Blog, blag, blah

I haven’t done any Christmas shopping. I have loads of papers to write and check. I have piles of books to read. I have dozens of emails to answer. And so I escape the real world and indulge Ding’s meme.

Anything for shameless self-promotion =]

How long have you been blogging?

I officially started blogging on May 2003 using another platform and I moved to Blogger on September 2006.

What inspired you to start a blog and who are your mentors?

I used to keep a handwritten journal back in medical school. One of the first things I learned in UP Med was that memories not written down have not been experienced at all which was seconded later on by another adage, that memories written down are experienced twice. As I became more religious in updating my online journal, my handwritten journal became a mere back up. But I still refer to it from time to time; it’s interesting to see how my reactions to life’s stimuli then have matured (or failed to do so!) vis-à-vis today.

I have always been surrounded by people and I am not averse to speaking in public, but in reality I am a sedate, solitary type of person, who’d much rather keep to myself. Hence, my love for Lego and blogging. Both allow me to do what I love to do, showcase it to the world, without me having to really offer my self out to be devoured by the world. In short, I am a cowardly show off =]

I only have one idol with regard to blogging, my own version of Sesame Street’s Aloysius Snuffleupagus. We’ve been friends, banter-mates, a most welcome tormentor for a good number of years already. His opinion with regard to my writing matters. He’s a pal because he heaps praises on me with wild abandon hahaha And he has his ways of supporting my Mission: I Heart The Philippines. He’s too self-deprecating though. He’s overdue for a Palanca, methinks. If only he’d be more courageous (than I). But as I am wont to do, I digress.

I often describe my blog as a chronicle of the days in the life of someone who wants to leave the world in a better state than when he arrived on it. I really do pray I stay true to my aim. So far, so good.

Are you trying to make money online, or just doing it for fun?

While I love being a physician and a teacher, there are times I’d like to be able to blog full-time. So yes, I do wish to earn off of blogging- a nifty reward for doing I love doing anyway. At the end of the day, though, blogging is a foremost tool for sharpening whatever lackluster infantile writing skill I am conceited enough to brandish.

Tell me 3 things you LOVE about being online.

I love learning about other people’s world. One of the most memorable lessons I’ve learned in the UP from a Psychology professor is that each person has a story to tell- if only we’d take time to listen. So being online fascinates me no end, to learn about Alex’s life in the PMA or Doray’s travails and triumphs as a city councilor or how a new online buddy Ding merges his love for underserved communities and photography or what Saudi Arabia is like through the eyes and words of Ahmed, a Saudi national.

I love cerebral sparring and mental gymnastics with fellow online denizens- be it putting a controversial political idea across, reacting to a medical update, or bemoaning a showbiz issue.

I love reading and the Pinoy blogosphere is filled with good reads.

Tell me 3 things you STRUGGLE within the online world.

My blog is still searching for an identity.

There are life events worth blogging that I censor given their sensitive nature.

I am beginning to feel micro-pinches of the problems of people taking some of my online outputs, particularly my photos, without permission or at least proper citation.

WITH ALL OF THIS ALREADY SAID, I'm passing the baton to
Aryo the Islander
Carlo the Asker of Ar-wee-der-yet
Benj the MD/Master-Debater, and
Laud Claud.

Read: You guys are tagged!