Harvests Of The Blog

Long before 2007 some of my close friends have tried very hard to encourage me to start blogging. I don't have a formal training as a writer, so I was rather reluctant to start my own blog. It probably had something to do with the fear of getting my posts criticized or ridiculed by others.

I have a peculiar dry sense of humour that I can't quite explain. Sometimes ideas just come to me from who knows where! My friends had suggested that I shouldn't waste such a "talent"; that I could put it to good use by giving others a good laugh every now and then. At first, I was doubtful, but in the end, I reckoned that there was no harm to give it a go with a few posts. And if it didn't work out well, I could always end it there and then. After all, if indeed I can make others happy by entertaining them with my posts, why, then I would have done my small part in making this world a better place! That would be a good return for the time and efforts invested in my blog. So I finally spent those few minutes in 2007, putting my fingers to the keyboard, and started blogging. That, then, was how this blog came about.

It has also been suggested to me that when and if my blog ever becomes famous, I can actually make money out of it! But, y'know, I don't consider myself a very lucky person. I have missed my opportunity years ago when I practically threw away my big fortune as reported here. So from the very beginning I never envisioned this blog to be a money-making venture.

Some years have elapsed since I started this blog; and I have since posted so many articles of wide-ranging topics. I happen to know for a fact that I have won quite a fair number of loyal readers who keep coming back here over the years for their regular doses of laughter. But that is not all that I have gained from this blog—I have also found new friends who wouldn't have known me if not for this blog!

Beyond that, I'm also energized when people tell me that they're inspired by some of my posts. The thought that my posts can actually help to make profound changes for the better in other people's lives is very rewarding to me. I have often bumped into total strangers in the street, apparently regular readers of this blog, and was congratulated for having this blog. Such was the case last Sunday morning when I was out running. A stranger I met on the bridge near Yayasan Sabah said he had started running—and hoped to keep running as a routine—having been inspired by the articles in this blog!

Those were the reasons why I'm still blogging up to now, albeit less regularly than before. I thought it can't get any better; but well, I was wrong.

A little over a month ago, I joined a 100km ultra trail marathon, The Most Beautiful Thing (TMBT), which was held in Kundasang. Regular readers of this blog would know that whenever I join races, as a norm I would post articles in this blog to share the experience with my readers. But for this particular event, there was a contest where blog reviews were eligible for prizes. Well, as I had said above, I have thrown away my good fortune years ago, but since I have written the article anyway, there was no harm to just submit it for the contest.

That's why I was pleasantly surprised when I received an email from the organiser recently, informing me that I had won one of the 3 prizes for the contest, i.e. a Salomon backpack which, I was given to understand, is an expensive item. For someone who hardly ever win anything from contests—not even lucky draw prizes at an annual dinner where almost everybody can win something—winning the Salomon backpack is quite a big thing! 

Truth be told, I'm still quite lost on the excitement that the prize is a Salomon bag (I guess sooner or later I will find out why it is a sought-after bag). The many, many pockets and compartments found in the bag can be quite mind-boggling, to say the least. But I'm sure I will find some uses for them in due course. But right now I'm more excited that I had actually won something—the worth of that something regardless!

So I have harvested quite a lot of benefits and satisfaction from this blog over the years, but this is the first time I've actually won a prize for an article! I won't mind if this could be a routine too!