It must be the Waray as well as the Tondo Girl in me but I can’t ever back out of a good fight, especially if it involves Yours truly being dubbed a Blog Copycat by this Obscure Blogger Slash Self-Proclaimed Hotshot Marketing Consultant (kuno!).
It all started last week when my California-based childhood friend, J, alerted me about an entry of Obscure Blogger (O.B.), a pseudo-friend from my not-so-recent past. You see, J somehow makes it a point to drop by O.B.’s blog when he wants to see how an overdose of narcissism can trigger the emotional death of a very vicious person. J thinks OB is so full of herself but it is perhaps a testament to O.B.’s imagined writing prowess that she gets to be noticed by this friend of mine.
“She could be talking about you again, Ajay. But then again, maybe not. IMHO, your respective blogs are so starkly different from each other. You write about a variety of things. On the other hand, she only talks about herself and how much of a crap her life is,” J tells me.
J was talking about something O.B. wrote, in a desperate potshot at me: “The way she writes her posts is almost me. Even the links that she chooses, the pictures she uploads, the headings of her posts and the things she writes about, it’s a wannabe version of (me) . But, the dead giveaway was her blog’s writing style. It was a desperate imitation of mine that I could almost feel sorry for her….”
Jesus, Mary & Joseph! “What links? What pictures? What writing style?” O.B. uses Blogger, doesn’t have a domain name and doesn’t even subscribe to Flickr. On the other hand, she changed her blog design recently after I changed mine. Now, who’s copying who?
While J and I were debating if that was me she was referring to, we both shared our hunches that she could indeed be talking about me, knowing about her life-long obsession to put me down. Clue No. 1: She wrote something about “this woman is pretty with a waistline I’d kill for.” (ahem! thank you ha!) Clue No. 2: she referred to ” a woman from my previous life” (we stopped knowing each other a year ago.) Clue No. 3: In a totally condescending manner, she further said: ” The tone, look and overall feel of her blog are pathetic imitations of mine. A year ago, she didn’t even know what a blog was.” (The similar tone, look and overall feel is a figment of her imagination but it’s right smack on with the fact that I’ve only blogged for one year. )
As of this writing, O.B. has already devoted so much space about my being a Copycat that I’ve decided to end her agony (or prolong it) by giving the following reply:
You are definitely a BASKETCASE! Senator Brenda will pale in comparison next to you…LOL!
How can you accuse a writer with 15 years of professional writing experience of copying your style? How can you say that am copying your style when you don’t know my writing style from before? When I have a portfolio of published articles that is way, way thicker than yours and you trail me in terms of Google/Yahoo/Technorati search rankings. Ang kapal mo naman (You’re so thick-faced!)
Now if you insist that am copying your style, at least be objective and point out the particular entry, post and expression in question. Then tell me that this language and expression, WRITING STYLE is patented to you and you alone and therefore can’t be used by anybody else. If I copied an exact phrase or paragraph that you used, then so much the better – you can now slap me with an honest-to-goodness plagiarism suit. This I think is better than you blabbering into thin air about me COPYING your writing style.
I know that my friends are going to admonish me for going down to her level but she has given me so much crap that it’s time to speak up. This is the same O.B. who I once gave the opportunity to write for our company newsletter and who I introduced to somebody with whom she bagged a marketing contract. It is pretty obvious that she is not only thankless, she is also consumed with envy. How pathetic that someone who claims to be an expert in marketing cannot even market herself properly…in public and out of it.
I don’t just say kapalmuks (thick-faced) to anybody but I will have to say it straight to her face if she is going to insult my accomplishments as a writer. I am confident in my abilities but I will never accuse anybody of copying my writing style unless it’s an out-and-out plagiarism. Most of all, I will always acknowledge the fact that there always be better writers and bloggers than me. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include this High and Mighty O.B. Bitch.
hinay hinay day madaot imo beauty pasagdi na lang nang mga maot!
If you dont hear from me this week onwards bec I will be back in Cannes cruising Spain to Sardingnia.
End pa ng Sept ako babalik sa regular life ko.
Baka naman it’s too early for you to be on the warpath. Baka hindi naman ikaw ang pinatatamaan. Keep your cool and unless you’re named, wag ka na lang kikibo. Sige ka, baka pumangit ka. Ang ganda mo pa naman, lalo na kagabi sa EB natin, hehe
Hi there!
I’m sorry to hear you have a friend like that, I too have one that tries to up one on me, but just think this way, if she’s devoted an entire entry on you, then you gotta be flattered…you must really bother her and she’s jealous of you and your life. Otherwise, why bother? Don’t you think?
On another different note, I just love reading your blog! I haven’t been back to the Philippines since 1986 (I think!) back when I was still living in Japan, ever since I moved back to the States, I have yet to go back…maybe one day!!!
Thank you for a glimpse of the PI and your life…really enjoy reading it!
Claudette
My dear Ju,
I am so sorry first of all for being an absentee. As usual, dai kong ginagawa.
There will always be people who would want to bring you down(for no reason).I agree with Claudette. You should be flattered instead. Hehe… Baka masira ang beauty mo sa kunsumisyon. If this O.B. figure is out to destroy you,by all means, let her try (it is allowed to try)… you know (and I know) that you are not the type who crumbles easily.
Take care dear and don’t let a “nothing wannabe” make your day bad. Life is too short to be bothered by a dirt on your shirt.
Arang ka maot gyud na Sha..wala na ko kakita ug ibang tawo nga ing-ana ka-pus ug batasan…have a nice time cruising, my friend!
Tito Rolly, don’t give her the benefit of the doubt. It’s 101% confirmed. Her daughter studies in your school and once described La Salle Zobel teachers as “glorified nannies.” Talagang evil incarnate yang bruha na yan.
Claudette, thanks for your kind words. That’s a good advice you gave. I’ve resolved not to be bothered even though am only human NOT to feel anything. Good luck with your blogging and hope you have a nice time reading my future posts..
Anna Lyn, I am truly FLATTERED by this bitch hyperventilating about me but at the same time I’m INSULTED kasi my writing style is definitely better than hers, bwahahaha…thanks for commiserating ha and will keep in touch with you soon:)
mama, ang wrinkles.
The thought that it’s inggit that’s behind it all should make you feel good. 🙂
Good morning, Ajay, if you’re out to settle the score,
you’ll never rest. how can you? for onething, your archrival may never come out with the truth. as much as you think you deserve an apology and the truth, your archrival may not agree, repent, or change. as justified as you are in your quest for vengeance, you may never get a penny’s worth of justice. and if you do, will it be enough? just forgive and forget. move on. enjoy life and the art of blogging.
ang taray! hehe! ey, wala ka sa EB kagabi. sayang, ang saya! 🙂
Yep, AnP.. breathe in, breathe out..reverse psychologize myself…
that’s certainly very well said, calipinoy..thanks for the advice. i’ve decided to put this behind me and just move on. after all, there are lots of other worthier things to do in life; this was just an unpleasant diversion from it:)
Apol! Sorry I missed your EB…pag weekdays talaga di ako pwede, had to work at 6 am today. see you next time
AJ kakagulat ka, pwede ka palang mag taray hehehe.
We never edit AJ’s articles ganyan kalaki tiwala ng Technews sa kanya and we are very happy to have her in our team.
Wow! A good word from you Art certainly motivates me to write more tech stories, hehe..thanks much
ju, you make me laugh. you realize your presumption that it was you this o.b. (odious bitch?) was talking about may just be as narcissistic. the level you have sunk to, dahling – tsk, tsk, tsk…
no lei, am not being narcissistic..just putting forward a valid reaction to something that maligned me (copycat issue was just the surface). your friend here has never been..will never be..a doormat! pipitsarain ko yang babaeng yan pag nakita ko, bwahahaha