Blogger Spotlight: Angel of AnjVille

For this mid-week edition of the Blogger Spotlight, another superwoman has graced our humble segment here at Drift Stories. By profession, she is a teacher whotravels to and fro Olango Island. She loves to travel and like most of us, she is a certified foodie. Well, I guess no one hates good food, right? If you’re into these stuff, travel and food, her blog is a go-to outlet.

With no further adieu, Drift Stories is proud to have Marie Angelique VillamorofAnjville.

TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND HOW YOU GOT INTO BLOGGING?

Angel: I teach by profession though I used to work as a nurse. Every now and then, I travel in an out-triggered boat as my means of transportation going to the island school where I am assigned – Olango Island (I never minded it – the waves, the sea and the islanders are too much for a consolation for me.) Since the website gives people the chance to convey their message to the world, it enticed me to join in. So, I started writing short stories, poems and reflections in a certain website last 2010. Until one day, I have known blogging thus I made my own website way back 2013

WHERE DID YOU GET THE IDEA OF YOUR BLOG’S NAME?

Angel:Anjville is a portmanteau of my nickname, “Angel” and my last name, “Villamor“. During that time, I couldn’t think of anything else but to use it. I never regret it though. (smirks).

WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT BLOGGING?

Angel:I love that I can be honest with myself and my readers and I love that it’s an outlet for me to express thoughts and feelings. I also love how it has opened up so many opportunities and experiences for me which I never thought I would be able to do before.

WHAT IS THE NICHE OF YOUR BLOG AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE IT?

Angel: I started travelling solo last 2010 in some Southeast countries and been wandering the Philippines since while scaling mountains. My mom, being supportive advised me about writing my experience. So basically, my blog is mostly about my travel experience. Recently, I got hooked with food blogging though I must admit I need a mouth-full of culinary terms and experience to get a full grasp of it

ARE YOU MONETIZING YOUR BLOG? HOW DO YOU MONETIZE YOUR BLOG’S TRAFFIC?

Angel: Earned a little through adverts. Indirect earning through event invites and as a content writer in a commercial website. As of now, I am tweaking my site (more coding) for another advert.

TOP 5 SITES YOU VISIT (ALMOST) EVERYDAY

• Facebook
• Gmail
• Adrenaline Romance
• My CebuPhoto Blog
• Nomadic Matt

TOOLS YOU USE WITH YOUR BLOGGING

• Namecheap (for my domain name)
• Blogger (for my webhost)
• Google Adsense
• Google Analytics
• Infolinks

WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION FOR YOUR BLOG POSTS?

Angel: Life and the way I deal with it. Having my introvert-extrovert personality, I deal with my blog as a way of my reflection of my self. Whenever I travel, especially when I am traveling solo, I make it sure that I submerge myself with the locals and learn their culture, speak their language or dialect (I spoke the Bahasa language when I stayed in Sabah for a month and learned Ilocano when I stayed in Ilocos Province for a week).

BESIDES BLOGGING, WHAT OTHER INTERESTS DO YOU HAVE?

Angel: I organize outreach programs together with friends once or twice a year. Engaging in extreme and new sports on weekends or long vacation is something I love the most. Swimming and biking around Olango Island are also my favorites. As of now, I am into film-making especially about screen writing. I am honing my skills for a “Cebuano” script which I am hoping to participate in Sinulog Script Writing Contest next year.

GIVE US 5 OF YOUR BEST BLOG POSTS

• Heart’s Day Climb at Mt. Naupa
• Mt. Lanaya: A Confession of a Solo Mountaineer – this article is so memorable as I was off ifighting the black dog of depression
• Sagada and My Search of “Tadhana– my solo flight after watching “This Thing Called Tadhana” (haha…make sense to me)
• Kampung Ayer in Labuan – this is one of my heart breaking experiences in a foreign country while mingling with Filipinos
• Best Tourist Attractions in Brunei Darussalam – I had a 5-hour waitress job in a 5-star hotel and during that time, I managed to attend Malay Wedding. Such a great experience!

HOW WAS YOUR BLOGGING SO FAR? HAVE YOU RECEIVED AWARDS AND RECOGNITION SINCE YOU STARTED?

Angel: I was once nominated as one of the Best Cebu Blogs Awards for Travel last 2013. The nomination alone was a great deal for me because my previous blog site (which I already deleted 2 years ago) was only 6 months back then. Hehehe!!

I have been silent in the blogging world when I started my teaching profession due to my busy schedule, I haven’t given attention and updates on blogging.

Only recently, I got back to the blogging world, I am overhauling my website to make it presentable. I am not much for recognition or awards but more to making my thoughts and experiences known

WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE WHO JUST STARTED BLOGGING

Angel: Be clear on your vision on blogging. Ask yourself, “Why do I blog?“, “What do I really want to tell the netizens?“. These are among the questions that you want to ask yourself if you want to become a long term blogger. Well, as they say, when you love what you are doing then you will never get tired of doing it. Make yourself as your inspiration and never give up!

Before we go, here are 10 Quick Facts about Angel

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_2″]

Angel is …

• Rational
• Optimistic sometimes pessimistic
• Introvert-Extrovert
• Left or Right Hemisphere? 50-50
• a leader or a follower. If nobody takes the responsibility and the initiative then I step in

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_2″_last]

Angel’s Favorites

• Author: Paulo Coelho (for some inspiration) Harold Robbins, James Patterson and J.K Rowling
• Book: The Alchemist, Veronica Decides to Die, 11 Minutes and more of Paulo Coelho, and I can’t forget Goodbye, Janette
• Band: Paramore
• Song: When Did You Fall In Love With Me
• Food: Asian Cuisine but I am also overwhelmed with something exotic (tried bats, monitor lizard, wood worm, snake and blowfish)

[/one_half_last]

There you have it folks. Thank you for reading. Stay tuned and watch out for our next edition of Blogger Spotlight.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]