Wow! 10 Years of WordPress Love: An Introspection On Life And Blogging


Hey guys! I know, I know. I haven’t been here in what seems like ages and I have no excuse you guys. I just have none. But hey, WordPress just gave me this loving nudge that I’ve been on this platform for 10 years and what do I have to show for it?

 

RJ Marmol

Well, love. I got love. And it’s not some lame bs I’m spouting just to be polite or anything but it’s all I can say truly. I mean all these years since my first blog post here on WordPress (coming from Google’s Blogger), I’ve done many things, tried lots of projects, won some, lost some, love and lost — all that shitty and beautiful stuff a human being goes through. I did that and more.

This blog went from personal, to entertainment (movie, song reviews), political, web tech and gadgetry. You name it, I’ve blogged it. I’ve made free stuff, I’ve written paid stuff. Blah blah. The whole nine yards, my fellas.

I went hard and strong with e-commerce (my other first love, don’t be jealous, WordPress), released albums upon albums of cover songs, I’ve written (unpublished) books, I’ve even started reading tarot cards — yes, yes good ‘ol fortune telling sans the cookie.

Name it. I’ve prolly explored it to some extent.

And through it all, WordPress blogging has been a silent and patient witness to my ever-changing and mind-numbing flip-flopping from this and that, here and there. Never judging. Just patiently watching and listening and waiting for me to one day “come home” — to come back home.

But where is home? What really is home? Don’t mean to sound overly emo or anything like that but when I get reminded of all the years that passed that I haven’t written anything in acceptable longform content, it does send me to someplace nostalgic.

After all, when you strip me of everything I’ve said and done, I am at the very core of me, a writer. I write everyday not with pen, paper or keyboard — I write my life in ways so much more intangible yet profound, as  only I can create it.

I may no longer type it and publish it in a “blog” but I still do it in the so-called Web 2.0 of social media — Facebook, Instagram, Twitter — even the Smule Sing app.

What used to be integrated and well-written in a blog post is now published in some form of erratic, condensed, snapshot form as we’ve gotten used to by now.

And it’s a shame, ain’t it? That now, our poor stalkers need to visit so many sites and apps just to find out what we had for lunch or if we’re listening to the latest Lil’ Pump song or not. Used to be so easy for them stalkers back then. Go to a person’s blog and you’ll see everything there — pictures, videos, thoughts and random ramblings, music etc.

Why am I even talking about this? Oh I don’t know. I think, maybe just like the rest of the world, all this fragmented info and the mad rush to keep up with it has caused our poor blogging brains to shrink — so much so that we can’t even hold a cohesive thought for more than 5 seconds.

Is there hope, you ask? Or more appropriately, does anyone even bother to think about all this? I don’t know. I don’t know my friend.

But I do know that the mere fact that I had to be reminded of my WordPress 10th Year Anniversary just to come up with a such a lame post such as this is indicative of the long road ahead of us if we ever want to go back to introspective blogging — or even thinking for that matter. And well, ain’t it a shame? I think it is.

Let me know what you think… :)

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About Me
Cecilia Regina Aquino Blanquera Marmol aka RJ Marmol profile picture

I’m RJ Marmol — writer, musician, and independent creator based in Manila.

I write songs, essays, and books about the messy overlap between money, overwhelm, creativity, identity, and rebuilding. Much of my work circles around what happens when life stops feeling manageable — and how we try to think clearly, make decisions, and keep moving anyway.

I’m also the author of Rebuilding Under Debt: Thinking Clearly When Everything Is a Blur, a nonfiction book published under Steady Hand Press. The paperback edition is listed under my full publishing name, Cecilia Regina Aquino Blanquera.

On the music side, I release work as HeyRJ. On the writing side, this site is where I gather my books, essays, notes, and whatever I’m building next.

Music

HeyRJ is my sonic soul project. I create raw, minimalist-style and deeply personal music interpretations that feel like a late-night conversation with your truest self.

By blending lo-fi acoustic textures with poetic honesty, my work explores love, loss, grief, healing, and the quiet in-betweens of life. Each song is a letter — a journal entry — a gentle companion for when the world feels too loud or too quiet.

While my catalogue began with intimate cover renditions, my work is increasingly being shaped by original writing, drawing from years of poems, lived questions, and emotional survival.

“Stuck Home Syndrome” released on March 20, 2026 is my first original 20-track album written during a period when time felt compressed and days began to blur into each other. The songs came from sitting with thoughts that had nowhere else to go — unfiltered, repetitive, and sometimes uncomfortable. It’s a concept album that isn’t built around singles or polish. It’s closer to a continuous inner monologue, recorded with minimal production and very little ornamentation and meant to be listened to as one cohesive body of work. The goal wasn’t to resolve anything, only to document how it felt while it was happening.

On May 29, 2026 I released new original singles – “Rapturous”, “Uh Huh”, “Look At You”, “All That” and “Blew Print”. I continue to release both original and cover songs and intend to so for as long as I can so check back every once in a while — you might. just find something you’ll like.

For business inquiries relating to music, email me at: heyrjmusic[at]gmail[dot]com or my personal email at: rjmarmol[at]gmail[dot]com.

Books

Rebuilding Under Debt: Thinking Clearly When Everything Is a Blur

A nonfiction book about what debt does to the mind — and how to begin functioning again when financial stress has made everything feel blurred, urgent, and overwhelming.

Rather than treating debt only as a financial math problem, the book explores the emotional and cognitive realities of financial distress: shame, decision fatigue, avoidance, panic, relationship strain, and the difficulty of making sound decisions while mentally depleted.

Published under Steady Hand Press. It’s available worldwide in ebook and paperback formats on Amazon. Bookstores and libraries can also be order it wholesale via Ingram.

Contact

For book-related inquiries, media requests, bookstore questions, or discussion-group invitations, you can reach me through the contact page on this site or send me an email to rjmarmol[at]gmail[dot]com or hello[at]steadyhandpress.com