Renzie: One Year Later (Well, Almost…)

Hello blogosphere.

I’ve been away for a rather extended period of time. In fact, a quick look at the articles I’ve posted would reveal that my last entry was late last year– a little more than eight months ago.

I suppose I owe it to my readership to explain my prolonged absence.  Not that I have to, but it’s more of in keeping with the open-ness of this general blog environment here on “The Life and Times of The Renzie Man”.  After all, being an online documentation of my more recent comings and goings, it would only be appropriate to fill in the months-long gap in between posts.

1. I’ve been busy. That’s really the short of it.  How busy?  Well, for starters, I’ve been a lot more involved with a small events and marketing business I set up with a couple other friends.   It’s a teenie little project management venture that we can genuinely call our own, and personally, I don’t mind pouring every bit of time, energy and resource on it, as we all know that- in the end- the rewards are for all of us to reap.

My partners, Gelo and Janeth, stopping for a bite at the Bread Bag, Ortigas Home Depot. July 2010.

There are a couple of other projects and entrepreneurial endeavors besides, but nothing that occupies as much time as the aforementioned business.  There are even a couple of others lined up in the immediate future.

2. I’ve been making new connections. I suppose it can’t be helped.  Not only is it in the very nature of my work to be social (check it: marketing, events, business development, relationship management, new media, promotions– each and every one of them requiring a fairly high level of well, socialization), but from the standpoint of a business owner, a robust network of partners, allies, supporters, suppliers and clients all make for a promising future, with lots of opportunities for everyone involved.

Me, hanging out with JoJo, just before her show, at the Hotel Sofitel Philippine Plaza. March 2010.

I may have talked about taking off for the USA, but with what I’m doing now, it seems I may actually enjoy the best of both worlds. So here I am, back in Metro Manila, building up my personal network from scratch.

3. I finally figured what I want out of life, and- even better- how to go about getting it. How can you not appreciate this clarity of purpose?  What I do right now involves all the things I love: music, marketing and media.

I see a very bright future ahead, with enough hard work and with the right moves along the way.  I really don’t want much– just a comfortable enough lifestyle, a chance to enjoy mini-retirements every now and then, and a chance to keep doing what I’m doing now til when I grow old toothless and senile.

I finally get to do some traveling. I also get to top off a trip every now and then with the occasional awesome sandwich That's me in Bigby's Cagayan de Oro, July 2010.

4. My priorities have changed. The aforementioned clarity has given me vision– a newfound sense of direction, as well as a chance to lay out a grand strategy of sorts.  Which means I have a better idea of sorts on things that are more important to me, and things that aren’t.

Which is a good thing.  I feel old age starting to creep up on me, and I have to admit, I’m not as energetic as I used to be.  Priorities help me determine what needs working on at any given moment: what needs to be developed long-term, what needs to be addressed right away, and what can be completely ruled out as a distraction, and even ignored completely.

5. I’ve learned a lot. And I’ll keep on learning new stuff. I’ve learned not just from my own mistakes, but from the mistakes of others as well.   I learn from my interactions with my newfound friends and allies.

One of the more important things I’ve learned actually: always have an inquisitive mind. Keep asking questions, keep looking for answers. I suppose this part needs a post of its own. Which I should work on in a couple of days.

Oh well, I suppose I should get back to blogging. As soon as I finish this cup of fro-yo. Me enjoying some fro-yo over at Qoola in Greenbelt, Makati.

So where does blogging come in after all this? Well, for one thing, I can process all my thoughts online for free, instead of engaging the services of a psychiatrist. But seriously, after all that I’ve gone through these past several months, I’ve realized that writing (and blogging)serves as a very much-needed outlet to channel expression and creativity and even some stress release. I figured– why not hit the keyboard once more?

Which brings us to here and now. I realize I’ll have to do some housecleaning over the course of the next several days (or weeks- however long it takes, really). But one thing’s for sure, you’re going to be reading a lot more about me once again.

Catch you all again tomorrow, cats and kitties

Cheers, everyone!

Does Renzie Make Money Blogging?

Share This Post: advice on blogging and internet marketing, with Renzie Baluyut.

A friend of mine asked me if I actually made money out of my blogging efforts.

The answer is: yes, I do, but not as much as I would want to. At least not yet.

It is not uncommon for new bloggers to get into the blogging lifestyle for the sole purpose of making money. So let me make one thing clear to all of you: there is no get-rich-quick-formula to blogging, contrary to what you might see in ads, or hear about from some friend of yours, or a friend of a friend of a friend, etc. You get the idea.

But yes, you can make money from your blog. However, just like any serious venture, you have to be willing to put in all the hard work that comes with it. You need to do things the right way, you need diligence, and above all, you need to have a real passion for discovering and sharing.

Yes, there are bloggers out there who make a substantial passive income from their blogs. Now you have to imagine the kind of work they must have put in to get to that point. It’s going to take patience and time. And a whole lot of effort.

Do I make money from blogging? A bit, yes. But mostly I get to land blogging gigs, or consultation gigs for clients, as well as get lots of free stuff.

As for me personally, I do make some money with my blogs. But nowhere near the kind of passive income some of my more successful blogging colleagues are making though. My main source of income really is from projects I get when the occasional client likes the way I write, so they ask me to develop content for their sites. Others ask for my help in getting a blog started. Still others enlist my aid on marketing ventures, or for projects that require a great deal of promotion, advertising or events management.

So while I don’t make that much money blogging, I do make cash from all sorts of gigs, projects and business ventures as a result of my efforts. I’d say I make enough. I’ve finally left the corporate world in early 2008, and no, I have no plans of heading back. I love the freedom and flexibility of being a digital entrepreneur, online freelancer and marketing consultant.

Then again, I’m not completely contented with my achievements so far. In fact, my long-term goal is to generate a substantial passive income from my blogs.

As far as making more money for yourself is concerned, there are many ways to go about this with your blog. Plug in all the Adsense/Chitika/Widgetbucks modules all you want, or go ahead and put up an Amazon A-Store or two, sign up for all kinds of affiliate marketing programs– the internet is full of all these make-money-from-your-blog strategies.

For me, I believe it’s still about content. Real stuff. Doesn’t have to be popular stuff, but at least something that appeals to a niche enough audience who are about as passionate as you are with the same things.

And you know what would help as well? A whole deal of internet marketing, search engine optimization, and a great deal of networking.

Tell you what, there are a couple of online talks going down that can really help you out if you’re serious about making money off your blogs.

First up, there is a webinar on how you can make money writing blog reviews and news articles on Sept. 17, 2009 at 7pm, Philippine time (GMT +8:00). It’s an online talk, so you can conveniently plug in from anywhere, as long as you have a decent PC or laptop and a stable internet connection. If you want to make some money blogging, or at least want to find out how, then go ahead and register right here, and attend the workshop once you get the confirmation. This particular webinar is free, so all you have to do really is register for it and attend it.

Next, you have slightly more intensive series of webinars– a certificate course where you can learn some real tips on how to optimize your site and make it more discoverable and search-friendly. I’m attending it myself, as I feel I have a serious need for it. You have a certificate course on Search Optimization Techniques, on October 6 (Tuesday), 8 (Thursday) and 10 (Saturday), 2009. All three classes are scheduled from 6:00PM to 8:00PM Philippine time (GMT +8:00). For that 3-day course, you can register for the series, and know more about payment details here.

Lastly, there is another online certificate course, but this one is all about link-building techniques, and is also spread out over 3 days: October 13 (Tuesday), 15 (Thursday) and 17 (Saturday), from 6 to 8pm. It is a direct continuation of the SEO certificate course, and for this set of webinars, you can register and know more about payment details here.

All of these courses are being conducted by Janette Toral, one of the Philippines’ foremost authorities in e-commerce and internet marketing. So yes, you will be in very capable hands.

So there you have it, if you want to make money from blogging, you’ve got three venues to learn how. I’ll be there myself, so I’ll see you then.

Cheers, everyone.

Ten Tips For Those Grimacing in Gout

Share This Post: helping all our gout-struck friends out there with ten useful tips, with Renzie Baluyut.

Having gout is no laughing matter.  I have gout myself, which means an occasional flare-up every several months, if I’m careless.

For those of you who have no idea what gout is, it’s actually a form of arthritis, and it happens when you have particularly high levels of uric acid in your bloodstream.

Let’s put on our geek hat for now:  when this happens, crystals (made of either monosodium urate or uric acid) are deposited on or around the joint structure- specifically on the articular cartilage of the joints, but it also accumulates on tendons and surrounding tissue.

"The Gout" by James Gillray. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

When you have gout, you get these sharp, sudden and excruciatingly painful attacks of acute arthritis.  There’s also going to be swelling, redness, warmth and stiffness- typical inflammation symptoms, but a bitch nevertheless. Usually, this will happen on your big toe, but in some cases, it can happen on the ankle, the heel, instep, even the knee, wrist, elbows, fingers or spine.   Yikes!

So what do you do when you have gout?  You will want to accomplish three things, essentially:

• get some pain relief
• prevent the attacks from happening in the first place
• and reduce your uric acid levels.

For those of you who are suffering from the occasional bout of gout, just like me, here are ten tips to help you deal with your gout, so you can live your life a lot easier.

Ten Tips For Those Grimacing in Gout.

Gouty arthritis, while excruciatingly painful, is actually fairly easy to manage.  Your uric acid levels re pretty much the main thing to consider– and therefore monitor- when you have gout.  The main goal is to keep the uric acid levels manageable by eating the right foods, and by excreting it.

1.  You’ll never know when gout will strike, even with your best efforts to prevent it from ever happening.  Always keep a ready stock of pain-killers.  Personally, I have a stash of Advil (Ibuprofen) as well as Alleve or Flanax (Naproxen)– both being effective pain-killers for those with gout.  It’s best you consult with a physician, however.  So go get your painkillers after you’ve checked in with your doctor.

2.  A 2009 study has established that Vitamin C prevented outbreaks of gout. A daily Vitamin C intake of 1,500 milligrams or higher significantly reduces the risk of gout. So load up on citrus fruits and your supplements.

3.  A 2004 study also established that dairy products such as milk and cheese significantly reduced the chances of gout.  Me, I got lactose intolerance after not having had milk for so long, but you can build up your tolerance back up slowly, and I totally intend to do just that.

If you're lactose intolerant, it's a good idea to start off with yogurt until you can handle milk and other dairy products.

4.  Generally you have to reduce your intake of purine-rich foods, and these can be found in red meat and seafood. You’ll want to limit food high in protein such as meat, fish, poultry, or tofu to 8 ounces (226 grams) a day.   Avoid, or eat at your own risk:  sweetbreads, kidneys, liver, brains, or other offal meats, as well as sardines and anchovies, and certain seafood like shellfish and crustaceans.

5.  A study on soft drinks and fructose consumption shows that men who consume two or more sugary soft drinks a day have an 85% higher risk of gout compared with those who drink less than one a month.  The key ingredient to avoid here: high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).  Remember you can also find HFCS in fruit preserves, jams, jelly, syrups and candy- so take it easy on these, and watch the labels.

6.  Consumption of beer is associated with a 49% increase in relative risk per daily 12 oz (354 ml) serving.  However, the consumption of spirits was associated with only a 15% increase in relative risk, and no association at all was found with consumption of wine.  So- go ahead with the wine, take it easy on the spirits, and avoid beer altogether.

When on night-outs with friends, watch what you drink. In my case, I gotta take it easy on the beer, but wine is alright.

7.  Tart cherry juice or tart cherry capsules are believed to help dissolve the needle-like crystals that deposit themselves between the joints and connective tissue.  Me, I like keeping a bottle of cherry juice in the fridge just in case I feel an attack coming up.

8.  More food to avoid:  asparagus, cauliflower, mushrooms, spinach, as well as dry beans like lentils and peas.

9.  Never underestimate the power of your 8 glasses of water a day.  You’ll want to drink lots of water to help dilute and assist the excretion of urates.

10.  Take it easy on the use of diuretics, including aspirin, tea and alcohol.  The goal is to keep yourself hydrated, so replenish your fluids with water as soon as you can.

So there you have it.  I hope this guide helps you out, as it is helping me.   If you have a tip that you think helps you when you have gout, I’d sure love to hear it, and others out there with gout will want to hear it too.

Some of the information on this post was from Wikipedia, as is the picture of “The Gout” by James Gillray.

Cheers, everyone!

Have a Healthy Learning Mindset

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Besides my competencies in marketing communications, or people skills, or whatever skill set I’ve got going on, I think one of the most important attributes I have is my desire to learn.

It is a hunger for knowledge, an affinity for picking up new skills, and an equivalent desire to share what I know.

I have particularly appreciated this realization at my current age– 35, at the time of this blog post- even as I feel fairly accomplished, and thus far generally satisfied with my career and life choices.

Right now, at the top of my head?  I’d like to learn about growing my own herb and vegetable garden, or building even better websites.  I’d like to pick up more digital photography skills, and make better meat sauce, or learn to cook great soup completely from scratch.  More:  I’d like to learn to sail, and fly, and dive, and cover Depeche Mode on synths, or Boston or Dave Matthews on Guitar.

Fortunately, the internet allows us access to all the things we want to get into.  At the very least, there are all kinds of websites and e-books available to anyone who can do a fairly comprehensive search. You got all sorts of blogs and podcasts on a wide variety of topics, as niche as it can possibly be.

Then you got discussions, forums, and all kinds of communities- so you can go ahead and test your knowledge against everyone else’s.  And finally you have webinars and all sorts of e-learning programs- real convenient as you can listen to a speaker from halfway across the world while you’re having breakfast in your shorts back home in Manila.

The point is: learning now has never been easier or more convenient.  We still have our books and our films and workshops and classes, but now, there are so many additional options available, both online and off.

So go ahead- watch a new how-to video now, join the discussions on your favorite blog, share a link you found this morning on Facebook and Twitter, or sign up for a free webinar today.

This is a great time to learn all the things you ever wanted to learn.

Now is the best time to have a healthy learning mindset.

Thanks to Michael Jastremski for the cute photo.

Cheers, everyone.

10 Things I’ve Missed About The Philippines

appreciating Metro Manila and the Philippines, with Renzie Baluyut.

It’s been more than a month since I flew in from Los Angeles, and if anything, my being away for an extended period of time has made me appreciate a lot things in the Philippines even more.

Sure I wrote about this last year, so I thought this time I’d be a lot more specific.  Without any further ado, here’s a list of ten things I’ve really missed about the Philippines.

1. Home Delivery. Being a work-at-home advocate, home delivery services are truly invaluable.

Sure you have Thai food and pizza places delivering at home in Los Angeles. But if you ask me, nothing beats Manila in terms of the variety of food you can readily summon with just an easy phone call.

One thing I really missed was KFC's hot n' krispy chicken, delivered right at home. You don't have hot n' krispy in L.A. No idea why that is so.

Whether it’s a bucket of KFC hot n’ krispy, a quarter pounder at 2:30am, or an entire tray of pasta, dimsum or beef stew, you can pretty much have anything you want delivered to your doorstep as long as you know who to call.

2. The Weather.  Maybe my tropical ass just isn’t suited to LA weather just yet. What I like about Philippine weather is that, all year round, the temperature only varies by a relatively few degrees Centigrade.

Me and mom, visiting relatives in Butuan City.

It gets uncomfortably cold in the US, even in L.A., and even more so in the northern states.  In the summer (right about now), you can literally feel the sun beat down on you.

Here, all you need are relatively light clothes.  Plus a raincoat and an umbrella for the rainy season, and then a light jacket when it starts getting chilly over the holiday season.

3. Cheap services. One thing I really appreciated about the Philippines (which I only realized when I was in Los Angeles), was that you get so much for your hard-earned cash (more so, if you’re earning in dollars).

Getting a haircut, or having your laundry done, going for a massage- just about any service you can imagine can be had for cheap. One of the advantages of being in a third-world country, you might say.

Me and my ornery feet, about to get a scrubdown in a spa in Las Pinas city.

4. Cabs. While I admire the Los Angeles public transport system, I’ve simply grown accustomed to just standing out by the sidewalk, and hailing a taxi cab to take you pretty much anywhere you wish to go.

Caveat: a significant number of taxi drivers can be annoying, but remember that two can play at that game. They’re likely to play fair if they don’t see you as easy pickings.

That being said, I find the average day-to-day cab-riding experience in Manila rather worry-free. Even better if you know how to navigate your way around the city, and are familiar with general traffic conditions.

You can find all kinds of great stuff at the Salcedo weekend market. That’s my Tita Lina, looking for some stuff to bring home to the UK.

5. Shopping. I gotta admit, our malls here are truly great. Personally, I miss going to Shangri-la, Rockwell Powerplant and Greenbelt. Those malls were so close to where I used to live, it was practically just like home.

Heading off to Greenhills, Tiendesitas or even Divisoria brings shopping to an entirely higher level, an all-new experience altogether. Just a little out of the way (depending on where you stay, of course), but if you have time (as well as cash) to spare, these three spots are definitely worth the trip.

Besides all those, there are all kinds of food bazaars over the weekend- like the Salcedo weekend market on Saturdays, or all kinds of tiangges when the Christmas season is upon us.

Fish- tilapia to be exact- roasting nicely on some hot coals.

6. Fish and Seafood. Being the tropical island paradise we are, we got access to a great deal of fish and seafood. Sure LA food is (by comparison) cheap and plentiful too, I think there’s a great deal of fun heading for the public market or a dampa and have your seafood of choice cooked however which way you want.

All kinds of seafood: crab, fish and some skewered squid in the background.

7. Pirated DVDs. While you can easily get any CD, DVD, book, computer game, T-shirt or whatever else you fancy in the US (and have ‘em conveniently shipped straight to your home), you just don’t have that in the Philippines.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t encourage buying pirated software or digital media at all. I always say, buy originals all the time, as a show of support for your favorites, so they can keep coming up wth all kinds of great stuff in the future.

Now if I wanted to get into a brand new TV series, or if I’m curious about a specific horror movie or romance comedy, I’d like to know if the purchase of the real deal is going to be worth my time and money. And, for me, the locally available DVDs should serve that purpose.

You’ll be amazed at the kind of stuff you’ll find with the local DVD vendors- new releases, TV series, anime series, even hard-to-find old titles, documentaries and classics.

Again, if you like what you watched, be a true fan and score yourself the real deal when you can.

The ampitheater at Kawayan Cove was simply awesome.

8. The destinations. In the course of my travels, I’ve realized that there are still so many places in the Philippines I haven’t even had the chance of checking out. And it’s definitely part of the plan to seek good vacation spots outside Metro Manila (particularly so that I have plans to getting more involved in the travel business).

There are a number of  things going on even within Metro Manila as well, and you can read that in this online article from The Sunday Inquirer Magazine.

Also, thanks to Facebook, Multiply and a whole variety of other social media, I can get real customer feedback (good or bad) about specific resorts, beaches, hotels or whatever destination in just about any province in the Philippines.

Always nice to go provincial once in a while. A shot of our nipa hut, just outside the main house in our farm in Zambales.

9. I love the nightlife. Maybe it’s just our neighborhood in the area of Eagle Rock and Glassell Park, or maybe I’m just getting too old for the party scene, but when you feel like going out to party in Metro Manila, there’s easily a party anywhere you go.

I’m thinking that it’s also quite possible that maybe it’s because I’m not as well-connected there in LA as I am here in Manila.

In any case, if you want to get in on what’s going on in Metro Manila at any given time, all you have to do is go online, or scout around the areas of Makati, The Fort, Eastwood City and Ortigas.

Me with my good friends Tish and Coreen, hanging out at an 80's-themed watering hole with beers and good laughs.

10. My friends. I miss my friends back here, most of all. While modern technology allows us to keep in touch via all kinds of social media (Facebook, Flickr, etc.), VOIP (Yahoo, Skype, etc.) and other chat & microblogging services (Google Talk, Plurk, etc.), actual human contact and interaction is still much more favorable.

Precisely the reason why I’ve been meeting up with different groups of friends (and still continue to do so) ever since I got here.

Hanging out with my good buddies: Mich, Abi and Gelo at TGIFriday's in Bonifacio High Street. June 2009.

At any rate, I’m glad to be back in the Phiippines.  Sure, I know I’m going to take off from time to time, but I know I got all these waiting for me whenever I come back home.

For you Filipinos outside the country right now: what do you miss most about home?

Cheers, everyone.