Manila Mom

Earn Global Online from the Philippines: Paydotcom

2008-03-22T16:22:00.004+08:00

A recommended alternative to Clickbank is Paydotcom. Many of us in the Philippines - and in several other countries, I guess - have been frustrated by Clickbank's continued refusal to give us equal opportunities to earn online from its affiliate program. Now we can say it's their loss.

With Paydotcom, we can now promote a whole lot of products and earn from them. Earnings will be paid either through Paypal or by check. Both are FREE. I mean, you can sign up with Paydotcom for free and start earning from the affiliates you promote. You can also sign up at Paypal for a free personal account. (You can also get a very affordable Paypal Merchant Account to start selling straight from your site.)

I just signed up with Paydotcom. I will soon be writing about their great products. I'll also keep you updated on my earning progress. Stay tuned!

You might also want to check out the following income earning opportunity:

Writers Can Earn Global Online from the Philippines With Constant Content

2008-03-05T03:45:00.002+08:00

I found a new forum for writers to be able to earn online from the Philippines or anywhere with an internet connection. Make that anywhere else in the world. The site I'm referring to is Constant Content.

A writer can register at Constant Content and submit articles, reviews, tutorials or blog entries for sale on the site. There are submission guidelines to be followed concerning the quality, style and format of writing.

Each piece can be sold three ways: through Usage Purchase, Unique Purchase or Full Rights Purchase.

Usage Purchase allows the buyer to use the piece unchanged on only one website or magazine. The piece also it remains on the site for sale to other users.

Unique Purchase means the buyer has sole right to use the piece, but only for sites or magazines that heor she owns. The buyer does not have the right to resell the piece, change it nor claim authorship for it.

Full Rights Purchase makes the piece the property of the buyer. He or she has the right to claim authorship for it, resell it, change it and publish it anywhere.

The writer sets the price for each Usage level for each piece. Once sold, the writer is credited with 65% of that price.

Writers are paid after a 30 day holding period to ensure clearance of payments. That is, provided the writer has a minimum of $50.oo credited to his or her account.

I have registered but still have to start submitting articles. I'll post updates on this venture. Better still, why don't you give Constant Content a try, too?

Earn Global Online from the Philippines: Social Networking at Yuwie

2008-03-05T03:05:00.003+08:00

This is another fun and easy way to earn online from the Philippines and anywhere in the world. It's as much fun and as easy as joining Friendster, Multiply, MySpace, etcetera...except at Yuwie you get paid while having all that fun.

And how do you earn online at Yuwie? Simple. You get paid according to the number of page views you get, including your own visits to your own pages. You also get paid according to the page views received by everyone who joined through your invitation, up to ten levels.

If you have teens at home, I'm sure you know how much time they spend in social networking sites and how many sites they visit. Imagine if you have a Yuwie account and then invite your kids to join, and they invite their friends to join, and so on and so forth. You will be earning online as they stay longer at Yuwie having fun. Are you smiling now?

So put your smooching skills to good use. Try Yuwie. Earn global online.

Trying to Earn Global Online from the Philippines: Falling Flat On My Face Again

2008-01-07T21:54:00.002+08:00

What a laugh! Just shows how out of touch I've been. Thanks to a comment left by April Kerr in the previous post, I learned about the Google PR backlash against paid posting bloggers. My timing for enrolling really sucks, huh?

I was initially asking for advice but after doing some reading around more knowledgeable blogs, I'm taking April's advice and theirs and backing off this venture. Whew! At least I learned just in time, before starting anything I'd regret.

Life in the Philippines: Our Baby Is Now A Lady

2008-01-03T22:16:00.004+08:00

Okay, I'm in stage mom mode again. Do check out the January 2008 issue of Total Girl Philippines, where our youngest is featured on page 49.

I swear I didn't have anything to do with it. She sent in her application on her own and we were just surprised to receive a call for her shoot. Of course, from then on I was totally into it, hehe.

Learning to Earn Global Online from the Philippines: Streamlining for the New Year

2008-01-02T21:22:00.002+08:00

I am embracing 2008 with renewed faith, hope and enthusiasm while taking with me the lessons of the year past.

As I enter the fourth quarter of my first blogging year, I have quite a lot of lessons learned.

First, I now admit that despite best intentions I couldn't keep up with my initial blogging schedule. I wasn't doing much writing offline before and that explains how I was able to write so much online. As new projects and involvements came up, I found that I have set quite unrealistic demands on myself. Many of my blogs suffered.

It was quite a surprise, therefore, that I still received an Adsense payment and am now building up to another payment soon. Not bad in relation to the efforts I have put in.

Of course, not all my blogs earn the same way. In fact, this blog is not even earning its keep. Only a few are self-sufficient and show promise of being consistent producers. These are the informational blogs.

One mistake I made out of sheer enthusiasm was to get all my blogs their own domain names. It wasn't really that big an investment, just $20 for a year of private listing at Yahoo. Some blogs have already earned back the year's cost in the first Adsense check, and continue to earn enough to pay for a second year's fee plus a little more to make the effort worthwhile. The others just have to be canceled, to be reverted back to blogspot addresses.

I am keeping the domain names of some blogs, though, even if they're not "earning blogs." Manila Mom has always been my "flagship" blog and I'm not giving up http://www.manilamom.com/,
no way! I am going to integrate our family blog here, though, instead of having to update 4 Dogs, 3 Pigs and a Family separately.

Likewise, I am keeping http://www.maiajose.com/ and http://www.caferomanza.com/ in relation to my upcoming writing projects even if they do not actually earn as blogs. We'll see this coming year if the projects can support them.

I intend to continue with my experiment. I hope the blogspot blogs still continue to earn even in trickles, at least to cover the previous year's domain costs. Hopefully, in time they may even pull in a profit.

I also intend to maximise those blogs that are performing well. I'll try to at least regularize my postings, even just every other week.

I'm so sorry that I just couldn't bloghop as I used to. Thank you so much to all the online friends I have made who continue to drop by for a quick visit. I'll return the visit soon, I promise!

Here's to joyful beginnings, everyone!!!

Happy Holidays

2007-12-25T13:10:00.000+08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!! :D

Life in the Philippines: History Repeating Itself?

2007-11-29T19:11:00.003+08:00

Media people being taken into custody illegitimately. Curfew being imposed. Our children are getting a taste of what we have gone through during the dark Marcos years. But wait...this has been happening long before today. How many have already been missing or killed? Events are chilling and I fear for all of us.

My Filipino Romance Novel Bukal Sa Dibdib Now Available Free Online

2007-10-01T22:21:00.001+08:00

There was an article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer last Saturday on Bukal Sa Dibdib. No, you won't be able to read the scanned version I have posted here. Sorry. I just couldn't resist putting it on. It's still a thrill after all these years of writing. Of course, I'm extra proud of this material because of its breastfeeding advocacy.

I'm even happier that I have been allowed to make Bukal Sa Dibdib available for free online. Please note that this has been commissioned by the Philippine Department of Health, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Fund for Population Activities. They have had the novel printed in pocketbook form and it is currently being distributed for free in Philippine communities. The latest I've heard is that a second printing is being done.

P.S.

Oops, a reader - Princess - just tipped me off about how clicking on the scanned article actually enlarges it enough to be read. Thanks for that info, Princess. I really am so very tech-challenged.

Life in the Philippines: Writing Offline

2007-09-22T13:15:00.001+08:00

The bad news is that it's been almost a month since my last post. Those of you who have been reading here already know why. It's still the same recovery process. Those who are new here, please scroll to my previous posts if you care to read my previous whinings. I don't have to impose my blues on old readers again.

The good news is that I've been doing some writing offline. I finally started actually writing that manuscript for the new project we hope to launch very, very soon. It's still fiction but no longer romance in Filipino. This time I'm writing speculative fiction in English.

I can't say much yet and I can't stay long here, either. I have to ration the creative juices and, apparently, blog writing dissipates the energy somehow. So I'll be writing here only after I've done my creative writing for the day, and will hopefully have enough energy left. Well, today is an exception. I just finished a story yesterday and this is my day off to play around with the plot of the next one.

More good news, though. "Bukal Sa Dibdib," the romance novel I wrote advocating breastfeeding for the Philippine Department of Health, World Health Organization and United Nations Fund for Population Activities, has finally been printed. It is now being distributed for free in communities. Yippeee!

Life in the Philippines: Speaking at the 28th Manila International Book Fair

2007-08-30T09:32:00.001+08:00

A welcome break from my blues was the invitation I received from Read or Die to be a speaker in their panel on Ang Bagong Panitikan (New and Emergent Literatures) at the Manila International Book Fair Function Room B on September 2 at 2:15 pm. I will be discussing Filipino romance novels. (Oh, the Book Fair is ongoing at the World Trade Center at Roxas Blvd.)

What excites me most are the panelists I will be conversing with: Eugene Evasco on Filipino children's literature, Carla M. Pacis on Filipino young adult fiction, Winton Lou Ynion on Filipino literature in the vernacular, Randy Valiente on komiks, and Glady E. Gimena - a very good friend of mine - also on Filipino romance novels. Check out their profiles. I am really looking forward to a very interesting exchange of ideas.

Everyone is invited to come converse with us. The organizers say it will not be a structured series of talks but an open discussion with the audience. It should be fun.

Also check out Read or Die. According to their emailed invitation, they are "a group of book lovers and readers whose goal is to help invigorate book reading culture in the Philippines through monthly discussions, sponsored talks on reading and literature, establishing social networks with other like-minded organizations, and the advocacy of programs specifically aimed towards promoting literacy and maintaining a high profile for reading for purpose and for pleasure." They "encourage public interest in and and appreciation for different kinds of literature, especially writing produced by Filipino authors." Whether you be an avid reader, a writer, an illustrator/graphics designer or a publisher, this group and their site should be a treasure trove.

Read or Die even put up a special website for Ang Bagong Libro - covering their participation (which is extensive and impressive) in the 28th Manila International Book Fair. My panel is only one of several they are organizing, and I am definitely very much interested in participating in the other discussions, as well, as part of the audience. Check out the topics, panelists and skeds on their site.

Checking In

2007-08-25T11:53:00.000+08:00

I can't believe it's been 15 days since my last post! Things have been quite draining at home and I'm just tired out with no energy left to write anything. Even my email has been left unattended. So sorry, everyone.

Our landlord had to have our apartment unit treated for termite control. For our family and pets' health, we moved to the empty unit next door for several days. This unit just happens to be the one my Mom used to occupy. It's the same unit I didn't have the heart to empty after she passed away last May. My husband, B, had to do the packing. Until now, I still haven't sorted through her things which we temporarily parked at my parents-in-law's place. And then we had to move into her apartment.

True, the landlord has since had it repainted a different color and that helps a little. Still, I find myself quite numb and disoriented. Perhaps it's my psyche applying some self-anaesthesia against pain? It's not just me, either. Our youngest, C3, also cried her heart out on our first night here, and I'm sure everyone in the family has a heavy heart despite the cheering up they try to do for me.

There was nowhere else to go. The moving was tedious enough even just next door - what with all the must-haves of daily life for a family of five with 3 kids in school and 7 pets! And we just brought the essentials. Everything else was just covered with old curtains and old sheets.

And then our apartment unit's second floor boards were found to be in need of repair. So repairs are being made and we had to extend our refugee status.

The only productive thing I'm doing - and my life-and-sanity-saver - is taking care of Belch. It's like taking care of a toddler. When my kids were babies I smelled of baby barf all the time. Now I smell like a puppy all the time!

Life in the Philippines: Thrilled With Our Eldest Daughter's First Professional Byline

2007-08-10T08:56:00.002+08:00

Please indulge this Mom as I once more rave about one of my kids. The August issue of Girlfriend magazine (Philippines) carries an article written by our eldest daughter, The CityLifeStylist. The article is on dealing with the situation when the woman earns more than her man.

I was so excited upon seeing C1's very first byline in a professional magazine. You see, she's just 18 and is still in her third year in Communication Arts and Advertising.

Girlfriend mag has also assigned her to write the cover story for the October issue. Aside from that, a new magazine to be published by Manila Bulletin and called Sugar Sugar has also asked her to write for them.

In addition to writing for print, she has also been asked to write for a new TV program for and by students to be launched by Studio 23.

Multitasking to the max seems to be this young lady's preferred lifestyle. She's also in the dean's list and is a student leader. She's co-head of their radio organization in charge of the in-school radio station broadcasting regular programs to students, and is internal vice president of their Communication Arts and Advertising Society.

Communication has always been her passion. She wrote her first poem at age three. It goes:

Cat I see
Here or there
Happy the cat
There or here

At age six, she wrote:

Life is good
Life is bad
Life is everything

Her younger brother, C2, is two-and-a-half years younger. When C1 was in preschool she taught him to read, write and count. We did not have to teach him any of those. C1 did so well as a teacher that when he was enrolled in preschool he was found to be far advanced for his age in reading skills. He was, therefore, given reading materials already meant for graders.

We think C1 is an old soul sent to be our teacher. We think all three of our kids are old souls sent to be our gurus even as we are tasked to take care of them.

I am awed by my children's gifts and the blessings they are receiving. I am thrilled to see them happily blossoming as they are enjoying the continuous development of their potentials. B and I have really been blessed with these wonderful kids.

Learning How to Earn Global Online from the Philippines: Wacky Mom and Rainqueen21 Tag Me

2007-08-09T21:15:00.001+08:00

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Wacky Mom Ev has tagged me for the 10 Question Interview.

The Instructions: Remove the blog from the top, move all blogs up one, and then add yourself to the bottom.

Homespun Honolulu
Who’s Yo Mama
Life in the Fast Lane
Life is Murphy’s Law
Manila Mom

Coincidentally, Rainqueen21 also tagged me for "If You Have $1,000,000.00..." with the following instructions:

Proposition: If you Have $1,000,000.00…………………………

Requirements: continue above sentence

Tag Mode: 5 bloggers

I decided to combine the two memes in this post. Here are the questions:

1. What were you doing ten years ago?

In 1997 I was going full blast writing romance novels more than anything else.

2. What were you doing 1 year ago?

Among the saddest times in my life: I was mourning my Dad's passing and taking care of my Mom who was already very sick, too.

3. What are five snacks you enjoy?

Nuts, dark chocolate, fresh fruit, vanilla ice cream with corn flakes, chilled soya milk

4. What are five songs you know the lyrics to?

This is weird because I can't seem to retain or even get the lyrics to songs except for oldies that my Mom used to listen to and sing to me when I was very young.

- Stranger In Paradise (She said it was my Dad's favorite. She'd sing it to me almost every night.)

- Love Me Tender

- Wooden Heart (These two by Elvis were back-to-back in a 45 rpm record that my Mom played again and again every day when I was a little girl. No wonder I still can't get the lyrics out of my head.)

- Hawaiian Wedding Song (Obviously, my Mom loved Elvis.)

- Never On A Sunday (Mom considered this a naughty song and was always laughing whenever she sang it to me. I think she said it was sung by Connie Francis.)

5. Five Things You Would Do If You Were A Millionaire/ If You Had $1,000,000.00:

I'm listing the things other than what we would be working for anyway even without those millions:

- Build our dream home with the luxury of space, space, space along with enough storage for all our can't-live-without clutter, an indexed library to keep track of all our books, enough room for more pets, a lawn surrounded by trees, plus adjoining lots where the kids can build their homes later if they want to (I'm dangling free babysitting as bait!)

- Hire a driver so that B won't have to be the one driving all of us around, and so I won't feel so guilty not learning how to drive :)

- Travel with the family every chance we get to see as much of the world as possible

- Set up various sources of passive income to spend as much time as possible just enjoying the family

- Support the education of as many young people as we can

Well, I can dream, can't I?

6. Five Bad Habits:

Hmmm...it's hard to trim the list down to just five :D

- Staying up till almost dawn then sleeping till noon or even past

- Not having breakfast and, sometimes, lunch then eating a lot at night

- Procrastinating when I don't enjoy doing something...like exercise!

- Being oblivious to the world when immersed in a book, and not stopping till I finish it

- Getting lost surfing and enjoying it so much that I forget what I was supposed to be looking for in the first place

7. Five Things You Like To Do:

- Just hanging out with the family
- Pigging out with the family
- Reading (print and online)
- Writing
- Watching movies (theater, dvd/vcd)

8. Five Things You Would Never Wear Again:

- a hula skirt with a bare midriff (Last time I wore this was on stage in high school.)

- hot pants (Again...high school, when I had never even heard of the word "cellulite".)

- skintight clothes (Not worth the extreme dieting and obsessing over every millimeter)

- a girdle (I can't believe I endured this for years.)

- sky-high stilletos (Oooh, i'd still love to wear them but my feet disagree with me)

9. Five Favorite Toys:

- laptop
- Nokia 9500, because it has Word for when I don't have the laptop
- digital camera, for family memories
- TV and dvd player
- our pets!

10. Five Things You Hate To Do:

- Getting all sweaty outdoors (Don't take me camping!)

- Exercise (Even when it's indoors; I only enjoy Fitness First for the sauna and steam room after the workout.)

- Waking up early (I only do it if I really have to, like for an appointment.)

- Routine housework

- Being away from the family, or having any member of the family away - like out of town

Now you know. I'm a lazy family-clinging couch potato!

So let's hear the deep dark secrets of the following bloggers I tag: (You may do just one or both of the memes above.)

Trinity of Female-Gamer
Sandy of PinoyNetwork Blog
Dondi of 99% Wife & Mom...1% Everything Else
Claire of The Sunny Side of Things
Rachel of Heart of Rachel

Life in the Philippines: Being Mom

2007-08-07T17:28:00.001+08:00

I've been offline being a mom. When some sort of crisis hits, blogging just has to take a backseat for a while.

Our youngest daughter, C3, had her 11th birthday last July 28. She was out of sorts during the days leading to her birthday and, at first, we thought it was all because of the rollercoaster of emotions over Li'l Fart. We were hoping that having Belch would help her through.

It turned out that she was getting emotional over something else. It was her first birthday without both maternal grandparents. It was like all her hurt over their passing (May 19, 2006 and May 11, 2007) spilled out.

It wasn't just one dramatic episode. It was more like days of deep sadness and listlessness, very low energy and not knowing what could provide solace.

Perhaps Belch picked up on the general emotions prevailing and he also fell sick, having loose then bloody stools. We were thrown into a panic but, thankfully, another round of deworming and antibiotics worked immediately.

Caring for Belch somehow distracted C3 but I was even more worried because if anything bad had happened to the puppy, she would have been more devastated.

Belch is fine now. C3 is better but we're still spending a lot of time together just hanging out as a family to smoothen any remaining emotional rough patches. It takes a lot of heart to heart talks interspersed with light moments and wacky moments. We go malling, watch movies, eat out, buy dvds to watch at home, stay up late watching them, and spoil the new baby Belch.

She has been absent from school but, thankfully, the home study program is geared toward adjusting to exactly this kind of personal situation. It's not like she has missed anything because she does her modules at home and just takes tests at school.

It's difficult to see your kids hurting. If only we could protect them from feeling these heartaches, but we can't and we shouldn't because it's God's way of guiding them through life's lessons. We can only be with them to softland the pain and share our own lessons learned. In fact, we're also learning together.

These are bittersweet times because through the heartache we feel even closer as a family.

Life in the Philippines: Li'l Fart Is Back With Mom; We Have Belch

2007-07-30T13:31:00.001+08:00

Li'l Fart's mom came back for him and he ran off with her. We followed and saw them turn into an empty lot where a caretaker was also taking care of some free range chickens and roosters. The dogs actually have an informal home there.

Li'l Fart had been having very loose stools since yesterday and we think he will be better off being with his mother and breastfeeding. He didn't like the replacement puppy milk we gave him. He ate the mashed dog food but it didn't seem to agree with his stomach. He also cried every morning.

Since their hangout is just around the corner, we will be monitoring mother dog and pup. When we saw them this morning, they were running around playing after Li'l Fart had fed. They looked so happy at the reunion.

When Li'l Fart is a bit older and weaned and independent of his mom, perhaps we can coax him into the car again to take to PAWS. They can then find him a home.

We had prepared our youngest daughter, C3, for the separation by getting her a dog that she could keep indoors. This was not an option for Li'l Fart because he would be growing to the size of our three other mixed breeds.

Booger (black), Barf (tan) and Poop (white) were housed in a grilled area about 5 ft. x 15 ft. This was just beside our outside kitchen. Technically, though, it was part of the back area of my Mom's apartment unit. When we let go of the unit, we also had to transfer our dogs to a new enclosure that's only some 3 ft. x 12 ft. The three dogs are quite frisky and the largest one, Booger, has the body and heft of a large full-grown bassett hound. The new enclosure will definitely not be able to accommodate another dog.

C3 misses being able to cuddle her puppies indoors. Now she could only pet them in their enclosure. They are too rowdy to be allowed inside.

She has always wanted an indoor dog. One that would always stay small. Since it was her birthday last Saturday, we got her Belch - a purebred three-month-old tricolor Shih Tzu.

Belch is the perfect puppy. So sweet and well-mannered. He barely barks. He loves being cuddled but doesn't complain when put back into his pen which is right in the hub of the household. He just entertains himself with his toy or sleeps. He didn't even cry on his first night with us. And when he sleeps on his back, he looks just like a teddy bear!

C3 still misses Li'lFart so much but Belch is a big comfort to her.

Life in the Philippines: Puppy Love Episode 2: The Soap Opera Continues

2007-07-25T14:31:00.001+08:00

We had a surprise visit this morning. A dirty white street dog came whining at our gate. I was carrying Li'l Fart in my arms and he struggled to get down while answering her cries. I put him down and he scooted out from under the gate and immediately began suckling even as the white dog was still standing. She's his mother!

Oh, she looks very photogenic but she's obviously a stray - dirt-streaked and with some sores. She would clean up very well, though, and she has a gentle look. If Li'l Fart grows up looking like a black version of his mother, he'll be a handsome dog.

The mother dog seems very much at home on the street, even settling down right in the middle of the road to nurse. B and I had to stand guard to redirect any oncoming traffic. She seemed bothered by our presence and moved to the side of the car. We continued to stand guard, though, because they could still be sideswiped.

After the pup had his fill, the mother dog only stayed a few more minutes then casually loitered off. We waited for her to come back but she seemed oblivious of the young one she had left behind. He was left to fend for himself on the street.

Of course, we took him into the house again. Another round of cleaning up with a moist washcloth plus checking for fleas that could have transferred from his mom. He then fell blissfully asleep.

We decided that it would be safer to keep him in the house and just give the mom visiting rights for breastfeeding. After all, we are breastfeeding advocates :D.

Here's another complication: my cousin texted us saying they couldn't take him after all because someone else will be giving them a labrador pup by next month.

Now we need to find another home for Li'l Fart. But we couldn't do it immediately because we'd like to maximize the possibility of extending his breasfeeding sessions with his mother. This will mean more emotional investment on our part and a more difficult separation later.

Now I understand why some people would rather harden their hearts for self defense. Being so open to loving can be quite painful.

Life in the Philippines: Puppy Love

2007-07-24T22:07:00.001+08:00

A telenovela is unfolding in our household. It all began this morning when we found a puppy hiding under the sampaguita bushes outside our gate. We left it alone, hoping that the mother dog would come back for it since the puppy seemed to be a month old at most. By afternoon, no mother dog came.

We couldn't leave the pup out there hungry and thirsty. We were also afraid that it might leave the bushes and be caught by vehicles on the road. So we brought it in. We also let the neighbors know that if anyone came looking for a lost pup, we were temporarily caring for it.

The pup lapped up the milk and softened dog food we gave it. Since he was crawling with fleas, we sprayed him with Frontline - it's safe even for very young pups. Soon he was licking my hands. I then began to pick out his fleas. He loved it. After a while, he was all clean. I rubbed him all over with a moist washcloth followed by a dry one. He snuggled against me.

When a pup snuggles against you and looks at you trustingly with those puppydog eyes, how can you resist falling in love?

The problem is that we already have three dogs and there is no room for another one.

If no owner claims him, we will have to offer him to our relatives and friends. If there are no takers, we will bring him to PAWS for adoption.

My youngest daughter's heart is breaking. She has fallen hard for him already.

We have even given him a temporary name - one that fits in with our three dogs named Poop, Booger and Barf. We call the little one Li'l Fart!

As soon as my husband declared that there was no way we could adopt him, the kids said we should detach ourselves from the puppy. C3 didn't even want to call him by any name anymore.

I could understand her trying to protect her emotions and I feel for her. If only there was a way to keep Li'l Fart. After all, it's her birthday on the 28th and this little girl really, really loves animals. In fact, all our pets (3 dogs and 3 guinea pigs) were her requests. This time, though, it looks like there's no solution to our dilemma. We can only be a foster family for this pup.

I suppose the best thing we can do is find him a really good home where he will be just as loved and cared for. Hopefully, somewhere we can visit, too. I hope one of our close relatives living nearby will take him.

I'm not very hopeful that he has a legitimate owner who will come claiming him. The state he was in doesn't show that he was a house pet. I even have a suspicion that he might have been abandoned by someone whose native dog gave birth to a litter.

I will be asking many questions when someone comes to claim him. I want to make sure that we will not be handing him over to dog traders posing as owners.

In the meantime, I just can't keep my distance. I know I'll be hurting the moment we have to hand him over to someone else but while he's here I can't resist him. He's still looking for his mom and I'm only too willing to stand in for her. Look at him. How can you guard your heart against such a lovable furball?

P.S. Yes! It's just past 1 a.m. and we have already found a home for Li'l Fart if no owner comes to claim him. My cousin who's a real dog lover, and whose dog recently passed away of old age, will take him. They have another dog that he can play with. Of course, I think they'll give him a more respectable new name :D

Trying to Earn Global Online from the Philippines: Schmooze Is Not A Sleazy Word

2007-07-21T16:11:00.002+08:00

I always thought that "schmooze" was a sleazy word. Well, blogger Mike, creator of the Power of Schmooze Award, says the dictionary defines schmooze as "the ability to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.” He adds: "When it comes to blogging, schmoozing is your ticket to making new friends, getting yourself noticed and building a reputation. "

I think I'd rather skip that "in order to gain an advantage" part, thank you. Otherwise, yes, schmoozing does seem to be the way to go to gain blog friends and create a blog network to interact with.

Mike and friend, Danielle, created the "Power of Schmooze Award" to "recognize those people that were exceptionally adept at creating relationships with other bloggers by making an effort to be part of a conversation, as opposed to a monologue...These bloggers have all worked hard to build a reputation for themselves by commenting on other blogs, participating in blogging communities, replying to comments left on their blog and overall just doing their part to interact with other bloggers."

Ah, that's more like it. All above board and wholesome. That's an award I would be proud to receive.

And I did! Thanks to AnitoKid. (Belated happy birthday to his talented daughter, Agi!) He's a master of the art, I tell you.

Our blogs thrive on blog friendships and being part of a blog community. It definitely pays to learn how to schmooze.

And so I give the Power of Schmooze Award to:

Manilenya: Is there a Pinoy/Pinay blogger who doesn't know her?

Culture Shiok: Being in the upper rungs of the Top10 Emerging Influential Blogs speaks for itself, plus try counting the number of rice bowls he has received in his blog

The Talking Fingers on the Web: Des has just moved to Kuwait and still doesn't have an internet connection at home, so her schmoozing is currently lying low. Before this, however, she has had a thriving and growing community of visitors and visits blog friends, too, regularly. Just wait till she gets her connection and she'll be back with a vengeance!

AnnaManila: Yes, I have just awarded her the Thoughtful Blogger Award, but I just have to give this to her, too. This lady blogger is irresistible. I just keep going back to her blog not only to read her posts but her replies to comments, as well.

Silkenhut: He's learning the art of schmoozing pretty fast and this blogger will soon be zooming up the blogosphere.

On another note, I would like to thank Claire of A Timeless Life for nominating me to the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs. I am far from the magic 10 but the mere fact of being nominated really warms my heart. Thank you again, Claire, and also to Gibo and AnitoKid for the nominations.

Trying to Earn Global Online from the Philippines: Inspired

2007-07-21T14:11:00.001+08:00

Sasha says I am an inspirational blogger and has given me the "Inspirational Blogger Award."

Thank you very much, Sasha. But as you have cited me for inspiring you to write romance novels through my own Maia Jose romance novels, please allow me to post the award at Maia Jose's Cafe Romanza. I'm always excited at seeing how my novels have affected the lives of my readers, and I chronicle these at Cafe Romanza.

Life in the Philippines: A Mom's Bragging Rights: Our Youngest Daughter

2007-07-17T09:30:00.001+08:00

As I promised in my post on My 5 Goals, I intend to spend more quality time with the family. I've been doing that lately.

Allow me my bragging rights as a Mom as I write about my youngest daughter, C3. She's the one who has watercolor, oil pastel, acrylic and mixed media paintings up at Paintings of a 10-Year-Old.

She began painting by herself, using ordinary crayons and watercolor. When we noticed that it was something that really engrossed her for several hours each day, we gave her access to my collection of art books and bought her a variety of media - acrylic paint, professional watercolors, oil pastel, watercolor paper, paper for acrylic paint, some small mounted canvasses - to do with as she pleased. The results amazed us.

Two summers ago, we enrolled her at painter Fernando Sena's summer art workshop. She has been going regularly since then and has finished all levels. He has invited her to keep going to his classes to continue her development.

We have not been able to upload all of her paintings at her blog, though. We need to scan those that are on paper and photograph those that are on canvas.

Lately, she has been focused on her academics. She transferred to the home study program last year after severe muscle pain and weakness caused her to be absent from the second week of school in June to the last week of September. We had a complete medical workup but the doctors couldn't find anything. Based on what I myself have been going through, we believe she has inherited my fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. We have since then been trying some natural therapies. Despite this, she finished her 5th grade in the remaining six months of last school year.

This school year, after only going to school for 5 days (they go to take tests after doing modules at home) she has already cleared sixth grade Science and is just awaiting the results of Filipino for which she has also taken her finals already.

Her Kuya (elder brother) teases her for being OC (obsessive-compulsive) with her studies just like her Ate (elder sister). C3 also takes after him, though. Our only son wants to become a chef and - like all of us - loves food. Yesterday, as the three of us were left at home and they were doing their modules (Kuya is in home study, too, but is in his last year in high school), we took a break with the Lifestyle Network on TV . The Barefoot Contessa! We love mediterranean food and it was like torture seeing all that in gorgeous color. We could almost smell and taste it. After a while, C3 stood up. When she returned, she already had a bowl of fresh tomatoes sliced and marinated in extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dried basil, salt and pepper! She was pouting a little because there were no olives left in the fridge. She then promptly texted her Dad: "Emergency! Please buy olives!" Of course he arrived home later with a big jar for the little princess.

Trying to Earn Global Online from the Philippines: How Thoughtful of You!

2007-07-12T11:57:00.001+08:00

The Brown Baron of Brown Thoughts has made me all misty-eyed by giving me the Thoughtful Blogger Award.

Who wouldn't be touched when the award has the following criteria?

"For those who answer blog comments, emails, and make their visitors feel at home on their blogs. For the people who take others feelings into consideration before speaking out and who are kind and courteous. Also for all of those bloggers who spend so much of their time helping others bloggers design, improve, and fix their sites. This award is for those generous bloggers who think of others."

Brown Baron had this to say:

"MJ of Manila Mom - She brings the qualities that make her a great mom to her blog. All her visitors feel cared for. "

Wow! This means so much to me. I have always felt that as bloggers we consider our blogs our virtual homes and we should, therefore, extend the same courtesy to our visitors as we do at home. Conversely, when we visit blogs, we should be just as courteous as if we were visiting another's home.

But then again, we do lose our temper or patience sometimes. The key is not to write in the middle of a burst of anger or annoyance. Reread your post several times before hitting the publish button.

As I said to the Brown Baron - this means I can't suddenly turn catty on my blog then :D

It is not surprising that the Brown Baron was himself given the award. He is very hospitable to his visitors, replying to every comment. His posts also show him to be a thoughtful husband and dad to his own young family. I have always felt that visiting his blog was like visiting the home of a happy young family.

The Thoughtful Blogger Award is actually one of five Blogger Awards created by Christy of Writer's Reviews. When you receive an award, you pass the honor on to five other people. It can be five of the same award or a combination of the five different awards.

I am hereby awarding the Thoughtful Blogger Award to:

Jenny of Gus' Gang - After losing her baby to illness, this inspiring and courageous mom turned around and set up a ministry to reach out to families of chronically ill children, as well as families who have lost a child.

Sasha of Sasha Says - A very warm person whose comments section is always full of people who obviously feel welcome and very much at home in her blog. She has gone through a lot of life challenges but always has encouraging words for blog friends when she bloghops.

AnnaManila of Ode2Old - Her comments section is always a good read in itself because she truly takes time to reply to each visitor and is always gracious and full of wit.

Marhgil of Macuha.com - He always lends his knowhow especially to techie-challenged bloggers like me. I continue to learn a lot from him.

AnitoKid of The AnitoKid Chronikos - My blog bro may be quite overexposed here but there's just no denying the fact that he's one of the most generous bloggers I've met online, going out of his way to help fellow bloggers.

Life in the Philippines: More Musings on Stigma and Being Filipina

2007-07-11T12:04:00.001+08:00

Recent discussions among Filipina bloggers have led me to ponder more on the various stigmas cast on Filipinas.

At Cafe Romanza, I wrote on "The Filipina Bride Overseas - Not Necessarily A Mail Order Bride."

I expanded the subject matter to cover other types of stigma at Maia Jose.com with Stigma and the Filipina.

As I said in that post, "Stigma thrives on the unspoken. Like taboo, it is a child of darkness. It envelops the stigmatized and draws her to cower in hidden corners. To fight stigma, we need to throw light on it. Bright light. Glaring light. We need to expose it and subject it to scrutiny. Dispel the mistaken notions and innuendoes. Strip it down to bare truth."

So let's fight stigma this way: love and light!

MyBlogLog Members, Please Be Aware!

2007-07-05T21:52:00.000+08:00

I do love MyBlogLog. I have discovered lots of wonderful blogs through this social network, and many other bloggers have found my blogs through it.

Recently, though, there has been widespread concern over the abuse of a new feature in the network: the community message. MyBlogLog has always had a message feature where you can leave a public or private message for a member in his/her page. With the new feature, however, a member can send one message to all members of his/her community at one go. Yes, it's a spammer's fantasy come true, indeed!

Not that I'm saying all those who have been using the feature are spammers. Nope! Not me! I've been burned that way before - called a spammer without any such intentions on my part.

I can imagine many enthusiastic MyBlogLog members seeing the new feature on their pages. Surely, since it was installed by MyBlogLog itself, then it must be there to be used. And it must be safe to use. So use it they did. Only to be met with declarations from other bloggers that they will leave the community of anyone who uses the new feature. It must have been a shock, especially to those who merely wanted to thank their community members for joining.

No, I never used the new feature. But I wouldn't leave the community of a blogger that used it - not unless he/she sends a totally rude and blatantly spammy community message.

I'm a member of a LOT of communities and I have it set so that I receive email notices of messages. This is so that I don't miss anything I may need to reply to immediately. Since the new feature has been installed, I have been flooded with community messages. I must admit it has become quite annoying and I have been deleting many messages. So far, I haven't received a message so irritating as to make me leave the community, though.

But fellow MyBlogLog members, please be aware of the annoyance factor of this new feature. I am giving everyone the benefit of the doubt - I'm assuming that all community messages are sent without any intention of spamming. After all, the communities I have joined are owned by bloggers whose blogs I read and, therefore, like on various levels. Please know that using the community message feature may backfire on your sincere intentions to get in touch with your community members.

There may be some situations that merit the use of the community message - like maybe if you're closing down your blog and would want to inform your members? Or if you're transferring domain. Be very careful in deciding whether your message really needs to be sent this way. Otherwise, just write what you have to say in your blog posts and trust that your community members will come by it sooner or later. After all, they did join your community, didn't they?

Related Post: The MyBlogLog Community Exchange Will Bring In More Traffic

Manila Mom, an A-List Blogger According to Kineda.com

2007-07-05T14:49:00.000+08:00

I'm still in the midst of my fibromyalgia-CFS episode and I'm feeling so bad and down in the dumps, plus I have brain fog. Having said that, I now plead a case of temporary insanity in claiming this A-List Blogger badge from Kineda.com.

Aha! I know, a lot of bloggers out there will be sneering. Who am I to claim to be an A-List blogger? I've only been here a few months, I don't have that much traffic to show for it and - horrors! - I join those shady link trains!

I actually got to know of Kineda's widget from AnitoKid and, boy, did he get insulted for it. Well, bro, I think the widget's too cute to pass up so I'm joining the risk wagon, too :D

If anyone cares to know before passing judgment, Kineda.com's "Bloglebrity" categorization is based on Technorati stats. You key in your url and they get your stats from Technorati. If you have at least 500 blogs linking to you within the past six months, you're an A-List blogger!

I used my manila-mom.blogspot.com url to get the A-List badge, though. I have only very recently acquired www.manilamom.com and, unfortunately, Technorati does not recognize the redirect even if it's exactly the same blog also hosted by Blogger. Technorati still tracks manila-mom.blogspot.com and has a different tracking for www.manilamom.com which, of course, has lower stats.

For total transparency, I have indicated this detail beside my Technorati and Kineda widgets in the sidebar. I can already imagine someone typing in my www.manilamom.com url in both sites and then gleefully saying, "She's lying! She doesn't qualify!" Oh please.

These stats and badges and lists are just picker-uppers that help brighten a blogger's days. Please let's not take them too seriously and not stress on them. Let's keep blogging fun and friendly.