Yesterday I wrote a short blog post about being nominated in the Best Individual Blog category at the Singapore Blog Awards 2012. Today I happened to peek into my Spam folder and found an email from OMY.sg with instructions to blog my answers to a list of questions. So I really should have done that yesterday. This is so Kirsten of me.
Still, all is not lost because the deadline is May 28! A lucky break for me. So here goes:
1. How do you feel about being one of finalists in Singapore Blog Awards 2012?
It’s an honour to be a finalist. When I was browsing through the website in the nominations phase I could see the number of entries – there were just pages upon pages of listed blogs! The thought that I was plucked out of there and given a chance to be part of the Singapore Blog Awards once again was really quite amazing.
2. When did you start blogging and what drew you to it? Where do you get inspiration for your blog content?
I started blogging back when people were still really paranoid and distrustful of the Internet. Not that people aren’t paranoid now, of course, but this was when people refused to put their full names or photographs online in case they were hunted down by serial killers. (It’s funny in hindsight; now we can’t stop posting photos of ourselves all over the place.) Anyway, I was 14 then, and I was a bimbo.
I kept blogging throughout my teenage years but in 2010 I started funny little world and everything just kind of fell into place. It was a time when I was learning so much about my country and about myself, and it was the perfect place to work through my convoluted thoughts. I’ve been extremely lucky to have some regular readers who engage me in conversation – I really love these opportunities to connect!
Like the name of the blog suggests, I get my inspiration from all around me. There are just so many stories; too much injustice and kindness and pain and joy and depression and wonderment to not get inspired. And so I write and keep on writing, about Singapore, about my travels and about people I meet.
3. How do you feel about the other Finalists in your category this year? How do you think you will fare compared to them?
I was in the Best Y Bloggist category last year. This year I’m in Best Individual Blog. It’s a very different crowd. I’ll even venture to say it’s a much tougher crowd. Some of them I’d heard of from before, others are new. I had a good time clicking through the links and checking each blog out. But at the same time we’re still all really different, so it’s hard to gauge! I don’t really want to spend too much time comparing; we’ll find out when we find out!
4. Give a reason why readers should visit your blog and vote for you?
I think my blog provides a glimpse into Singapore and the world that you might not often get. Let’s face it: I live a crazy life. I’m either in Singapore plugging into civil society activities and causes, or bouncing from country to country, often not doing touristy things. I bring you blog posts of ordinary people empowered to speak out against a devastating drug war in Mexico, from between two huge trucks on a film set in the middle of Hong Kong’s Sham Shui Po.
And every post I write comes straight from my heart. I know my blog isn’t perfect, and the journey to become the best writer I can be is far from over. But even as I learn and evolve I promise to write about what I care about, in ways that will hopefully get others to care too.
I’m not a lifestyle blogger. I’m a life blogger.
You can vote for my blog at the Singapore Blog Awards here. You can vote once a day until the end of June, so please do vote early and often, and share this with your friends too.
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