Andie isn’t “reading”, per se - she’s looking at the chock-full of baby pictures in a baby sling manual. (She’s very interested in baby pics.) But our nightly reading sessions have paid off, at least in the sense that she knows how to pick up and flip through a book without mangling it too much.
Part of me hopes this is history repeating itself - my sister Celeste and I were avid readers even at a very young age - at family get-togethers, we’d look for the books and read, instead of playing with our cousins.
My twitter profile reads: “my office is where I can plug in my laptop”. That’s not just a cute turn of phrase: I’m a professional travel blogger for About.com, so my life isn’t just affected by technology, it’s driven by it.
I’m lucky to be doing a job I love, just when technology has advanced sufficiently to fit my interests. I have a digital camera to take pictures with, a laptop to research and write with, and wherever I go, I have a good chance of hooking onto a WiFi connection to get work done.
And it’s not like I’m ahead of the technology curve - my gear is, on average, between 3-5 years old. But even with my semi-outdated gear, I get to do some stuff that would have been impossible just ten years ago:
I buy cheap airfare online, without ever having to visit a ticketing office.
I research and book hotels, tours, and roadmaps long before getting to a destination.
I keep my friends informed on my whereabouts, by posting Twitter updates (both text and photos) from my cellphone. (My Twitter updates automatically become updates on my Facebook page, too, killing two birds with one stone.)
And within hours of finishing a trip, I can post pictures and articles on my travel site, updating About.com’s knowledge base for the benefit of its 60-million-odd readers.
It’s not easy (spending weeks away from one’s family never is) but I would be lying if I said it wasn’t fun.
Believe it or not, the trip to Boracay was work. I’m in the middle of writing a review of Mandala Spa in Boracay, and will post it to my Southeast Asia Travel website this Tuesday. I thought I’d take the opportunity to post a few pictures I took of the place.
I’m writing this in the pre-boarding section of the original domestic airport terminal in Pasay, Metro Manila. Will be boarding SEAir flight headed to Boracay in about an hour. It’s not a vacation, it’s work - I’m on a press visit for a resort/spa on the island, and I’ll be scooping up more content for my Southeast Asia Travel website. It’s a living.
I’m writing this interlude because I’m trying to wean myself from the idea that my blog posts here have to have some bigger meaning. This explains the paucity of blog entries over the past year - as I’ve been buried in deadlines for my About.com site and other commitments, I’ve had no time to think - and because I’ve been so used to thinking hard about my blog entries before posting them, updating my blog has simply passed further and further away from my radar.
I’m not giving up editorializing on current events, philosophy, or the Internet. I’m just going to give a little extra attention to the “real life” part of this blog that has so far only been featured on my Twitter and Facebook pages.
I’m a work-from-home dad to an awesome little girl, and I’m lucky to be married to a wonderful lady. I think that deserves a little more space in this blog. I’m not swinging to another extreme, I’m just saying you’ll hear about my family a little more, a little more about the dog, stuff like that.
Concluding this blog entry now, the laptop is getting heavy and my crossed leg is losing circulation. Besides, I want to have some lunch before I board the flight. Next stop, BORACAY!
Having her baptized was really not my idea. I was fine with having Andie go “infidel” all the way, a privilege I never got to have. But we knew that leaving her unbaptized would mean Chinese water torture from both sets of grandmothers, who would not rest until the Catholic Church had her soul in its clutches. Read more…
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