Sorry, Xanga--I've been your loyal fan since your beginnings, but I'm going to blog on Tumblr from now on. It's just better this way...

You see, you've had time to catch up to the real-time web. But you failed to do so, and still fail to catch up.  I've been around since 2003 and the web has changed quite a bit since then. Even MySpace and other sites like Photobucket have evolved to go along with the real-time web community to insert services from other third-parties such as Twitter.

I can't wait any longer. I refuse. Which sucks since I didn't know any better and in my ignorant years of youth I have paid you a whooping amount to get the dumb LIFE badge and Lifetime membership that doesn't really amount to much, especially for someone who just loves to write and post on social networks like Twitter and Facebook.

Even your logo with it's rainbow blocks and xanga.com font looks tiresome and web 1.0. Its flatness and 2-dimensionality are just more evidence that you have not caught up with the innovations of the World Wide Web community and reminds me of the ugly old logos that other companies had, its one-toned colors jarringly barbarian (remember the Xerox logo, or the old Microsoft Windows logo? How about that hideous IBM logo?).

But there's nothing wrong with that--there's plenty of people who care less or don't even know anything about the real-time web or what Twitter or html is anyway. They will stay on Xanga--but I won't.

I feel bad. But I'm sure you'll move on fine without me--actually, I don't even think your Xanga team would notice my absence. I doubt I'll ever leave Xanga altogether, but its apparent promotion of gossip stories, urban legends, personal but not so personal stories of people's lives, and the lack of spam control and trolls on comments are just too much for me. Not to mention the fact that it is the Xanga "czars" who control what posts should be read and found, and which should stay and remain lost. There is so much control that I feel the freedom of the early days that Xangans enjoyed have long been diminished.

Come find me on Tumblr or Blogger or better yet, Twitter and Facebook. If only I could link my Pulses to my tweets one day, I just might come back and post more stuff someday.

You can't ignore a problem just because you don't want it to exist; you must confront it or it will remain with you forever.

   

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Found a dead actress named Crystal Suen Ah Lei who died just this year June 2nd.  Sad.  I vaguely remember her face since I grew up in Hong Kong--just another reminder that life is dangerous, fragile, and unpredictable.

   

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No, because if things go badly I wouldn't want to go back to work and everyone at work will be affected.

   

I just answered this Featured Question; you can answer it too!

Today was the first day it rained since I had been here.  Everyone was basically house-bound--but for the locals, there is work to go to and things to do.   But for us, the volunteers, there's no school.  And for only 2 hours of instruction, I wasn't about to get myself more sick than I already am and get drenched in the storm.

That's right, I got sick around Sunday and woke up with an awful sore throat.  I felt it tickling my throat Saturday, but I figured it would go away so I didn't think much of it.  The pain woke me up and kept waking me up for most of Saturday night.  Good thing it was a weekend.

I went shopping all Monday and had a wonderful time like I said before, and after freshening up with a shower and dinner I went out to HisHer Coffee Mood again, my favorite new joint at the Astrodome (of course the real toilet complete with toilet paper, flushing mechanism and even hand soap is a huge plus).  Then Danielle and the group of volunteers who wanted to go out into town met up with me around 10pm.  They all drank at the other bar.  I'm glad I didn't join them and feel pressured to drink when I don't care to drink or feel drunk.  Then they drank some more when we walked to the open concert grass/dirt area where all the street food vendors were.  I am happy that I got a chance to mingle with everyone--I wouldn't have otherwise because I'm slow to open up in large group settings.

But back to today, I feel good that I got to know Nathalie and Katherine, the volunteers that are my roommates at my homestay.  They're not party girls, having come from a private Catholic school.  I think I am something in between the hard core party/drinking and the innocent/pampered girl: I love being girly but I can be a boy too, and I don't see myself as religious anymore yet I still believe in God's existence and welcome it.  Being at home with them today was nice and we bonded well over a game of Uno and watching girly movies like "High School Musical 3".  A part of me shuddered and felt repulsed by the fact that I was actually enjoying myself secretly and indulging the other side of me that I don't always show to my boyfriend.  I could be young and not feel awkward to admit that I don't mind rotting my brain watching tween movies, giggling like a schoolgirl that's still trapped inside my body somewhere.  But at the same time I miss my boyfriend and his family and friends.  I welcome this vacation time without having to worry about any responsibilities aside from laundry and volunteering at my school, but I know I crave work as well.  There is something gratifying about achieving goals and finishing tasks that feed my spirit, and it's not here in the Philippines.  I hope I'll get a chance to do some real work tomorrow at my school.  I look forward to doing more than just helping the teachers restrain the special ed. kids with behavioral problems and really contribute something to the curriculum.  At the same time, I can't wait until the festivities start in Tacloban just so that I have something to do aside from school.