I vote for BLOG-PH.com for this year’s Philippine Blog Awards Bloggers’ Choice.

BLOG-PH is owned by our friend Jay-L Aquino and it’s his one of the most decorated in the country. Since he’s one of the finalist in the own going Philippine Blog Awards and nominated for two more categories: Bloggers’ Choice Award and Lifestyle Category – National Level, I’m voting for Blog-PH for the Bloggers Choice Award in the PBA. Good Luck Blog-Ph!

Before I start what happened with our meeting I just wanna tell Doc Z of zorlone.com and Roel Abatayo of Bloggista.net this …. Well guys “Eat Your Hearts Out!”. These guys have been planning to meet the very charming The Lady Programmer but none of them succeeded. Ha!

The Meeting

Going back to my story… Last December 7, 2009, my office mates and I when up to Baguio to attend our regular annual meeting with our employees in SM Baguio branch. That’s why I was able to plan a meeting with our friend blogger Gem Baltazar a.k.a. The Lady Programmer. I texted Gem if she could meet me for a casual interview in SM Baguio over breakfast. But she prefer after 3pm because she was busy with her freelancer thing that why we agreed to meet at 4pm. To cut thing short, We were able to meet at 4:30 pm, she brought with her Janna her very nice daughter. I have prepared some questionnaires that time but I forgot it in my hotel room that why the interview goes to casual chit chats. Although I was able to send Gem the questionnaires and she replied with the answers.

The Q & A Portion

The Lunch Break Blogger: How long have you been blogging and how did you became one?

The Lady Programmer: I became a blogger by accident. I never thought I’d end up doing this as one of my sources of living. This month of December marks my two full years of blogging. I was doing lots of short article writing for a friend, when one day, I was curious as to where my write end. I discovered places like PPP and Sponsored Reviews, and started to make money that way.

The Lunch Break Blogger: How do you manage your day as a blogger, freelancer, and as a mom?

The Lady Programmer: Typically, my working time as a freelancer is in the mornings. My clients know that. After lunchtime I would usually go out from 1 to 3 PM to spend time for myself – like meeting old and new friends, fixing paper work, doing groceries, attend to kid’s activities and other stuff. At 3 PM I would fetch my kid from school. Right then, my kid and I would study the day’s lessons together until 7 PM. I’d tuck my kid at 9 PM, then work a little on my blogs or do social networking until midnight. I limit my work from Mondays to Fridays, but if there’s some priority work to be done, then I spend a little overtime work on Saturdays or Sundays. Of course, I don’t always stick to that schedule. I am describing what I call a typical work day.

The Lunch Break Blogger: How long before you got your 1st Adsense Payout? Any Tips?

The Lady Programmer: I was so happy when I got my 1st Adsense payout. Three months for me. I have to thank Pastilan of technotechniques.com) for sharing me tips every now and then. It’s now my turn to learn from that guy. One tip that is most effective is to network with other people who are also into making money from blogs stuff. It’s easy to lose motivation when you are with the wrong set of people, because you tend to conform with them – just like picking people as constant companions in real life. The Lunch Break Blogger: What do you do as freelancer, and what do you like about it? The Lady Programmer: I do WordPress blog maintenance and setups most of the time. I am not alone in doing this. I have a few freelancers with me. Since I am more into tweaking codes than working with designs, I often have another person cover up those skills that I am not an expert with, such as logo designing. What attracts me to freelancing is that, I earn more than a regular job. I could work less and be paid at least more than twice my regular pay rate from my past regular jobs. Besides, I am able to enjoy plenty of time with my kid – something I have not been able to do when I was still employed.

The Lunch Break Blogger: What advice you’ll give for those aspiring to be bloggers to be successful in this field?

The Lady Programmer: Know the rules first, before breaking them. Every blogger needs to set goals that are attainable and measurable. They should not keep on staying in their comfort zone.They should have at least basic writing skills and somehow know little technicalities on how to handle their blogs. Learning should never stop. Also, it is crucial for bloggers to build community around their blogs – so they need to find partner-bloggers who are willing to grow their blogs.

So that’s it guys, I hope you’ve enjoyed the my interview with the very charming and smart blogger, The Lady Programmer – Gemma Baltazar. Thanks Gem, I enjoyed meeting you in person and Janna too.

Why “The Lunch Break Blogger” you might asked? I been blogging for almost a year now and I create my post during my lunch break. That’s why I named it “The Lunch Break Blogger”. Aside for being a blogger, I’m trying to manage my time as an IT Manager specializing System Administration and Software Development and as an owner of an internet cafe. I have a full time job that’s why I often post on my blog during my breaks.

So what to expect with The Lunch Break Blogger? I’ll be posting some information like Blogging Tips, Entrepreneurship, Making Money Online, SEO Tutorials and Word Press Theme and Plug-ins Tutorials.

So I’m looking forward for your comments and suggestions whenever I post a blogs to the Lunch Break Blogger. Please feel free to ask questions or topic you want me to feature on this blog.

Meantime, you can also follow me on my other blogs at:

Jhong Medina’s Qlick Blog
Jhong Medina’s Personal Blog
Qlick News
Oops, my lunchbreak is over. Ciao!