Coolay.com was the very first domain I’ve bought (back in 1999, after years of living off free GeoCities hosting), but at that time, it had everything that covered my interests. It had actually gone through so many make-overs and reinventions (well, the author — fickle woman that she is — is known for frequently reinventing herself), from a collective of personal sites (that later spun off) to a freebies e-zine to a music-dedicated blog to what it is now: just your regular hobby blog from someone who has waaaaaaay too many opinions dancing in her head. Unfortunately, while I had many thoughts and words I wanted to write, I was too lazy to update HTML.
(NOTE, however, that I actually have been blogging in LiveJournal.com since 2001, except that those entries were really really personal and I have no intention of bringing out that blog in public.)
A few years later, I realized that there were really other things I wanted to write about and instead of putting them all in my very very private online journal, I would still write and update HTML files manually. Again, I became lazy because I hated having to write, then edit, then edit pictures, then arrange them all in pretty HTML…and then upload everything via FTP. I did call Coolay! a music blog, but what kind of blog do you manually update?
Thank goodness for RSS, feeds and all the other technology available…the advent of Web 2.0. They made everything easier! I just needed to lay the foundation for this site and voila! No more uploading HTMLs on a weekly basis! I just write and update and write and update…Coolay! has now become a full-fledged blog!
As I write this, I am actually preparing for my eCommerce lectures and I plan to use this site as an example to my students. Coolay! has inspired me in so many ways that I can’t believe I had actually thought about selling it earlier this year. As for the rest of Coolay’s history? I kept them all in my portfolio site and the classic version of Coolay 8.0.
About the Author
OMGWTFBBQ! I realize that I have to type some up really really really long text to balance out the look of this site! I think I’ll just cut and paste what I wrote in the Classic version.
“Skysenshi grew up in an environment of musicians, with parents who are both adept at keyboards (organ and piano alike) and guitars (bass, acoustic, and lead), a sister who plays all sorts of violin-related string instruments, and a brother who plays the drums. Her favorite past-time is singing. At 7 until her early teens, she sang in church choir (she was a Catholic school girl then), and was a member of several chorale groups in high school. She also joined and won her share in singing contests (duet and chorale categories) then. In college, she actively participated in class musical plays and was always given the role of women who harbored unrequited love for extremely dense males (like Eponine in Les Misérables -_-). She was supposed sing with the prestigious University of the Philippines Manila Chorale, but after passing the auditions, she realized that her hectic schedule (juggling both academics and extra-curricular organizational activities) would not permit late night rehearsals—so now the group is touring all over Europe and Asia while Skysenshi is stuck here doing this web site (;_;). She also used to play instruments like the piano, organ, guitar, and the drums. She unfortunately lost the beat, especially with the drums, because of extreme lack of patience in practicing ^_^;;; Skysenshi likes different kinds of music ranging from classical to pop to heavy metal. She currently is the female vocalist for a recently formed band that we fondly call Turtle and Pweh. Professes that she’s kinda proud of this group because we formed it on Otakuboard, that anime community that she herself built about a year ago.”
Ah, but this description is still musically-oriented so I’ll just say that I’m someone who carries soy sauce with me all the time.
The thing about the new “Health & Beauty” section…
Just adding… I’ve become such a wellness addict lately that I just had to add this section to my hobby blog. Truth be told, I started late. I was the type of person who’d always get so sick that I’d end up in the hospital almost every three years. I didn’t care about health and I certainly didn’t care about make-up or looking good. I grew up an introvert, spending my days locked up in my room and just reading a truckload of non-academic books. Though I can get sociable (I was certainly very talkative when I’m with people), my mom still had to beg me to get out of my geek mode.
I was also very sensitive to a lot of things. Though I can eat anything, my skin would never forgive me if I used the wrong shampoo or soap. Once, after I had my trial make-up for a wedding, I broke out in hives and rashes. My skin didn’t completely recover — the ordeal left the surface rough.
In my late 20s, I was thrust onto the stage (and sometimes TV appearances) by my previous employer (Level Up! Inc., the company that holds the right to distribute Ragnarok Online in the Philippines) that I was forced to buy my first make-up set. It was another series of trial and error and it was only recently that I was able to afford the high-end hypoallergenic types. Make-up, however, only focuses on external beauty. I was still getting sick all the time.
Now that I have an ultra-flexible schedule, I vowed to stay healthy by eating right, exercising, drinking lots of water, sleeping early (tasks be damned) and most of all, finding happiness in the smallest things. I was lucky enough that despite my sedentary lifestyle, I would rarely go beyond 100lbs. I exercise to sweat (toxins go out that way) and to prevent my skin from sagging. So there…I’m chronicling my newfound addiction, too.
Of course, I still eat what I want. It’s just a matter of balancing.
