Infinity's Haven

On Learning WordPress

2012-10-23T00:35:00.001+08:00

Some people say that neccesity is the mother of invention. I didn't quiet understand what that phrase means until I decided to work on my website ALONE.

I was a bit astounded by the thought at first, but then I delved on to learning how to code head first when I realized that hiring a developer to work on my website will cost me a couple of bucks. Since I was determined enough (and cashless, mind you!) I told my husband that I will do it ( and I literally crossed my fingers as I've said this!)

So then it began. I was forced to work double time when Hubby bought the domain and its hosting at NameCheap.com. I was confident enough that I will pull through WordPress, as I have experienced setting up a blog in one of my previous projects months ago. But it turned out that WordPress.com is way too different from WordPress.org! Crap!

I told myself that I need to be resourceful, so I resorted to online tutorials. Lucky for me though, www.w3schools.com was there to my rescue. I was able to understand a bit about HTML and CSS (yes, I don't claim to be a pro). Another good thing was that I was able to choose a flexible theme called Responsive Theme created by ThemeId.com. It's pretty much easy to customize and I'm very much thankful to Mr. Emil Uzelac for patiently attending to all the questions posted by their users (that includes me!). Oh, did I mention that the theme is for free? Yup, so you might as well take advantage of that!

I still have a long way to run on learning WordPress. Sometimes invention out of neccesity is an advantage. In my case, it is.

Oh, by the way, my website is halfway done. :)

Change is good!

2012-08-17T10:15:00.000+08:00

Yes, change is good, especially when you have all your loved ones backing up on your plans. :)

I've been a bit busy lately, thinking and planning on how to get a chunk of the $35M revenue that Google is eyeing some years from now (this is one of the things that is very well retained in my mind during the gPhilippines event a couple of weeks ago!) It's so enticing, really, that it caught my attention automatically. I've been dying to carve my own sweet place in the internet world and now, I think that it's mighty high time for me start the ball rolling!

So how exactly I'm going to do that?

Nothing fancy, I think. I'm planning on offering my skills as a content writer and a SEO specialist. I'm planning of building my own team. :)

Looking back, I never thought that the Internet could be this interesting, it makes me think, "I wish I knew then what I know now." But then I think it's never too late to try.

I would like to thank the organizers of the first Google Day in Manila, for being the spark that lit my glowing torch that lights my way to the road of start ups. And most particularly, I would like to thank all of you guys for bringing me closer to my husband - yes, the Google Day has been one of the best dates we've ever had!

I will be posting more updates regarding my SEO start up. I'm crossing my fingers on this!

xoxo

Rainy Day Thoughts

2012-07-23T14:30:00.000+08:00

It's raining the whole weekend. My Bebe and I actually planned to watch Batman last Saturday, but Typhoon Ferdie had been a bit nasty.

The only thing that I get to enjoy this weekend was the late-night snuggling and chatting I had with my Bebe. It really makes me laugh everytime I look back to the time when we just got started. Our love story didn't go the same getting-to-know blah-blah that most couples had. We only dated once, talked about us giving a shot on this relationship (which we did after a couple of days) and on our next date, we are already calling "us" a couple. Easy breezy!

I can say that even if we've been together for quite some time now, I still can't help it when he's being amazing. It's effortless - the way he softly speaks, the way he smiles looking all silly, the annoying way he throws tantrums - everything is just so natural. And just recently, I realized that he is even more amazing because he patiently listens to me and understands me when I'm in a fit.

If there's one single thing that I am proud of about me and my Bebe, that would be our faith in us. That faith has been with us from the day we said yes. We still have it now. And we are positive that we will continue to have it till the end.

I don't want to be cheesy and all but yes, I want to tell the whole world that I love him. I love him more than anybody has ever loved anyone (that's his line, actually!)

He's my religion. =)

Good morning! :)

2012-07-19T21:29:00.000+08:00

I woke up pretty early today (that's 3:30am) to finish my SEO report for a wine store based in US. Me and my three friends (I call us "seofemmefatales") did their on-page and off-page optimization for more than a month now.

Wish I could show some stats here regarding the site's progress, but that's not allowed. Sad.

Anyways.

Happy morning to all of us! Keep safe and may God bless the Philippines.

xoxo.

Crossing my fingers for Analytics

2012-07-16T00:56:00.002+08:00

After quiet some time, I finally figured out how to include Google Analytics tracking code here at my blog. I just hope it will work!

Here's one of my guides: http://www.bloggersentral.com/2012/01/how-to-install-google-analytics-on_4555.html

Check it out too, if you need some help with the Analytics.

=)

Still waiting...

2012-07-16T00:02:00.000+08:00

It's been 4 days since I got this email from my hubby regarding the 1st Annual g|Philippines which will take place on the 3rd and 4th of August, 2012. I immediately registered myself without hesitation.

I very much excited to join this event not because it's Google that's hosting it, but this is the first ever in the country. I would definitely love to be a part of a history.

I registered for Day 1: Business,Marketing, and Entreprenuer Day. The Day 1 Agenda looks great, it actually suits my job and my interest in SEO. Though one of my bosses commented that it's just the basics, my interest never waned.

Like I've said, I am just waiting for the sweet, sweet confirmation from the Google peeps. Period.

Interested? Click here.

Hope to see you all there! =)

The Simplicity that is Home

2012-07-14T22:33:00.000+08:00

It's been 1 year, 1 month and 13 days since we moved in here in our place. It's been that long since I started calling myself a city girl. Still, I long for the simplicity of my rural life back in our hometown.

Yes, I am one of the many residents of Metro Manila who chose to migrate here in the city (not that it's me who actually chose to live here, but Hubby said that it will be the best for us, since he's working here.) There is no denying that I am from "the province". I am proud that I am a Novo Ecijano.

There is nothing much about our town - it will take you an hour (or maybe even longer) to get to a mall (which is, in fact, not a mall at all compared to the ones here in the metro), my place has no spas, no bars, no MRT and LRT. Life is just plain simple.

Day to day life is but a routine. There's no traffic on your way to work or school. There are no rushing buses, no overcrowded MRT and LRT. We have cleaner air to breathe, freshest foods to eat. I think people are happier there, too, despite the lack of fancy whatnots that many of us have here. I know because I am happy back then.

Even though it's been that long, I can't help but miss the comfort of my home. The home where I grew up, the home where me and my cousins laughed, played, quarrelled, and all. That house has been a witness to all the happy and not-so-happy memories of my childhood and early adulthood.

I miss our dogs.

I miss having early morning coffee at the front of our house while chatting with my neighbors.

I miss my friends.

I miss riding my old Honda motorcycle.

I miss hanging out in our University bleacher.

I miss eating barbecue and sweet corn at the Old Market.

I guess what I'm really trying to say is, I miss the old me.

P.S. By the way, we do have Central Luzon State University. This is actually one of the things that makes me proud about my town. =)

Site Revamp

2012-07-09T22:24:00.000+08:00

I've been used to seeing and hearing this word ever since I tried to learn SEO. Site revamp. Whenever there's a website that hungers for ranking but is hindered by the physical make-up of the site, making it somehow unfit for indexing. Yes, site revamp could be the best bet for that scenario.

Oh, c'mon! It's not that I want a revamp for myself. :D

I want a revamp for this blog. A colleague of mine actually told me a while ago that I need it because my blog looks dry. And I think I agree.

So this is a part where I need some ideas. Care to share your thoughts?

=)

Umbrellas and Raincoats

2012-07-03T22:43:00.002+08:00

"Rain, rain go away,

Come again another day..."

I heard myself silently chanting these lines this morning, as I woke up to the sound of the heavy rain pouring on the roof. I silently watched the weather news as I ate my breakfast. I told myself I'm gonna have a not-so-good day today.

I took the tricycle to get to the office just so I can save myself from getting wet. To make things more depressing, I already planned to wear a dress for today. And I did. I wore the sexiest one I have even if it doesn't suit the weather. Oh, whatever!

When I got home at 7:00 and watched the news, I realized that what I've been whining about for the whole day is much, much simpler than those who are stuck in the rain and flood. I can tell from their faces that they are worried, possibly thinking about how to get home safe. Maybe they are thinking about their loved ones at home. Are they safe? Is the flood coming in? Do we need to relocate? I can't even imagine myself to be in that situation.

So the thing here is, why are we having uncontrollable floods anyway? This problem has been existing for ages and I don't know why the government can't find a solution. But come to think of it, is it the really the government's fault that we have clogged drainages in the first place? How about us dumping our wastes everywhere?

This is a classic example of Domino Effect. Everything will fall down unless one particular piece hits something sturdy. I wonder who or what that "something sturdy" might be in this situation.

I always find it oxymoronic whenever I see a signage that says "no littering." Do we really need to be reminded?

Dilemma, Part 2

2012-06-30T22:59:00.001+08:00

Like I'm expecting for this part 2 thing.

See, I entitled the previous entry as part 1 because the moment my youngest daughter got that nasty virus, I know it will strike the whole family. And I was right. After my little one, Hubby caught it and stayed in sickbed for three days.

And now I guess it's my turn. My week-long lack of sleep took its toll on me. The writer is down with flu and yet she still manage to cave in to her overwhelming urge to blog. Right.

Anyways. I need to finish some blogs and a couple of articles for my project, so I basically don't have the "right" to be sick. Lucky for me though, I'm able to come up with good write ups. Doctors will surely scold me if they find out what I'm doing, because I'm literally setting my brain cells on "suicide mode". Working while you're sick is twice the stress. Nasty, nasty Imay!

This is actually one of the nastiest habits that I have. I don't pause. I have this mindset that the only thing that can make me stop is when my family needs me.

I know I'm being hard on myself but I guess that's what it takes to be mother.

Headache is kicking in so I guess that's it for me. Time for me to hit the sack. Hope things will be better tomorrow.

Ciao!

Dilemma, Part 1

2012-06-25T23:23:00.000+08:00

Oh yes, you guessed it right. I'm in a middle of a "serious" health problem - this thing that doctors called Systemic Viral Infection.

This seemingly common infection causes a lot of trouble to my family. My youngest daughter caught the virus first, suffered for almost a week with high grade fever, before she hand it over to her Dad. And now, my husband is suffering (as I have seen it) even worst than what our baby had.

I did some research on the matter a while ago and I found out that it is, in fact, common. The virus that may have caused it comes in various forms - it can be airborne, can be acquired through direct body and bodily fluid contact, and so on. And the worst part I guess, is that there's no particular cure for this. In fact, my hubby's doctor told him that it goes away on its own.

As a mother, it's hard for me to see my loved ones lying in sickbeds. I can feel their pain twice as much as they do. It's stressful seeing them this way. I worry too much. I can't think straight. It's hard for me to focus.

But then again, I know that's pretty normal because I am a mother and a wife.

So yes, this Systemic Viral Infection is making me "half-functional".

And it sucks, really.

Daily Dose of Learning

2012-06-16T00:09:00.001+08:00

Life is all about learning, so they say. We learn everyday, either by experience (which, they say, is the best teacher) or vicariously (which, in my own point of view, is the better teacher). Anyhow, what I'm trying to say is that, everyday is always an opportunity to learn new things - new concepts, new ideas, new tasks, discovering new interests, gaining new knowledge, and learning new sets of skills.

For today, I started out my day right. I woke up at 7:00 am and hugged my husband before I jumped out of the bed. I smiled to myself when I realized that last night was one of the sweetest nights I had with him. I learned, after two years of being together, that he is equally sweet and romantic as me. What a way to start the day!

On my way to the office, I saw a man with his cute breeder dog, with the man half-sitting as if he is picking something. Only when I got closer that I realized that the man is picking his dog's litter using some pieces of paper. I smiled to myself. This is how we should learn social responsibility.

I got in the office at exactly 8:56 am, (that's four minutes away from my shift). I know, it's just a mere four minutes, but hey, it's way better than being late.

I worked on product researching today, although that was not part of my content writing job, I gladly accepted it. Through that I learned that I can be flexible only if I want to.

Speaking of which...

Right now, as I write, I am trying to learn the fundamentals of SEO. This learning is so long overdue, but I think this is just the perfect timing.

You see, learning depends on how you welcome it. Sometimes you have to search for it, but most of the time it just sits there right in front of you. So always say "yes" to every opportunity that comes along. And oh, this type of learning is free of charge, by the way.

xoxo

On Being an In-house Writer

2012-06-13T20:34:00.000+08:00

Long before I went out of college, I already told myself that I will be my own boss. I will have my own time, work at my own pace, deliver my own output. Sounds like a plan.

After a few years, 6 years to be exact, I find myself working in as an In-house Web Content Writer for an upcoming E-commerce site called expresso.ph. So why the change of mind?

Well, I've realized that, being an outgoing person that I am, I need to have my "regular" dose of socialization. Expresso E-Commerce, Inc. (that's the company name) has given the opportunity to meet lots of people. Not to mention that my bosses, as well as my colleagues, are fun to work with.(I recall one of my bosses saying, "Who's your favorite boss?" after he gave me discount coupons for a recently opened spa here in Mandaluyong. Real sweet.)

Secondly, I found out that I grew tired from working at home. It took me quite sometime to realize that. I just grew tired of bidding, of waiting for the project owner's reply. the negotiation, everything!

I know, I know. The endless comforts of working from home. But then somehow, I just need to find a more stable job, something that can help me provide food for our table (mind you, I'm a mother of two!).

All in all, the Imay now is still the same headstrong Imay that she was years before. Maybe now I just learned to be more adaptive and flexible. Maybe I learned how to better deal with bosses. And maybe, too, I can be a boss later on. Who knows? For now I believe that life has endless possibilities. And now I learned that I should grab it as it comes along.

Ciao!

The Blogless Blogger's First Entry

2012-01-24T14:29:00.000+08:00

Yeah, I know it sounds a bit confusing but hey! I call myself "The Blogless Blogger"!

I don't have a blog of my own. Until today, though.

You see, I finally got the guts to set up my own blog. I've been writing for the web for almost 3 years now (to tell you honestly, this has been my bread and butter and it still is, until now).

Well, maybe I just don't have the time.

But now, I will definitely find time for this.

Catch you all later! :D