From what it seems like a computer and technology-only blog, in the recent months my writings have been shifting into more personalized topics surrounding my day-to-day life (and somehow I am beginning to like this kind of style).

It has been very difficult to write for this blog in the past weeks because I’m so preoccupied (and still am!) with lots of web development work, technical and customer sales support, and as a freelance Internet marketer and writer for several Web-based companies. Additionally, there have been emotional struggles since November because I’ve recently made a irrevocable conclusion about my identity. I believe it is highly necessary for me to be able to do what I want, to be able to become who I want to be, and to be able to live a life with no more denials with what I feel. Now, this is too much information, so I’ll reserve the rest of story in my future posts. For now, be intrigued.

While my social life is pale, my career life has been good. Many companies are trying to pull me to work for them because they believe that I have the skills. I have many possibilities for next year and I might land a job outside the Philippines — which is what I really want. So, this blog will witness most of the events that will happen to my life and I welcome you with open arms to read it.

I will continue to write about technologies and computers because that is my career. Likewise, I’ll mix some true-to-life stories about myself to break the monotony. Surely I don’t want my readers to read blank faced with all the computer terms. I personally want to thank you for continually reading my posts on this blog!

Now that I’m beginning to be capable to have the things I’ve missed in my childhood, I’ve decided to start making a change in my life by breaking a record that I would always remember and never forget. This week, after 21 years sleeping on the floor on a mat, I’ll finally have my own bedroom (hopefully)!

Last month was the advent of one the most busiest months I’ve ever experienced and will still experience since I decided to work at home last year. And I have some few gripes: I realized working at home isn’t necessarily be the most comfortable place of work — at least not for me. Unlike in the office, there is no air-conditioning here and temperature surges up to 35C in midday and 29C in nighttime. I’ve endured that for over 365 days while working at most 18 hours a day including weekends and holidays. And for all the efforts I exerted in the past months, I feel that I don’t deserve anymore to be sleeping on the floor. So, I’ve decided to use a good fraction of my pay to finish the rooms of our house — and I will call one of them as mine.

Here are the pictures of my room before it was worked on. This used to be our clothes room. No one sleeps here because there are lots of tiny, crawling and flying insects and large geckos you’d never want to know.

Here are the materials that were needed for the room work that I have paid. The sand and gravel is free (because my father’s siblings own a small quarry), the 10 bags of Holcim cement cost Php 2000 ($45 USD), and the labor is Php 3000 ($70 USD).

The partial completion results…

I’m not expecting the rooms shown in the pictures to be completed this month since I run out of budget for the paint. Would you like to sponsor a gallon? I also don’t have a bed yet, so I guess when the painting of my room’s walls is completed, I’ll sleep on the floor for a while.

In addition, I want to get an aircon too because I really needed one. However, the price is beyond my budget so I think I’ll earn and save for it. Heat has been one of my work adversaries since I worked at home because I sweat a lot when the temperature is high and it aggravates my hereditary, high androgen level-caused body acne. Good thing I earned some few bucks to have a dermatologist’s checkup last month (something I really wanted to do before but can’t afford) and the doctor recommended me to use Duac gel. Good thing I’m getting positive results from it.

I am still thinking what color to be painted on my room’s walls. I like a very light skyblue color, lime yellow-green or cream — so I’m tad bit in dilemma deciding which one looks best for me. I just can’t wait to occupy my room. At least I made a record and I can have the experience of having a room in my own family’s house before I go abroad one day — and the best thing is that it came from my hard work. Surely it would be worth another blog post once the room is fully complete!

What Happened Last Year

A year ago of same date, I was preparing to quit my software testing job from BHI Pro (locally Hubport Interactive) in Davao City, Philippines. I was sleeping in the office every night there to meet my client online from North America at 4AM (Philippine Time, GMT +8). I was offered a position with our local city’s most reputable and stable company, the Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC). However, during my application to resign from my current employer, somebody from Canada offered a job to me. He said I would be working at home to do an outsourcing job. Because I am so inclined with my dream to work and live abroad someday, I accepted it without hesitation and I dropped DLPC’s local work offer. So, I got a new laptop for a start, and my work at home begun.

Here are the posts related to my office many months ago:

• My Workplace After Nine Months Of Home Work
• My Workplace In The Corner Of The World

My Social Life Is Gone, Or Is It?

Many said working at home is like a suicide of social life. While somehow I agree to it, my social life wasn’t really zeroed. I used to work in a corporate office before, so I know the difference and the feeling. It is just beneficial for me that I am different than typical people — dynamic and non-traditional.

I had a lot of time with my family (and I say a lot with a little emphasis on “too much”). I met many friends online, too: Gregory White and Chris Morris from Australia, Ken S. from New Zealand, John MacDonald from New Brunswick, Canada, and partners Mihaela Lica and Phil Butler from Germany. Although I may never be able to see them in person in my lifetime, they were no different to my previous college friends, as they also brought me happiness during my daily work. It was sad though that one of my few online friends who bothered me a lot, Gregory White from Perth, Australia, passed away last June and my online social life went limped until I moved on. Since then, I struggled with my remaining online friends and my beloved employer.

I am fortunate to discover and to know that I have one of the best employers (persons) of the world, whom my social and professional life is laid with towards the future — and I will not spoil my happiness by saying the rest.

Working at home can definitely kill someone’s social life if you leave the steering wheel to spin by itself. However, if you are wise enough to realize that the key to happiness is within your hands and with what you do, you will know that there is always a way to keep your social life active and vibrant — even at home. Just be true.

Realization

During my one year computer home work, I realized many things. I have no one to talk in most times, but I’ve got so much time to think. Now, here they are:

• Money is a universal problem, but there are fortunate people.
• You work by yourself and you are not necessarily the only one who reaps the pay.
• Even at home, loneliness and self-pity strike. And they stab your heart as well.
• If you work with love, you don’t feel like working at all.
• It is necessary to pass through loneliness to realize many things.
• You can do work even if you don’t have a room or if you are on the floor.
• One can be very productive if the employer is not only after the money a person can bring.
• It’s not easy to work without air conditioning in the Philippines. It distracts work and not good for skin.
• Consistency of work leads to trust and success. And this is crucial for online based ventures and relationships.
• Money brings freedom, it may or may not bring happiness.
• Patience is a virtue and an asset.
• The farther the person is, the more nice they are.
• Working at home full time has risk of getting fat.
• Online friends can make you cry as well.
• Customers will love your business if you love them, business talking.
• You have to endure everything to realize your dream and work hard to realize your wants.
• You should feel fortunate because not everyone has a good job at home.

Another 365 Days Challenge?

As of this writing, I am still uncertain for how long will I be working here at home alone. For sure, this has to change one day. Working full time at home is just something I need to pass. I still have to experience other things in life. I have so much to do, and to experience and to learn — and sadly I can’t find everything here at home. So for now, I will just do my whistles, be patient, and continue to work hard, bring money. Opportunity will come along the way one day and it is something for myself. I feel like there is a great journey ahead of me and I’m quite excited to embark on it. I hope it would come at the earliest. If you believe you can contribute, I would be forever grateful to you.

Nearly three months after it first acquired a PageRank (PR) score of three last April, this blog’s home page again improved its worldwide importance in the eyes of Google during its third quarter PR update of 2008 with an increase of additional one point, resulting a groundbreaking score of PR4. Online marketers, especially bloggers, commonly see this as a significant increase of popularity and advertising value. Now, as the owner of John Raul Dot Com blog, I would like to tell some points to help if you are still struggling on getting a good PageRank.

Quality inbound links: these are basic elements of getting a good PR. However, getting quality inbound links aren’t as easy as it sounds. Many people relatively talked on their blogs many things on how to do this and do that about SEO, but they themselves are struggling to get good PRs for their own blogs. Many have suggested to do blog and forum commenting, however carelessly they end up having their PR saturated by lack of good SEO strategy. Always remember that the Google God is always watching and his eyes are fixed on what you do. Do good SEO ethics, and your PR will be safe.

Making good quality contents isn’t just the king of all SEO strategies, they can also potentially spark great interest from your readers, from other bloggers and site owners…

Making good quality contents isn’t just the king of all SEO strategies, it can also potentially spark great interest from your readers, from other bloggers and site owners — and you might get a nice inbound link reward if you make them happy. If you do not have something of good quality to show to Google when you update your site, then you have no reason to brag at all.

Now, don’t be discouraged nor stop writing. It is just a matter of time for your site to get a good PR score. Just be consistent with the good things you do and Google will reward you. Even in SEO, every good turn deserves another. So keep it up!

The dedicated IP address I got from THC’s Speedy hosting plan has helped as well in bringing better traffic and SEO performance to this blog. If you’re planning to have one, better check their hosting packages and enjoy the blogosphere.

Looking back, here are the highlights of my life until this age:

• When my mother got pregnant for me, she took medicine and attempted to abort me due to family disputes.  It failed, I’m alive. I’m wondering if the medicine has side effects on me. I learned this when I was second year high school.
• At age 1, my mother said I was fond of listening instrumental piano music she played on cassette tapes. We used to live in a wooden and creaky house beside a river. It was taken away by a flashflood.
• At age 3, I first played a computer game Super Mario from our neighbor’s Nintendo family computer game console. My addiction with this game lasted until my high school days before it was completely replaced by Squaresoft’s (now Square-Enix) Brave Fence Musashi and Final Fantasy series.

Kindergarten

• During my kindergarten one, I reigned as first honors in our class. My father got promoted as manager, so I got a chance to study in a private school for one year. When my father’s company closed, I went back to public school and moved on.
• I spent my vacation in my grandmother’s place. There, I experienced selling bananas on the street and in the villages every afternoon.

Elementary

• During my first grade, I punched and broke the tooth of my classmate named Eleazar when we were on the line towards our classroom. I also broke my leg after swinging much in a “hamac” or swing.
• I was a consistent honor throughout my elementary years. I was not into sports really, but I joined some athletes during their baseball and volleyball practices. I was a cartoonist in our school organ and an active Boy Scout attending several jamborees in the city. I also had my first crush named April Love, our valedictorian, while I was one of graduating pupils with honors.

High School

• During high school my life significantly changed. I became curious about life and started to learn philosophies through experience. I studied in Maryknoll High School of Panabo City. During my first year, I got 78/100 grade in my report card — my all-time lowest scholastic grade — and the subject was T.H.E. (or Technology and Home Economics)!
• I met Lynden, the first girl that I fell in loved with passion. She flew to Australia during third year and drifted own our ways. We still chat sometimes but she told me I have no future for her.
• During high school I participated actively in many school organizations. I became involved in campus journalism (became a Chief Editor), an active Outdoorsman scout, and wrote my own fantasy epic stories. I graduated with no academic but special awards.

College, University and Beyond

• I entered tertiary education as a working student in AMA Computer University Davao Campus, more than 33 kilometers from my place. Life was tougher during those days financially. Me, my mother and brother experienced quite numerous tearful nights. Attending school the next day is always uncertain because of the financial obstacles. I rode a bus to school (and always standing) back and forth. These experiences urged me to take schooling seriously — and I learned a lot from both misery and limitations.
• At age 18, first time I got a foreign American friend, Eric Pangburn, who helped me buy on-the-job training uniform and brought me to restaurants in the city that I could not afford during that time. He was my only friend with height of 6 feet and 8 inches.
• At age 19, I graduated from my tertiary school, AMA Computer University, acquiring a title of Bachelor of Science Magna Cum Laude in Information Technology. I had my first time graduation speech that brought tears to audience.
• At age 20, I got my first official graduate job as Software Tester at BHI Pro. The management wanted me to work on graveyard shift. So, I slept in their office every night for one month and I decided to resign on the third month. They brought me to my current employer, which honestly, weighs and plays more significant role than I could imagine in my life. I am committed, and will do anything for him and he knows that. I got good online friends as well, John MacDonald from New Brunswick, Canada, and Gregory White from Perth (who passed away two weeks after my birthday).

Looking back when my 21st birthday dawned, I realized that I have learned many things in life — more than the people of my age — no wonder why some people told me that I have an old mind. I had a simple celebration on my debut with few friends and family members, yet with tremendous thoughts for me. I thank God for everything for all of this. I still can’t believe I am already 21 though. Time was fast.

Chris Morris, a tech geek from Melbourne, Australia, broadcast the video below twice during his live webcast show event that took place last March 22, 2008. He is also planning to include it to his podcast. (Thanks, Chris )

So watch, have fun and don’t forget to leave your comments! Thank you!

By the way, the soundtrack is edited and was taken from the official theme of one of my favorite superheroes, Superman.

If you have a blog and you want to have an introduction like this, contact me and we can negotiate about it.

This website just breathed to life and started barren on the Web last December 16. In my spare times I have worked on writing and posting blog articles that would express my mind and heart. Now, this is my eighth blog post and more yet to come.

In the Year of the Earth Rat (2008), this website aims primarily to be productive in whatever ways it could – productive in a sense that it would benefit, invoke and entertain a greater number of readers including myself. Secondly, I want this site to monetize and find out what online money-making fuss is all about. I know it is true; I just want to experience it.

Now in connection to that, the advent of 2008 comes with a major facelift for John Raul dot Com. I’ve started integrating ad networks into this site for fun (never tried it before) and placing them strategically. If you browse my blog’s pages, you will see. I decided to go for Google AdSense, TTZ Media and BidVertiser as my merchants. Initially, I cannot jump to more ambitious affiliate networks yet because they require high traffic and substantial amount of regular visitors. As of this writing, I only have three RSS feed subscribers.

So, today I will mark the commencement of my efforts toward this site’s goals for 2008. Let me do it by showing you my initial income stats from my ad networks.

We will see in the upcoming months if the barren figures above will change. I’m sure it will. I want give credits to popular blogs like John Chow’s (he visited this site!) and Maki of Doshdosh. I’ve been reading their blog posts and awed by the success stories of their blogging ventures.

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Alone for awhile
I’ve been searching through the dark
For traces of the love you left
Inside my wounded heart
To weave, by picking up the pieces that remained
Melodies of life, love’s lost refrain

Our paths they did cross
Though I cannot say just why
We met, we left, we held of fast
And then we said goodbye
And who’ll hear the echoes of stories never told
Let them ring out loud
Till they unfold

In my dearest memories
I see you reaching out to me
Though you’re gone
I still believe that you can call out my name

A voice from the past, joining yours and mine.
Adding up the layers of harmony.
And so it goes, on and on.
Melodies of life.
To the sky beyond the flying birds – forever and beyond.

So far and away, see the bird as it flies by,
Gliding through the shadows of the clouds up in the sky,
I’ve laid my memories and dreams upon those wings.
Leave them now and see what tomorrow brings.

In your dearest memories, do you remember loving me?
Was it fate that brought us close and now leaves me behind?

A voice from the past, joining yours and mine.
Adding up the layers of harmony.
And so it goes, on and on.
Melodies of life.
To the sky beyond the flying birds – forever and beyond.

If I should leave this lonely world behind.
Your voice will still remember our melody.
Now I know we’ll carry on.
Melodies of life.
Come circle round and grow deep in our hearts,
as long as we remember