The Journey. It’s Mine. [Raine’s Mom, Problogger, Techie-wannabe, Wheelchair-Traveler]

It is no secret that I currently blog for three networks. In each one of them I signed a confidential contract per each blog.

Unless the network itself decides to divulge internal information to the public (i.e. payment schemes, business models), I am not allowed to tell anyone of the “gory details” of what’s happening inside each one of those networks.

While I am not any network’s bonafide employee (networks bloggers are mostly referred to as independent contracted authors), I am bound by some invisible code of ethics not to bring any inside information to the public, much less tell one network of what’s going on in another (I am not really sure if any network blogger has the stomach to do this though).

There is no perfect blog network, what you seek for as a blogger you may not get in one, but in another and vice versa. So if you blog for several networks, suffice to say that you get the best of many blog networks’ world (or the worst! whichever way you like to look at it).

The old cliché that you cannot serve two masters may not actually apply to network blogging. Like many other things inside the box, I’ve learned that the whole world of blogging and earning from it - is the ultimate shift of all paradigm shifts. This world cannot be contained inside the box and into any shape for that matter.

[To make things even more interrelated, my blogging for one network, led to being hired by the other networks, as is usually the case in most network bloggers I know.]

So, going back to the question: where is your loyalty network blogger? My loyalty is to the blogs that I’ve committed to deliver my end of the bargain to and so by extrapolation since I blog for three networks, I am loyal to all three networks.

And by demonstrating those loyalties, I’ve learned to compartmentalize: blog network A = network A bloggers = network A management and so on…

But I have to admit that it isn’t easy, especially when you are “talking” to somebody who blogs for the same three networks as well…it is then that we get caught up in some non-permeable bubble, we cannot even bring it on record, especially not even online. Thank God, this rarely happens…

Anyway, I am just a blogger anyway and my life is less complicated, at least less complicated than bloggers who work behind their blogs together with the blog networks’ management team.

I really wonder how they deal with it when their loyalty is placed on the hot seat? Well, whatever they turn into, I just hope that they don’t turn into something that their old plain blogger-self will hate. He he.
OR…it is so obvious where their loyalty lies it’s not even questioned anymore.

Raine do not hate lots of things but these are the very few that he hates most (in ascending order):

• smelly fish (including shrimp paste that Pinoys love)
• anything cooked with tomato sauce (except spaghetti)
• biting ants and mosquitoes (who wouldn’t?!)
• sleeping blankets (he just hates them kahit maginaw na. you thought he’s sound asleep, throw a blanket over him he’ll surely wake up! my solution: flannel pajamas and long-sleeved shirts at bedtime)
• my computer (yes, he turns the power off when he’s really pissed at me)

You probably have an idea why my computer is the one he hates the most… either he wants it for himself or I am paying more attention to the computer over him.

What are the things your kid(s) hate the most?

Since typhoon milenyo, I stayed away from local primetime TV. However, you aren’t residing in the Philippines if you do not know the major TV networks’ (ABS-CBN and GMA-7) rivalry. Here, you are either a kapuso or a kapamilya.

These days, GMA-7 is into fanta-seryes (fantasy-story TV series) while ABS is into sine-seryes (old pinoy drama movies turned into TV series).

The thing is, here in Sorsogon if you are using the normal outdoor TV antenna, ABS-CBN’s reception is better thatn GMA-7’s, making most households kapuso by default.

When our satellite TV broke down last month, my family had no choice but to watch ABS-CBN shows via the antennaed TV. But prior to that, two TVs are hooked to the satellite TV’s decoder box, with the other TV still connected to the antenna because in cases that some of us (mostly me or Raine) is watching something else on satellite TV, the rest can still watch teledrama over ABS-CBN.

However, by the time the decoder box was fixed, my guys resumed construction of the house (mainly the roof) and so the antenna has to come down. Now I am outnumbered, they are all watching the teledramas of ABS-CBN!

Except for Sharon on Sunday nights, I do not really care what are playing these days on ABS-CBN or over at GMA-7 for that matter. Especially now that I can get online at home, my family can watch ABS-CBN shows to their hearts’ content.

(Yun nga lang, I can hear everything in the background while I work at napupuyat ako kasi I can just have the TV to myself after Pinoy Big Brother.)

At least until tonight…because I watched the premiere of “Walang Kapalit”: ABS-CBN’s latest teleserye offering staring Piolo Pascual and Claudine Barreto. Well I couldn’t really resist, there’s Piolo in there. He he.

Besides, Nerissa Cabral story (Hindi Nahahati ang Langit) old movie, Christopher De Leon-Lorna Tolentino starrer, early 80’s. LOL! That’s the genre, my genre.

Probably a good genre if they’re repeating it on TV these days. Much the same way that old songs are revived into new versions. Must be good. Or they can’t make good new ones?

Reminds me of arguments with my 19-year-old bros: about who originally sang what song. Wala lang, I felt so old. He he.

Seriously, Piolo and Claudine was so good together in the movie Milan. I’ll probably watch Walang Kapalit to the finish, not only because i want to finish what I started (anyway, alam ko na naman ang magiging ending eh!), but Piolo is just so pleasing on the TV screen. He he.

Finally, I can work at home. Woohoo!!!
There are so many “distractions” though especially when Raine is awake and bouncing.

BUT, I’m loving it…a LOT.

I’ve been working from home since I got back earlier this week.

I don’t miss going to town (at least not yet) and I certainly do not miss the gamers and chatters that I have to box-out elbows with in net cafes.

• speed: 230.4 kbps
• reception: okay, sometimes good
• signal on cp: 2 bars (2 bars lang po!)
• time that cp battery lasts on full charge at start-up: 4 hours
• average data session per day: 5 hours (equivalent to 5 x 20 PhP = 100PhP)
• perks: bottomless coffee, other drinks and food, stretch out or lie down in between sessions, afternoon naps, working at night or practically anytime of the day I’m least bugged by Raine. [But because Raine loves the fact that I am at home he doesn’t bug me that much, well not as much as i expected him to anyway.]

So I guess I’ll have to thank SMART 2.5G (even if I will pay that much monthly!).

The service, considering the above specs, isn’t much I know… could actually be better…BUT when i think of my post-milenyo internet woes, this is heaven. He he.

Like what I’ve been doing in most aspects of my life since Raine was born, I’d still take one day at a time, one step at a time…just one sunrise and one sundown after another.

Who knows what tomorrow might bring?

Satellite broadband? A brand new laptop? More problogging gigs? New revenue-generating projects? A trip abroad? (hint…hint…hint…)
Let’s see…nothing is impossible, especially when i see this (click thumbnail on the left) unfolding before me.

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Delayed flights are hateful.

Especially if your destination is Legazpi City where total flying time is barely 45 minutes.

I spent more time waiting at pre-boarding, spent more time on the bus from Legazpi to Sorsogon (and from LB to Magallanes and domestic airport) than sit inside the plane (it was even impossible to doze off even if i was awfully tired!).

But waiting time has its “perks”, reading (and finishing) a book, texting away, watching people, spending on horribly expensive yet awful food (even the 8-pc. pack of sanitary napkin costs 60 pesos!) and queueing to the ladies room.

(There usually are more women than men, so I think airport facilities should double their ladies’ room).

Anyway, the coffee was good, even if it was way too expensive for my financial standards. He he.

The extra-ordinary perk in Philippine airports (i guess) is the celeberity sightings.

Regine Tolentino with hubby Lander Vera-Perez and their two beautiful girls were lining behind me at the check-in counter.

Which explains the photo above that Lander kindly took using my cellphone. Because I won’t normally cross a room-full of shrieking fans just to ask for an autograph or ask for a picture to be taken.

Most celebrities are either too telegenic/photogenic that you get disappointed when you see them in person. Either that or they’re soo good looking the cameras don’t do them justice, then you get really starstrucked, your knees wobble when you accidentally bump into them. Ha ha.

Anyway, Regine Tolentino (so as Jericho Rosales) looks exactly and sounds exactly like they do on the screen. No add-ons.

I particularly like seeing Regine Tolentino in person because she is packaged into the type of sexy that I like.

Not the skinny long-legged, anorexic kind of sexy but the petite, voluptuous sexy that doesn’t look mahalay even if she’s showing off a lot of skin. And the bulges are properly placed in the right locations.

Now, standing beside her in that photo and looking at it made me seriously think of getting mesotherapy.

Later on, when I’ve settled down and not feeling too impatient (the delay stretched to two very long hours)…people around me started shrieking.

Lo and behold! There was Jericho Rosales.

See that blurred photo? When Echo just decided he’s had enough cameras pointed at him and started to walk away, i clicked.

Sabi na nga kasi, I don’t normally cross a room-full of shrieking fans to get a close look at any celebrity!

On second thought, kung si Brad Pitt yun or even Sharon Cuneta (!)…lilipad ako across the room. Bwahaha.

One of the reasons, why I will never be a Manila girl…

Majestic Mayon, breathtaking in its serenity and powerful beauty. (bihira yan makunan ng walang clouds na nakatakip sa cone!)

Photo taken early morning on April 13, 2007 with Motorola RAZRV3x at Legazpi airport.

Click on photo to enlarge.

I remain, the bicol girl (but sans the carabao prince!) Ha ha.

Takipsilim kanina when I arrived home. The view from Legazpi to here is too refreshing: the yellow rice fields where carabaos are grazing and rice straw burning (with backdrop na blue mountains) is greatly soothing to the senses than the blackish alikabok-full air of Manila (na ang backdrop ay tall buildings and smoggy skies).

Wait, ano nga ba sa english ang takipsilim? Hindi sunset ha kasi paglubog ng araw yun. Yun bang bukang-liwayway na hindi sunrise kundi daybreak. Nightbreak?! LOL!

Anyway, I am really tired pero alis ang pagod ko pagka-kita kay Raine. You see, inspired pa ako to blog at this hour kahit I should now be snoring in my sleep like Raine, 3 hours lang average tulog ko in the past four nights. And besides, my connection via Smart 3G is getting better, I can’t help but hook my brand new Motorala RAZRV3x (that blogging bought) to my PC.

Still I want to thank the iblog3 for the opportunity to get out of my hole here. At least for the third time, I got to go to UPD. No offense to the UP main campus, but the UPLB “field” is more beautiful and a lot greener. Besides, dun lang may Freedom Park na may fertility tree at mas malaking poging mamang hubad na nakadipa sa paaanan ni Maria Makiling (si Oblation po!). He he.

Also, because of iblog3, nakakain ako ng masarap na chicken barbecue at tokwa’t baboy sa Balay ni Juan sa Pasig (thanks Marc!) naka-bili ako ng book ni Bo Sanchez na How to Find Your One True Love, nakatulog sa compound ng ancestral home nina Bo (thanks to Abby and Triccia), naka-attend ng The Feast (a catholic prayer meeting of the Kerygma family), naka-kain ulit ng La Ville’s pancit malabon at Mernel’s chocolate cake kasama ang aking mga kapatid sa nag-iisang lugar sa mundo na pinakamahal ko - ang Los Baños.

Salamat din sa iblog3 dahil nakita ko sa domestic airport sina Regine Tolentino at Jericho Rosales (more about that later…) at natapos ko tuloy basahin nang wala sa oras ang book ni Bo dahil 2 hours delayed ang flight to Legazpi (yung 105 pm na ETD naging 3 pm!). Buti na lang naka-pa-picture ako sa celebrity kaya di ako masyadong na-asar sa airport. Hayy…

Now, naka-blog pa ako…salamat sa SMART Gold 3G 2.5G.

Pero paging SMART satellite broadband, ipa-testing niyo niyan sakin ha? Pag meron na, promise…una niyo akong cliente!

P.S. Salamat sa laban ni Manny Pacquiao kay Solis dahil walang kasing-luwag ang kalsada from Ortigas to LB.

An hour-and-a-half ago, I arrived in my “house” for the night and just about to hit the sack but the online PC in the living room is just too tempting, i cannot help not sink my fingers into the keyboards.

Anyway, i think that the iblog3 is a great exercise to learn the tricks and trade of blogging and problogging in the Philippines. Most speakers mostly delivered their blogging 101 outline/module in reference to where they are coupling blogging to (i.e. marketing, business, main stream media, photoblogging, politics, web comics, problogging: network, independent…etc)

Which made me realize that, with this blog (my personal blog), I need to learn how to take it to the next level…whatever that means.

There are just too much ideas and thoughts swimming in my head right now (kasalanan lahat yan ni Abe!) I probably won’t sleep soundly until I’m home in bicolandia.

As much as i found the whole conference generally informative and helpful, the real blogosphere “juice” can only be found at the after-conference parties where bloggers become less informal as food and drinks roll on the table and as the room gets foggy with smoke (that’s why they/we always stick to the open-air section of any restaurant and cafe!).

Most of those “juice” are not bloggabe however, well…at least not this very second. Har har har.

Also, I want to put in some link loving in this post, but I’m too spaced out to surf or blog-hop…maybe some other time.

Thanks to those I’ve talked to and those who enjoyed talking to me. I’m generally shy at first meetings, so please bear with me and i hope others didn’t get the impression that I was a snob.

My only complaint about iblog3: Where’s the coffee??!! (walang kape sa conference na ito…waahh!!)

YM: check.

Skype: check (but turning on and off)

Gmail: check (chat, turning on and offf)

blogs: check (i guess if this gets publish)

It took me a year to get a SMART post-paid line and a 3G phone. Still I cannot get a full signal, just 2G under bad reception. Scenario not good for the blogging machine.

Anyway, this is better than nothing, at least I can still check my emails anytime, at home. I know this isn’t rocket science and the techies are probably smirking as they read this. But, it’s not my fault, I live in a technologically challenged area (and my priorities are food and shelter).

Besides, If I get too impatient for the slow page download, I can always take that 5 minute jeepney ride to town where there’s SMART Bro.

At least our TV’s antenna is not alone anymore with a bad reception. LOL! The only decent connection we have is the satellite TV, which by the way have been fixed yesterday. Hurray!!

When will SMART ever launch that satellite broadband? I’ll be the first one to sign-up, promise!