These words could only come from someone who pursues her writing with a passion. Her name is Ruth Schaffer, a Germany-based Filipina who is one of a few Pinays to try their hand at blogging full-time and professionally. Even though she says she still has to earn “heaps” from it, the psychic reward that she gets from doing something she loves at her own pace and time is more than enough. Any aspiring blogger will certainly learn a lot about managing one’s time, choosing your theme and blogging for profits from this extraordinary woman who is determined to discover the bets of what web publishing has to offer.

Q.  Please tell us something about yourself.

A. Before I relocated to Germany, I was a microbiologist working for the International  Rice Research Institute, spending at least 12-hour workdays in the laboratory, working on experimental research. A few months after I got married to a German national in July 2000, I left all that and started a whole new life here in Germany.

It's been more than five years, and in the meantime, my career made a 180 degree turn. Although I used to work on a part-time basis at the Microbiology Department in the local university here, that didn't fit well with my major occupation: motherhood. I've recently started freelancing as an Technical English teacher and that seems to be working out well. That, and working from home as a professional blogger and freelance writer.

 Q.  How did you start to blog? How many blogs do you maintain?

A. Until late 2003, I didn't know what a blog was. I chanced upon a blog of a fellow Filipina expatriate here in Germany, and the concept appealed to me. I like jotting thoughts and ideas down, and I used to send so many emails to friends and relatives, not knowing whether I am intruding or am overwhelming them with my emails. Blogging provided me an alternative to mass-emailing, with the added bonus that people can read it at their convenience and never had to feel they have to reply.

From then on, my blogging evolved to a daily habit. it became a new channel for finding fellow Filipino expats, like-minded people who kept online journals.

And then around middle of this year, I gave pro-blogging a try. I haven't earned heaps, but it has been a great learning experience and just like anybody's hobby, it's been a source of great satisfaction. I currently author three professional blogs:

The Biotech Weblog (http://biotech-weblog.com), which belongs to Creative Weblogging, gives me a platform to pursue my interest in science and biotechnology. It keeps me "in" on the goings-on in science and biotechnology, even if I no longer am involved in experimental research.

The Asia Travel Blog (http://aboutweblogs.com/asia travel, but will soon move to http://www.letsvisitasia.com) is under the b5media blogging network and shows my pining for Asia. I enjoy this blog a lot because it allows me to dream about the single thing I'd like to do, given the chance: to travel.

Same with the Pinoy Travel Blog (http://www.pinoytravelblog.com) which I co-author with several other Pinoys. Apart form allowing me to dream, I love Pinoy Travel Blog becasue it brings me closer to home, if only via cyberspace.
 
I also contribute to the Blogkadahan (http://www.blogkadahan.com/blog), although I have been remiss lately in contributing to this blog authored by a wonderful bunch of Pinoy bloggers.

Q. Don't you find it difficult maintaining multiple blogs? What advice can you give other people on how to manage their time for this activity?

A. In addition to those three pro-blogs, I have my personal blog, and I'm planning to launch perhaps a couple more. I don't find maintaining my pro-blogs difficult, because apart form the content, I do not have to bother with the technical side.

Writing the entries is not that of a problem either, because these are topics I am really very interested about. Although I devote time to research before composing my entries, I feel like I am doing it primarily for myself. If there's one person who has benefited tremendously from my blogs, it is me.

My advice:  Choose a theme that really interests you and you enjoy writing about. When you blog about something that you enjoy, each click on that post button is a reward in itself. it doesn't feel like work, even if it's a professional blog.

Launch your blogs one at a time, so you get a better feel if you can still maintain an additional blog. Carefully consider whether a topic warrants a totally new blog, or would suffice as a category in an already existing blog. Choose a blogging platform you are familiar with. It would help if all your blogs were using the same blogging system.
 
Q. What do you like about blogging as a personal activity?What is the best thing that blogging has brought you since you started?

A. It brought structure to my days. One of the biggest challenges of being a stay-at-home mom is organizing your day. Blogging, especially pro-blogging, changed all that. Like a classical job, I made myself a rough working schedule to accommodate blogging into my day.

Blogging has also been my outlet when I'm emotional: whether out of depression, frustration, anger, or joy, the most emotional moments in my offline life are chronicled in my personal blog.

Blogging for the Biotech blog in particular makes it possible for me to stay abreast with the field. If not for this, I probably would have a lot of difficulties understanding scientific manuscripts due to lack of practice. It keeps my brain sharp even if I'm "just a lowly housewife".

Blogging has also been a great social activity. I love it when people leave comments in my blog, and lead me to theirs. Perhaps I am a born-gossip, haha, but reading other people's blogs is a great source of entertainment. But blogs are also educational. Some blogs out there are really informative, and prods my brain into action and some forces me into introspection. It's also amazing how many people I "met" through blogging. A number have turned into real-life friends!
 
Q.  What do you think has been the contribution of your blog in detailing the experience of Pinoy expats abroad...in your case, Europe.

A. There are two things I think I might have been succesful in conveying:
1. The Philippines is a wonderful country. . A lot of those who read my blog are still in the Philippines, who are frustrated with the situation they are in. Some are getting hopeless and would like to get out of what they think is a sinking boat. However, the irony is, often it takes for something to be gone for you to appreciate it, and a lot of my entries in my personal blog reveal that. Homesickness and nostalgia sometimes drive me to describe the Philippines as if it was the greatest place on earth, but those are the posts that remind my fellow Pinoys back home of the good things they have just an arm’s reach away, even if it's just a succulent mango, or a cheap haircut.

2. Naturally, because I blog about my life here in Germany, I think I provide readers from elsewhere a sneak of what life here is like, what the system is like, how it is different from other countries, how people behave differently. A small preview, even if a bit biased, naturally, of the German culture and way of life.

Q.  What do you think is the role of "design" in a blog? Can you tell us more about the design of your blog and the add-ons you've put in it?
A. Design can be vital in getting new visitors "hooked" to your blog, but I still think it's the content that will keep them coming back. As long as the layout, color scheme and fonts do not distract too much and allow easy reading, I'm not too obsessed with the layout. Personally, I like it simple and clean.

For my personal blog, am using the Green Marine template by Ian Main for WP 1.5. I just modified it a bit to show RSS feeds from my other blogs, and some ads. Plug-ins? none.

My pro-blogs use templates that are uniform to the networks. I had no hand in designing them.

Q. Do you abide by a certain blogging philosophy (ies)? What are these?

A. The usual: no plagiarism, no offensive language/materials, respect other bloggers and their blogs....

Q. Your online/blogging habits.

A. I log-in as soon as I'm back from bringing my son to kindergarten, coffee and whatever for breakfast usually taken in front of the monitor (the crumbs in my keyboard can attest to that). I usually am online for most of the mornings, taking a break just to refill my coffee mug. Check emails, check  RSS feeds, reply to comments left on my blogs, start writing entries blogging. Of late, I've also taken to working online in the evenings, as soon as Jan is put to bed. I must admit, I am not the most organized person on earth, and I could be easily distracted by Gmail and Gtalk. But, I equally enjoy all those activities, so I really don't mind.

 Q. What do you think are the qualities of a good blogger.

A. A good writer, able to sustain the interest of readers, updates regularly.

Q.  Future plans for your blog(s)

I would like to earn not only from my blog but also possibly because of my blog. I treat my blogs as a learning experience, to enhance my writing skills and improve my know-how of internet publishing. Who knows where all these might lead to?

 Q.  What blogging trends do you see in the future? Would you encourage your blog too? Do you think blogging is here to stay?

A. While there will always be online journals, I think those blogs that will remain are those with a purpose, whether personal or professional.

When aboutweblogs.com merged with b5media.com,  that merger brought more than eight Filipinos into currently one of the (if not THE) biggest professional blogging networks worldwide. I hope to see more pinoys making their mark in professonal blogging. the talent is certainly there, so I think it's just a matter of time.

(For comments and inquiries, email annalyn. jusay@gmail.com)