Now, everybody seems to be online, and as Facebook and Twitter exploded with users, everybody’s talking. All at the same time. And you find yourself having to shout just to be heard.

LOL

The main purpose of the travel blog is to provide information to travelers. I figured, if I get my research information from travel blogs, I can pay it forward by sharing what I know about the places I visited. So I wrote visa guides and meticulously keep track of all my expenses so I can share it later on. Back then, I was the only one doing that. Now everybody’s doing it. It has become de rigueur for every Pinoy travel blog. It’s like there’s a list of what a travel blog should and shouldn’t have, and everybody’s sticking to that formula.

I don’t blame them. Travel guides, visa guides, and travel expenses bring traffic. A lot of it. Though I certainly wasn’t the first to do it, I feel sort of proud that I was one of the first (locally) to do it.

Now that everybody’s doing it, I feel like I should move on. Though I can rely on them for much some much needed traffic boost, I feel that my blog should grow as I do. Maybe I would write longer features now, focus on specific aspects of a destination, instead of writing about day to day activities. Maybe have a regular series, like Flipnomad’s Photo Thursday, Paul’s Why Travel Tuesday, and Kitchencow’s Sumptuous Sunday. Or maybe try something completely different. I don’t know what that is, but I have this desire to find whatever the hell that is.

My blog is just as lost as I am.

I’ve applied for a job last year, and bombed the interview. I’ve expressed an interest in another part time job, with a possible interview next week. I’m afraid I’ll bomb it again, and I’m bracing myself for the battering my self-esteem will once again have to live through.

Now that everybody’s online, including my mother, I’ve been thinking maybe I should start putting more information in my public profiles, and remove the part about high school boys.

As I stare at my about.me description, I realize I couldn’t do it. That’s me. That’s how I write, that’s my own brand of humor. I can’t pretend to be this normal person just to pass people’s judgement.

I might regret letting it stay in the future, or I just might laugh it off, but for now, the boys are there to stay.

Don’t look back — that’s not where you’re going.
Yes, accept things that have happened in the past,
but pay attention to where you are going in the future
and focus on that, because that is your life.

Chris Hadfield

If I’m to put a soundtrack for my travels, it’d be U2′s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For. Six years later, it seems I’m still lost. I now have a better understanding about who I am and what kind of person I am, but there’s still something missing.

I’ve been wanting to embark on a journey that may seem foolish to a lot of people I know. Even I know it’s not the most practical thing to do. But I really want to do it. And I will.

In November 1, 1997, I signed up for a Geocities account.

I remember I just came home from spending the Halloween at the cemetery with my cousins. I was looking at a friend’s website and got fixated on a button that proudly announced that it’s hosted on Geocities. Before I knew it, I was clicking on it and signing up to create my website, without any knowledge about HTML.

I learned on the go, which in hindsight, works the best for me. Fifteen years later, I’m still battling with HTML, with a healthy dose of CSS and a sprinkle of PHP on the side. Funny how life works out.

You are an enduring fighter, with masked passions.

Your responses indicate that you have a normal desire to share yourself with others. However, this need is not being adequately fulfilled at present.

As a result, you unconsciously attempt to treat this emptiness with momentary interests and temporary passions. If left unaddressed, this imbalance leads to impulsive behavior and unnecessary risks.

Past betrayals have left you generally suspicious of others’ behavior, particularly regarding romantic relationships. You fear you may be exploited if you open yourself too fully. Consequently, you often seek some proof of a new friend’s or lover’s sincerity before you decide to trust them.

Further complicating your relationships is the anxiety you have about your unfulfilled personal and professional goals. You fear that you’ve made decisions that weren’t in your own best interest, or failed to take advantage of opportunities when they presented themselves.

The desire to overcome these challenges sometimes lead you to seem pushy or even arrogant. Because this competitive urge is not always apparent to others, they are often surprised by it.

However, the passion that underlies your desire for success is unique. This makes you unlike others. You cannot simply accept what life has to offer; you aspire for more.

The latest evolution is astounding. I was window shopping in this online store, and next thing I know, all the ads I’m seeing are for the store, showing the products I browsed.

I’m torn between feeling amazed at what they did and feeling as if I have someone is tracking my every move.

There’s this great video, that seeks to inspire. It has just gone live recently, and I’m sure that in a couple of days, it will go viral. People are starting to comment that they want to take certain actions, spurred by the imagery and message conveyed.

I wanted to share it, but first I wanted to know who made the video. Was it a personal advocacy or a school project? An initiative, perhaps, of a group or community? A search reveals the website listed in the view is owned by a marketing agency. Should have seen that coming.