Singtel Blog Competition, dated 2 April 2004



Let's just say I got very touched by an email written by a reader, so I'm feeling particularly HAPPY!!



Yaaay happy blogger!!!



To everyone who has made snide comments about me, telling me I'm an attention-seeking whore who writes non-funny (why did you even decide its not funny if you never for a moment thought its funny??) blog entries:



Heres what I will say to you:



Click here to be pleasantly surprised.



Well well well... So crude. But apt anyway.



My point is this. I'm not your typical girl who will break down and cry. Some of these people who hide behind their internet nicks (HUMCHEE AH?) to flame me might be supporters of the other dreamdates, or simply new readers, so perhaps you guys don't know me well enough.



YOU CANNOT GET ME DOWN. No matter what you say, I possibly have heard it a million times before already. Fat? Been there. Ugly? Yeah so? Attention-seeking? I don't even see whats wrong. Whore? Wheres your creativity? Slut? Surely you can do better.



I'm still here, strong and unwavering.



I have my blog ongoing for a full year this April 17. Let's just have an early birthday entry for my blog shall we?



From checking blogger out, to writing my first blog entry. I learnt, step by step, shamelessly asking people, to customise my blog. I learnt HTML, so frustrated with it, that I nearly decided to just leave it as the default blue blog template.



I learnt how to edit my pictures. I checked out different websites for picture hosting, and slowly, I added comments links. A scrolling marquee. A tag board.



From basic default blue, to a bright pink background. Then a snowflake background with me holding my cybershot. Then it was red. The picture was a full shot of me. After which its pink, its current skin. Everything by myself.



I set up a friendster account for my blog readers. By today, it is full with 500 readers, with over a hundred testimonials.



All these hard work, all by myself. It is not easy. And for who do I do this for, besides the love of blogging?



My readers.



The 3rd day my blog was up, people are already spreading my links, people whom I don't know.



I put in a web counter on May 18, and by May 24, it hit 100. By July 06, it hit 10,000, and to date, its 294,702 and counting.



No nude photos. No bikinis or bras either. And surely its agreed, I'm not very pretty. So what could be attracting these people?



People simply do not come back for more and more bad things. Or maybe some do, I don't know.



I have gone through the good. I've got plenty of fan mails (500 + including some from readers from California, Germany and Australia), a radio interview, won a blog contest, and now I'm one of the finalists for another blogging contest.



Laced with the good is the bad - LOADS of people critisizing. Suddenly, I get people calling me a slut when I didn't do anything. At its utmost downturn, my blog was discussed in sleazy forums. The men there are not longer crazy individuals by themselves, but a big group against me. Just me alone.



I thought of ending my blog altogether numerous times.



Yes, I cried. But I am only human.



Thankfully, I wasn't alone. My readers were with me.



My love-life. Blog readers saw me grow. From Eddy.. To Adryan... Bernard, then Jeremy. And then to them all suddenly getting attached.



My family breaking up.



My career. From a poly student, to my silly part-time jobs in banqueting, Tiger Beer, and now, I'm a journalist.



My relationships with my friends, and daily rants about public transport, and my change in character as I grow up one more year. My readers saw it all as I blog my heart out openly to the public.



Here I am, exposing my most vulnerable secrets, yet there are people who take advantage of it. People who tell me I should examine my character, because even my best friend hates me - when XF and I quarrelled. People who tell me I should think about why my parents are getting divorced - it must be because I'm a bad daughter.



BUT I HAVE SURVIVED IT ALL. I cried, I was dejected, I was shaken. But I didn't sit there and mope. I picked myself up.



And looking back, it has only aided me to become a stronger person. Now, people can try putting me down, sure. They can try, but they would never succeed.



Because for every one of you out there who dislikes me, there are 3 people who would be really upset if I gave up blogging. B



ecause I have faith in myself. I know I'm not doing anything wrong.



Because of the time, efforts, and pain I have put into maintaining this blog (not this one but the blogspot one). My blog is my blood and sweat, and also my pride and joy.



I will never give it up.



An early happy birthday to Xiaxue' blog.



*Sing to the song of Stronger by Britney*

But I am stronger, than yesterday...



p/s: Actually I want to write about some funny thing one but I got a little carried away. Hahaha...