Top Ten Habits I Picked Up in Online Gaming

I haven’t played a ton of games over the internet though I spent a lot of time in them whenever I play one. For the past three years, I’d been engrossed with various online games particularly MMORPGs. Some I played for a few weeks or months while there are others I played for almost or more than a year. I played with international players, foreigners and Filipinos (who lives overseas) alike, and local gamers. I was like a lost kid when I started being active in the online gaming community because it’s new and totally different from the activities I usually do. There are practices and prejudices in the gaming community just like everywhere else and there are habits that you’d eventually picked up in the long run or simply real life lesson you’d never think would apply in the gaming world. If you are asking me if it’s for the better, well, I don’t really know. *smirks*

Some of the games I played over the years. Ragnarok Online is at the center because it was the first MMORPG I played and it started it all.

10. Never trust anyone. Not with your in game money, hard earned items or account details. It’s up to you if you wish to share your account to people you’ve met online whom you’ve come to trust but you have to remember that anyone can betray anyone. ^[1] I’ve learned that the hard way. ^[2]

9. Be wary of scammers. It’s very sad to acknowledge but most of the scammers I encountered in different MMORPGs are Filipinos. That is why I avoid buying/selling/trading in game items with players I don’t really know. I can set up a shop where they can buy directly and vice versa if the game allows that, if not I stick to Auction House.

8. You’ll learn a new language. Including abbreviations you’ll only find in game. PUGs, Whisper, Raid, Party, Imba, OP, Guild Run, Resu, Heal, DPS, Tanker, Melees, NVM, Kick, Noob, IGN, AH. These are just some of the words I’ve learned in game. They also have this abbreviated sentences that they use in Public Chat that actually make sense if you are a gamer. Examples are “LF Tank/DPS/Priest 5/10 [DG’s name abbreviation]” and “WTS (Item) WM.”

7. Patience is a virtue. There are good players and there are annoying, like really, annoying players. If you partied with individuals who don’t listen or who are plainly hard headed, it’s an effing test of patience. If you’re new to the dungeon and aren’t familiar with the boss’ mechanics, listening to those who know is essential so if you get one who has comprehension issues, oh well, good luck to you. I can try a few times but if the cost of the raid is ripping me off, I’d throw in the towel and leave.

6. Leave your credit cards and Paypal account details in the deepest recesses of your brain. Translation: DON’T SPEND REAL MONEY. I don’t have the time to grind all day, seven times a week , in a game to get the items I want or upgrade the gears of my character through in game trading using in game money. If it’s something that can be bought in the cash shop, I would most likely load cash and get it. BUT. That is not a smart financial decision.

I. Must. Practice. Control.

5. Do not accept FB Friend Request(s) from people you don’t really know. Most guilds have their own groups in Facebook. I am not one who’ll create a second FB account to hide my real identity and join the group. So yes, I use my legit FB account to interact with these people in those groups. My account before is semi-public, anyone can add me as a friend but after so many random requests from people I don’t really know I changed my setting and only those who have mutual friends with me can add me as a friend. Although, I still don’t accept the request if I haven’t played with them for some time. ^[3]

4. Get to know the people behind the characters. Gamers will say that once they are logged into their characters, they transform into a different person. Don’t get me wrong, they don’t turn into superheroes nor they are bipolar, they just simply exhibit attitude they don’t normally show in real life. Like a shy person turns into a boastful, mean monster online or a real man pretending to be a lovely, helpless girl to get free items. I make it a point to talk to them beyond game topics. Yes, I ask them personal questions, really personal questions. Most of the time they are game in answering even the most embarrassing questions I throw them.

3. Build rapport and establish relationships. The people you always play with online is like a network. They’re from diverse cultures. Making an effort to get to know them beyond superficial level in the cyber world will bring wonders to your social life. You’ll never know if some of them will be your real friends in the long run especially if you have met them in person. That is why I understand that some organized guilds require voice chat programs for their recruits. It’s one way to get to know the players personally because you to talk to them in runs you do. My guild uses RaidCall; we are encouraging the players to go online in RC but is not required. I also occasionally set up meet ups within Metro Manila or I meet the members I often talk to when I visit their home towns.

2. Create unusual IGNs. I am not brave enough to create crazy in game names. The best I can do is use food names as IGNs. I’d been using TwisterFries in multiple games. Some of the IGNs I’ve used are SariaBelle, TeaLemonade, CoffeeGirl and Cheesecake. Unique, funny and totally inappropriate IGNs are not my forte but I know many who love impossible IGNs. You want samples? Amoypekpek, Regla, TightKeps, SqueezeMe, Aktarub, BaklaAko, Devirginized, IAmaVirgin and PootAH. That is just a fraction of the unbelievable names you’ll see in game. I’d stick to food names, novel or movie characters, thank you very much.

1. Trash talking. Yes, I learned how to f*ck*ng trash talk. Thanks to my mentors Justin and Sase. However, I still can’t do it the same as my mentors do. I can’t and won’t trash talk players that are not my guild mates. I do it in jest and my guildies know that. It’s why they don’t take me too seriously if I start trash talking. But if a random player do that to me? I’d take a screenshot and file a ticket. I still and won’t ever tolerate trash talking. It’s a different matter if it’s Justin or Sase though. They taught me how to do that so I often practice it on them.

Here’s one party chat I had with Justin and Vinz in game. Please take note that I won’t be using our actual IGNs:

Justin: Pinutulan na ata nila akong net. Gagong Globe yan.
Alona: Gago, kapag pinutulan ka ng net dapat diconnected ka na ulol.
Alona: Tangina ka.
Vinz: Hahaha. Tumatrashtalk si Alona.
Alona: Oi si Justin nagturo sakin nyan.
Justin: Di ako nantatrashtalk ate.

That’s what Justin always say. But in reality? This is how he trashtalks:

Justin: PUTANGINA NIYONG MGA TAGA S*****A. MAMATAY NA KAYONG LAHAT. ANG BOBOBO NIYO.

See? Isn’t he angelic? He is extremely nice if you meet him in person though.

***

Many players who play online games have different reasons why they spend most of their time in MMORPGs. If you take the time to get to know them you’ll eventually know that it’s either they’re going through something or they’re using the game as an escape from reality. For some time, I had my reasons too. Lately it became a habit. I can still walk away from it but I’d probably visit from time to time. Because of the time I spend with this, sometimes my real social life suffer or there are things I have to drop to focus on this.  Probably the best lesson MMORPGs taught me is to find balance. I’m not just juggling work and life balance; virtual, social and personal time are also part of the equation. Right now I still do most of the things I love. I find time to write, read, travel, go out with friends, be healthy and work out. I gave up watching Asian Dramas not just because of this but also due to the fact that it eats a lot of my free time and you guys know that my free time recently is dedicated to gaming. I’m also waiting for new MMORPGs I want to try. There are many things I want to do. There are organizations I want to join. There are numerous changes I want to do in my life. It’s not question of if but a question of when. I don’t know when am I going to give this up. I know eventually I’d come into that but one thing I know is for sure, the relationship I build with the friends I made here will stay for a long long time.

[1] Quote from Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard.
[2] Yes, I am still sour graping over the 80,000 zeny lost (stolen is such a strong word for a misunderstanding if you can call it such but I guess not really) in my Odin account in Ragnarok Online 2. It wouldn’t have been such a blow if I only spent time to get that. I am a paying player and I earned that zeny with items I bought from the cash shop which I sell in the Auction House.
[3] My posts are still filtered. So even if I accepted them as a friend they are still categorized under Online Games which is part of my exception list for too personal posts or status updates.

What it feels like to be a coming back player.

A Rant on Ragnarok Online 2: Advent of Valkyrie.

I’m not big on MMOs. I tried numerous MMORPGs in the past but I seldom stay in a game for more than 6 months. Sometimes I visit the game to check things out and if I don’t see changes or if I can’t grasp all the changes since I last logged in, I usually move on to a new game. I went back to Ragnarok Online 2 North American server a few weeks ago because they officially opened its doors to PH players in July. I decided to check what I missed for the past 10 months since I left the game. It’s a little disconcerting to see how different it was from the time I was religiously playing it. The community issues, rage, lag, class rebalance problems and bugs every patch eventually led me to quit the game.

I can’t explain why I was hooked with the way RO2 was made when there are a lot of better games out there.  It’s just that as a casual player, I find it bothersome sometimes to learn a new gameplay that is entirely foreign to me. I know its part of the overall gaming experience but sometimes it’s a little hard to go out of your comfort zone. Maybe it’s one of the reasons why I went back to RO2. I tried several MMOs since last year but I never stayed long to learn the ropes of the game. The last MMO I played for more than 2 months was Aura Kingdom. I also did play Phantom Fantasy Online 2, Onigiri, Tera 2 and recently Aurora World. Just like AK, I didn’t stay long. I created a character, leveled up a few, and then left the game. I normally grind and complete quests alone unless it requires a party but sometimes it’s sad to be a lone ranger for so long until you reach a certain level where you can mingle with the upper echelon of the community.

My characters in the Odin Server. SariaBelle is originally my main. I still play her however, I find TwisterFries easier to play these days since the mage class was nerfed. CoffeeGirl is an Alter that I plan to make a SoulMaker but it’s difficult having 2 active characters so she’s one of my storage characters as of now. xBlueBelle is an Archer that I’ll probably never level, she’s my main storage character.

To players like me who’d been in the RO2 NA server from the time when it started knows the kind of bullshit the community went through. So I don’t blame them for quitting the game before I did and didn’t even look back. Imagine my shock when I came back and find that everything I knew in game, everything I was used to, the regular raids we go through, were all flushed down the toilet. I didn’t know how to wrap my head with the changes. My mind is still set pre-AoV and all around me screams Advent of Valkyrie. I knew I have to back read patches, articles, and whatever it is you can find in the forums to understand what Advent of Valkyrie offers or else I’d be eaten alive of how different it is from Legend of the Second. I feel like a new player when in fact I’m one of the ancient players of this game. I almost, almost dropped the game again. I don’t know what pushed me to continue, maybe finding out that Galajuan ^[1] is still alive and is now one of the most active guilds in game made me continue, maybe it’s the new players who don’t know anything even the basic things you need to learn before going to AoV maps, who doesn’t even care to read online what they should know (honestly, they make me feel less inadequate/less newbie), or maybe I’m just bored out of my wits or I’m stressed with work I needed a distraction.

If we are to talk about changes, it’s a lot, not just game content but with the community. I’ll try to list everything down but because I’m still leveling two of my characters to max Master Level, I haven’t really experienced the new end game dungeons the game has to offer. These were just the things I experienced and observed for the past three weeks:

1. As I’ve said, I went back to the forums to find out what was happening and I was saddened to know that the best players of RO2 left the game. Leaders of well known guilds moved on to other games. Some of the top guilds are still there but the leadership was passed down to someone else, some remaining guilds merged with others to create a new guild who’ll reign the place and there are those newly created guilds with fresh players trying to keep up with the demands and competition from established guilds.
2. There is an influx of new players and I’m sorry to say but they’re babies who want everything spoon fed. The community is one to blame because when you reached ML30, either in the process of completing your end game gears or not, you’ll get bored and would help anyone who shouts out in the Public/Find Party Chat for help. Also WP ran an August EXP Boost event for PH players which made them reach level 50 in 2 days, making them skip most of the game’s main quests when leveling to 50. In turn, never learning what they need to do to adequately progress in game. They ask so many questions that they should have learned when they were leveling. And they also ask for impossible things if you’re in a guild with them (Yes, first hand experience). Goodness people, there is this search engine called Google where you can type search queries, you know. I’m pretty sure you’ll find the answer to what you are asking faster (around 0.00052 milliseconds?) than asking someone to explain it to you in game. Also if you want to gain something in the game, work for it. Ask for assistance if needed but if they can’t help you, it’s either they’re really busy or it’s a simple task that you should be able to do by yourself. You need zeny? Do not beg for it. Farm honey or if you have real money to spend then do so. Not everything will be given to you in a silver platter.
   

   As Stanley Chi puts it.

3. The gear progression from LotS is gone. Pre-AoV, after reaching level 50, you have to do RHD to get blue lvl50 gears in order to enter Bapho/PVE N. After you got your Bapho/PVE N gears, moved on to Hard Mode. CoA N follows, CoA H to AoD N to AoD H and lastly your Chaos set. Now, everyone grinds to 50, changes to ML and get ML1 gears. You craft some of the higher better gears but the top gear is still drop based. You still move on somehow but the order we follow before are long gone.
4. Raids are practically obsolete and because of that new players may never learn how to properly raid, strategize, learn the mechanics of the boss in order to beat them and not just hit everything because you’re strong (or you’re a freaking ML20). How I wish they’d make the dungeons as hard as before and make them a pre-requisite to progress in game or move on to another map. I doubt that would happen though. You’ll be lucky to find one party doing COA/AOD H or Chaos in Find Party and in N in a day. New players are even bitching at how difficult the ML quest is. Some even raged-quit.
5. Grinding is the new peg of the game. Maybe it should be titled Advent of Grinding just like when we named the game before Legend of Lag. Grind Condor, Muka or Osiris till your wrist bleeds or till you had stiff fingers. Then you’ll have to farm for mats too.
6. The RNG in this game is a BITCH. Need I say more?
7. I need zenys. Lots and lots and lots of zenys. That means I have to farm like hell which is my least favorite task in game. But don’t worry, I don’t beg for zenys. I’m too dignified to do that. Chos!
8. CM Zanbee the Panda is no longer the Community Manager of RO2. She was replaced by a Bunny, CM Maridah. Of course, Njoror, the Assistant Producer of RO2 is still there.
9. War of Emperium hours is still the same. I see pioneer guilds still doing that, owning castles, and new ones as well.
10. Colo gears are useless as of now. People enter simply because it’s PVP.
11. They nerfed the mage class! Grrr. Sorcerers were OPs pre-AoV. Yes, past tense!
12. Assassins are the new God’s of RO2 AoV. After the last August patch wherein they ahem—rebalanced (is that even called rebalancing?) this class, they’re practically invisible unless you’re a geared BM, Knight, Warrior or Ranger who can go neck and neck with them. If you’re a mage class, forget it. You’ll get knocked down and boom. Dead in a matter of seconds. Pre-Aov I hate them in colo but I can still beat them. Now? Duh. Never mind.

I’m not gonna include my last rant in the list because it had been a long standing issue for me ever since I played MMORPGs. It’s nice to play with kababayans but it’s different when the game wasn’t opened yet in PH. The Pinoy players you find in game before are professionals or immigrants abroad or those who happen to register in RO2 before they blocked PH. I can’t help but compare how mannered they are from new PH players we have now.

Just to make it clear, I am NOT generalizing everyone. Read that again before you react. Write it down if you want to. Print-screen it. Copy and paste it in Word and make the font size 50 then make it your screensaver or desktop background so it would penetrate your thick head and understand what I’m saying.

In the past three weeks I played, I met nice, respectful and friendly new Pinoy players. I’m not saying all of veteran Pinoy players are nice, there are still those who think people should dropped down their knees and worship the path they walked on and those who are the only ones awake when God gave “Kayabangan” ^[2] when he was creating human beings and got it all. If these people were already getting on my nerves, imagine how I reacted when their number doubled when PH players came in. No matter how diplomatic and understanding I’ll be, someone who’s asshole enough would make my shackles rise. I’m not saying you should give me a leeway since I’m a girl but at least check what “decorum” means in the dictionary. Should I translate that in Filipino? If you want people to respect you and look up to you, you should be that person first. You cannot demand respect if you don’t even know how to give it. It’s a norm for Pinoys nowadays to have dry humor and inexorable sarcasm because of Vice Ganda, I’d be honest I’m prone to that, I’m brutally candid by nature and sarcastic at a fault, but I know when to draw the line. Some people are more sensitive than others. People may take what you said out of context. Remember the general rule online, think before you click. In this case, be mindful of what you type in the chatbox before you hit enter.

RO2 is not the best MMO out there especially knowing how thick headed, deaf and useless Gravity is when it comes to developing game content.  I don’t know if there would come a point where I’ll get bored again and leave the game maybe for real this time but as of now, I’m still playing even though a lot of things frustrate me. I’m patient but like everyone else I also get fed up.

P.S. There is this one comment made by a male player that got me really riled up when we were doing a run. As I said I can tolerate a horrible person as far as I could but push so many of my buttons at once and I’ll detonate. I’m an occasional Kafra Cash user. I know it’s not smart to spend too much in a game. I buy items in the Kafra Shop if I absolutely needed but I haven’t even spent $100 since I played this game last year compared to those who had spent thousand of dollars since its inception. For someone who plays the game 24/7, because he probably does not have better things to do with his life, to throw in my face that he doesn’t want to spend money in useless things is bullshit. It’s my prerogative where I want to spend my money. I earned it. I worked hard for it. I know my limitations in spending but no one has the right to tell me what to do with my money. I sacrifice my budget for books (as you can see in this blog I do book reviews. I love to read and I read a lot) whenever I buy Warpportal points. And Oh, I can’t spend my entire day seven times a week in useless things like forever grinding and farming in a useless game (which is feasible if you are botting) because I have a life outside of MMORPGs which I think you don’t have. I wouldn’t have felt this way and be this spiteful bitch if he apologized but he didn’t. I’ll be the big person here and say I’m sorry for bitching about you. I hope that eventually you’ll realize your comment had hurt someone else’s feelings. Although, I think that’s wishful thinking. I can’t do anything if he is that dense, right?

Let’s all just move on and smile.

Image Source: allthesherlockgifs

P.P.S. As of this writing, AsiaSoft made an announcement that they will officially close the SEA server by October and transfer the reigns to Warpportal. All of the players’ characters, items and zenys will be transferred to the Odin Server. Is this another effing reason for me to finally quit this game? OMG. I thought the current state of the game is bad. I never thought they’d make it this worst. SEA’s players are OPs. Like 4x OPs than the ones we have in Odin.  The economy? Oh. my. freaking. evil. Its hyper-super-over inflated. How the hell can I keep up with that? We’ll see come by October. I’m pretty sure the community is gonna go nuts over this as the final day comes. Whew. Talk about bad timing and worse case scenarios.

[1] Galajuan is a guild formed by 3-4 Pinoy guilds in the Odin server before. To know more about them, click here.
[2] A person who love to boast and brag things just because he can.
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Image Source: Oh Hey, It’s AJ

The Perks of the Gaming Community… or Maybe Not

If you’re gonna ask me to describe myself last year, I’d say I’m a blogger, a reader, a frustrated writer, a homebody, a book club member and a 24/7 an occasional crazy, mean girl. If I’m going to answer that question today, I’m adding “a casual gamer” on the list. Honestly, I never thought I’d call myself that. I mean look at the way I described myself before, isn’t that already geeky? And now that? Well, maybe I am geeky ^[1]… or maybe not.

I was never really into gaming. It was only when Jeff and I became friends that I started playing online games. He introduced me to various MMORPGs and console games when we started dating but I didn’t play that much because studying was on top of my priorities. It was only a few years after I started working that I continued playing various games but it didn’t eat most of my time because I was more into books, drama series, movies and my social life. I finished a few games, others left me frustrated which I gave up on, and some I tried but never played seriously. I was never and will never be a hardcore gamer. I know I only do it because I’m having fun and it’s an effective stress reliever at most times. As I’ve mentioned in my August MAT and WUF posts, I was (and still) going through a phase in my life that made me look into other things to divert my sulking “outlook”. And that’s where Ragnarok Online 2 kicks in.

This is something I shouldn’t really talk about in this blog but my blog’s theme is “Love and All the Things I Love”, right? Can you give me this one post to talk about it? Pretty please? RO2 is something I appreciated and started to like recently not because of the game itself but the community I found in the game. I played for a while in SEA with my co-workers and it was fun while it lasted. But because of how bad the handler handled the game, I eventually moved to NA when it opened. We know there isn’t much of a difference between the two servers and both handlers are making grave mistakes one after the other. The community isn’t as lively as before and I dare say that I haven’t mingled with half of the game’s population even if it’s dwindling at this very minute. So what community am I talking about? They are the people I’m usually with, those I’ve talked and played with at one point, the players I often see whose names are flashing in front of my screen or those I see talking nonsense in the public chat, and lastly, they’re the friends I found in game.

I never expected to find “friends” here. I mean, because I wasn’t a pro-player and I’m only just starting with OL games, I couldn’t understand the “relationship” the players build in game. It didn’t cross my mind that there’s a real person behind the characters I see in game. I don’t make sense, right? Of course, there’s someone controlling the character. It wouldn’t move by itself (unless you are using a third party program). It’s hard to explain, really. But maybe the point I’m trying to cross is that, these players are “real” and they have issues too. Like any other online community, you make friends, you talk to them, you connect with them (which social networks make it easier nowadays), you get to know them, and eventually understand how they think, who they are, and if given the chance meet them in person. I shouldn’t be new to this, no? It’s the same with how I found The Filipino Group^[2]. The only difference is that I’ve met the people in the book club and we see each other on a monthly basis.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/shanatalks/sets/72157636092442375/

I’d been to three guilds since the conception of the game. First was Solitude, it then merged with HousèBunny, then I went to BALASUBAS and now I’m with Galajuan. I was with Kyuu in all of these guilds and she is one of the players I connected within and outside of the game. There are also other players that I’m beginning to build friendship with like Alvin, Camssy, Kuya Mac and the rest of the Pinoy International players that I’m regularly with when I’m online. And you know what I find funny? There is “life” in the gaming community. Here are some of the highlights of my experience and why I’m so enthralled with the community today:

• Whenever I ask anyone their age, it makes me feel old. WTF, am I the only one in their mid-twenties here? Let me reiterate that—mid-twenties! And if ever someone will be honest and admit me their real age, hah. I’ll jump in joy! (Or give away free spinels?)
• Some players play because they are trying to mend their broken hearts. (Did I hit a sore spot?) People tend to look for a diversion when they’re having issues and you can find them here. I’m one of them, right? Though I am not broken hearted. Swear.
• There is drama in the gaming community. Believe me. There is. And sometimes it’s as worse as our teleseryes. Pff.
• There is politics too—everything in politics. Though I hope we won’t have another Napoles here in game.
• There are bitches in one end, assholes on the other, and users in between. But there are also those who are genuine human beings too.
• You find new friends, new relationship, new enemies, and yes, new love life. There is hope for those BH players! (Please see bullet #2) Let’s just hope it’s not a rebound. (Note: It’s exactly the same with the book club! Haha)
• Guilds here are like call centers. Players are guild hopping all the time. Just like what call center agents do, they hop to different centers.
• Since I’m already comparing it to the BPO industry, the attrition rate of players is also the same with BPOs. It changes every patch.
• People here love to trash talk. I tolerate some but most of the time I tune them off but I still love lurking in public chat anyway.
• If you lose your cool, you’re dead (literally) and pissed. Hahaha.
• You meet people from all walks of life! Some you will hate, others you wouldn’t like and few are gems that are worth keeping.

See? It’s just the same with every community you find online and in real life. And since I’m already making this post, I’ll grab the opportunity to promote the Galajuan and BALASUBAS page. Can you click the banners below and like each page? We wouldn’t flood your feed with useless posts, pinky-swear! Thank you!

PS: I made the draft of this entry weeks ago but you know how lazy I can get when posting new entries in my blog. I’m adding something and yes, I’m too lazy to rewrite the post.

It’s been weeks since Galajuan was founded and we’ve been through a few bumps along the way. I wasn’t online that much for the past few weeks (life is being a b**** once again) but I make it a point to check our page from time to time (you know, chismosa lang!).

Galajuan went through hell and back. We’ve been bashed, criticized, and talked down to. We are a team of crazy, impossible but passionate, loyal individuals who stood their ground and fought for what we believe in even if all of them say it’s a hopeless cause. We aren’t perfect, we make mistakes, we get angry, we get disappointed but we chose to continue and grow rather than be affected of what’s happening in this unfair, one-sided, preposterous, RO2 game.

This is what life in Galajuan is. No matter how many times you step on us, no matter how much derision you throw in our face, we will keep on moving forward. Talk as much as you like but one thing is for sure—we are still standing and will continue to do so—after all, we are a bunch of hard-headed pricks anyway. Isn’t that right, Papa Doray?

[1] Wikipedia’s definition <here>
[2] TFG is an online reading community that meets up every month to have a formal book discussion. We also have HOHOL (Hang out Hang out Lang), an event we go to every now and then whenever we are overwhelmed with clingy-ness.

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Hello, Liebster Award!

I intended to make this post earlier this month but work got in the way, I had no free time to check my blog. But it’s better late than never, right? I am pleasantly surprised to be nominated for the Liebster Award last month. Thanks to Bluetsky of Rants of a Pig-Rabbit for nominating my blog!

The roots of the award is hard to track down but according to Google, “the general consensus is that it originated in Germany, Liebster meaning favorite or dearest, is given to up and coming bloggers with less than 200 followers.” Like any other blog awards being passed on in the blogosphere, there are rules you have to follow should you decide to accept the award:

• List 11 random facts about yourself.
• Answer the questions designated by the blogger(s) who nominated you.
• Place YOUR nominations for the Liebster Award! Nominate five (or more) other bloggers that have less than 200 followers. Make sure to notify them via comment/email, etc.
• Make up a set of questions for those nominated bloggers to answer.
• Display the Liebster award badge on your blog!

Random Facts about Alona

I find this the easiest to comply with from the given rules. My book club, The Filipino Group, has a same thread in our Goodreads page. We have to list 25 things the members don’t know about us yet. Some of the entries I have here came from it; I only added a few things since a lot have changed from the time I made that post.

1. I read whenever I had the chance to. I even tried reading while walking. I haven’t accidentally bump into anyone, much worse to a post/sliding glass door, yet.
2. I cover all my books and put print out numbers on them. But then I still lost count of how many books I have. (Even with the printed numbering. Haha.)
3. I don’t like tragic endings. I get depress and when I’m depressed, I eat.
4. I’m a coffee addict since high school, because of that I was once hospitalized due to Gastritis but that didn’t stop me from drinking coffee. Now I’m having Acid Reflux and my doctor advised me to refrain from drinking coffee and sodas. (I’m hardheaded, I know.)
5. I tried all growth vitamins when I was a kid but I didn’t even get past 5’. What is false advertisement.
6. When I say “I’ll sleep early”, I really sleep early—early in the morning.
7. I’m a nurse by profession but I’m working as part of the Support Group of a BPO company. Of course, I want to practice my profession someday and take Master of Arts in Nursing. Hopefully, I’d be able to do that no matter how long the wait would take. It’s just that with the economy today and the rate of jobless nurses, I have to be wise and practical.
8. Since I started working in a call center, I can stay awake for 36 hours straight and spend 18+ hours in the office.
9. I have three cats and they are Jodie, Dono and Lala. I have another cat before named Monmon but he died because of kidney stones. If you’re curious of how I got their names, it came from various television shows. Jodie is from Stairway to Heaven, Monmon and Dono are from Mojacko, and Lala is from Teletubies.
10. My boyfriend and I love to eat. We go out of town primarily because of the delicacies the place has to offer. The tourist attractions are just secondary.
11. I play online and console games but I’m not a hardcore gamer. As of now I play Ragnarok Online 2 but I don’t play console games as of late because I got so frustrated with Final Fantasy XIII. It’s so damn long, I can’t finish it.

Now on with Bluetsky’s questions:

What was the last book you’ve read?
She’s Dating the Gangster by Bianca Bernardino, I read the published version from Summit Books. I have a review of that here.

Do you have a smartphone? What do you love about it?
Yes. I have a Nokia N900; it had been with me for 4 years now. It’s one of the last Nokia products with Maemo OS. Since the development of Maemo was stopped, I’m already thinking of getting a new android phone or maybe a tablet. But what makes it difficult to let go is because of its 32G internal memory that can be expanded up to 40G. Yep, imagine the files I have in this phone! Plus, I use this phone to write articles/posts whenever and wherever I want to.

If you are wondering if I’m one those people who name their gadgets, the answer is no. I don’t get it. I find it weird. Let’s say you’re looking for your phone and you’d yell, “Where the F is Dora?!” (Who would name their phone Dora? Hahaha) it’s a hassle explaining that Dora is the phone. LOL. No wonder, she’s missing.

Where is your dream travel destination?
Korea! It’s my top dream travel destination followed by Japan. I would love to see the places I see in KDramas. I like Korean food and it would be lovely to try their authentic dishes. Who knows? I might bump into Lee Min Ho.

If you are to have children, what would you name your firstborn?
My partner and I have to decide on that. I like the name Samantha Saria which I often use in my IGNs. If it’s a boy, oh well, I don’t know yet.

Why do you run a blog site?
I’m a frustrated writer. I’ve tried several times to write my own novel but I always ran out of words or rather I’d often have difficulty finding time sitting down and write. Running a blog site is a writing exercise and I enjoy doing it. I like sharing my thoughts on things that interest me. Interacting with people all over the world, even if their opinion is different from mine, is fun.

My Nominees

I haven’t visited a lot of blogs lately and my blogroll only consists of book bloggers. I’ll try to list blogs on topics that interest me. This is also a big post it reminder that I have to update my blogroll.

Erwin – he only started blogging last month and I stumbled on his blog when I was browsing the net for the Vice Ganda and Jessica Soho “gang rape joke” fiasco. He’s a fifteen year old aspiring journalist who gives his insights to socio-economic topics. He makes long posts but you’ll enjoy reading it.

Chibivy – I came across her blog when she commented in one of my book reviews. She does book reviews too but most of her content are personal posts. She’s a weird-wired kid who’s passionate in what she does.

Icesabel – I discovered her blog when I was looking for guides in building my sorc in RO2-SEA. She’s a hardcore gamer who blogs about her experiences in various MMO she plays(ed). She also talks about random things in her life, work and everything in between.

Val Christian – he’s a not a stranger I met online but he really is one of my real life friends. His photoblog, Strange Connections, showcases unique, full of emotion photos that he took in places he visits, in events he goes to, and people he accidentally bump into. I love the way he plays with words in describing his photos—really worth seeing.

Airiz – she’s a book blogger who loves to doodle. Her blog title, Cinderella in Combat Boots, is attention grabbing but what I like most in her blog are her creative, fun, personally made doodles. They’re so cute!

Here are my questions:

1. Do you name your gadget(s)? If yes, what names did you give them?
2. Can you list five things you can’t live without?
3. If you’d be given a day to switch lives with anybody, who would it be?
4. Can you share a quote from a movie you’ve seen or a book you’ve read that at one point became your life’s mantra?
5. What’s the worst book/movie you’ve read/seen recently?

As much as I want to make my nominees sweat with questions like 4^{x2 + 1} – 2^{x2 + 2} = ?, I’d make our lives easier and give them (and me) less headache, I hate Algebra and complicated questions anyway. I had fun in making this post, answering Bluetsky’s questions, and discovering new blogs!