Tales from a Team Lead

...Yes! I finally resurrected from the dead. Or should I say zombie state-of-mind? Oh I am unpredictable alright... And my mood today dictates that I should be back in the blogsphere!

As for my schizophrenic persona online who went on hiatus, I decided to take it one step at a time. Maybe I'll update the others, like my art blog, music blog, photo blog and whatnot.. but for now, I better "cure" myself by sticking to one alter ego. lol...

So for starters, here's an amazing video (more like "photo-slides") from a painfully beautiful song...



To Wish Impossible Things
by The Cure

remember how it used to be
when the sun would fill up the sky
remember how we used to feel
those days would never end
those days would never end

remember how it used to be
when the stars would fill the sky
remember how we used to dream
those nights would never end
those nights would never end

it was the sweetness of your skin
it was the hope of all we might have been
that fills me with the hope to wish
impossible things

but now the sun shines cold
and all the sky is grey
the stars are dimmed by clouds and tears
and all i wish
is gone away
all i wish
is gone away

all i wish
is gone away

---
note to self: don't be gone off too long.. again

After 160 years, the great American writer Edgar Allan Poe is finally to be honoured with a decent funeral service.

Two hundred years after his death at age 40, Edgar Allan Poe is being properly honored with the funeral he should have been given years ago. When the author died October 7, 1849, his cousin, Neilson Poe, neglected to tell anyone. As a result, just a handful of people showed up at Poe's funeral in Baltimore, Maryland to pay tribute.

Tomorrow, at two different times, amends are being made in Baltimore. It's expected that 300 people will attend each of the TWO funerals being held Westminster Hall. The hall, which used to be church back in Poe's day, is next to the cemetery where he is buried. From the description of the building's Gothic architecture, it sounds like it would be a perfect setting for Poe's funeral even if Poe and his wife weren't already buried next to it.

Read the story at BBC

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Thanks to all those who have visited this blog during my vacation and since I was back.

And although I only received a few EC drops during this period, to show my appreciation, I am giving back the credits x2 to my top 10 droppers! Meaning, if you dropped by 5x during this month, I will give you 10credits.

Plus, I will buy a day's ad too!

For those who do not know what an EC Drop is, I encourage you to sign up at entrecard!

But no worries, the next top 10 will also get their credits back and I will double it too. Watch out by the first week of November for those who won the credits!

Worldwide, more than 2 million housing units per year are needed for the next 50 years to solve the present worldwide housing crisis. With our global population expanding, however, at the end of those 50 years, there would still be a need for another 1 billion houses.

Today, the UN World Habitat Day will be celebrated. Every year different activities are being done to help promote, donate, educate, and reach out to everyone that all of us deserves a good place to live in, no matter what race and entity, language you speak, color of the skin, culture and religion you have.

Please help us in spreading the word.

As some of you may know, I am going away for a while as I take my Vacation Leave outside the Philippines. I earned these leaves since January and I feel I deserve a break. I'll be touring a few European countries for a month or so, and I won’t be able to drop on Entrecard or Adgitize, or blog throughout that time.

Thanks to all of you who have followed this blog! I do hope that you can still drop and click here in my absence. Also, do check out my earlier posts and tell me what you think! You can click the links below or go to my sidebar's Navigate and pick your topic. I'll surely go and visit your blog as soon as I get back!

SOME TAGS: Travel, Travel Tips, Lovelife

Also, I prepared a new blog for your daily visits while I am away, please check out my collection of flickr pictures over at Pick a Flickr Pic A Day!

Happy blogging to everyone and thanks for reading this!



photo credit: UnSeEn

Here's something to get my mind off from work. Got this cool idea from Terri and I just had to play along! Its so FUN! You gotta try it!



Type in "[your name] needs" in the Google search
Zee needs to be inside a rap institution (WTF! No I don't! That'll make me more crazy!)

"[your name] looks like"
Zee. Looks like a big mess. (Teehee)

"[your name] wants"
Zee wants it dry. (Erm... do I?)

"[your name] does"
Zee does a U-turn, seeks government OK for bundling. (lol, I don't even drive! Or does this mean another thing?)

"[your name] hates"
Zee hates her long nails (so that's why I bite them all off!)

"[your name] asks"
Zee asks when the time might come to give up on the planet (In fact, I am a member of Greenpeace.)

"[your name] likes"
Zee likes sticking her tongue out at photographers! (LOL! So true! Ask my boyfriend who shots my every move! Worse than a paparazzi!)

"[your name] eats"
Zee Eats The Meaty Bone. (ooOOOHHHhhhoo?!?)

"[your name] wears"
Zee, wears hot ticket items from crop tops and aggressive cuffs to sexy pantsuits (sexy pantsuits? Ha! How I wish...)

"[your name] was arrested for"
Zee was arrested for murder (And it is the only google hit! Geee..)

"[your name] loves"
Zee Loves Ham and others you may know. (Here comes the "meat" thingy again! Erm, and what "others"?)


If you give this one a try, I'd love to read it. Leave me a link in the comments.
This was fun!

I was commissioned a couple of weeks ago to make a blog for one of our campaigns at work. There were three conditions. I am not "technically" under the payroll of this campaign, as they call me their "freelance" designer. Unfortunately, the second condition, since it seems to be just a favor, the compensation will come in soon as it becomes a success.

So, IF it doesn't, then all efforts are useless. Well, uhm, not really 'coz the third condition is, I can do whatever I want as long as I coordinate with their campaign's team lead. And he is the one who will maintain it. That's a plus since their team lead may be more techie than me, but I am more knowledgeable about the blogsphere and blog codings. So I can add google adsense there. I can even add Adgitize and/or Entrecard if I wish too. I just hope the blog won't be considered as Spam by others. It's as Legit as this. Only, less personal.

I was excited at first but dismayed as well especially when I learned of the second condition. I would love to take the risk but I am being rushed. I have a vacation coming soon so I need to finish it before I go. Also, because we have a tight deadline in my own campaign, I am always just too tired to even face the computer soon as I get home. I feel like I do not have enough time.

I still have major planning and packing to do. Family events and medical appointments to attend to. And SLEEP! Not to mention, attend to my blogs!

Ahrg! Don't forget my books that I need and want to read, my paintings... well there are artworks in my head that can't be realized on actual paint yet too.

No wonder my boyfriend said to me last night that I "would work myself to death" at the rate I am now.

So the vacation is just so perfect! I need to pause and breathe fresh air. I need to detach myself from all these or else it will consume me and eat me whole!

I need to get in touch with my brain's right hemisphere. And most especially, my heart.

Don't let your old posts just be a thing of the past. Link to your posts to increase page views. Here's a nice widget to add to your blog!

Show Related Stories Under Each Post

LinkWithin is a blog widget that appears under each post, linking to related stories from your blog archive.

Don't Let Your Past Stories Go to Waste!

Linkwithin retrieves and index all stories from your blog archive, not just recent stories, making them accessible to new or casual readers of your blog who would not otherwise encounter them.

Increase Pageviews, Keep Readers Engaged

The widget links to stories that are relevant and interesting to readers of a particular post, keeping them engaged with your blog, and increasing your traffic.

Best thing about this is it's FREE and easy to install.

See this live demo below my post. If you want to test it, click here to refresh and see each links change every time.

Happy Blogging!

(Cory: Goodbye and farewell!)

Not many knew that she was an artist and fluent in French. After her first year in High School, she was sent overseas to study in Ravenhill Academy in Philadelphia and New York schools, Notre Dame Convent School and the College of Mount Saint Vincent. She studied liberal arts and graduated in 1953 with a Bachelor of Arts in French Language, with a minor in mathematics. She intended to become a math teacher and language interpreter. [read more at wikipedia]

Too bad I only found one of her paintings online, from zippylemon.



One of her latest works fetched 600,000 Php at a charity auction for breast cancer patients but I'm not sure if that is the painting above. In an interview in 2008, she mentioned that she planed to go back to painting immediately “when I return to my home on Times St., where my studio is.”

How I wish I could see her other works. I'm afraid I have seen (and the numbers will add soon) more museums outside the Philippines than here. Tsk! And I still long to see in real life Juan Luna's Spolarium! Strangely, the National Museum is always closed everytime we go there.

So this ends my 5 consecutive days of blogging for Cory. I'd rather do this than blog about Micheal Jackson...

I wish that when I get old I can say this too:

"Don’t worry, I have lived a full life... I cannot ask for more." ~ Cory Aquino

Last weekend, the President announced a 10-day period of national mourning for the death of the country's democracy icon. And today will be a Non-Working Special Holiday to give chance to Filipinos who wants to pay tribute and take part in the burial rites of Cory.

But too bad for CC people like me, holiday or not, we have to work tonight.

Here are some photos from Inquirer's twitter

I heard the news on the radio on my way home. At work, a colleague got an sms from a friend that Cory passed away. Her cancer finally took over her body.

In the cab, I heard the reporter read a passage of Cory's prayer before her death. Apparently, she penned this down weeks after they found out she has Colon Cancer. After the reporter read a few lines, I got goosebumps.

Sure, her presidency was not perfect, but is there such a thing? Whatever your religion may be, whatever side of politics you belong to, death is death. And whether there is an afterlife or not, nobody will find out until the time when you, yourself will face death. The important question is, what have you done with your life?

Anyway, I finally found a copy of the prayer online.



Prayer for a Happy Death
by Corazon Aquino

Almighty God, most merciful Father
You alone know the time
You alone know the hour
You alone know the moment
When I shall breathe my last.
So, remind me each day,
most loving Father
To be the best that I can be.
To be humble, to be kind,
To be patient, to be true.
To embrace what is good,
To reject what is evil,
To adore only You.
When the final moment does come
Let not my loved ones grieve for long.
Let them comfort each other
And let them know
how much happiness
They brought into my life.
Let them pray for me,
As I will continue to pray for them,
Hoping that they will always pray
for each other.
Let them know that they made possible
Whatever good I offered to the world.
And let them realize that our separation
Is just for a short while
As we prepare for our reunion in eternity.
Our Father in heaven,
You alone are my hope.
You alone are my salvation.
Thank you for your unconditional love, Amen.

Rest in Peace...

“I would rather die a meaningful death than to live a meaningless life.” ~ Maria Corazon "Cory" Cojuangco Aquino (January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009)
Official Website of Cory
Online Testimonial for Cory Aquino


President Arroyo orders 10 days of mourning for the late former president Cory Aquino. And in tribute to that. I'll be placing my own yellow ribbon here at my blog.

If you would like to place a white ribbon on your blog or if you currently already have, please add your link here.

I'm calling all Filipino bloggers and anyone who wants to pay tribute to to a great Filipina, to place a yellow ribbon for at least 10 days and write a post about it on their blogs. Please add your blog links here:



You can create your own or grab this badge:



Here are some people who have placed a yellow ribbon as a sign of mourning...





Photo credits (in order):
michaeljosh
JHAmes808
Jose Javato
d0k
Psychedelic Tuna
Erwin Oliva
olebasisotnas
TheHouseKeeper
Koyang's Lens

I would tolerate chitchatting over sleeping anytime! And this, I am pertaining to the Agents at my work and not myself. Boy, do I love to sleep instead of work at night! Although I do not see myself doing anything else other than what I'm doing in my current job. As of the moment. *wink*

And you know what they say, "you gotta love what you do to have to do it every day."

And sleeping over chatting? Well, wake up calls from the love of my life would not ruin any beauty sleep for me. I just hope I can immediately pull myself up easier like years ago. I think I'm just getting old.

Anyway, in connection with chitchatting, here, I added a new blog feature. The Cbox! (short for chatbox) where a quick message can be dropped anytime! Although I would recommend leaving a comment on a blog post if the message is pertaining to a certain post.

So let's see in the coming days if passersby just look and click by. I just promise this, if you leave a comment (be it at a post or the CBox, I will surely visit your blog too!)

Check out my new ChitChat Box over at my sidebar and say Hi!

For those who can't go to the SONA, and would like to see the "behind the scenes" of the event, go to the BAYAN - Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (New Patriotic Alliance) official website and click the live stream.

Go to http://www.bayan.ph/

I'm not into Reality TV, but this is the real "real world", and not just a show to be broadcasted on TV or the net for the sake of commercialism.

Last Sunday night, before the SONA, I witnessed them paint the effigy of Gloria and if you click now, and if you're in time, you may watch the SONA itself. Live!

I don't think it's the server at work. But earlier today, the site works. I was even able to drop some cards. Strangely, soon as I tried to logged in a few minutes ago, I am redirected to this page:



The widget is working fine though. Is Entrecard down? When will they come back? What will happen with our credits?

I hope this is just a glitch.

One Month! Ha!

Happy ONE month to this blog!

and Monthsary to my Honey!

All Blogger templates have the Nofollow attribute built into their comments. This is done to discourage comment spam. However you can, especially if you are a new blogger, encourage people to comment on your blog by removing this attribute. The Nofollow attribute instructs the search spiders not to follow the link thus preventing the spread of "Google Juice"...........

You can encourage people to comment on your blog once they recognize that links in comments are being followed. To discourage spam enable comment moderation in your Settings---->Comments. Also put a prominent text widget in your sidebar proclaiming that links in your comments are followed by the search bots. This will act as a freebait by sharing your link juice with fellow bloggers.

MODIFYING THE TEMPLATE

To do this login to dashboard and click on layouts of your blog. Then click on Edit Html subtab of Template tab. First backup your template by clicking on the Download Full Template link. Put a check in the Expand Widgets Template Checkbox at the top of the Edit Template text box. This expands the Blog Posts Widget Code within which is the comments code. Then press Ctrl+F and find:

rel='nofollow'>

Delete the words in red in the above code : rel='nofollow' and save the template.

TEXT BOX WIDGET IN SIDEBAR

Click on Add Page Element link in sidebar on Page Elements subtab of Template tab. Choose Text widget and add following text in it :

COMMENT POLICY
Comments on this blog are made DOFOLLOW for the Google Spiders.
Comments are moderated.
Spam will not be tolerated.

(And you can always add the U comment I follow badge too!)


Save the widget and place it in a prominent position in your sidebar.

Source: The Blog Doctor

Diet Secrets Online
Entreblogger
Business Sphere
Online Money Intelligence
The Way I See It
Momspective Reviews
Comedy Plus
First Door on the Left
Prove Me Wrong
AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles

Today I made another blog for a colleague. So that sums up to 7 blogs created for co-workers. And three of which are just for one person. Two are not being updated anymore and... oh wait! I made 3 more which are not being updated too since the owners have resigned from the company. Maybe they made "secret blogs" which I was not made aware of? Aha... hmm...

Okay, so the grand total is actually 10. Yes a whopping TEN original blogger designs! All linked to my former art blog. (Well, I scratched the "former" coz I was in hiatus there for months but am now trying to post at least once a month.)
So what if that blog has a 4 Pagerank? I don't even care about those and funny how others desperately want a Pagerank of 4 or above.


Due to the popularity (*ehem*) of that blog, suddenly I just wanna drop it off. Hot like a bomb. lol... I don't know but sometimes I crave for anonymity. My boyfriend doesn't even know this blog yet. Well I am planning to tell him... soon. I know he won't mind. But I also know that he would tell me to avoid being "too personal". He is a private person, of course, and he would not like it if his family finds out his blog too.

Strangely, for me, since there are "real people" who knows my Art blog (Ha! I make it sound as if I have more blogs!) I really do not care anymore if my family finds and read it. Who would like to dig up old posts about me anyway? That blog dates back to 2004 and my first entries were dark and "gothic" (if I am allowed to use that word).

Oh well.

Anyhoo, here's a cute personality quiz I just took up at blogthings:

You Are 86% Addicted to the Internet

The internet is your life - seriously. You spend so much time online, you should be a dot com millionaire!

Uhuh. Yeah right..