Blogs vs. Plurks: The Memorial Value

I was supposed to blog something... but ended up just 'plurking' it. I believe that there is a big difference with the value that a blog has than that of a plurk.

Blogs are more... I may say, intimate. That is how I treat my blogs. My plurks, on the other hand, are more 'public'. Why are they public? First of all, I linked them to my Facebook account. That means that all ordinary plurks (without the !FB keyword) will automatically get posted to FB. Yes. That's it. So, it means that everyone will get to read it.

I plurk most of the time to share something 'public', something that others can agree on... something that I want to shout out to the world. I just remembered, my Plurk's also linked to my Twitter account. That's how PUBLIC it is. :))

My blogs, now, are the sentimental ones. They are linked to my heart. I write my biggest secrets (well not all of them, but a lot of them I've written already... but on a different one, not on this blogsite). One may notice, if they know my plurk activity as compared to my blogging habits, that I plurk more than I blog. Hey, plurkin may also be considered as micro-blogging... but when I refer to 'blogging', I refer to this blogger site/account.

Okay... I think that my plurks outnumber my blogs because of several reasons... one of which is the ease of using it. It's also attached to my Yahoo! Messenger account so that whenever I think of something very sudden, when something pops out of my mind out of the blue, I can instantly record it.

I don't really believe in the immortality of saving your thoughts on an online repository like the internet... I have this belief that some day in the future... everything will be gone. We will run out of resources because we only know how to consume. There are groups that are starting movements for renewability. But, at least, whatever essence our thoughts create... it will remain forever in the air as everything disappears, and as we come back to dust... We have on source, and to that we will return in the end. If we look at it closer, nothing really disappears (law of physics). Whatever our thoughts produce, it fulfills whatever purpose it has.

Now, what can I say about memories? I say that we make them worthwhile... and make them last while they're there... and let's just create more of 'em. In my experience, there were lots of good things in my life. But my humanness limits my ability to keep all of them afresh all the time. It may be a rare moment to feel that special and sentimental experience of everything past. :)

Even though I don't believe in the immortality of the internet, I believe I should still make an effort of reaching out and sharing my thoughts to the world through my writing.

Back in action!

I was out of action... but I guess my commitment remains to my journal like an invisible cord that links it to my heart.

Well, I guess I was just passing by my journal. Signing off for now, but signing back again soon! :)

A talk with Ate Gina: My call to write down my dreams and visions

I had a talk with Ate Gina last Friday, August 14. She was supposed to ask me to fix her laptop's internet connection. She invited me to eat first since I haven't had dinner yet, and we went to some deep spiritual talk and fellowship. We talked about how God's spiritual gifts should be exercised, especially since we are His vessels here on earth.

1st Message

She shared some of the things she received as a message for me. She told me that if I keep a journal, I should write down the visions and dreams that the Lord has given me. She couldn't remember the exact verse in Ezekiel but one was about God's command to Ezekiel to write down those that He has showed him.

It was just so right on the spot because Ate Gina did not know that I have created a journal before to write down the dreams that God has given me. Sadly, it lied in ruins so I decided to delete it weeks ago. A few days before we got that talk, when I logged in to my blogger account, I noticed that my blog can be "un-deleted". It was such a perfect coincidence. A sign for me to go on with what I'm doing. A go signal. Ate Gina also doesn't know that I'm a journal-keeper or a blog-writer.

In Ezekiel 40-42, the Lord showed Ezekiel the details of the temple including the laws of the temple. Portions of Ezekiel 43:10-11 says,

¹⁰ "Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel... ¹¹ ...make known to them the design of the temple—its arrangement, its exits and entrances—its whole design and all its regulations and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations.

2nd Message

Another message that she received for me was that the Lord was giving me a "jump-start" in visions, that he'll give me visions in full-color and complete clarity. That was the impression she had. She told me how Pastor-Prophet Kuya Gerry Misajon started out having small visions, to little images, to black and white, to something wider and clearer today. She said that I'll have it in full image right away.

I told her about the first time I had a vision that it felt very real and it was very clear and vivid. She blurted out the word "vivid". It was exactly the word I had in my heart when I visualize that fresh vision that I had for the first time.

This is sealed in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Blog-Babying

You know what, I've had quite a long break from writing personal blogs. I'm trying to find out the reason why, but tonight, I can only go down on pointing one reason. Just to clarify, though, I'm not saying that it's the only reason. I believe that there are a lot more reasons behind me not writing, and losing the "feel" or the "urge" to write any more passionate than I do before.

The first reason I tried blogging out was when it was still probably the year 2007, February, when I was really wondering what blogs are. Sure, I have an idea of what it is, but being a skeptical person, I puke out what I know, do not believe them, and only really grasp what they mean when I get a first-hand relevant experience of them.

I was also starting to collect and compose short text-message verses, and quotes. Some of those, I've turned into nice short poems. That's when I officially started writing poems, and really delved into poetry. It was a nice start.

February 2007 also marked the start of us having our first-ever decent DSL connection. That was a time when Broadband internet connection started making its way into Philippine mainstream, beginning to eradicate dial-up connections. It was really timely as I've just created my first-ever blog while in school, a few days ago before the official internet connection is set-up.

At my first shot at writing the blogs, my main activity revolved around transferring compositions (poetry, quotes, sayings, thoughts) that I've saved in my mobile phone. Back then, it was my handy and ever-present "diary", whenever the computer and the keyboards to write with were not available.

Things got better and my writing "skills", if there is such a thing, improved. I moved forward to writing directly to the blogs. I composed poems right on the spot, mainly focusing on the idea of love for the initial blog posts. Some, about fear, about principles, about youth, life, and other relevant things to me back then (very teenage-like).

Today, I'm suffering from "loss-of-fresh-content" syndrome. Hahaha. I can't even write anything new to my blogs. I feel like it's a commitment that I do not know of anymore. It's like a lost love, or a too familiar part of you that it doesn't matter anymore whether it's there or not, in a good or bad situation.

Two years after creating a blog, I've created this particular online fancy journal account called "plurk". It's some sort of short-journal writing site that allows your friends to view your "status" or read the thoughts that you wrote for them to see. It's fun to use and quite different because your thoughts are shared on the mainstream. At some point, though really short, I think I've become addicted to it.

The main difference between "plurk" and blogging is that blogging is more personal. It's more introspective and reflective. It's more "permanent". Plurking or "plurks" can be tracked back all the way from the start, but it's not really meant for that. It's something like thing of the moment, and it's made for that. It's basically an "update" material.

I love the personal touch of blogs. Though right now, I can't fully appreciate it yet, I believe that my attachment to it, although none is really required by anything or anyone, will be for the long-term, say eternal.

Blogs should be "babied". They should be given extreme personal care. They should be trusted, watched-over carefully, and committed time to. Without those things, they're without life. I hope to baby my blog. I hope to revive my connection to it. To do that, I have to find my reason, and the hidden exceptional purpose in it. Maybe then, I'll have known what to do, and how to do it.