beyond toxicity

This blog is celebrating its 5th birthday on May 8th, 2012. Yes, it has been 5 years of blogging about life’s simple plesaures -family, food and fun. I honestly think that it has gradually evolved from what it has been before to what it is now. My blog has been growing with my documentation of my family’s, particularly my son’s memorable activities. Since 2007, I have been considering blogging more than a part of my limited social life but one of my passions that makes me happy and whole. In as much as I wanted to throw another blog anniversary online contest which has been well-received annually, or support or conduct a charity work, or at least buy a delicious cupcake-with-candle-for this site; time, chance and finances restricted me in doing so.  Nevertheless, there are so much reasons to rejoice and be grateful for.

A  DOWNPOUR OF  PRICELESS  BLESSINGS

Back in December of 2011, this blog received an invitation to partake in an all-sponsored Hong Kong Disneyland tour after it was selected from hundreds of blog sites from the Philippines. And by the middle of February of this year, my family and I flew from Malaysia to HKDL and joined 5 other esteemed Filipino bloggers from various fields of interests with their friends and families for that incredibly fantastic 3D2N family-food-fun-adventure.

Then came last month, April, my blog received its highest pageview per day – it garnered 6,776 views all in ONE DAY! These figures to most people may not be impressive but I so appreciate this considering that I am not a celebrity, neither I post sensational stories. My overall stat may have not reached half a million yet, but I am always overwhelemd with support from friends, readers and blog followers.

Also last April, I chanced upon a tweet on twitter that Ministry of Tourism Malaysia will be holding its very first Malaysia International Tourism Bloggers Conference & Awards. I immediately clicked the link and found out that one of its 16 categories is to honor expatriates blogging about anything that has to do with tourism in Malaysia. I read the criteria, process and mechanics of joining, and nominated my blog (Oh yes, I nominated my own blog because I believe that recognition and appreciation should initially come from within) and began campaigning for it.

With guerrilla marketing strategy, I sent individual and bulk messages in facebook and twitter to my friends, relatives, present and former students and blog readers. “Judging criteria is based on 80% public voting and 20% on judges’ decision (10% site or blog content, 5% design and layout, 5% on ethics and effectiveness)”.  With such mechanics, I believe the feat is so much sweeter not only because the trophy will be coming from the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia itself but the VOTES of THOSE GENEROUS & SELFLESS PEOPLE will all be counted.

I took a chance and professional judging and people’s votes made me win! I AM HUMBLED.

With 5 other blogs as finalists, Beyond Toxicity won the Best Expat Malaysia My Second Home Blog Category. And as I ran down the list of 376 blogs from the 16 categories, this blog ranked 6th in overall standing.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

So on the evening of May 8, Tuesday, my family and I will grace the MITBCA 2012 Awards Night in Saloma Theater in Kuala Lumpur.

And with utmost sincerity, I am thankful to the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia for empowering the international bloggers as part of social media and for recognizing the humble contribtions of expatriates in this side of Southeast Asia.

I am also forever grateful to those people who took few minutes of their valued time to entrust their votes to this blog.

Maraming Salamat po!

Terima Kasih!

Mabuhay ang Pilipinong bloggers!