The answer to life, the universe, and everything... is blogging

This morning, I finished half of a new feature story that I was planning on posting tonight. It was supposed to be about the characteristics of Jumpers (who are special human beings capable of doing special (what else?) things like jumping through space and landing anywhere in the world) compared to those of Bloggers. Basically, I wanted to draw comparisons between the two, and in the end say that although Jumpers are cool because of their powers, Bloggers can be cool too. You just have to look at things from the right perspective.

So anyway, like I said earlier, I had already finished half of that feature document, and successfully saved its draft in the memory card of my Nokia E50. You see, I don't yet have a computer of my own, and my smart phone is the only thing that I can use as a compromise. I can read and write common documents on it, which is mostly all that a Blogger like myself should need anyway.

I would've already posted that darned Jumper article here right now, but unfortunately, I no longer have the draft with me. Why? Because I no longer have my memory card with me. Why? Because I no longer have my Nokia E50. And why? Because I pawned it earlier this afternoon for some lunch money.

So here I am, broke to the bone in a computer shop, living off debt money, faith and a few of my principles, trying to look for a subject that I could write about as a compromise for that missing Jumper article. I could try and recall it as hard as I could from memory, and just rewrite the whole thing as best as I can, but I feel it would just be a waste of my time. I believe that no problem should ever be solved twice. And writing that article again would become that -- overkill.

So what now? Certainly I can't just sit here and let my time pass by. I'm paying for my Internet access by the minute, after all. And if time is gold, my online time is gold-plated gold. I can't waste any. That's why I'm determined to make my online time today useful, just like I always do. Or try to do anyway.




Do you use Google? If you do, then you must know that Google is currently the most accurate search engine available on the Internet. It can index new pages faster than most other search engines, and besides search, it has other nifty features that I bet most people (maybe even you) don't yet know about.

Google can answer most questions you ask it. Whether you ask it how much $100 USD is in Philippine Pesos, where is Buenos Aires in Argentina, and a host of other little, trivial things you might want to know. If you're inquisitive enough, like yours truly, Google might even be kind as to show you the answer to life, the universe and everything. Go ahead, try it.

But what does this all really mean? And of course, what does it have to do with a Blogger like me? I could just as easily spend my time writing a gadget-related story and earn five dollars for it. Or write a cellphone-related story and earn eight dollars for it. And yet I'm staying here in my personal blog, and writing like I'm aimlessly wandering through the streets just because I can. Am I lonely? No. Do I feel like I want to hide. Hell no. Isn't it obvious that by doing what I'm doing right now, I've preferred to take time and come out with something, if only one thing, that's really under my own name? I know I have to make a living by writing for other web sites, but tonight, I feel like I don't want any of it. I think I need a rest from trying to make a living from writing, and even if only for tonight I have to get a life. Or live my life, whatever you want to call it. All I know is I enjoy what I'm doing, and I'm proud to be writing for no one other than myself.

And you can even see my face! Right there on the left sidebar near the top of the page, I have a small square thumbnail showing a portion of my handsome face. That's how proud I am of what I'm doing right now. I don't need a crappy magazine, or a lousy excuse for an op-ed article to bash a few people or tell you how I feel. As long as I can write in a place where people can clearly see who I really am, I'm comfortable and will gladly take anything thrown against me.

Writing is what I do to make a living, and blogging is what I do to live my life online. Surely it isn't that hard to see. Or is it?

The reason why I blog is not just because I want to write. I can do writing with my eyes closed, insincerely and half-heartedly. But blogging is something that you can never do, unless you make a commitment and take all your writing to heart. And once you do that, once you succeed in taking everything you do to heart, only then will you be able to blog about something that's straight from the heart.

And of course, being able to say something isn't the be-all, end-all of blogging for me. I highly suspect if it even is for anyone out there. The underlying reason why I, and many other bloggers continue what they do, is not just because they want to write and have a chance to tell an infinite number of people how they feel, but to touch, inspire, motivate, and share.

Bloggers are the next generation of journalists. We are Media 2.0. Traditional methods can't hold us down, and neither will anything thrown in bad will and blind judgment.

Bloggers can teach, have feelings, pick sides, and uphold truth. I would never trade this for an opportunity in traditional media. Why would I want to downgrade my standard of living? If anything, I’m looking forward for more experiences in blogging. You can’t make a future man go back to the stone age. And you can’t make this man let go of his digital pen either.

The last, and probably the main reason why I continue to be proud in calling myself a blogger, is because I can find closure in all the things I do. Unlike regular writers who are satisfied with superficial knowledge and are eager to write about things that they don’t really know anything about, Bloggers (at least Bloggers like me, and I’m not trying to be a show off here) have integrity. I, for one, will go down to the deepest of anything to find truth. And will resurface with it thinking that I’ll share it with the rest of the world. Now for those who disagree, I have only one thing to say. Don’t hate me because you’re not me; I blog, and I rock.