What I am thankful for on 8.31.07

Another month gone. Thank you Lord for the life! Thank you for my life and that of my dear friends and family.

I am thankful for the few hours I slept the past couple of days because I enjoyed the time that I was not asleep.

I am thankful for the people I work with. I am thankful for the company I work for. I am thankful for all that I have learnt. I am thankful for both the good days at work, and the not-so-good days.

I am thankful for everything that was done to make my birthday nice and memorable. I appreciate the effort that went into it. I appreciate how nice people were this week, and their presents. May God bless you a hundredfold!

I am thankful for the wonderful memories. I can go back to anytime and choose what to make me smile. So many wonderful places that I have been to. So many beautiful days I have spent with people I love or have loved.

I am thankful for my ability to make people laugh. There have been times when I have been so funny I have made myself laugh.

I am thankful for the friends that make me laugh. Almost all of them are wired in a way that they make me laugh so hard, I wonder how life would be without them.

I am thankful for my ability to laugh. I know there are some people who cannot laugh, either because of a chemical/hormonal imbalance or because of life experiences. I am thankful for my ability to “get” jokes and funny things.

I am thankful for the luck or grace or good fortune. When I look back, I wonder how some things worked out. The places I ended up, the jobs I found, the friends I made, the love I found, the help I received, the lessons I have learned. The more I reflect on such things, the more I see that I a very lucky person. So I am thankful.

I am thankful for the pain. For the times that I felt life was not worth living. For the times that there was no way out. For the heartbreaks. For the loneliness. For the low self-esteem. For the doubts. For the sins. For the things that made me angry, frustrated, and weak. All these things made me the person I am today. I love this person. All those things made me realize that I would be nothing without certain people. I would be nothing without God. It made me appreciate the books I have read, the people I have met, the faith I have gained, the education I have. I think I became more thoughtful, knowledgeable, faithful, … I just got better as a person.

I am thankful for Chess and for everything that led me to this game. I am thankful for the people who taught me how to play the game. I am thankful for the people I played the game with so that I could get better. I am thankful for the chance to meet Zengani, Kajani, JAC, Steve, and other Chess players and organizers. Mom, thanks for the support!

Thank you for the computer!

Thank you, Jules, for getting the cake for me! Happy Birthday R.C.!

O Perfect Woman, Where Art Thou?

A couple of days ago, I celebrated my birthday. One of the things that I did was to go through all my pictures and to reflect on what I was thinking, feeling, experiencing, doing, etc around that time. Of course, part of the story is the girls I have gone out with! My thoughts were clean. What did I go through to get that girl? How did it start? What were the first few days like? What was our first … uhm, argument? What did I like about her? What did she say she liked about me? What didn’t I like about her? What didn’t she like about me? What were the good things about the relationship? What were the not-so-good things? When did I know that it would not work? How did it end? What were the fun things we did? How creative was I? How creative was she? How did she match up to my “perfect woman”, the dream girl from my childhood? How did this relationship impact my future relationship? and on and on. It was an enlightening experience. I have grown up quite a bit. I have learnt a lot about women. I am still learning. Hopefully I will get better, not perfect. I have stopped wanting to be perfect. I have stopped looking for a perfect woman. There is none. There shouldn’t be one. I have gotten rid of the “perfect girl” from my childhood.

So, what’s my response to the question: O Perfect Woman, Where Art Thou? Thou Existeth Not! I Seeketh Thee Not. Hence, I Shall Not Find Thee!

It must be liberating to love an imperfect person… with the knowledge that I am not perfect either.

Monetizing your blog with the power of search

It is a no-brainer that Google’s fame is a result of people’s need for information that they don’t have. Thus, they go the quickest, most accurate search engine they can find: Google. Almost everybody uses Google to search. When I go to a blog and I find some information that I need to research further, or I just want to leave the site and go somewhere else, I almost always type www.google.com if there is no Google search box on the website I am at. Even though I have no stats, I am sure I am not the only one who does this.

How do you monetize your blog off this?

First, you need to have Google AdSense for Search on your blog.

Second, you need to position in such that people can use it easily. Position the search box at the top where it is easily accessible and usable. Sometimes people may come to your blog or website and they don’t like what you have written that day… they are about to leave. They may search on their way out! Think and grow rich! (Click here for an example of what I mean)

Of course, most browsers have search boxes. But is the default search engine, Google? Does the user use that box? Who knows?!