Blogging

I've been blogging since 2001 on opendiary. I don't know if anyone heard of that site before. I guess things like xanga were rather popular back in the day. I switched to blogspot because it was more accessible, so that was sometime in 2005. I was writing about myself and treating it as a diary but at the same time trying my hand at writing stuff about entertainment. I had weekly music charts, music reviews and movie reviews. Yeah there was a lot more effort as compared to now! Part of the reason is because I've watched too many movies this year, and I really cannot be bothered to write about them the way I used to! Also the focus moved from entertainment to me, basically because I think everyone would rather get their daily entertainment bites from Pink Is The New Blog. So obviously I continue to do what I do best, which is to talk about me. In terms of music charts well, I've heard so many people tell me that's the part they skip when they read my blog!

I don't think I'm fantastic or anything, but over time I've learned what kind of topics people tend to respond to. I haven't deluded myself by thinking that no one's reading and I'm allowed to blog all my inner thoughts and no one would know or start flaming people I hate whenever I feel like it. Instead it's this funny realisation that you're writing for yourself as much as you're writing for an audience. I think by neglecting the fact that people actually do pop by is a sign of disrrespect. You don't consider what they want (to read).

Some people believe they can't balance being true to themselves and writing for an audience. I'm not "some people". So here's a chance for you to vote for what you want me to write. If I do end up being a journalist (which I doubt because I'm not up to it yet!) it'll be good practice writing things that actually interest people.

I've thought of actually writing proper stuff. Serious stuff. Intellectual. But it seems that I've never been good at writing those. My GP essays consist mostly of things that I can make examples of from thin air, rather than hardcore science and technology, crime and punishment type questions. In a sense I've always been writing "improper" stuff.

Now, Terence is a different story. His blog is amazing. It's intellectual and witty... all the things I'm not. In fact I feel like a complete bimbo blogger compared to him. His latest entry probably sums up the entire COM203 lecture that happened on Monday! He is also one of the few (3?) Singaporeans to ask MM Lee a question during the Ministerial Forum earlier this month.

I've known Terence since Sec 3. He's brilliant in his manipulation of the language to convey his very creative thoughts. In fact he and Taufiq would take turns to impress (and shock) the class time and again with their writing. I was good of course, but they... they were in a completely different league! Surprisingly, instead of being jealous (which was an emotion that was very familiar to my childish self at that time) I was actually in awe of their writing skills. It was also their presence that pushed me to write better narratives and although I ended up with an A2, I felt that the effort I've put in to reach their standard made me improve a lot.

CS is a small place and to have a classmate from way back being in the same school is... amazing. I'm proud to know him and I honestly think that he'll be making waves in whatever he chooses to specialise in, although I think it'll be Journalism!

In conclusion (the favourite phrase to wrap up impromptu speeches with), despite the impending exams, I'll still be blogging because it is something I enjoy doing, and it really gives me the kick to know that there are so many people who are entertained, whether they're just dropping by to peep at the photos or read whatever I have to say! Keep on rockin'!