Since i started blogging and reading blogs, i've been acquainted with a small no. of bloggers but our communication is limited to online. Liz is probably the blogger i've met earliest.. was quite impressed by her blog and thus i chose to interview her in one of my blogging articles. And then I also got to meet her in person too due to our similar profession.Then there are some others whom I became `friends' with over blogs but whom I've not met..Over chat a week ago when we were excitedly exchanging views on the election results, Liz invited me to her apartment for a potluck dinner. I missed the last do at her place where I heard a number of bloggers i read were there. I gladly said yes since I thought it would be nice to catch up with her and also meet a few new friends! So last night, I was quite excited when I met Lynnee and Irene for the first time. I did know how they looked like but it was different actually talking to them in person! Liz has also invited a couple from her church - Eric and Amy and their two adorable children. The food took up the whole dining table and we made ourselves cosy squeezing around the table. It was a pretty sumptuous and varied fare. There were home-made sushi made and brought by Lynnee, mash potatoes by Amy, two types of roast chicken by Irene, fried rice, fish and green salad by Liz, and I brought my `tried and tested' tomato salsa and potato salad, as well as a bottle of red wine from dad's stock.
Even though none of us are SoPo bloggers, the subject of politics just naturally cropped up and dominated our talk throughout dinner. I mean the recent winds of change was such an exciting affair that it just got everyone talking - as long as you're Malaysians but even our American friends on the table chipped into the conversations too. Gosh all of us were so full. I think I really overate again as there were more than enough food..!Amy and Eric had to leave early as it was way past the kids' bed time. So there left the four of us and we really made ourselves at home in Liz' living room.. chit-chatted for a while and also watched some DVD - a new series called `Gossip Girl' - whereby I found the protagonist way too old as a 16-year-old school girl! But it was kinda interesting in an obscure way :p Before we went home, which was already close to midnight, we thought we should camwhore a bit.. after all, for me at least, it was the first time taking photo with them!And so both Lynnee and I tried out our camera's self-timer function. For me, it was the first time I used it! We placed our cameras on the television. And hey, it didn't turn out that bad.. ok, I did do some heavy cropping..but after that they looked quite ok.Then we decided to change poses a bit and make ourselves look more relaxed..and silly! :p
We had a good time! Thanks to Liz for opening her home. I hope there will be more to come! ;)
Being a blogger, I know the joy when your blog is being publicised! Last month, I had the pleasure of interviewing five women bloggers.. They may not be the most high profile bloggers but I think they have their own forte and their blogs are interesting. All the interviews were conducted via e-mail so making things much simpler.. I had some pretty good answers.. after all they're all good writers!So, the article appeared today, and I'm quite pleased with it. Nothing much was changed and the layout nice. I can in a way relate to them for I am a blogger too. These women are definitely proud to be a blogger and are passionate in doing so whether it is political commentaries, food reviews, musing on languages, talk about the latest beauty products and malls in town or just a journal or sort..I must say that of the many many people I've interviewed, I got most `thanks' from these bunch of interviewees! ;) Not only that, they posted on their blog about the article, mentioned me and even linked my blog url! How cool is that.. hehe, I get more than monetary rewards from this article!
And another good thing that came out of it is I've made a few more new friends! So, it kinda prompted me to blog about this although you know I hardly write much about my work/articles I write.Oh, if you're wondering where the article appears? It's in Clove, The Star today (Wed Oct 3). But if you miss it, there's still the online versionCheck it out and also check out my fellow women bloggers' blogs! ;)
Last night, I attended the Bloggers United Malaysia (B.U.M.) Gathering 2007 at Lake View Club, Subang Jaya. And it was quite an experience!To be honest, I was already kinda curious when I found out about this.. because although I'm not a socio-political (SoPo) blogger, I have been following many of such blogs. And I do personally know a few of the ex-journalists who are active and prominent bloggers.So, when my friend `Lulu' asked me to join her for the dinner, it didn't take that much persuasion! At least i know I've company. ;) The theme was "Embrace & Engage - a social and networking gathering with a preliminary brainstorming session between the 4th and 5th estates to embrace and engage the blogging phenomenon in Malaysia." Sounds interesting.. It was less people than I expected (around 80 maybe?) and more than 90 per cent of the bloggers present were SoPo bloggers. But I was told that the event was for ALL bloggers anyway.. It's good that we went for tea (and had A&W's waffle!) earlier because dinner wasn't served till after 8:30pm. That's because the program began with a panel of seven speakers who spoke on their thoughts on blogging based on their field of expertise and experience. The speakers included Jeff Ooi - the pioneer of Malaysian socio-political blog; social activist Marina Mahathir; Tian Chua of Keadilan; CEO and DAP man Tony Pua; The Sun's journalist R. Nadeswaran of Citizen Nades fame; Sonia Randhawa from the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) Malaysia; and Ahirudin Attan aka Rocky, who was there to speak on the newly-formed National Alliance of Bloggers (All Blogs) of which he is the president.
Well, personally I might not agree with everything that was said but overall, it was an interesting and enlightening session, especially when the topic touched on freedom of the Press. And it was great to see individuals so passionate about wanting to make a difference through what is known as the 5th Estate (the blogosphere). But I shall not elaborate on the contents of the speeches here...Dinner was good. Enjoyed the food especially the roast lamb. ;) I recognised a few faces but most of them wouldn't know me anyway.. but in the process, I got introduced to a number of them. And also said hi to a few fellow ex-journalists (now rather prominent bloggers) who were rather surprised to see me there!
Here's a pix of some of us at the table.. with the camera-shy lulu hiding behind her paper shield. Call me shallow. But the highlight of the evening for me was the opportunity to `camwhore' with a few prominent bloggers! :pIt all started when Rocky, who is actually my former editor from The Malay Mail, came over and asked to take a pix with me..!
Next, someone from my table wanted to take photo with Marina, and so I grabbed the chance as well and briefly introduced myself to her.. Actually this was not the first time I've met her.
Then came the surprise! When I introduce myself to Jeff Ooi, I was rather shocked when he said he `knows' me! Being an avid newspaper reader (that's his bread-and-butter for blogging), he told me that he had been following my newspaper articles for many years! And he even noticed that I've left the paper.. hehe, it's quite an honour.. ;)
And last but not least.. popular celeb blogger Kenny Sia turned up towards the end of the evening and immediately was hoarded by quite a number of people! And since people were asking to take photos with him, I too jumped on the band wagon. After all, I have been following his blog quite faithfully for some time! 
And finally before we left, I posed with the backdrop for the event..
It was actually quite fun..! So if there's any future gatherings of bloggers, Lulu I will be glad to accompany you! ;)
