we go and stay online on various pretexts — but mainly for business and personal reasons. on a personal level, hooking up to the Internet has become an irresistible habit. i don’t think i can go through 3 days without going online — that would make me feel like i’ve lost a fourth wheel or something.

so, why do i go online? i can think of 3 major reasons: (1) to check my emails; (2) scroll through the news; (3) update my blogs and/or check the latest entries on my friends’ web page and favorite blogs. but it doesn’t stop there. apart from the random bloghopping, which can lead to other things, i also various check resources to look for updates on my favorite anime shows and manga series. and who can resist doing online testing and games? for some reason, i always have this irresistible urge to take quizzes, especially when they’re short and fun and occasionally, even when they’re long and complicated (e.g., comprehensive personality and IQ tests). sometimes i just react spontaneously i never even consider test taking tips, which i’m sure would be a great way to improve one’s score.

and then there are sports events that just won’t leave you alone. umm, also disasters and accidents of horrific proportions. and celebrities that you’re always curious about. oh well, i guess there are endless reasons for going online.

*sigh* sometimes i feel like i’m literally blogging in the dark. i’ve been toiling at this for years, without any clear blueprint or goal — at times it feels like i’m doing something right, other times i feel like i’m just doing this out of habit.

so, instead of burdening my noggin in search of something interesting to write about, today i’m turning my sights to other blogs and/or websites. taking my cue from The Times, i am bookmarking several interesting blogs/sites that would be worthwhile to visit.

folks at Times Online recently recommended several notable blogs, including — to a lot of people’s surprise — gwyneth paltrow’s GOOP (which i like to visit every and then). notwithstanding the initial derision that it had received, The Times noted that the celebrity-maintained site featured useful content and well-regarded celebrity contributors.

some of the blogs cited by The Times are those maintained by pelayo zapico (fashion, urban lifestyle), pippa brooks (fashion trends, London club scene, among other things), gabi gregg (fashion tips for the plus size group), and disneyroller girl (amusing take on lifestyle, pop culture).

if you’re the type to drool over fabulous clothes, shoes, accessories, etc., from a girl who seems to have it all, you might also want to visit SeaofShoes (this site was recommended to me by Pseudoshrink a few months ago).

to inject a little hard-edged spice to this list, i am also including michael yon’s highly regarded military blog, which is chockful of amazing frontline images and maps as well as gripping dispatches of what goes on in the war front.

i expect this list will get longer anytime soon. for now, i am adding these sites to my blogroll.

whew… i guess i can breathe now

after so much useless hand-wringing and vacillating, i finally had my internet reconnected today — via SmartBro’s Share it promo, which means i can now make simultaneous use of the wifi devices that i have thoughtlessly amassed these past few months.

right now i feel kind of giddy for having been able to figure out those baffling, hard-to-read (they’re ant-sized!) printed instructions in the manual and actually managed to get things working on my first try! weird…

anyways, i need to collect my thoughts before i can finally fire up my engines — they’re grown rusty from lack of use. give me a minute to feel my way around folks and i’ll be ready to (really) blog again. until then, hang on and stay loose.

for some reason, chynna dantes chose to pass this award — Kreativ Blogger Award — to me. as she seems to be fairly boggled why she got this award herself, i suppose it’s got to mean something. well, whatever. i’m just glad that this page got cited somehow.

all right, here’s the lowdown — the recipient is supposed to list his/her 7 Favorite Things, and in turn tag 7 other bloggers (who will hopefully pass this ball to somebody else’s court).

my 7 favorite things? well, let’s see…

1. reading — this has got to be a permanent fixture in my existence. reading is as vital to me as breathing or eating.

2. surfing — surfing the ‘Net has become a ubiquitous part of my routine, something that would’ve puzzled me no end a couple of years ago. as it happens, going online is a huge part of our job so basically i surf intermittently whenever i’m in the office and about a couple of hours more when i get home.

3. watching (and rewatching) my favorite shows & movies — these shows are part of an eclectic montage that defines me as a person (X-Files, Seinfeld, Fraser, Millennium, 24, 3rd Rock from the Sun, LOTR, Indian Jones films, etc.).

4. collecting quirky items — i am an inveterate collector of notebooks (just ask TPS), stickers, books, etc.

5. anime — now, where do i begin? bottomline, i’ve been in this roller-coaster ride for so many years now, and there’s just no stopping this rush

6. my comfort zone tends to include old things — old shirts, old books, old shoes, old CDs, old friends, old furnitures, etc. it’s like the older some things get, the more valuable they are.

7. i’m easily dazzled by electronic gadgets and shiny gizmos, even things that overwhelm my fuzzy brain.

and now… (drum roll please), i’m passing this to following recipients: blog-of-z, ekstranghero, alia, mordsith, sterndal, misty, hannah.