Lainy's Musings: July 2008

2008-07-29

Tomorrow is Muslim Holiday

In observance of the Izra Wal Miraj (Prophet Muhammad's S.A.W. Night Journey and Ascension), July 30, 2008 is hereby declared Muslim Holiday. This is in correlation with the 27th day of Rajab 1429 Hijra. As per Presidential Decree No. 1083 and Section 4 of the Civil Service Commission Resolution No. 81-1277, Regions 9 and 12, offices and agencies of the national and local government are closed, therefore, Muslims and non-Muslims are excused from work. The Commisson on Elections is a national government agency, hence, our office shall also hold no transactions tomorrow, big grin!

Since General Santos City's inclusion in South Central Mindanao, Region XII (we were previously under Southern Mindanao, Region XI), the Generals have been observing Muslim Holidays. It will add up to the numerous regular holidays we have here in the country. Not that I don't like it. In fact, I am loving it, hehe!

Even before GenSan became a part of Region XII, I have always looked forward for Muslim Holidays when I was still in my high school and college years. Being an alumna of Mindanao State University, we have always been flooded with Muslim Holidays. It is an institution mandated to integrate the cultural cummunities in Mindanao into the mainstream. That is why cultural minorities are given special privileges.

Muslim Holidays to me would mean keeping my mind off from work and other stressful work-related tasks. I will just be staying home and will try to put some life to my rather boring blogs, hahaha!

2008-07-27

Lainy's Blogging Friends Forever Award

I am wholeheartedly inspired by one blogger today. I got totally overwhelmed and speechless when Uncle Che of AZ Blogging gave me an award. What makes this Blogging Friends Forever (BFF) Award triple extra special is that it came all the way from Cameroon, West Africa. I find Che a very nice person and a very special man. I have always followed his blog the first time I came across over it. I can always feel his genuine sincerity behind the words. My experience meeting new friends over the blogosphere have truly humbled me. Fostering strong mutual bonds and camaraderie was made possible through hopping, reading, commenting and dropping. Undoubtedly, bridging distance and cultural gaps between and among us over the blogosphere were made possible. Thank you Che! I do hope I really merit this award.

Now here's the hard part. I have to choose only 5 from among of the many bloggers I know. A number of certain rules must be applied, to wit:

Only 5 people are allowed to receive this award
4 of them followers of your blog.
One has to be new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
You must link back to who ever gave you the award.

I've made my list through random selection. No playing favorites here. They are the following:

Please, the above 5 people are encouraged to pass this award to 5 blogging friends too, following the 4 rules listed above.I will be very happy if we show some support to the recipients of this award by any of the following means: linking, commenting, subscribing, rating, or in any form as you wish.

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2008-07-23

I've Joined the Free Comments Defense League!

I personally salute Graham Langdon of Entrecard for always coming up with innovative ways on how to help bloggers improve and become successful. Everyone were so ecstatic with Entrecard's partnership with Sezwho. The motive is for the best interest of everyone. But there is always no perfect innovation. I've attempted to install Sezwho in both of my blogs but I wasn't too successful. I just don't know if I am experiencing the bug or it's just because I am too ignorant in tweaking blogs and all. It made even more difficult for me to install the plugin.

Anyhow, I just came to this thinking. If I am to comment on blogs, it's because (1) the topic is of interest to me and somehow I can closely relate to; (2) i merely want to make my presence felt, and (3) it's either the blogger is my friend or i want to befriend the blogger.

I am never against Entrecard's idea of giving out credit to commenters posting relevant comments. In fact, I love to receive credits for taking that extra effort in reading and commenting on blogs. BUT , with or without credits, I would love to comment because I want to, not because I am expecting something in return or because I'm "bribed" or compensated to comment. The question on whether comments are genuine or not will somehow devalue the system of commenting. The blogger will never know if we are commenting because we are sincere or just because we want to earn credits. It wouldn't be too bad to receive credits for our commenting efforts but it should only come as a bonus, not our main motivation for commenting on blogs.

I am more than ecstatic with my membership with Free Comments Defense League. I won't ever receive credits from Entrecard for all the comments I've made. I think it would be best if we comment on blogs without expecting credits as an incentive. Membership to FCDL is limited to only 100 blogs. The code for FDCL blogroll was sent to me by Mr. Matthew S. Urdan in my mailbox last night. Thank you for counting me in!

I am anticipating for a more valued partnership with my participation in the Free Comments Defense League. This league values and respects your thoughts on any trivial discussions, with or without credits!

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2008-07-22

Lainy Got Interrogated!

1.WHAT DATE IS IT?
:: July 22, 2008

2. WHAT TIME DID U WAKE UP?

:: 4:45 AM.

3. DID U GO SOMEWHERE YESTERDAY?
:: Yep.

4. WHAT DID U DO THERE?
:: Work, work, work!

5. HOW OLD ARE U?
:: 28 years old.

6. ARE U MATURE OR IMMATURE?
:: Mature, Sure na! (hahaha!)

7. WHAT DO U CALL UR MOM & DAD?
:: Mamang and Papang

8. ARE U AN ONLY CHILD?
:: Nope, I have 2 younger brothers.

9. WHERE DO U GO SHOPPING?
:: Mall.

10. DO U LIKE SCHOOL?
:: Yes and No.

11. DO U LIKE BOOKS?
:: Yep! So much!

12. DO U WANT TO GET MARRIED?
:: But of course! One day :-)

13. WITH WHOM?
:: To the best Mahal in the world, my Prince!

14. ARE U SPOILED?
:: No.

15. WHATS THE MOST FLATTERING COMPLIMENT U EVER GOT?

:: That I am the next big thing and a celebrity in the making over the blogosphere. I'm speechless! Wink!

16. ONLY GIRL/BOY IN THE FAMILY?

:: Only girl.

17. IF U WERE TO MARRY A CELEBRITY, WHO WOULD IT BE?

:: The one and the famous, My Prince Scotty, hehehe!

18. WOULD U LIKE TO MEET Josh Hartnett?
:: Sino yan??? Hahahaha!

19. Where do u think ur bestfriend is?

:: In GenSan i think. We've lost touch (i consider her my former bestfriend, long story, you've got to ask me!). I have my prince for a bestfriend now.

20. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME U TALKED TO UR BESTFRIEND?

:: Last night.

21. U THINK SHE/HE NEEDS U NOW?

:: Always.

23. WHAT DO U WANT FOR UR BIRTHDAY?

:: To be with my Mahal, kahit sa birthday ko lang...

25. IF U WERE TO BUY A CAR , WHICH CAR WOULD IT BE?
:: I am not too particular with cars nor brands, any car will do for me.

26. A DUET WITH HEART EVANGELISTA?
:: Hmmm, maybe.

27. DO U WEAR MAKE-UP?

:: Oh yes!

28. WHAT LIP BALM DO U USE?
:: Will have to check the brand first, wait...

29. WOULD U GET A TATOO?

:: Henna will do.

30. BELLY PIERCE?

:: Never!

31. HOW MANY KIDS DO U WANT?

:: Just two. Girl and boy will be perfect!

32. DO U HAVE ANY HOMEWORK?
:: Yep.

33. ANY SONG THAT YOU’RE LISTENING?

:: None.

34. DO U BELIEVE IN SPELLS?

:: Hmm, not really.

35. WHERE DO U WANT TO GO NOW?

:: I am heading for work now. I thought I could get to post this when I get back from work today but I'm glad I have answered all the questions before lunch. Thanks so much for this, Sis Jen! I had fun!

It's your turn now Honey, Twerlyn, Ate Bing, Joy, Ivy, and Tina.

2008-07-20

I'm Back!

After 33 hours of blogging hiatus, I am back here again to fuel up some life to this lousy blog of mine! I've missed you, guys! It's like death in slow motion without internet connection. Life has been too boring! I have been used to the task of dropping 600 cards daily and all that was shackled because of my connection which has been acting up frequently especially during rainy season.

I sometimes ask, what's with the rain? Why do internet cafes have connection and I don't have? What the heck, Smart Bro! You haven't been too smart enough to figure out the technical problem in my base station and resolve the matter in less than 24 hours. I remember in April I lost my connection for 5 agonizing days! Smart Bro deducted those days in my monthly bill, the regular monthly bill was PhP 999 and the succeeding month the bill amounted to only PhP 799. Only two hundred pesos worth of rebate. I am not happy. I spent more than 200 pesos in cafes for 5 days and I've lost ample amount of offered reviews.

Please bear with me as I unfurl my unending litany of complaints and whinings. Just let me cool down a bit. Inhale. Exhale. There! I have a lot of catching up to do especially for Entrecard droppers. I will return your drops as soon as I can. Also, I would like to thank my very special friend Twerlyn for making that post while I was away. I owe you one, Lermz!

Thank you everyone for your patience and understanding!

SEE ALSO RELATED LINKS:

2008-07-19

No Internet Connection

Lainy requested me to post this message, to inform you (her visitors) that right now she has no internet connection (Smartbro sucks again) due to rain last night. She lost connection at 7PM(15hours already). She'll visit your websites as soon as the connection is back.

Twerlermz' blog

2008-07-15

The Power of Blog Commenting and Some Comment Etiquettes

Indeed, there is power in commenting on other blogs. It's taking me a long time to finish my daily tasks of dropping cards to Entrecarders because I take a pause, read and comment on topics that I can especially relate to and entries that stirred my interest. I don't simply drop and run. I appreciate comments made by my co-bloggers here in my blog although there aren't much, hehe! I prefer commenting than leaving my footprints in the tagboard section because cbox and/ or shoutmix' characters are limited. And here's the catch, get your blog indexed in search engine by posting relevant comments. Everytime I get to check my site, the first thing I take a look at are the comments section. I always see to it that I check out the person behind the comments posted. That's added traffic for your blog. Commenting is one sure way of increasing your blog's traffic. Of course, one must be cautious on what to say or else you will be in big trouble. Below are the things I considered important for a blogger to consider in posting comments on blogs:

Do away with "Nice post" comments. I don't consider this a comment. I've done this many times in the past out of habit and I don't think it's making sense at all.
Add value and substantial input on the post being commented. You might love to share your own experiences or add new ideas to the post. Just be sure your comment wouldn't sound like a tele-novela and even double the number of words written by the author, wink!
Try to be nice and comment constructively. Never sound too critical and make stupid comments if you don't want to be in deep trouble.
Respect. Don't get angry when your comment got filtered. The author always has the sole right in deleting comments not to his liking.
Post comments on topics you think you have the authority to talk about.
Be polite and sincere. Don't comment just for the sake of commenting and leaving your self-serving links.
Revisit the site. I always make sure I do come back on the blogs I've posted my comment on and see if it got filtered or if the author have made a reply. This way, interaction is encouraged and there is open-communication. You can leave your footprints after posting your comments especially for Blogger hosted blogs.

If you have more things in mind, don't content yourself to be simply just a lurker. We already have an abundance of them.

Participate. Interact. Contribute.

You can add more content on this post by hitting the comment button :-)

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Entrecard + Sezwho= Blog Success

2008-07-14

Miss Venezuela 2007 Dayana Mendoza Hailed Miss Universe 2008 Winner

Miss Venezuela Dayana Mendoza was crowned Miss Universe 2008 in Nha Trang Vietnam today. She beat out 79 candidates from all over the world. She's one of the crowd darlings and she's one of my strongest bets (along with Miss Mexico) for the simple reason that Venezuela is famous for bringing home the crown in major international pageants like the Miss Universe.

Though she's not that impressive in looks, but one would agree with me that she definitely is scorching hot! Amongst the Top 5, she gave the most precise and remarkable answer: "Men think that the fastest way to go to a point is to go straight. Women know that the faster way to go to a point is to go to the curves." I was surprised she gave the answer in straight English. I learned she is trilingual. She can speak Spanish, Italian and English. The once kidnapped victim displayed beauty, elegance, and wit which made her Miss Universe 2008.

Her prize package included "cash, a year contract promoting Miss Universe, world travel, a rent-free, prestigious New York City flat, luxury apartment and a gift bag stuffed with free designer shoes, dresses and beauty products, a $ 100,000 stipend for a 2-year course at the New York FIlm Academy and free access to famous fashion houses and beauty parlors".

Mendoza is the 5th Venezuelan Miss Universe title holder. Miss Colombia and Miss Dominican Republic were crowned 1st and 2nd runners up respectively. Miss Congeniality was awarded to Miss El Salvador and the Best National Costume award, which was won through online voting, was given to Miss Thailand.

SEE ALSO RELATED LINKS:

2008-07-13

Please Vote!

This post is to heartily ask your strong support for my friend Ivy. She wants to win a customized lay-out at the Dashing Smile blog. There are 10 of them who are aspiring to win the theme that the blog owner is offering for the nominees. Ivy is one of the few bloggers I've met here in the blogosphere when I started out blogging. She has always been kind to me and she's always there to extend a helping hand. She is the one responsible for the total makeover of this blog. I know this nomination means a lot to her that's why I made this campaign post. I hope you will vote for her La Vida Es Hermosa site daily. This is going to be a week-long contest.

Thank you so much for your unfailing support!

2008-07-11

Please Stand By!

My beautiful online friend Ivy again offered her help to overhaul this blog's theme. I am leaving everything in her artistic's hands now as she try to come up with a theme that will suit the title of this blog. This is just a quickie post. Gotta be going now!

NOTE: EC droppers can still continue to drop their cards. Thanks Ivs for keeping the EC widget! Mwah!

2008-07-10

Support Miss Philippines to the Miss Universe 2008 Pageant, Vote for the Philippines as the Best in National Costume!

Everything is set for the Miss Universe 2008 in Vietnam. Our very own, Bb. Pilipinas- Universe Jennifer Barrientos is competing with more than 70 candidates worldwide. With Miss Barrientos representing the country in the pageant, this is the time for us to show our support to her as fellow citizens of this country.

We are calling all FILIPINOS worldwide...

The 2008 Miss Universe comes to Vietnam for a night of stars and glamour in search of the most beautiful woman in the world! The winner for Best National Costume will be decided by online votes. So now, the main objective of this tag is to increase awareness for all Filipinos regarding the online voting. Let's VOTE for our very unique Philippine National Costume worn by our representative, Jennifer Barrientos.

General Instructions:

Go to THIS LINK!
In the Menu Bar just above the thumbnail pictures of the delegates, click ASIA/AUSTRALIA.
Look for the Philippines' Costume (like the picture above & it's actually in the page 2).
Click its thumbnail.
After clicking, a preview will then appear on the right side of the page. Click "SELECT THIS DELEGATE" located just below that preview.
The bad things is, we are to choose 3 delegates! So be sure NOT to vote for those countries that will surely be a strong competitor for the AWARD! :)
After choosing the Philippines and the "other" two countries, click on "SUBMIT VOTE" located just below the thumbnail pictures.
Follow the SIMPLE instructions after that!
You're done! Go Philippines!

Add your blog link below as a proof that you are one of the TEAM PHILIPPINES!

----------------------------------------------------

The Team Philippines
Miss Universe 2008

-----------------------------------------------------

1.) Marky - Tiklaton
2.) Naomi - Irresistible Fascinations
3.) The Treasure Chest
4.) Honey- Honey's Inlove
5.) Lainy's Musings
6.) Our Journey to Forever

Now I am encouraging my co-bloggers to spread the news to our fellow Filipinos: Twerlyn, Ate Bing, Nancy, and Ivy.

SEE ALSO RELATED LINKS:

2008-07-07

More Entrecard Drop Messages

When I was still new to Entrecard-dropping, I have noticed different drop messages were shown. Being the ignorant that I was, I didn't quite know that such messages at times really appear. For some of my friends who just got their Entrecard account, this post might be of a little help to you.

Below are Entrecard drop messages and its meanings. You might encounter them when you are in your notorious self dropping EC's:

Get one, Please log in- These messages are shown when Entrecard believes that you haven't logged in. Please go to Entrecard.com and log in.
Thanks! - This message is shown when you have successfully dropped a card.
Go! Go!, Alright!, Wicked!, Yeehah!, Awesome!, WOW! - These messages are equivalent to THANKS, they are shown at various numbers of drops per day.
Invalid- This message is shown when you have failed security check, this can happen by accident once in a while, however if this happens to you regularly, you must contact support.
300 per day- This message is what you get when you hit the 300 drops per day limit.
600 per IP- This message is what you get when the IP address you accessing from has dropped 600 cards in a day.
Own Card!- This is what you get when you try and drop on your own card.
No widget- This message indicates the Entrecard widget scanner does not believe this site has a widget. If you get this error while browsing, please send the URL of the site to phirate via PM.
Deleted- This message indicates the Entrecard account for this widget has been deleted.
Cooldown X hrs- This message indicates that you have triggered security countermeasures. You will not be allowed to drop a card again until the cooldown period has finished (the counter will continue to update). If you have not done anything that should have gained the attention of the security system, please contact phirate via PM urgently and we will arrange a security reset. It is likely hat you also received a Scripted Drop Penalty which removed credit from your account, this can be resolved as well.

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2008-07-06

Tag Four You!

I just can't let this taggie pass. Mummy Sheng believes I will likely respond and I don't wanna fail her, wink!

RULES:

What you are supposed to do… and please don’t spoil the fun… Click copy/paste, delete my answers, type in your answers and tag 4 people in your lists!

(A) Four places I go over and over:
- Office
- Church
- Shopping malls
- Bank

(B) Four people who e-mail me regularly:
- my
- cousin
- and
- Scotty

(C) Four of my favorite places to eat?
- Pizza Hut (I love pizza!)
- Seafood House
- Chicken Hauz
- Barbecue House

(D) Four places I’d rather be?
- GenSan, Phils.
- Sydney, Australia
- Just at home
- Pendant Avenue (Figure that out, hehe)

(E) Four people I think will respond:
- Ate Bing
- Twerlyn
- Jemi
- Reyapot

(F) Four TV shows I could watch over and over:
- PBA
- News
- Talk Shows
- Documentaries

I am now tagging the 4 ladies I have mentioned above namely: Ate Bing, Twerlyn, Jemi
and Reyapot.

Keep this chain rolling!

1. Lainy's Musings
2. Our Journey to Forever

3. You're Next!

Cyber Relationships

It has been an open book that I have an Australian boyfriend and I've met him online 18 months ago. Though we are in a long distance relationship, we so believe our devotion and love for each other have kept our relationship stronger more than ever. Though not all long distance relationships have a happy ending, my Sayang (Bahasa Indonesia for Love) and I are putting everything in God's hands and we know He won't fail His chosen children. That sets us apart from the rest of other relationships.

I am taking part in this dNeero conversation because I can very much relate to this. I hope you could join as well and all other conversations offered by dNeero.

2008-07-04

Knowing Drop Messages and Your Drop Rank at Entrecard

When I joined Entrecard, I have never imagined I could get a boost in my Alexa traffic that quick, and I mean real quick. Simply put, Entrecard has motivated me to promote my site through the drops I am making to other blogs daily. It has only been two (2) months since my membership and I haven't looked back since then. I am dropping 300 cards daily for both of my blogs. I admit it is at times draining but it's hard to stop when I still haven't reached the 300 limit for the day. To say that I got hooked in dropping Entrecard is an understatement. If there is a more deeper and stronger word than hooked and addicted, that would be it, hahaha!

A number of bloggers have expressed their curiosity on Entrecard. Some I was able to convince to get an account. Looking back, I was so ignorant on how Entrecard works. I didn't quite know that it's one free way to get a traffic explosion to your site. Being the idiot that I was, while hopping and dropping Entrecard to other Entrecarders, I noticed the drop message THANKS altered to GO! GO! I thought something was wrong with my computer. I kept refreshing it but i still got the same message. Realizing that drop messages were changing after a number of drops made, I soon was able to calculate the Drop Messages as the following:

1-50: Thanks
51-100: Go! Go!
101-150: Alright!
151-200: Wicked!
201-250: Yeehah!
251-300: Awesome!
301: 300 per day (Entrecard drop limit)

300 drops for a day is the limit set by Entrecard for each account. You can drop 600 cards daily but you have to use a different IP address. One thing noticeable was the DROP RANKS changing from time to time. I do not know how Entrecard is calculating the ranks but as per my own observation and calculation, the drop rank depends on how much credit one gets from advertisement and the credit one gets from the drops made for the day.

So if you are looking for Entercarders to advertise your blog on, you may consider to see the drop rank first. Higher rank would mean greater chances for exposure. And it's what we all want, to get our hard-earned credit's worth. We are investing time and effort in dropping cards and it should all be worthwhile.

Below are the drop ranks in descending order:

Deeply committed- - Deadly serious. A drop master!
Takes dropping Very Very Seriously
A dedicated dropper with a hint of addiction
Consistent, regular dropper
Casual and relaxed
Just here for the view

If you are still not a member of Entrecard, you can get a free and instant account here!

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2008-07-03

Smart Bro is Down Yet Again!

I am doing this post at the nearest internet cafe I could get. I couldn't rave and rant at Smart Bro's Customer Service Hotline because it's down, too. I used to call them and let the CSRs know how pissed I am of the service they give off their subscribers. I've learned I have no connection when I went home for lunch today. Instead of doing my Entrecard-dropping chores at high noon, I took a little nap. That cooled my head off a little bit. Before going home from work, I called up at home and asked my brother if there's a connection yet, but still none. So I decided to look for the nearest net cafe.

I am thinking the heavy rain last night has damaged Smart Bro's base station and that affected our connection. But heavy rain or not, Smart Bro's services really sucks! I have experienced it too times a many in the previous months. I have heard from a friend that PLDT DSL is doing well here in GenSan. And its speed is faster triple time than Smart Bro. Such a pity because Smart Bro is strictly imposing a one-year locked in program. I guess I'm stuck with Smart Bro for 5 more agonizing months.

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