1. Bugger! I missed my Blog-O-Rama deadline for the first time. It’s a mortal sin for any writer and I finally succumbed to the pressure. I wish I could blame my damn new DSL connection for having all these spyware, or the fact that am being smug because am getting all these Xmas bonuses, or because I simply lack the time.

I am only being human, and being irresponsible. Period.

2. On the other hand, the reason why I am in a daze and don’t have the energy for the past few days is that I just lost $100 - one hundred friggin’ dollars - to a ragin’ kleptomaniac. Again, I can only blame myself for being careless with my things in ’supposedly safe’ surroundings. Prior to this incident, I have been counselling some friends who have lost their cellphones and/or money to “take it easy, it’s not the end of the world. What you lose will come back to you.” How could I have thought it would happen to me too? Christmas really sucks in Manila. Not only does it give people the irrepressible urge to spend, this is also the time of year when holdups, robberies and other petty crimes rise. In the meantime, I’ve stopped thinking about how the $100 could have gotten me to Hong Kong. Or how I could have burped with all the hotel buffets it would give me. Or how I could have shopped till I dropped in 168 Mall. For the record, the last time I lost $100 was in a Missouri casino (but at least I had fun!)

3. By some stroke of fate, this site has been chosen as semifinalist finalist to the Best Photoblog category of the Philippine Blog Awards. Even though I am incredulous and tempted to say “why oh why?,” thank you po. I still agree with my former editor who thought I took crappy pictures and the fact that I possess a crappy digital camera isn’t helping my talents any. I don’t expect to win, silly (because annalyn.net is a blog, not a photoblog) but being nominated is enough consolation for somebody who spent ages figuring out Flickr and then looking stupid everytime she’s outside and wants to take all those food shots. My most memorable experiences as a fledgling amateur blog photog include being refused at this store in Tokyo selling condoms of all sizes and flavors and then being shooed away by this overzealous stall owner at the Salcedo weekend market because I was trying to take a pic of her giant vat of paella negra. Ang buhay nga naman!

4. My belated super-thanks to friendster Thess, the talented Pinay web whiz in Holland, for the new design of AWOTW. My site stats for November is the highest ever in my blog history, at 90,000 plus hits by the time you read this or a high of 4,200 hits per day. Ten months ago, I would not have thought this was possible. I would like to thank all my friends who have told our common friends and then told their other friends..heh heh! I wish I could blog more and I wish I could also earn from my site like what Yuga and the rest of the gang are doing. According to a link from Technorati, this site is now worth $103,875.36. Hindi ba pwedeng i-encash ito? hehe.

If you’re visiting here for the first time, please don’t hesitate to leave me a line. I promise to send an e-card to all my blog friends and commenters this Xmas!

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