form and all those precious comments just vanished into thin cyber-air.

Back then, I blogged about what my friends and I were doing, and what was happening in school. In fact, my very first post was about my friends and my attempt to form our own little sisterhood (just shortly before we all joined one of the official sororities in the campus):

my friends & i are forming our own sorority. we used to think of naming ourselves "charlynn's angels". we just found out we can be carebears. i'm frustrated that i can't find a wavefile of the carebears theme that i can download instead of just listening to it online.

That's me, a crazy Care Bears fan...still am despite being in my thirties! I remember owning a Panini Sticker Album of the Care Bears as a child. I simply adored how cuddly they were and yet had special powers emanating from their magical tummies. I actually drew ourselves as Care Bears, it's hanging on my bedroom wall, colors unfinished. I'll scan and share it here one of these days. We have our own nicknames, too.

Back then, when I was trying out all these cute blog templates and graphics, I was obsessed with these bouncing blobs called "kao ani". I collected them virtually, saving them in the "My Documents" folder.

Back then, I didn't have a digital camera yet. I shot pictures with a camera that used Advantix film. My first posts were therefore picture-less.

I consider my blog as a yoga mat for verbal calisthenics. I try to steer clear from saying things in a mundane manner. It's also my virtual scrapbook. One day, I'll blog about a television show or movie I fancy, the next day it'll be about postcards or my latest trip. I could have shared so much more photos, so much more stories, but life has a way of getting in the way; or more accurately, having its way.

One of you pointed out how I don't show my face on my blog. Not true! Here I was with a rare photo op with Filipino sexy star Ara Mina. But honestly, I don't like to show my face a lot because I don't want to estrange visitors with my incessant mug shots. I also like to keep my semi-anonymity online.

As of March 7, 2011, here are my Blog Stats:

This is my 1,394th blog post!
I have 19 Google Followers.
I have 87 feed subscribers. The number fluctuates daily, though.
Most visited page: My Litratong Pinoy post on Pan-ay Church. Probably due to students googling church images for their school projects. I hope they're at least acknowledging my blog as their source!

I am just a speck in this big blog universe, but I'm very much a part of it! So I sincerely thank all of you who care to click on my posts and share your thoughts. They're like flake fuel for my fish tank of fortuitously formulated posts; like hydroponics for my growing blog. I am thankful for the blog friendships formed along the way.

THANK YOU for walking down the Gigabyte-Memory Lane with me!

(Tune in tomorrow for the winner of my 10th Blogoversary Giveaway!)

Fortuitously Fabulous 10th Blogoversary Giveaway!

I finally put together my prize package to celebrate my blog's 10th anniversary (March 7th)! The pieces you see reflect bits of my personality, namely, my love of travel, postcards, shopping, cats, and more recently, baking!

I hope you're not too feaked out by my cat's candid paw attack there. She was curious about what I was trying to photograph and just reached out as I clicked the shutter, so there it is. Perhaps she got jealous of the tiny ceramic cat figurine!

Details on the prizes:

-CAT FIGURINE: I love cats. I also love this figurine so much that I have two of it! It's been with me for a looong time. I had bought them with the intent of giving the other one to a fellow cat-lover sometime in the future. I decided to give the other one away at this momentous blogging milestone. Below her butt reads "The Franklin Mint Copyright 1986"

-J. CREW TOTE BAG: I love tote bags, and I love J. Crew, even before First Lady Obama made it famous! I draw photographic inspiration from their monthly catalogs. Sometimes, I just go in their store to get a catalog. Even the one for their "Crewcuts" line. They recently started selling these tote bags! So, tote your books in style with this 100% cotton tote bag with a sassy illustrated print! (Made in China)

-STRAWBERRY APRON: I'm a budding baker and a recent apron aficionado. I want to share my kitchen inspiration with you through this strawberry-print apron from Michaels! I chose the strawberry print because it's the official fruit of my traveling doll, Miss Igorota, who originally came from Strawberry Farm in the Philippines. May this apron inspire you to create something delicious and proudly home-made, or you can also wear it for your crafting hobbies! Or be a trendsetter and wear it as a beach cover-up! The apron is a full-sized bib style apron with an adjustable neck strap and has ties at the waist, and a pocket on the chest. Cotton, Made in China.

-WOODEN JOURNAL: I also collect journals, and write on them! This one has covers made of "eco-friendly sustainably harvested wood" and contains "100% post-consumer paper." I'm the type of person who is recycle-conscious and thinks thrice before throwing stuff away. This cute journal is made in "Homewood, OWLabama" by Night Owl Paper Goods. Write with an eco-friendly conscience!

-TAIWAN SCREEN POSTCARD: One of the most awesome postcards I ever came across! I love postcards and I saw these at the Taipei Airport gift shop on a layover last year. It has a screen photo of tourist sites that's like a film slide, and it has its own stand for automatic display! A picture frame postcard! The photo shows Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall.

-CHICAGO KEY CHAIN: I go to Chicago fairly regularly because we have family there, so here's a quintessential travel souvenir: a key chain!

HOW DO YOU WIN THESE?

Simple! Just leave a comment here answering any OR all of these questions:

1. How did you get to know my blog?
2. What do you like about my blog?
3. What DON'T you like about my blog?

Be honest! Nice things or brutally honest things said do not increase or decrease your chances of winning! Randomizer will do the picking for me!

Just make sure there's a way for me to contact you when you leave a comment such as a Blogger profile or email address. Comments for this giveaway will be accepted until 11:59PM EST, March 7, 2011. Winner will be picked by random and announced on March 8, 2011. Contest open worldwide!

GOOD LUCK!

Blogging on a Bus

...Bound for the Big Apple. Never had web access on my celfone before,
so this is technically my first mobile post for Fairywinkle. When I
get to Manhattan, I'm checking in at a hotel then hop on the subway
to St. Patrick's Cathedral where I need to pray...hard. Summoning
divine intervention to channel Drop Dead Diva-ness. By the way, this
bus stinks.

limited time

i think this beautiful piece of journal art by kathy mccreedy is talking to me.

malaysian masterpiece by mail

oh joy! the hand-made prize i won from emila yusof's wedding anniversary blog give-away arrived in the mail today!

emila yusof is this wonderful artist from malaysia who celebrated her wedding anniversary not too long ago. my wedding wish got chosen and i won the stylish watercolor organizer that she made! and she even included her charming little wooden keychain with a flower painting, and a cute notecard with a special message!

i added some pencils and a favorite pair of thai chopsticks to try the pockets for size....



thank you, emila! terima kasih! i love it!

back to basics

for six dollars, i'm a six-year-old again.

i stared long and hard at this disney princess 35-mm flash camera kit at walmart. it had the red sticker with the price mentioned above, indicating that it was a clearance item. recalling my recent infatuation with lomography and my tight budget, i gave in to the "call of the wallet" and bought this non-digital, non-lomo camera...for myself.

i figured that a good photographer should be versatile, able to take great photos no matter what camera is used. i want to retrace my 35-mm roots (man, it seemed so long ago!), and i have plans of experimenting with it: maybe attach a colored cellophane over the flash to mimic colorsplashing, and maybe smudge the lens a bit to simulate lomo-ness. i read that somewhere online. call me cheap, but i call it--improvising. haha! (my sister just rolled her eyes in disbelief)

and besides, i couldn't resist the cuteness factors: pink, disney princesses, and a heart-shaped shutter button! and it all came with a 24-shot kodak film, AA battery and a square photo frame! haha! i'm a princess, too--princess "fee-yawn-ah!" i come from the kingdom of shoot-a-lot!

wonder how long this camera is gonna last with me. haha.

and what a royal coincidence, that doll in new york city just got temporarily "dethroned" by the disney princesses. heehee.

ready, set...hibernate!

will be away from blogging for a little while. will "pounce back" before the end of february. in the meantime, why don't you keep miss igorota and the sisterhood company? you'll be amazed at all the places we've been with her. the latest one being this awesome wedding in tagaytay.

i leave you with a photo of my favorite mug, ziggy with hearts-a-plenty from a mailbox. imagine it filled with your favorite beverage. mine is usually green tea for anti-oxidant purposes, but in honor of st. valentine and all things sweet, maybe i should whip up some hot chocolate from the tableas i had bought from south cotabato. that is, if i don't get lazy doing the grinding and mixing in a saucepan. haha.

and oh, don't forget to watch anthony bourdain's "no reservations" on presidents' day, monday, february 16th at 10PM EST on the travel channel!!! (as if my blog's banner doesn't already remind you! haha) augusto (the guy from new york who got to be a semi-finalist in tony's video contest) gets his chance to tour tony in manila! and then there's cebu, too!

and if you want to win an autographed photo of anthony, quickly hop on over to the burnt lumpia blog!

[p.s. the lazy cat is my cousin's in pasig city which i photographed in december '08]

my best birthday ever

after much thought and consideration, i finally decided to join ghee's birthday contest (as she's celebrating her own birthday this month) so i can have a chance at winning her rirakkuma (yes, i'm an adult and i adore san-x! got a problem with that? haha) plushie, which would make perfect company for my afro ken and kogepan plushies (both salvaged at thrift stores--"ukay-ukay"--in cubao).

the lucky winner gets to choose one of these three toys as the prize. (photo by ghee) i have my eyes set on the king rirakkuma one!

her contest requires me to share my "best birthday" memory. i should really put "my best birthday YET" in the title, but i must follow rules. i confess that i already concede to one of the contestants, vanidosa, a barangay captain who celebrated her golden birthday with her entire constituents. how can anyone beat that?

Rules:

1)Write an article, short or long, it doesn`t matter, entitled “My Best Birthday Ever”.
It could be about the present that you had received. It could be romantic, funny, touching/dramatic, thrilling, kinky(hehe) stories or what so ever! Anything will do.Write them in a language that you are comfortable with,as long as we can translate it through the help of babels or any translation sites.

2) Please put this pic above the post as a virtual kiss for you!Thank you in advance for posting.Muah!

3)Link your posts here then let me know if you`re done by leaving me a comment.

http://www.akoni.info/?p=660

********
so anyway, here goes:

milestone birthdays are always memorable. after turning 18, the birthdays that followed seemed like a blur. for filipino girls (unlike here in the states where it's the "sweet sixteen" that matters), turning 18 is a big deal, and i was lucky to have experienced this whole debutante thing as a young lady (then! haha) in the philippines.

my family lived in a small, duplex-style apartment in pasig at the time before the floodings eventually evicted us to higher ground in novaliches. most of my childhood was spent in this three-bedroom apartment while our mother spent most of our growing-up years toiling away in the middle east, then finally, new jersey.

me being the eldest daughter, my parents decided to throw me a special 18th birthday party. why was it so special? my mom flew home from new jersey for this event, bearing little hats turned into birthday favors made by a crafty aunt (also in new jersey) who couldn't make it to my party. the hats had pink ribbons on it that bore my name and my birthday.

speaking of pink, my mom brought me a pink lacy gown to wear for my party! haha. how many times does a girl get to wear a gown for herself (and not for someone else's wedding or a school dance or a costume party) in her lifetime? (unless you're a celebrity, maybe) i can only think of the other instance being her own wedding (unless it's the civil-type). this was a coming-of-age party, so what better way to usher in womanhood than by wearing pink, right? and i had a corsage with orchids on my left hand!

the party was just in our small apartment, but all of my relatives and neighbors that were close to my heart were present. my party wasn't as extravagant as you might imagine, but my pink gown, goldilocks cake with pink icing (and a girl figurine standing on top of a stairway), lechon, home-made food and most of all--my family, made it just perfectly priceless. i mean, even if you took away all the pinkness and left me with just the food (haha) and my family and guests, i would have felt like a princess nonetheless!

i did have my "18 roses" dance...but i ran out of males to dance with me so some cousins and uncles got to dance a second time with me just to complete the ritual, haha.

i looked at my old photo album for this precious birthday moment and saw all the love that surrounded me that day. in every photo with me in it, there was a glow to my smile--not from my pink gown, but from the genuine happiness that i felt.

there were two grandmothers in the photos who have both passed away, one of whom was very dear to my heart and whose funeral i attended just last december in the philippines. i just got teary-eyed remembering how she helped rear me during my childhood.

and so this is my "pretty in pink" birthday memory...a special milestone in my life. it's a little embarrassing sharing something this personal, but that king rirakkuma is beckoning me. haha! (is there a consolation prize?:P)

happy birthday, ghee! :)

material model?

when i picked up this month's catalog for j. crew, i did a double take on the woman on the cover because of her striking resemblance to madonna. or is it just me? (go on, click on the scanned image for a larger view)

she's an older woman, alright, but j. crew sometimes feature older models in their fashion catalogs.

but doesn't this model look like madge if she were much older? (the material girl is now officially a "golden girl.") i mean, this lady also has a gap on her front teeth!

*****

did you know that the stylish wardrobe worn by the obama girls (sasha and malia) at their dad's inauguration was from j. crew's "crewcuts" line for kids? the fashion influence apparently comes from their mom, michelle, who is herself a patron of said clothing store.

news websites also reported that the traffic for j. crew's website skyrocketed the day after the inauguration that their site crashed.

*****
i've been to the j. crew flagship store in manhattan, miss igorota had tagged along.

*****
i came across this website of a j. crew aficionada. i love j. crew, but not to the point of splurging money on it and even owning its stock (as she claims!). haha.

*****
"greece is the word!"

i've used this phrase somewhere before, but i can't really say i was the only one who thought about it, or did so first.

anyway, i like how j. crew goes on different locations for their fashion shoots. here, their wedding section for february was shot in santorini, greece. (click on the scanned image to read the details)

...which reminds me of that richard gutierrez-kc concepcion movie filmed in santorini, greece. i haven't seen it, although we do own the DVD.

i plan on watching "breakfast at tiffany's" on valentine's day. i've bought this DVD from way back and i've never seen it. i did take off the cellophane wrapper last month, which is somewhat of a progress. haha.

litratong pinoy#37:lila (violet)

hindi angkop sa mga bata ang aklat na ito, halata naman sa pamagat, diba? ang librong ito na may lilang letra sa pamagat (na pinalamutian ko ng lilang iris bago litratuhan) ay regalo sa akin ng kaibigan kong malikhain na si gingmaganda, isa sa mga manunulat nito. maaari niyong basahin ang aking munting book review dito, at kung nasa labas kayo ng pinas ay puedeng orderin online dito. (shameless plug na ba? tangkilikin ang panitikang atin!)

at syempre dahil mahilig ako sa bulaklak, eto ang isa pa na "made (este, grown?) in the philippines" sa hardin ng tita ko. medyo nasa "polaroid phase" ako ngayon dahil sa poladroid software na yan. subukan niyo rin minsan, ang saya-saya!

sa larangan naman ng pagkain, ube cake! eto ang birthday cake ng kapatid ko na sinadya pa namin sa jersey city sa pinoy bakeshop doon. walang goldilocks dito sa new jersey, eh...so ito na lang.

nakakita na ba kayo ng lilang manika na igorota? ako, hindi pa, hangga't ipinagkatiwala ito sa akin ni gingmaganda. dinala ko ito pabalik sa new jersey at ipinadala sa isang kwelang ka-blog sa singapore--si the becky--na bagong kasapi ng "sisterhood of the traveling igorota." dalaw kayo doon, ha! samahan niyo kaming mamasyal...salamat po!

i won a national geographic special issue on china

...when i posted a favorite travel memory at dong ho's first anniversary magazine give-away contest!

i'm tickled fuchsia pink because it's the first time i've ever won anything through a blog contest!

*time to do the happy dance!*

i was one of three runners-up by sharing my piat pilgrimage (cagayan valley) story. the highlighted portion indicates the "winning detail." here's what i posted:

"many years ago, two female friends and i just finished a gruelling set of final exams. it was so difficult, we unanimously felt that we needed divine intervention to get passing scores. motivated by the saying, "prayers can move mountains," these two girls decided out of the blue to go to this reportedly miraculous shrine way up in cagayan valley---a place that neither of us has ever been to. i went with them to complete this trinity of travelers on a prayer mission.

we packed our bags with things just enough for an overnight trip, purchased tickets and boarded the little-known bus that travels to piat at its terminal in españa (close to UST, our alma mater), then braced ourselves for the 12-hour ride.

we occupied the very last row, and tried to sleep as comfortably as possible amidst the twists and turns that the bus traversed as it trudged up north. we would sometimes hit each other's heads accidentally while asleep whenever the bus made a sharp turn. the bus driver drove so fast (and it was nighttime!) that it was better to keep our eyes closed. an added prayer we murmured was to arrive in cagayan valley alive...haha!

the next morning, we were dropped off by the "our lady of piat" shrine's entrance. after freshening up, we started praying inside...hard.

lunch was conveniently had at the carinderias nearby, which all seemed to offer the local delicacy, "igado."

in the afternoon, we decided to explore the valley that surrounded this shrine, and descended upon chico river. a very kind local, upon learning that we were "tourists", let us ride on his barge for free to get to the other side of the river and back.

by dusk, we hopped on the bus back to manila and were very proud of our "religious adventure." we went to a very distant location on our own, without any contacts in said place to guide us, nor did we speak the dialects (ibanag, ilocano). total time we spent in piat itself? about 8. total time encased in a bus back and forth? a FULL DAY (not counting the rest stops!)...now that's sacrifice!

it's the "adventure" element that makes a trip special, and of course, the fact that you're with like-minded friends.

we passed the exams, by the way, and graduated together. heaven heard our hail marys. :)"

it's not even the whole story. i left out certain details such as how we felt so far-flung from civilization because our celfones simply had no signals, and how i packed extra fruit cups and vienna sausages in cans to feed my companions for breakfast in the bus (because i sometimes have motherly tendencies like that, hehe) after waking up from a turbulent night's sleep. haha.

but hey, i won! what a feeling! (ala-"flash dance" by irene cara...hahaha)

thank you for choosing my entry, dong!

give blog love on christmas day

thank you, zj for spreading the blog love from phnom penh! or in kep, where you say you're spending the holidays. here in jersey, we're wading through a winter wonderland--or wetland, since the snow has turned into ice.

i'm sending this to msray, mirageasusual, pinaylighterside, & shiera.

Friends, don't forget to:

1) Put the logo in your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who shared it with you.
3) Pass this award to your Blogger Friends.
4) Add your link to the list of participants below.
5) Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

Blog Lovers: 1. Soul Anchor 2. Cookie’s Corner 3. Ane of Life According To Me 4. Tales of a Pinay Single Mommy 5. Girl For All for Status 6. Sasha says… 7. Say Cheese 8. Juliana’s World 9. The Bisdak Experience 10. Mumsified 11. J-B-L-O-G-G-E-D 12. Sreisaat Adventures 13. fortuitous faery 14. YOU'RE NEXT! :)

olga the traveling bra

st. augustine said, "the world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page."

i say, the world is an enormous book, and i think i'm only on the introductory pages!

travel is an inspiring, memorable experience. but isn't it more fun when you have a travel companion, whether human or inanimate?

that's partly why i started "postcards from miss igorota." the reason for choosing such doll is that it's representative of my being filipino (even if i'm not an igorota). and besides, i wanted to put gingmaganda's gift to good use! it's miss igorota or the barrel man (which i also own)! well, i'm pro-woman, so it's miss igorota for sure! and also, you can take a million photos in any given destination, but a travel "mascot" identifies your photos as your very own. anyway, the story of miss igorota is displayed on her blog in case you're interested.

but i never expected to come across a traveling bra! it's a black, lacy bra named "olga." the blog's tagline reads, "keeping the world abreast of all my exciting globe-trotting adventures." haha! imagine the thrill, embarrassment, and hilarity of photographing this piece of lingerie in public places! olga's recent booby adventure is in norway. go, on, i know you want to ogle at olga the traveling bra!

let your technorati explode!

honestly, i never bothered to sign up with technorati until the fabulous feline pusa tagged me. so pardon me if i don't know the numeric significance of one's "technorati authority," but if it promotes blog kinship, then why not?

=============================
presenting a meme from the queen's production:

Is your Technorati number a goner? Then in the spirit of 8 of 2008, let’s see if we could bring it back to life! I have randomly selected 8 bloggers below. Publish this post in your blog and tag 8 other bloggers by simply adding them on to the list. (Do not replace, just keep on adding! Yes let’s hope a long list!) It’s real easy! Tag others and see your Technorati Authority increase exponentially! And what are the benefits of Viral Linking?

- One of the fastest ways to see your Technorati Authority explode!;
- Increase your Google PageRank fast;
- Attract large volume of new traffic to your site.
- Build your community
- Make new friends!

And these are the people who already took part on this tag:
Reyna Elena, Bluep, Kotsengkuba, Jojitah, Pusa, Malen, YoungCanCook, Chuva, Kengkay , Max Female Beauty, Ely, Manilenya, Vanidosa, Repah, Rhapsody, Sherliz, Fortuitous Faery, Bisdak Babbles, Princess Ody, Gingmaganda, GMirage, Celia Kusinera, LittleMsFirefly, Shiela

new york taxi

i've never been in a new york taxi. i always prefer taking the subway because a) it only costs $2.00 each way regardless of the distance (i can hop on a subway and go all the way to coney island with just that $2.00 fare--incidentally, i've never been to coney island, sadly); and b) it's faster because there's no traffic lights underground.

but maybe i should try it at least once sometime just to know what it's like, and to cross it off my non-existent list of things to do in new york city. right now it seems predominantly occupied by a list of broadway musicals to see.

there's a blog by a lady taxi driver in new york called new york hack. ("hack" is slang for cab driver, from the archaic word "hackney.") melissa plaut, the blogger, published a book based on her blog entitled "hack: how i stopped worrying about what to do with my life and started driving a yellow cab." i bought a copy of this book from ebay, but haven't finished reading it. she used to be an office worker in manhattan who decided one day to just become a new york cabbie. and now she's a published author as well.

[photo taken inside a new york souvenir shop along 42nd st.]

the story of miss igorota

once upon a time, there were two bloggers named conniechiwa (fortuitous faery) and gingmaganda. one summer day in march 2008, conniechiwa and gingmaganda met in cainta and the latter gave the former an igorota doll from strawberry farm in benguet as a souvenir to take to new jersey. conniechiwa promised by text that she will take the doll everywhere she goes and christened her “miss igorota.”

it was then that conniechiwa decided to turn her doll into her travel mascot, inspired greatly by the following:

-the traveling gnome in the movie “amelie”,

-the traveling domokun doll in ljcfyi’s blog,

-the lonely planet guide to experimental travel (bought on sale at national bookstore), chapter on mascot travel.

-the need to alleviate the frustration of not having her self-portrait at tourist destinations.

this photoblog was launched as a collaborative pet—er, doll project by the abovementioned bloggers. gingmaganda suggested that we create at least 500 unique travel photos featuring our igorota dolls to promote travel photography and perhaps even tourism to benguet province—native home of these dolls.

we invite you to watch miss igorota as she journeys to different places! we will appreciate your cheering us on! :)

visit miss igorota at http://missigorota.blogspot.com!

blog awards

from doi:



from mommyba:



from odette:



from msray:

meme meme bo-beme, banana fana fo-feme...

i'm responding to miss lynn's tag, "why do i blog?"

seems like a simple enough question that you can ask any blogger out there, but i find myself pondering the essence of my existence in the blogosphere.

well, like any answer to a "why" question, let me start with "because"....

i blog because it allows me to exercise my thinking skills while i stare at the computer screen (sorry, i'm just not into sudoku! haha), putting my thoughts to keyboard, and then eventually sharing it with the entire cyber universe. i like to think of my blog as the online version of my regular, made-of-paper journal, but i must confess the contents of both are not always the same. there are private musings and records of daily experiences i'd like to keep to myself, and then i'd like to hand it down to my future offspring, if i am to have one.

i blog because everyone seems to do it nowadays (i started blogging in 2001)! it's another medium of communicating and interacting with others. i also love reading other people's blogs, taking delight in peeking into how they go about their daily lives in their part of the world. blogging is entertaining and informative...it's the cyber version of comfort food and a mug of hot chocolate on a cold winter night, although i still prefer the real thing! hehe.

i blog to keep note of the random things that pique my interest, even if they're not always significant to others. hey, that's why it's MY blog in the first place!

i blog because it's a way for me to share my digital photography of things around me or places i go to. i blog because it's a fun stress-reliever and a worthy excuse to go online. :)

********

Here are the guidelines from Monday Morning Power:

**Start Copy Here**

We have a voice;
We must be heard;
Therefore we blog;
Now spread the word!

This directory is based on a recent post that was conducted asking the question “Why do you Blog?” and the rewrite “Why do you Blog? - Reworked.” The purpose of this directory is to tell our tales by spreading the reasons that we blog to as many sites as possible. We get to explain ourselves, direct traffic to our site and highlight our most important, most representative or most relevant post in an SEO favorable format. This will be a positive experience for everyone who wants to get involved. This will enable you to create a short advertisement for your site that will be spread across the blogesphere; a growing directory of blogs.

This is an open directory. You do not have to be tagged to join in. All you have to do is follow the rules.

Please let me know when you have added your site by leaving a comment on “Master List” with a link to your post. This will insure an up-to-date list, giving you even greater distribution. You then need to copy the growing list back to your site on a regular bases.

Rules:

1. Copy this post from the very beginning through **End List Directory** and place it in your archives (back date it so that it does not appear on your front page. This list is too long for your front page.) Title this post "Spread The Word" Directory
2. Copy from "**Start Copy Here**" through "**End Copy Here**"
3. Paste into a new post
4. Create an inventive post title
5. Write a brief introduction to the post.
6. Before “**End copy here**”, please add your name, site name (with link), a very brief description (2-3 sentences) of why you blog, and your most important, most representative, or most relevant post (with link.)
7. Create a link from the end of your new post to your archived Directory (Ex. "Click here for complete directory")
8. Tag others to participate. This is a request, not a requirement.
9. Leave a comment and a link to your post on “Master List.” That way I can grab your addition and add it to this growing list.
10. Schedule regular visits to the "Master List" so you can copy/paste into your archive, keeping your list current.

***about me: i blog under the cyber-nom-de-plume "fortuitous faery" in writings on the wall, a personal blog i created in 2001. my early posts have been mainly inspired by "bridget jones' diary" and were usually concise and no more than 3 sentences long. i originally blogged in the philippines, but have now transplanted my blogging wand in new jersey (land of bon jovi and campbell's soup). i blog because it allows me to exercise my thinking skills while i stare at the computer screen, putting my thoughts to keyboard, and then eventually sharing it with the entire cyber universe. i blog because i enjoy reading other people's blogs and have found that one can make new friends through it, while sharing one's take on life's everyday surprises, adventures and simple pleasures. i blog mostly about my travels, books and movies that have delighted me, and my life in new jersey. read about my adopted home state in my posts "a sunday in sussex" and "the beach of sand and fog".

**End Copy Here**

whew!!! you can view the complete directory of this meme's participants HERE. oops, my blog is right-click disabled, so please just highlight the text and then press CTRL+C to copy then CTRL+V to paste on your own blog.

finally, i am tagging these fellow bloggers: shiera, mommyba, tinkerkaye, reia and aileen rn! thanks in advance, guys! :)