I got tagged again, this time by Prab. I’ve already seen this meme making the rounds of the blogs I frequently visit, and I was actually hoping that I would get away with this. 😛 Not a chance.

So let me see, what has blogging brought into my life?

1. I’ve gained friends – and that includes you, dear reader!
It might be surprising for others to know that I have been blogging (albeit in relative secrecy) for the past couple of years. Honestly, I never really thought of blogging as a way to make friendly connections on the wired world. Fortunately, one day I woke up and found that it would actually be more fun to be involved in networks in the blogosphere. Needless to say, I am happy to be part of the happy blogosphere family. Ang saya-saya! 😀

2. I’ve gained weight.
As much as I would like to openly deny this, I feel that I am running out of room for excuses (like, I look fat because I am wearing LAYERS of clothing underneath – or – it’s the HAIR. It makes me look puffy, or poofy, to borrow Manny the mammoth’s defensive argument in Ice Age). Just recently, somebody had the temerity to ask my husband if I was on the family way. GRRR! I’m not pregnant; I’ve just turned into a blogger! Now that’s what I get for sitting in front of the PC for hours on end!

There’s only one thing to tell these people: “I may be fat, but you’re ugly, and I can lose weight.” Bah!

3. I’ve rekindled my love for writing.
For the last ten years or so of my life, I have only been writing technical papers – as required by the job, you know. But there are so many ways where technical writing differs from creative writing. Once in a while, it is liberating to just write as you feel like writing, without any regards for logic, consistency, or convincing my readers about my results. I can write as I want.

4. I’m getting too contemplative about my being a Filipino.
A quick look at some of my posts like Japanese habits worth emulating by Filipinos and Pacquiao fever may give you the impression that I’m getting some kind of sadistic enjoyment from my Filipino bashing. Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m proud to be a Filipino, and I’m proud of my country. On top of that, I want my country and countrymen to be great. To do that, we have to correct what is wrong in ourselves, and strive for greatness. My being in a foreign land adds a whole new dimension to this contemplativeness. It is true that some realizations are only revealed to you when you view them from afar.

And last but certainly not the least:

5. I’ve come to grips with my father’s death.
As I said in a previous post, personal circumstances have profoundly influenced my blogging activities. After my Daddy died, I had to deal with a huge vacuum, made worse by having to return to Japan where there were no relatives to comfort me nor share my grief. Sure, there were friends. But they can only do so much (would an email saying “I’m sorry to hear about your loss” suffice?) At that time, Baggy was still in Osaka and was only with us every other weekend.

So my grief was mine alone. It took its bittersweet time, and I had to find a way to handle it. As a scientist, I tried to rationalize. But how on earth can you make sense of the death of a loved one? Tell me, can you just say, “It’s bound to happen” and go on and feel better about everything? My earliest posts were about my Daddy, and every now and then I would still mention him or how he had influenced my life.

In this way, blogging helped me to sort out my emotions and thoughts. In more ways than one, it helped me to recover from this traumatic episode in my life.

So there you go. At this point I believe that I have to tag someone else, but I am one of those who are riding the last ripples of the wave to the shore. Or simply put, most everyone I know has been tagged already, haha. Anyway, if you would like to do this meme for me, feel free to do so. Just leave a comment somewhere so I can visit your blog and find out what you have written. 🙂

以上です。- That is all.