My First Blogoversary!!! :)

After thinking all day about how to make this day special and what can I possibly paste today which will be completely different and unique, I still have no idea!! I am happy that I have been blogging for a year now – but that’s just how I can describe the feeling – as happy. no more, no less. I remember this time last year; I had an exam the next day and I really wasn’t interested in studying, so I went online and started browsing. eventually I came across this article on Yahoo which took me to a another article, written on a WordPress.com blog – ‘My Pakistani Life And Other Disasters.’ it was quick, witty, to the point and had this sarcastic humour which just tickled me the right way. I never really found that blog after that day, but it impressed me so much that I knew I had to have my own blog. That first day, it was like getting a new phone – exploring every nook and corner of my dashboard, my blog and finding out how things worked on wordpress. I read about half a dozen blogs before I carefully posted my very first post. I didn’t want to tell anyone because I felt it wasn’t really ready. I wasn’t ready for the criticisms/praises coming my way from my family and friends. I remember the next day, I couldn’t help smiling in the exam hall thinking about my new blog. it was like this secret of mine – it felt like I had a treasure map or something. and today, when I look at my archives – it goes from august 2010 to august 2011!! for some reason that really pleases me. it feels like I have finished an entire circle. I have learnt so much – from other bloggers and from my blog too. and I can’t help but feel that my writing has improved too. I still have a long way to go, but at least this is a start. I have changed this last one year, as a person and as a writer and this blog has made me more serious about taking up writing professionally. whatever said and done, I love this blog with all my heart and soul and today we completed one year of this marvelous writing experience!!!!

Happy Blogoversary to me!!!

just my rambling thoughts – 2

here’s part 1.

ok, so this may be partly influenced by the princess diaries – but only partly!! for some time now i have noticed that when i am sitting in class, or going home, or watching a movie, i have some interesting idea on which i could write a blog post. but by the time i come home and get to my computer i often forget what it is. so i have been carrying a little book around in order to write down these small little ideas i have. but unfortunately, these little ideas turned out to be really ‘little’. meaning, i can’t make individual posts out of these, because they would turn out like this. so i am combining everything i’ve written down so far into one blog post.(which might end up being a little long, so please bear with me)

people

isn’t it weird how distinct two people can be? what could be interesting to one person could easily bore another and the way two people would react to a situation is usually different. every now and then such different people are thrown together and a beautiful experience is generated or a strong relationship is established. i find it really exciting when i meet a new person and we talk about our tastes and preferences, our lives, our passions and so many other things. it feels so good to find out why people act in certain ways and what makes them who they are, to get into their heads and to understand the way they think. the discussions we often have that are practically never-ending, the stories we share, the jokes we crack, the memories, the laughter – it’s so wonderful to remember that you had at least one profound moment with so many people in your past and enthralling to know that its going to keep happening with more people in the future who will give you so much to learn from.

but yet, so often we look for that one person who is like us, who thinks like us, who laugh like us and more importantly – that one person who understands us. all these people around us, who we have memories with, but sometimes fail to understand us, may not be the person we are looking for, but they are here, they love us and are trying their level best to understand us. so smile, and be thankful for all the people in your life.

Running Away

i have been running away from this issue for a very long time but today it just hit me in my face and i didn’t have a choice but to face it. our education system completely sucks!! all everyone cares about anymore is getting marks in some meaningless exam. even lecturers only a want a good pass percentage for their classes. they are not capable of answering our questions if it is slightly out of the syllabus. today a fellow classmate asked my lecturer why we were studying what we were and she asked him to shut up. it was a valid question. what is the use of studying this particular thing? shouldn’t all of us be able to answer that particular question? but we are asked to shut up because it doesn’t fall into our syllabus. and people say students `do not ask questions. memorizing is more important than understanding and attendance is more important than learning. i can no longer run away from the fact that we live in an unreal world where the quality of everything is deteriorating.

Alone

i walk in a crowd, with a huge group of friends, but i feel alone. even among friends there are tiny groups, i have mine too, but the truth is – i am alone. i listen to everyone , to all their stories, their laughter but somewhere inside there is this yearning for someone else, for something else, for someone to understand what i feel. i see people look into each other’s eyes and just understand. i want that!! i’m not talking about love, i’m talking about something else. there is this closeness that i cannot feel, a happiness that i am missing. i feel stupid sometimes for being around my friends, for saying certain things, i feel like i don’t belong. i feel left out, i guess. sometime ago, i thought i had that person who understood me, but i was wrong. that feeling was inside me for a very short time and then it faded away. and now i know what i am missing. and i don’t like it..

The Right Mix.

 

I recently read an article which said that the literary skill of this generation is almost nil. It said that the development of technology has hampered the traditional ways of expression and that its very difficult to find people who will sit down with a piece of paper and a pen and jot down some thoughts. That article kind of shocked me. I mean, I consider myself a budding writer and hopefully someday a published one. But all I ever do is post articles on my blog and of course the occasional article in my college magazine. for almost a year now i have only used my computer to write because with MSWord i do not need to do a manual spell check and i can always get help when i can’t remember certain words. but yeah, i can no longer be called a traditional writer and upto now i had thought that this was for the best. but now, i’m not so sure. also – bloggers. who are bloggers? are we writers or photographers or publishers or normal people who just have something to say? bloggers don’t really have a separate status like writers, musicians, artists etc. we are just a group of people thrown in together, who’s only common interest is probably voicing their opinions. for those of us who are writers – well, like i said, we aren’t traditional writers and we aren’t exactly the most compatible with technology either. so what are we?? the ‘in-betweens’??? is there any such thing as the right mix between traditional and modern writers? though i believe (and hope) there is, i have to admit that the so called ‘writer’s block’ is more apparent now and we do have a lot of distractions on our computers, which do not give us much space to concentrate on our work. so what is this is new breed of writers who fall into both categories of being traditional and modern? who love and hate the new technology? who have a lot more ideas but sometimes don’t have the time? the right mix? what is that?

Bored Is Not The Word For It!!

in the month of June i answered my CPT exam( common proficiency test). this being a pretty big deal for me (and the fact that i hadn’t studied a word all summer) i decided to give up everything else and study my ass off for the last fortnight. this included friends, movies, tv, cell phone, wordpress, books, sleep and everything else i previously called a life. exam got over(and i am currently waiting for my results) and the aftermath of furious friends and a dead blog arrived.

lets begin with wordpress first, because its easier to explain. my blog which previously had at least one comment every time i logged in and at least 30 – 40 hits has not even seen 30 hits since my last post. i have sort of lost that knack of writing and though i wouldn’t exactly call it ‘writer’s block’ there is something annoyingly different about the way i write now.

my friends – (or maybe one particular friend) was so pissed off that i had been avoiding her all month that she was happier than me when my exam final got over i keep looking at my phone nowadays wondering, who ever did text me before? when i come home from college i have no idea what to do because i don’t really have to study right now. thankfully i have amazing friends and projects to keep me occupied otherwise i have no idea what i would do all day. this was the first normal sunday that i was having after my exam and i was totally looking forward to it. but now – Bored Is Not The Word For It!!! i had a meeting today morning and then my mom and me went shopping and then a friend came over – but when all that was over, i had no idea what to do. i have done almost everything there is to do on facebook, played more solitaire than i have ever played in my life and went through all the bored.com games and quizzes in this one day.

i am at a complete loss when it comes to spending my time wisely. i am currently texting my new gay best friend (:P – sorry) and i just got off the phone after talking to one of my girl best friends. i’m done with dinner and i officially have nothing else to do!!! that is when wordpress came to my rescue. thankfully i have a very busy Monday and Tuesday ahead of me and i hope i get used to doing nothing by then.!!

 

Abusing Approve And Reply

Distraction free has made me like a two-year old with a huge candy cane!! i am still going gaga over the full screen mode. i move my mouse ever so slightly every now and then just to see it fade and then i laugh hysterically because it simply amazes me. and even though ‘approve and reply’ is a small feature – i just love it!! in fact i just approved a comment before replying.. and i felt so bad about it that i went back and unapproved it – just so that i could hit approve and reply anyway, i just wanted to say thanks to the WordPress team, for being so lovely and efficient and making our blogging lives so much more easier!!!! love you guys a lot!!

just read. :)

This is my first post with distraction free writing!! and I must say i absolutely love it!! That, in addition to the writing helper makes WordPress a great way to blog. And obviously, I want to get featured on freshly pressed; so I left everything I was doing, and started racking my brains for a topic to write about. Since I couldn’t come up with anything I started looking at what other people had written. I came across this interesting post, read two lines of it, liked it and left the page. I then realized that I hadn’t read a single post completely for a very long time. All I ever did was skim through the page, like the post if there were nice pictures in it and occasionally leave a ‘really liked your blog’ comment so that the person would come back and read my blog. Basically, I was networking. I had stopped actually reading the posts. The only reason I even visit other blogs now, is so that they come back and read mine. Whats the fun in that now? Even the just write article by Jane Wells I simply skimmed through and the only reason I knew that there was a possibility of getting featured on freshly pressed was because it was written in bold letters.

For my own blog I have a lot planned. Two huge things coming up in August and in November. And other small plans along the way. When I do so much for my own blog and hope that others take an effort in reading what I write, why shouldn’t I read their posts too?? By the way, I just switched to full screen mode, and I am right now in blogging heaven!! For a moment I wondered where it had all gone, but then I realized that I was on distraction free!! anyway, I have stopped reading freshly pressed and postaweek2011, and now that I realize it, I feel completely horrible. Someone once told me in a comment, that some great reading can and will inspire one to do some good writing. and that is so true!! There are so many interesting blogs, with interesting posts, written by interesting people in wordpress. And every new post that I read expands my horizons – more each day. Starting from today, I will read every post that I click on. I hope you do too.

So, in addition to just write, now more than ever – just read

my top 5

a while ago i was cleaning out my dashboard. you know – links, widgets,polls etc. and when i was going through my links i realized that there are so many good blogs out there with so many good writers. and these are my favorite 5 blogs.!!

• Kristen Lamb:

what i love about her is her advice on writing. i mean yeah, thats what the whole blog is based on, but the way she does it just inspires me somehow. it has actually helped me in a lot of places and she puts her thoughts in very simple words and the beauty of that is amazing!!

The Good Old Days

• Ferzine Imtiaz:

completely different from the first blog. this one makes you wonder after every post. a wonderful meaning hidden behind those heavy words. it may be a little intense, but thats exactly what i love to read.

Untitled

• Matt Mullenweg:

this guy i love!! he is funny, and smart ans successful and a great writer!! his contact form actually says other forms of communication, including psychic signals and carrier pigeons seem to be less reliable, so stick to the above methods just to be safe.

Matt 2.2

• Swati Kamath:

this is sheer genius. i mean, the concept is simple enough, its usually nothing out of the ordinary. but, the way she puts her thoughts into words is just wow!! that is some very powerful writing!!

Virtual Nature 

• Scott Berkun:

what i love about this blog if the originality. his ideas, thoughts, articles etc are so intriguing. he has this 51 minute lecture on his website (and i hate online videos that are very long) but i still watched it because i didn’t feel like closing that window!!

how to be a free thinker

Things I Like About WordPress :)

Image via Wikipedia

The Hovercards:

every time someone comments on my blog or likes one of my posts i do not have to go to their gravatar page, i just have to hover over their profile images. they save time and they are awfully cute.

The Themes:

ever since i started blogging on wordpress, i have changed my theme so many times that i have lost track. the main reason for this is that there are so many different themes to choose from!! almost every month or so, i have been able to give my blog a new look and it’s even better with the theme showcase. it tells me everything i need to know and its pretty easy to follow.

Freshly Pressed:

every time i feel a little low and i need a little inspiration, i always know where to find it. because freshly pressed always has a wide collection of topics to browse from. everything from humor to news and photography to cooking comes up there. and at times when you do not know what you want to read about.. it’s the best thing.!!  being a featured on freshly pressed will be a dream for me and maybe some day it will come true.

Postaweek2011:

postaweek2011 has really helped me in being a better blogger and a better writer. (i think-i do not know how other people see it.) there are so many new ideas on their home page that it just gets my creative juices flowing. and the fact that you are committing to posting regularly itself makes you a better writer. i do not know why or how, but i have seen that in the past two months.

Happiness Engineers:

like i mentioned in an earlier post, it amazes me that there are people who work, every single day just to make us happy!! they say that our being happy is of utmost importance to them. happiness engineers add an entirely new dimension to customer care

on their support page, they have something called ‘hugs‘- which are basically feedbacks from people who liked wordpress. they display that on a separate page. i still haven’t figured how to give them a hug, but i guess i’ll find out soon.

Learn WordPress:

i learnt that i could change the background and header only when i was 5 months into wordpress. 1 month after that i learnt that there is a guide to understanding and using wordpress. in 10 easy steps you learn everything that you need to know about wordpress. its got small activities fitted in here and there and is a completely fun ride!! (which i haven’t finished yet)

Matt Mullenweg:

the creator/entrepreneur/founder of wordpress and automattic. he is one person i really look up to. i love reading his blogs, ma.tt and http://matt.wordpress.com/ his essays are always thought triggering and he is an excellent speaker. he founded wordpress when he was just 19 years old. he was just a year older than i am right now, when he thought of something big. i have been watching the videos of his interviews posted online and he is one of those people who manage to explain technical mumbo-jumbo in simple english. and that is one of the best things about matt mullenweg.

The People:

and the absolute best part of wordpress is the people you get to meet here. i have met so many new people who’s thoughts are very much like mine, who can understand and appreciate what i say and whom i can understand and appreciate. there are other people who are not so much like me, but their words are so well thought out that its just a pleasure reading. so many different people, with so many different things to share, that it just makes you happy to be part of such a big family-an ever growing community.

63 posts, 200 tags, 931 hits and 80 comments later..

these may not seem like big numbers but through each of these numbers i have learnt something, experienced something, shared something and gained something. today is the first day of the second half of my first blog year. yes, i started my blog 6 months ago and when i see it today its completely different. its almost like i’m completely different. i have grown with this project through every new thing that i have taken my blog through. be it the ‘let your blog snow’ thing, or postaweek2011, or crossing 100 hits . my first comment, my first header. i have seen so many firsts here that the memories are cosmic. i love my blog and i can’t wait for my first blogoversary.!!!

these are the things that i have learnt from other bloggers and through the experience of blogging myself:

1. try not to leave links to your blog in every other blog you comment on. it gives a sort of desperate look. just give a genuine comment and i’m sure the author will come back to you.
2. but if you are mentioning another author in your post let that author know, and THERE leave a link to your post.
3. try and reply to all the comments on your blog and even if you have nothing to say at least say ‘thanks for reading my blog.’
4. make your captions interesting enough so that people are intrigued and want to read the rest of the post.
5. try including pictures in your posts because visual aids are always better.
6. be honest and be true to yourself- which means don’t copy someone else’s posts.
7. join postaweek2011 or postaday2011- it will help you to blog more regularly.
8. keep reading freshly pressed. it opens you up to more ideas.
9. a few other interesting things you could include are: polls, interviews, to-do lists (this is one of them btw ), book & movie reviews etc.
10. publicize your blog on facebook or twitter or some other site.

i hope i don’t sound like a 6-month old know-it-all, but its just that i have loved wordpress for the past 6 months and i am dying to share my experiences. after months of going through other people’s tips on blogging/writing, i finally feel like a part of something and i want to show-off a bit too!!

so happy blogging guys!! and let me know how long you have been blogging and your experiences all through it.