The Beginning of My Beautiful Bloglife

Not too long ago, I discovered the joys of blogging. It started quite simply enough–I needed an easier way to share photos with family and friends.

My sister, Evelyn, took tons of photos when she went to the Canada and the USA for a vacation in 2006. She was to meet our cousin Ying for the very first time ever, and that really got her excited. Bitten by the shutterbug , Evelyn took tons of photos. Back in Australia, she decided to share some of her photos through Yahoo! Messenger. By “some,” I meant 200+, and that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Share photos? With so many photos already stored in my computer and more to come, it seemed like a daunting task. Is there an easier way?

“Join Multiply,” said Carmel.

Carmel was the most computer literate member of the family. Still is. At age 3, back in those good ole days of the gigantic floppy boot disk, she was tasked to boot the computer for older members of the family. She was also the perennial top scorer in PacMan and Dig Dug. Yes, at age THREE! So if Carmel suggests anything that is computer-related, I normally listen.

I had been using Dogster for a couple of months already, and Carmel felt I was ready to move on to “human” blog. And so I listened. This Mom is an obedient Mom. And so I started my bloglife with just that—a photo blog.

Many of the good names were taken—I think I signed up a little too late. Lacking imagination, I came up with the ridiculous handle, “sallythedoglover.” I could almost hear Carmel snicker when I gave her my Multiply ID. Just fresh out of Dogster, and there I was talking about dogs again. Hey, I love my dogs! =P
And so I started blogging about dogs and animal welfare.

My very first blog dated October 12, 2006 was about Yuki, our neighbor’s dog who met a cruel fate in the hands of dog-eaters (Eeeeewww!!). A few more dog and animal welfare blogs followed. Then there were the occasional juvenile blog quizzes that Carmel “forced” me to take, as well as some miscellaneous uncategorizable entries. To date, I have three pages worth of blogs. Not bad, considering that I do not normally post entries daily.

The wonderful thing about sites such as Multiply is that one gets to meet people on line. I consider myself very fortunate to to have made good friends online. We never grow tired of encouraging each other to develop our respective God-given talents, cheering each other on in every endeavor, laughing with each other at every amusing item posted, and offering a virtual shoulder to lean on when a friend is down.

Of late though, Multiply has gotten a bit too “busy,” and I find myself torn between talking about dogs and talking about matters that enrich the spirit. It was quite timely then that my online friend, Noel, urged me to explore what writing skills I have. To cut the long story short, he was the holder of the key to the door of the Angel’s Garden. But before I found my way back to the Angel’s Garden of my childhood, I tested the waters by posting a couple of poems on my mtsally Multiply page that I called “Poet in a Straitjacket.” It didn’t matter if my poetry sucks (I even dared to crosspost it in my other Multiply site). I still get the same loving and encouraging words, and the occasional funny replies from my online friends—Lou, Vivien, Wilma, Fr. Grevy, Nel, Noel, Val, Dave, and Rob. Donald and carpediem23, who I had the pleasure of befriending online very recently, made me smile with their positive remarks. And then, there’s the lovely and talented couple, Arwin and Maricar, who never fail to heap praises on me no matter what I post. =D

I am also delighted at the fact that some contacts and even those outside my network took the time to visit my pages even without leaving a reply. In my mind, the replies come as a bonus. After all, I do not blog for the bragging rights to the longest thread ever. Not for the traffic. Not even for accolades or the money. I am happy enough knowing that I have online friends out there who care enough to see what I have posted.

A few months back, I felt I had nothing worthwhile to blog about. But now, I find joy in sharing inspired thoughts and stories. I am inspired by the friendship that I found online. I am inspired by the angels who flew right back into my life because of the positive energy generated by my online friends—perhaps the angels were always around; I was just too busy with my mundane activities to take notice. Thank you, my Multiply friends for ushering them back into my life.

Sonnie Santos, you gave me a warm WordPress welcome when I first opened the gates of the Angel’s Garden. I have been following your blogs at Sonnie’s Porch and Solomon’s Kiosk ever since I started blogging. I’ve already told you this but I have to state it again—I am truly impressed by the contents of your blogs. You never cease to inpire people. That is a wonderful gift!

I feel truly blessed to have met so many wonderful people online. And to think that this all started with such a simple need to share photos. =) I feel the collective positive energies of my online friends, and I draw inspiration from that. As Wilma had said, It is a communion of saints online!!

Now that I have discovered the joys of blogging, I don’t think I’d ever want to stop. I may not be a writer of note. Like I said, some might even say that my writing sucks. That doesn’t bother me. I will blog, and I will not stop. Not until I grow too old and feeble. Not until my eyesight has dimmed and I lose the dexterity of my fingers.

I love my bloglife!