Original post was written on January 24, 2009 : Sterndal & Sternchen
Everytime visitors ask me about the exact meaning of my pseudonym, I always tell them that sterndal is the German word for star, starry or little star (something like that). You see, I am crazy about stars and constellations. It’s amazing how they twinkle and sparkle at night especially when the sky is clear. Simply beautiful! So, when I needed a pen name for my blog, I didn’t think twice about sterndal. I told myself it would be perfect! And why not? I am a star in my own right 
The funny thing is this: one visitor from Norway who happens to speak German disagrees with me. As far as he knows, star in German would be stern and not sterndal. Really? Mmmn … I wasn’t quite sure because I don’t really speak German (though I know a few phrases such as ich vermisse dich or guten tag). So I asked a friend from Munich about his thoughts on this and surprise!!! I was badly mistaken about the correct meaning of sterndal haha! According to my friend who is a true blooded German, star is stern and little star would be sternchen! And would you believe that he doesn’t know what is meant by sterndal? He said it could be a name but definitely, it’s not little star in their language. Well, I still believe it’s a german word haha Stubborn!
It was already too late when I realized that I cannot accept sponsored posts from Social Sparks. Apparently, bloggers are required to put a disclosure badge at the bottom of each paid post. I copied and pasted the html code (or was that java script?) at the end of my article but I don’t why the image is not linking. I tried to fix it but … anyway, I lost a total of 27.50 dollars because of my stupidity. I should have known it from the start. I mean the first opportunity that I’ve taken from Social Sparks was also auto rejected because the disclosure wasn’t linking. That was worth 7.50 dollars, the second was worth 20 dollars which was also rejected because of the same reason. *Sigh. It’s not just about money … it’s more about time and effort wasted for those posts. Of course, I love blogging even without the financial rewards but still … never mind. I’m just upset 
A few months back, my other blog got a page rank of 3 which made it qualified with some paid to blog sites. I honestly don’t understand what page rank means but it seemed a positive thing because a lot of people want to have it in their sites. So, when I was informed by an online friend that my other blog already had a PR3, I got very excited. I registered my baby blog in PPP and in 3 days it got approved. My total earnings for the past 3 months was just 975 pesos. It’s not much. As a matter of fact, the total amount of money that I spent in computer rentals is higher than my blogging earnings haha! But I have to admit that I was disappointed when I checked my PR last week and found out that it’s already zero. I’m already obsessed with this blogging thing and I want my PR back! But how? I was able to search some helpful articles in the internet regarding this matter and one suggestion is to ask for a reconsideration directly from Google. I don’t think I can do that. I’ve been using my blog for sponsored posts so Google will definitely reject my request. The way I see it, it seems that Acobay is my last last hurrah…
A lot of fellow bloggers are asking why I don’t have a chat box here. Well, I used to have one but for some unknown reasons, it disappeared and in spite of all my attempts to install the code back, it seems that there is nothing more I can do about that. You see, I’m not well-versed in html or anything highly technical. As a matter of fact, I am experiencing the same dilemma with my other blog. Should you have any questions or suggestions, feedback (?), kindly leave it under the general comments. And by the way, I also don’t know why comments are closed under the Comments by User and Comments by Section. My apologies.
It’s been three months since I started this online journal and it’s so disappointing to see that I’ve only written 6 posts. Initially, my plan was to update Vanilla at least once a week but because of my super unpredictable working schedule, I can only write a post when I don’t have to render overtime at work. Another reason is that I am also taking advantage of my other blog’s page rank. I have to update Sterndal at least twice a week if I want to keep on receiving sponsored posts. Honestly, I am starting to think if blogging for money is worth it. Imagine being paid 1.50 dollars for a 200-word post. Is that worth it? It takes me more than two hours to complete the requirements. But I’m also loving it. Everytime I accomplish an apportunity and it gets approved, it’s like a self-fulfillment on my part. Feels like “I’m so great!” haha! In the following days, expect to read more about this blog because I promise that Iwill update Vanilla more often. Well, I don’t have much visitors but I also plan to work on that as soon as I find the time. Cheers!