My "AAARRRGGHHH!" moment...

Christ, it's driving me nuts just to put in a Nuffnang leaderboard ad. I was literally tearing my hair out from the frustration in doing so. Trial and error fucking sucks! >:-(

Anyway, for my fellow starting Blogspot bloggers out there who are having the same shitty problem that I have, I've got a post here that may help you.

In your blogspot account, click on the tiny arrow drop-down button next to the paper icon (that's the one in between the pen and "View blog" buttons). In the menu, click on "Template". It should look like the one below...

Once on the "Template" page, click on the "Edit HTML" button. (That's the one next to the "Customize" button - do you see it here?). By the way, before you make any changes to the template, create a backup of it by clicking on the "Backup/Restore" button...

Once done with the backup, clicking on the "Edit HTML" button will lead you to this page...

Click inside the window, then press "Ctrl+F".

In the upper-right corner there will appear a search box. Type this line of code in there then press "Enter".
<div class='fauxborder-left main-fauxborder-left'>

Once it is highlighted, copy then paste the following code directly above it:
<!-- nuffnang -->
<script type="text/javascript">
        nuffnang_bid = "6fe4a97b10a6316ad0bb4291872e2891";
        document.write( "<div id='nuffnang_lb'></div>" );
        (function() {
                var nn = document.createElement('script'); nn.type = 'text/javascript';    
                nn.src = 'http://synad2.nuffnang.com.ph/lb.js';    
                var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(nn, s.nextSibling);
        })();
</script>
<!-- nuffnang-->

(See the pic below to guide you...)

Save the template then view it. You'll see a tiny rectangle ad directly below your navbar.

Any questions about this, just comment below the post...
That's all for now :-)

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Hello - this is just a test page...

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Personal entry for the day....

It's been a long time since I have picked up my pen to write a draft for a story, then took to my computer to have posted it in a blog. So many things have happened to me - sadly, most of it bad. I can't accept the fact that life was meant to be unfair  and that suffering cannot be avoided. So, does that mean we have to openly embrace all the bad things that life throws at us and let it be? Screw it - I don't want to live my life like a martyr. The Buddha once said that, "your thoughts determine your reality". If life is what we believe it to be, then that will be our reality. Yeah, life is hard - but we have the right to ease whatever miserable circumstances we are in... If others are living a comfortable life, then I deserve that kind of life also.... 
Anyway, I'm making some design and layout touches to my blog. I want all my posts here presentable - good design matters as much as good content... Pardon if the blog's look keeps on changing from time to time. Probably by June, everything here will be settled :-) 
Stay tuned - you'll read a lot from me in the coming days.... 

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THE RED-HAIRED DOLL

Japanese traditional dolls are called "ningyo" in Nihongo, which literally translates as "human shape". Japan is famous for its highly-skilled craftsmen. Hence, the dolls that they make are so well made - they even look alive. One such kind of doll they make is called "ichimatsu ningyo". These are life-sized dolls; that is, they are as large - and shaped - as an actual human being. The eerie quality of these life-like dolls came to be associated with spooky legends and terrifying tales. One tale concerned such a doll in Tokyo, made sometime in 1958. It is a truly beautiful doll: dressed in a geisha's kimono, having eyes of amber brown set in a round face and with shoulder-length, red flowing hair. It was named "Hana" after the wife of Senosuke Hiroshii, the doll's maker.

     Senosuke made the doll as a loving tribute to his wife. Born to a red-headed Irish woman and her Japanese husband, Hana - Senosuke's wife – was a redhead like her mother but has her father’s native looks. When her husband told her he shall create an ichimatsu ningyo in her image, Hana was both so touched and flattered. That made her promise to Senosuke that the doll's hair shall come from every strand of her own. She did so every day for many years as Senosuke made the doll - twenty strands of Hana's long red hair went to the doll's scalp each day. When it was finished, the doll was so much like the wife - it was even as tall as her. Senosuke even put a widow's peak in its hairline as his wife has. By then, Hana and Senosuke became old - their youthful hair and looks gave way to the white hair strands and wrinkles of old age. But the doll kept the color and shine of Hana's hair in her youth - the features of her youth were even copied. Their love was so strong as it was when they were young- they were that so devoted to each other. When Hana passed away, Senosuke was greatly sad for the loss of his wife. The doll gave him the consolation he needed, for part of Hana was still with it. He treated the doll as if it were a living person, as if it was Hana herself. In the morning, he would carefully wash its long, red silky hair - a memento from his dear, departed wife. He would also carefully dry then gently comb it, making sure that not a single strand would fall off or be damaged. Afterwards, the body will be wiped with a clean cloth. It will be perfumed then dressed with a fresh kimono. The doll was then placed in a chair in a special section built into a wall of Senosuke’s room. Before going to bed at night, he would gently take the doll beside him and again gently comb its hair then lay it beside him as he goes to sleep. This he did everyday in his remaining years. At the time of Senosuke’s death, no one attended to the doll. It was forgotten and it remained in its space for many years - the house it was in became dark, empty and silent. Senosuke’s relatives then came to the house to tend it and live in it. The room where the doll was kept became a guest room and from there, many strange incidents happened.

    At night, sounds of a woman crying are heard whenever someone passes by the room. One can feel the unusual winter cold inside the room – even at noon and though the window screens are closed. Guests staying in there for the night would sleep with the creepy feeling that someone else is in there with them. One male guest narrated a terrifying experience when he came to the house to stay for two weeks and slept alone in the very room where the doll was.

   In the first few nights, he would smell sweet perfume within the room. Later on, he would vividly dream of a beautiful woman with long, red hair caressing his body. Waking up in the morning, he would find himself totally naked – all of his clothes strewn on the bed and on the floor. Sometimes, he would wake up in the middle of the night after he felt what seemed to be sharp fingernails scratching the skin on his arms and legs. The scariest thing that happened occurred five days before he was to leave. A voice whispered into his ear saying, “You’ll be with me forever.” It woke him from his sleep and looked around him. Then, an unseen hand grabbed his private parts, startling him. He then felt someone gently leaning next to him and turned around to see the red-haired woman from his dreams. What frightened him about the woman was that it seemed only the upper half of her body was visible. She was floating near the bed - her waist and legs were missing! In horror, he screamed and ran out of the room waking everyone up in the house. He told what happened to the head of the household, prompting them to call for the help of a miko, or a Japanese female shaman. The next day, the miko came to the house and performed a ritual to put her into a trance. In that state, she was able to speak to the spirit which turned out to be the long-dead Hana. The miko learned that Hana still yearns for her dead husband and has been waiting for him every night for his touch. Her very ghost now inhabits the doll that Senosuke made. The ghost was then asked why she kept on disturbing the male guest. It turned out that the young man looked very much like the dead Senosuke, so the ghost kept on trying to get his attention. It was then decided that the doll should be removed from the room and brought to the Zōshigaya cemetery, where the couple was buried. A small shrine was built over the graves of Hana and Senosuke to place the doll in. When it was finished, the doll was placed inside and the miko then placed a ritual seal to prevent the ghost from leaving it. No more did the ghost haunt the room ever again. The doll – and the ghost – forever shall guard the graves of the couple from then on.

     To this day, one can see the shrine that still stands in that very Tokyo cemetery...

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