Blog Addict of the Week: melancolia

MEET our Blog Addict of the Week, melancolia of Expat sa Vienna.

Here’s a photo of melancolia in disguise.

Could you tell us something about yourself? When and why did you start blogging and who got you hooked?

I am already in my early 30s, currently living in Vienna, Austria, since 2001with my little family. I am a new mother to 18-month-old Boo the Rascal. For a day job I am teaching English to preschool kids in one of the kindergartens here and I am not satisfied with it.

But that is beside the point. I started blogging or online journaling almost six years ago, after my arrival in Vienna. The reason is partly due to the chaos that followed 9-11 and the breakdown of communication between me and the people I know way back home. The book “The Elementary Particles” by Michel Houellebecq was like an eye-opener to me after reading it.

At the same time I got to read the many confessions and public outcry of the many people — speaking their minds, expressing their concerns, fears, happiness and sadness — on the Net that I found the whole thing attractive suddenly. It dawned on me that somehow I needed to unleash my woes, my loneliness, or whatever it was. I was yearning for something. Then one day I found myself signing up for a Diaryland account. I guess, loneliness, even though my husband is always with me, can give you insecurity or this feeling that you are so small. Especially if you are far away from the place you know by heart. But I can assure you that it is more different now. I have learned to accept my fate. I feel way much better and the homesickness is not that intense.

What makes a blog better than a regular website? Did you try putting up your own site before you started blogging?

I have a website. And I have several blogs (one is a personal log where I keep things that don’t fit anywhere, another site about living in Vienna as an immigrant, and a place where I collect anything and everything about being a woman of the world). I don’t think there is an advantage or disadvantage between the two. Personal website is like a calling card while blog is where you collect your thoughts for the day/moment. I don’t think one can compare them because they serve a different purpose.

My website houses different blogs that serve different facets of my personality, of what I would like to convey.

I did try putting up my own website in 1999 using the Nerve.com’s free webspace. Way back when it was a community of intelligent erotica lovers. It even had website builder that I learned to understand how and what the hell was HTML. And I did try my luck on several gratis sites like GeoCities. But I never maintained them. So I let them rot. Moreover, I found the ads a tad bit annoying. My plan was to collect all the articles I wrote and install them there, like a portfolio of sorts. But I didn’t move on from there and it didn’t happen due to my complacency.

While I prepared to leave Manila Nerve.com’s free webspace and e-mail service ended. I searched for free websites and one search engine recommended Diaryland. Reading several accounts, I thought blogging/online journaling was for losers. When I first started tinkering with websites I saw a burgeoning number of blogs, which that time didn’t have any name. I admit that I was appalled reading the faceless, nameless humans who were divulging their secrets for the entire world to see. Get this, I was still in the Philippines that time. So I didn’t understand that some people didn’t have any problems confiding with an anonymous audience. So I stopped fooling around with website-making until I lived in Vienna, Austria. Since having my own blogging/online journal account, it has become a different purpose. I did change my opinion regarding blogging. And I did eat my words concerning blogging.

Would you say that blogging is very addictive? How many people have you convinced to also start blogging?

I am blogging on and off these days. Either I don’t have any access to the Internet or I have lots of things to do. We rarely spend our days in Vienna.

Addictive? Yes. I think so. But you should not concern yourself with the pressure of updating daily. If you feel a sudden urge to discontinue writing for a while then feel free to do so. I don’t update my blogs for the sake of updating.

I invited a couple of friends to check out my site but I am not sure if I have convinced them to do the same thing. They did stop and look but they never really stay. Even my husband refuses to visit my sites. For me, that’s okay. As much as possible I want to keep it uncensored. The less they know the more I can be honest with myself. So yes, I don’t think they know I have blogs and I talk about them sometimes.

How has blogging made a difference in your life?

Blogging can empower you as an individual. You are not only a mere spectator but also a participant of what’s happening around you, or the world. You don’t only read the contents. But you make the contents. And that’s a glorious thing. I regard my blogs as my personal Wailing Wall. They reflect a part of my personality. And it is nice to know that I also have a voice among the many characters in cyberspace.

What blogging software do you use? What makes it better than other blogging services?

I trust WordPress. Not only it is for free and developing every day but it also revolutionizes blogging. But before switching to it, I had accounts on Diaryland, Pitas, Blogger for a brief time and LiveJournal due to an acquaintance’s invitation (when LJ used to be an invitation-only site). And then later, I had the chance to move on to Movable Type and then b2. But ever since I discovered WordPress I’ve never turned back. It is gonna stay that way. I love the plug-ins and the many options to suit your taste.

What’s the most memorable experience you’ve had in the blogging world?

Realizing that the world is even a smaller place due to blogging. You find out that the one you are corresponding with is related or knows the other one whose blog you are also reading. So it is nice and it is also crazy.

If you have to pimp your blog to readers, could you tell us in 100 words or less why they should visit your blog?

To be honest I don’t know what I am doing here answering the questions, specifically this one, when I don’t intend to make my site that popular. But yes, feel free to do so especially if you want to read a penguin different from the rest inhabiting the Southern Hemisphere.

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Thanks melancolia! And to all those who’d like to be featured, just leave a comment and your URL so that we can check out your blog. Or e-mail joeyalarilla@gmail.com.

We’ll feature a new Blog Addict every week, so keep visiting

Who knows? The next Blog Addict of the Week could be you.

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