A new blog template

At last I was able to change this blog's template to a 3-column one, thanks to "BloggerStyles". I did this for three reasons.

First, I want to give equal importance to my advertisers' widgets and my blog's contents represented by the labels. Since I've started to monetize this blog, I'd like to be serious about it. That will mean displaying advertisers' widgets in an auspicious area, without sacrificing the best way for my blog's contents to be noticed. Content is King, and will still be the best source of information, whether intended for buyers or people from all walks of life who might benefit from what is relayed by a post's content.

Second, to make my blog's layout more organized. One of the best ways for me to be organized in my thoughts is to have an organized surrounding and the layout of my blog is not an exception.

Last but not least, to give my blog a more professional look. I believe that is one way a blog can attract traffic. Taking myself as an example, I stay longer on blogs that look professional, looking for posts that might interest me. That doesn't mean I ignore blogs that don't look professional enough, it simply depends on the time I have the moment I happen to land on blogs. Professional looking blogs would usually steal my time from doing my intended tasks.

Blog advertising

I'm so glad that through blog advertising, both advertisers and bloggers like me will have more opportunities to earn. They can sign up for free in a site like “Paying Post” where bloggers and advertisers meet in the marketplace, the latter making his offer and the former selecting an offered opportunity.

There were times in the past when my only objective in looking for social network sites for bloggers and advertisers was to earn, but later, blogging about products which I would have wanted to write about in the first place became my objective. I enjoy writing about those products, and the readers enjoy reading my posts. That, I feel, is the main reason why blog advertising will always work more than any other mode. The passion and sincerity of the blogger can be felt by the readers. Rapport is established, and that can be the most important link that can hold the readers. Of course a link to the blog is first established through the search engines where keywords are entered by readers looking for products. These keywords are required by the advertiser for a blogger to include, or sometimes, creating the effective keyword is left by the advertiser to the blogger.

The new layout of the "Paying Post" site is so friendly to both bloggers and advertisers because articles about the most frequently asked questions is the first thing they see so their interest to know more about the site's features is triggered. It also gives them the assurance and comfort that they are on the right site.

I was inspired by advertisers to create a new blog, titled "Amusing Tips", because I simply find most opportunities offered by these advertisers amusing. I've enjoyed talking about their products because I was always reminded of past experiences I wouldn't thought of if not for those products, and I was also challenged to be more creative and persuasive. I've said that in the past, and I can't help but say that again, so that the advertisers and other bloggers, especially the new ones, will also be inspired like me! In other words, the advertisers and bloggers should sign up as early as possible to sites like “Paying Post”. Do that now, and let’s talk about your wonderful learning experience!

25 things about me

I was tagged by my daughter to do this "25 random things" about me in Facebook. At first I said 25 is too many, but when I reached the 25th no., I felt there are still a lot I'd like to include, but I have to stick to 25 since I'm also supposed to tag 25 people to publish his or her 25 random things. Since I don't have many friends in Facebook yet, I'd like to include some bloggers because I also would like to know what can be the 25 random things about them. Here are the 25 random things about me:

1. I want to be all I can be but time is just not enough.

2. I want to continue my Interior Design course but I also want to have enough time for Lyca, my special needs child.

3. I also want to continue learning about Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). So far, it is the most enlightening field of study that interests me.

4. I also want to study web designing and SEO.

5. I’ve removed some of my wrinkles in my profile’s photo using Adobe Photoshop. My goal is to remove them through TCM so I won’t have to edit my photo next time. I’ve already seen an improvement.

6. I joined a singing contest when I was 6 years old. I was supposed to sing a song titled “Maybe this year”, but many contestants ahead of me sang that song so I changed my song to “Sampaguitang Mahal”, a 30-second Tagalog song.

7. My talent in drawing was discovered by my aunt when I did my “Birds” project when I was in Grade school. My aunt was so glad with the drawings that she volunteered to paint them with watercolor.

8. In my very first school card, my name was “Marilu”, which was really my nickname. The people in our house gave me another nickname, Lulu, which became Lulubelle, because of the yellowbell flowers we had beside our door.

9. My given name is really Maria Luisa but my birth certificate was burned together with the municipal hall in my birth place, Kidapawan City, (Philippines' "City of Fruits"), so registration of my birth was repeated before I was enrolled in college.

10. In college, I introduced another nickname, “Malu”, which I’ve used until I was employed in San Miguel Corp. (SMC), my last employer.

11. My interest in Feng Shui increased when two mechanical engineers of San Miguel Corp. conducted a Feng Shui seminar in SMC and told stories how Feng Shui improved their lives from the time they were students in Mapua Institute of Technology. They decided to develop expertise in Feng Shui even while working as plant engineers.

12. Based on the number formula for names of the two Engineer-Feng Shui experts, they recommended that I change my nickname since “Malu” or “Malou” is not so favorable with my marital surname.

13. My airplane board pass always reflected the name “Malui”, obviously the first 5 characters of Ma Luisa, the name the airline always type every time I book a flight. Because of that, an officemate called me “Malui” which I thought sounded good, so I introduced this as my new nickname.

14. It was my grandmother who taught me how to sing, maybe when I was 3 or 4. We were in the garden one evening and there was a firefly so she taught me the “Firefly” song.

15. I learned to play the ukelele when I was 6 and I think it was my aunt who taught me.

16. I also learned to play the guitar, when I was in high school.

17. I was forced to join a singing contest during my first year in college and I played the guitar while singing. I won the “Most Promising Singer” award.

18. While in college, I joined our neighborhood’s choir, “The Samaritans”, together with my first boyfriend, who became my husband (Lauren’s father).

19. While a member of “The Samaritans Choir”, I began to sing the songs of the Carpenters and since then, I became a copycat of Karen Carpenter. The Samaritans Choir also sang songs of the Carpenters, with me as soloist.

20. After sending my children to arts classes, I felt that maybe I should also enhance my talent in this area, so I also attended art classes later. My real talent is in sketching portraits.

21. I’ve encountered a lot of miracles in this lifetime. The first was when I passed the competitive scholarship exams at Centro Escolar University. Nationwide, less than 20 students passed and were given four years full scholarship by this school.

22. The second miracle was when I passéd the Medical Technology Board exams and got high grades in the exams. I can remember some items in the exam that should be answered in essay form but I had no idea about the answers. I tried anyway and was surprised that what I had answered were correct and can be found in the book

23. The third miracle was after taking the Board exams, I passed another scholarship test for computer courses at the National Computer Institute, a government funded institution located in Camp Aguinaldo at that time.

24. The fourth miracle was when I was experiencing a midlife crisis. I conversed with God and He proved it was He who was conversing with me by answering my question “what is His message to mankind?” through the number of stones I was cleaning. His answer was 143.

25. The fifth and perhaps greatest miracle I experienced so far was when God proved how much He loves me when I asked for a child when I conversed with Him in item 24, because after a year, Lyca was born inside our house.

If you feel you'll also enjoy doing this 25 random things about you, consider yourself tagged and then please include your link to your 25 random things through the comments portion of this post. I'll be very eager to know about them!

Be all you can be!

When I was younger, I tried to be everything I can. I wanted to follow the footsteps of my mother who called herself "a jack of all trades, master of none". Like her, I tried to be a good cook, baker, dancer, singer, actress, painter, artist, writer and more, though her achievements in some of those areas mentioned were on a professional level. On the other hand, my profession was focused in Information Technology until I handled the computerization of my employer's medical department meaning I had to focus on two entirely different fields of study. Because of that, I failed to gain enough expertise in a specialized area in IT, which I believe is the main reason, aside from my age, why it is hard for me to land in another IT job. I then realized that there is a disadvantage in being a jack of all trades and master of none.

From a different perspective however, I and the rest of "jacks-of-all-trades" should be very thankful for their God-given talents. God must have a purpose but at this very moment I'm wondering if I need those talents just to relay His message to mankind, the main reason why this blog was created. I have a small book by John Maxwell titled "Be All You Can Be!", but there were just a few pages that I've read so far. It tells about a much deeper meaning of being all what you can be, and that is the challenge to stretch to your God-given potentials. I am now again wondering if I will need all those potentials to take care of a special child, which came after His message. Maybe a bigger challenge will come and maybe God has given me gifts that are more important than those talents that I can show off. Maybe I can be more patient, more generous and more compassionate. Believe me or not, I've thought about that only while typing the last two sentences before that.

Now I get the point. "Be All You Can Be!" includes everything you can be, and you have to stretch yourself every time until it becomes easy and you are able to stretch again. With a special child beside me, maybe I am more patient now and more persevering, but those qualities can still be stretched far. I believe that is what the trials and unexpected undesirable events that we encounter, are for.