Freshman 15 Sneak Peek

DAY 29

of the 30-Day Blog Challenge, 2011

A preliminary PDF proof.

I recently had a non-fiction book published, "The Official Guide to ZAPPING the Freshman 15"—a health and lifestyle primer co-authored with Marsha Irving (a fitness trainer, model, and actress). I first blogged about it here, and mentioned I would post select pages "one of these days." Today is one of those days.

It's a thrill to see your work in print, especially if you're a paper girl at heart like me. When I was little, my parents had a bookstore and I grew up having free access to many books—Archie comicbooks, in particular—and magazines (I attribute my hypochondriac tendencies to having pored over issues of Reader's Digest as a tween.).True, I have a keen appreciation for the online world and the web of opportunities made possible by its existence and success in the realm of publishing. But, nothing still beats the feel of printed paper in one's hands. All of the above explains why I own an iPad and still impulse-buy magazines at Hudson News (and also why my fascination with companies like Hearst and Condé Nast will never ever wane).

So, PAGES!

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: First! Starting Freshman Year Right

Chapter 2: Stressbusters

Chapter 3: Go, carbs!

Art, layout, and design by CLAUDE RODRIGO.

Freshman 15 is available on Amazon, (paperback and Kindle edition), Barnes & Noble online and Xlibris (our publisher).

Gadgets 'n' Things

DAY 17

of the 30-Day Blog Challenge, 2011

So I really like my Nokia C5-00 phone, and I'll probably be one of the last persons to own a handset with a QWERTY keyboard, or an iPhone for that matter. I guess I'm old school that way.

Or, maybe not. While browsing the September issue of Glamour on the train today, I saw an ad for the new HTC Status, "the first device with a Facebook share button":

The two phones look a wee bit similar, don't they? The white, silver, and black design, for one.

Now, I'm not looking to make any big-ticket purchases anytime soon, but the Android-based Status looks promising, given that it features a tactile, clickety keyboard—the one thing I look for in any gadget that has inputting capabilities. (Yes, I did finally buy a wireless keyboard for my iPad.) If I switch from my AT&T prepaid plan to a two-year contract, the HTC phone would cost $50—that's the same price that the iPhone 3G is currently going for. And, if you're curious, it's $200 for the iPhone 4.

Like I said in my "Gadgeteering" post, tech-quisitions aren't exactly my thing, I only buy gadgets as the need arises. Or, in the event that something does fall in the "want" category, I'll most likely buy the best of the moment and hold on to it for years and years until it's obsolete.

Tell me: How do you like your gadgets—vintage, practical, or brand spanking new all the time?

Images courtesy of Nokia Europe and BGR.com.

Weekend Update

At the Pond's Flawless White event with Cosmo EIC Zo Aguila, interns Yen Pomida, Gaile Tan, and Alex Parungo, withPond's brand manager Jacqe Yuengtian.

Over a light chat over work-related topics, the subject of blogging came up and a colleague casually pointed out that I haven't been updating my blog often enough for her to read it regularly. Eep! Talk about a very straightforward wake-up call that I badly needed. Not that I don't berate myself daily for putting off writing. It's just that...okay, okay, no excuses.

I've spent some time online lately though, in the form of managing the micro-site of Pond's in Cosmo.ph. (CMS—or whatever that interface is called—can be a bit of a challenge, mind you.) There, you can read the three interns' blogs; mine, too. We're on top speed at the internship program, and I am so proud of the girls! I truly feel like a mother hen!

What's been keeping me busy online lately.

We've been logging some video and TV time, too, with the ETC. crew popping by every now and then to document the internship program, along with Cosmo.ph's impressive team that updates Cosmo TV online.

Despite all this 'work' (it doesn't always feel like it because it's fun), I know I should keep this blog updated (along with AllMySugar.com!), so let's see how next week goes!

Zo and I next to hosts, Bianca Valerio and Brent Javier. Plains & Prints dressed us up, and did you know I almost chose the same dress as Bianca's? Good thing it didn't fit! I already look so small next to her :)

Must diligently apply eye cream ASAP!

Oh, Cosmo!

The new Cosmo.ph! It's as awesome as the magazine :)
And I'm a guest blogger for September.

So after many wonderful years working in Seventeen, I "graduated" to Cosmopolitan, its sister magazine. And for the next two and a half years, I would be busy beyond belief short of being dipped in algae. It was an honest-to-goodness roller coaster ride and I eventually hopped on to the next amusement park that is New York City. But that is a whole other story.

I'm thrilled to announce that I'm guest-blogging for the new and improved Cosmo.ph! It's like being back working for the mag—including getting used to raunchy section heads like Quickie Blogs—but being able to work in my pajamas.

Check out my first post, "Major Oh," and I'll meet you back here where I'll also be uploading the entries as part of the Cosmo Series—16 fun, fearless posts that will hopefully make you laugh, wince, or maybe even cry. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I've had (and am having) fun writing them!

Click HERE to go to the first post.

Blogger vs. Wordpress: 5 Reasons Why I Prefer Blogger

Believe me, I've tried.

And now I can say that I do prefer Blogger over WordPress, for many reasons (and as a disclaimer, I'm saying they're all very biased, so please go easy on the comments). Before I begin, here are the stats:

Sites I have with WordPress: two
Sites I have with Blogger: seven up

1. WordPress.com and WordPress.org
That alone poses way too many complications in an already complicated world wide web. The former is the free blogging service and the latter is the software source of the blogging service if you choose to host your blog/site yourself. (Check out http://WebHostingGeeks.com if you're shopping for web site hosting. Their Top 10 Best Web Hosts (2009) chart is helpful.) For the sake of clarity and simplicity, my Blogger-Wordpress comparisons only refer to my experience with the .com—the free blogging service like Blogger—and not .org.

2) Free Domain Mapping
I've been using Blogger since 2003. Back then the interface was quite raw, and you had to input your own HTML code to insert photos. Thus, my early posts had no images, and the latter ones that did, took so long to complete. I didn't notice several new features right away, but down the line, the interface became very visual and friendly, with plenty of drag-and-drop, 'point-and-click' settings, including registering your own domain right on the Blogger dashboard.

WordPress has this, too. BUT, as of this posting, they charge a whopping $14.95 yearly for directing your blog to your own domain. So if I want to move ChocolateCaster.wordpress.com to ChocolateCaster.com, I'd have to pay that fee on top of what I'll spend on the domain purchase. If I want to redirect ChocolateCaster.blogspot.com to its own domain, it's FREE on Blogger!

3) Unlimited HTML and CSS editing.
Now that I've mentioned the fees WordPress.com charges, if you want to customize your template and change colors, headers, and fonts, you have to pay a yearly fee of about $15, too. In Blogger, if I find a lovely new template from one of the many, many talented designers out there, but happen to prefer this particular shade of aqua or midnight blue, I can go ahead an tweak the template myself—free! (Web etiquette just calls for not erasing the author credits on the gutter.)

4) AdSense and advertisements.
I earn pennies monthly from AdSense, literally. I have about $7 (seven US dollars) in total earnings from the time I started utilizing the service; which only means I have A LOT to learn in terms of optimizing my site/s, building traffic, increasing click-through rates, and so forth. But my point is, I'd at least like to have the decision to optimize, or have nothing to do with ads at all, be made by me. WordPress.com does not allow any ads whatsoever. At the most, a blog author can put up a PayPal button for donations.

5) User-friendly interface.
I cannot begin to describe the number of times I got so stressed out and irritated by WordPress's Dashboard. I find it extremely unfriendly. Again, this the very biased opinion of someone who has used Blogger for years; even back when the user's opening page wasn't even called "Dashboard." Whenever I try to edit the sites that I do have on WordPress, I end up just wanting to get done ASAP and close the window.


YET, NEVER SAY NEVER… According to a ProBlogger survey conducted in 2006, Wordpress.org leads the roster of platforms bloggers use to publish their sites, with Blogger coming second, followed by Movable Type, ExpressionEngine, TypePad, and WordPress.com.

In 2007, on the other hand, PC World gave Blogger the top spot ("Best Buy!"; 91 points - Superior) and WordPress, second (88 points - Very Good); followed by TypePad, Lycos Tripod, and Squarespace. (Click here for the original article link.)

Well, it's like that great PC-versus-Mac debate: It's never-ending and it boils down to personal preference. Who knows if one day NyMinuteNow.com finds its next home in Wordpress? After all, many successful and prominent blogs use it, and many of them are visually enticing, engaging, streamlined, and reader-friendly.

But for now the verdict is out: Blogger it is.

A 2007 reader survey done by ProBlogger.net.