Time passed by just like a breeze and I was browsing through my archives that I realized February 2008 was when I first started with this blog. And now its hard to believe that I have been at it for 2 years already. There where reasons why I didn’t blog earlier, but I’m glad I did.

This blog has been my virtual playground, a place to take out my frustrations, to rant and vent. How many times did I mess up with my WordPress installation – read posts here and here, that time when I forgot that I exceeded my bandwidth limitations, my paranoia about transferring web hosting, how many times the whole site went into frenzy just because I could not get enough of tweaking the themes?  It’ll be an understatement if I say I learned something from blogging. I should say, I learned a lot. I also discovered a lot of things about myself and blogging..

…That I have the aptitude for things technical and for tweaking this and that. For understanding what’s behind the blog – the themes, the plugins, the site structure etc.

…That yeah, though I’m not a great writer I can work on it and practice more, still some people somehow survive reading my entries

…That yahoo! I could actually earn from blogging! This blog supports itself. My initial outlay was for the domain registration only, while the monthly hosting bills are all taken care of out of the blog’s earnings. I know some blogging purists would say inserting paid links is something almost like a crime but hey! this is my blog, I’m sure people who visit understands that while I love to blog, write, share thoughts, I’m still a practical person, I don’t have bottomless pits of money to support the blog, so occasional paid links are fine and I do strive my best to be discrete and choosy about paid links.

…  I realized I could actually find lots of people who share the same views, who could somehow appreciate what I have to say. I love receiving emails and comments from readers. Some would email me when they are coming over to Cambodia, asking for travel advice, some would give me suggestions, some would critique a post.. This is for me, is one of the most gratifying things about blogging – connecting with people who reads the blog.

… that I could actually find friends through this blog. I found friends I could constantly correspond with through email, some blogging friends from all over, and here in Phnom Penh, I found a great set of Filipina friends (Zarah, Josiet, Che..)  all thanks to blogging.

Blogging has been a superb learning experience for me. Being able to earn from it is an added bonus and I love the extra income I get out of blogging. So what’s in store for this blog for the next year? More posts, just more.. Things I dunno yet, so do keep visiting, explore and experience blogging with Pinaywifespeaks.