About the Author
My name is Firda. I'm an Indonesian in Canada. I live in a tiny apartment in Waterloo, Ontario with my husband Troy, a bunch of tropical plants, a closet full of cameras, and a boatload of CDs, DVDs, records, and books. Mostly books.
I wouldn't have met my husband if not for blogging. He's been a devoted reader of Weblog Wannabe since the first year of its conception. Now that he gets to listen to my pointless ramblings first hand, he thinks I make him dumb. Oh well.
I'm supposed to be good at photography. My work has been published in print magazines and featured at online photography sites. But I won't call myself a photographer. I just like photography. In my past life, I was a librarian and a web designer. Yes, I'm a geek.
When I'm into something, I'm really into it so if you ever see frequent posts in the blog, that means I'm currently into blogging. It's just that it won't last. Soon I'll be into something else and the poor, old blog will get abandoned until I'm into blogging again.
I'm supposed to be a grown-up, but I don't feel like one. I'm okay with it.
Coming from a tropical country, a holiday in a sunny, tropical island doesn't really appeal to me. I'd rather go to places with snow-capped mountains or fjords. Fjord is very likely my most favourite word.
I've been living in Canada for a little less than 4 years but I've been to 8 out of 10 Canadian provinces. I'm rather proud of it. I don't know why, but I am.
Winter is my favourite season. I'm really, really into snow. I also love early Spring and late Autumn. I don't really like Summer.
I don't drink coffee or anything with alcohol in it. Lemonade is my favourite drink, followed by avocado juice and lychee smoothies. I love fruits. I'm not a big fan of vegetables but I'd eat it if I have to. I think mustard, guacamole, and cold meat are icky.
I'm a dorky tomboy who doesn't know how to wear make-up. I think all women are scary until proven otherwise. Even I scare myself sometimes. I feel totally at ease among men but totally uneasy among women. I fear going to baby showers. Please don't invite me.
It might sound corny, but when I wake up in the morning to a new day, I always feel grateful and happy to be alive. I used to want to conquer the world but not anymore. It's too much work and I'm too lazy.
I might not be the most amazing person you've ever/never met, but I'm happy being me. As long as I can say out loud that I'm not an average person without feeling like I'm lying, I'm happy being me.
Had you asked me five years ago where I'd like to see myself in five years, I would've said that I'd like to be in a happier place. I am so much happier now than I was five years ago.
About the Weblog
Weblog Wannabe was born on February 20, 2000. It used to be a linklog and then a journal and now it's more or less a photoblog of some sort. The domain name was originally registered in May 2000 with money collected through an online fundraising drive started by Bryan. Bryan also graciously hosted the blog on his server for free for a couple of years.
Back when I was still living in Indonesia, the blog was voted the Best Asian Weblog in the 2001, 2002, and 2003 Weblog Awards, also known as the Bloggies™. It now resides permanently in the Bloggies™ Hall of Fame along with other blogs that have won the Bloggies™ three times or more.
In 2005, I was one of the bloggers being interviewed for an article about Asian weblogs in SFGate. The article is called ASIAN POP: Blogging Asia by Wayne E. Yang. Check it out for some rather embarrassing lines from yours truly.
In 2006, Weblog Wannabe was listed as one of the Top 10 Indonesian Blogs in an Indonesian leading news magazine, TEMPO No. 01/VII/Sept 05 - 11, 2006. The English translation of the article is available here.
You can also find a small blurb about Weblog Wannabe in a book about blogging called The Rough Guide to Blogging by Jonathan Yang on page 115, with a screenshot to boot.
Now if only someone would offer me a book deal, my life as a blogger would be complete. ;)