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Featuring your favorite artists, albums, and live concerts. Get to know what these performers are all about. Their history, discography, and idiosyncrasy.
Nostalgic cuts from the classic rock artists who moved and grooved you in the 60s, 70s, and beyond.
From ZZ Top to the Allman Brothers. From SRV to CCR. From If to Them to Yes.
OurSimpleJoys Newsletter Archives Musings. Tips. Our relentless search for the meaning of life. What simple joys are made of. Read archived issues
Heartwarmers Notes from My Guests
Wow! I really enjoyed browsing through your site! There is such gentleness and charm to it... Thanks for the info in your site, it got me to fire off a few inquiries to job postings, and it cheered me up.
I am so happy to have received the newsletter! It was a "joy" to read a newsletter that is filled with inspiration and creativity, instead of "buy this" and "buy that" info...Thank you for the reminder that the simple life is truly joyful! I'll be waiting for the next newsletter and great ideas, thank you.
Wishing you the best,
I located your website about a month ago and I was delighted to find it. Of all the writers sites out there on the web, I found yours captivating. I suppose that it's the simplicity and charm of the site that attracted me to it and keeps me going back whenever I have a question. Thanks for your web presence and the gentle way in which you reach out to others.
Regards,
Hi! I emailed you a few months ago, thanking you for such an inspirational and useful Web site. Since then I have started my own Web site and am gathering local writers for a support/work group. We network and help each other find freelance work. Thanks again for your online inspiration!
Hope all is well with you!
I recently found your website, and I think it's great! I'm writing to ask if you would allow me to reprint "Want to Write Non-Fiction? Get A Life!" at AbsoluteWrite.com.
... It's so refreshing to see a writer who shares so freely of her knowledge and her heart. I'm so happy to have found your website, and will visit again soon!
Take care,
Web Work Sites I Designed, Developed, and Maintain
"Ruby, you're the best. You've been a pleasure to work with and have been very patient with me--I thank you for that. The site turned out great and I love the way you helped to bring out the real me."
"Ruby Bayan has done a marvelous job of designing a site that I hoped would be easy to navigate, simple, pleasing to the eye, informative, and linked to other helpful websites."
"Hi Ruby, Oh! My Gosh! You have outdone yourself! I am telling you...You are so professional and so reliable and so brilliant! Thank you so much for such a BEAUTIFUL WEB SITE!"
RubyBayan.com / OurSimpleJoys.com
Freelance Writing Resources and Archives
Chosen by Writer's Digest as one of the Best Writer's Sites for presentation, ease of use, and marketing effectiveness.
Type up my name in the eHow search box to read my Home & Garden articles
"This is your Life Coach, Ruby Bayan,
in Orlando, Florida, for DZRJ 810AM, The Voice of the Philippines." My 2-minute life coach segments, had aired sporadically throughout the week. They focused on self improvement and personal growth.
For YouTube versions of the Life Coach segments, go to my blog: Learn-Something-New
How To Build A Writer's Website: Tips To Effectively Showcase Your Writing
- a tutorial by Ruby Bayan
Now Available Online. FREE. Click image for details.
A Suite University FREE Online Course
Introduction to Backpacking Instructor: Ruby Bayan
If you have the slightest inclination to hit the outdoors, take this fast, easy, and FREE interactive course before you plan your trip -- you'll be glad you did.
Click for details
Ruby's Blogs:
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What's New in This Writer's Life
04/03/12 - I'd like to thank my visitors for taking the time to drop me a note. It's heartwarming to hear from folks, total strangers, who express their appreciation for the thoughts, ideas, tips, and tutorials I share here on my site. As I always say, "Happy to help."
09/16/11 - Okay, I'm done sending out email attachments of my "How to Build a Writer's Website" tutorial. It's now available online -- the whole thing. Free. If you have any questions or concerns, please send me an email and I will do my best to help you out.
08/30/11 - Sometimes life puts you on a holding pattern for a little bit. Right now, I'm on one. My dayjob as a recruiter for Elyon International, Inc is my daily focus, and I do my polymer clay projects in my spare time. I do need to get back to my stock photography. And my gardening. Oh, I now have a LinkedIn profile.
06/21/11 - A lot of changes happening. As my son pointed out, it's like the shift that occurs when a TV series starts a new season.
eHow has finally terminated its Writer Compensation Program and totally revamped its online presence -- that was good while it lasted.
I'm spending more time as an IT recruiter, and less time as a stock photographer (but hey, my 85 images on Dreamstime steadily drops coins in my piggy bank).
On the beading front, while I've recently shifted to creating polymer clay beads, one of my gemstone bracelets was chosen by Interweave for the Stringing Summer issue (already available). And coming soon, a new release of Creative Jewelry magazine features my simple but dramatic "Black As Night" necklace!
And, oh yes, I'm a step-grandma now! A new season, indeed!
03/21/11 - I wear a hat that only a few of you know about. I'm a recruiter for Elyon International, Inc. So, if you have an IT background and reside in the Portland OR or Vancouver WA area, feel free to send me your resume. We might need someone like you!
02/18/11 - My stock photography portfolio on Dreamstime is growing by leaps and bounds! I think I'm getting the hang of it. Visit my collection, and if you want to explore this new fascination of mine, come on out there and join us!
01/23/11 - Here's a stream-of-consciousness essay on my Life With a Rockjock. "The rockjock is Mike, aka Stoney Burke. I'm Ruby Toosday, his sidekick, tech, executive assistant, and significant other. This is one angle of my life."
12/21/10 - New book review: Tapping the Source: Using the Master Key System for Abundance and Happiness by William Gladstone, Richard Greninger, and John Selby. Wouldn't it be great if life had an instruction manual? Fortunately, every now and then, someone writes a book that gives us, in no uncertain terms, step-by-step instructions on how to achieve success and happiness in life. Tapping the Source is that type of book.
12/15/10 - Wishing everyone the best of the holiday season. May all your Christmas dreams come true! Merry Christmas!
11/22/10 - I'm officially announcing my foray into microstock photography. If you're in need of photos for your scrapbooks, blogs, presentations, books, etc., come to Dreamstime.com for royalty-free images. My collection is here. Interestingly, my first sale is this image (I have a fondness for hearts. I don't know.):
11/12/10 - To remember my Mother on her birthday, I made a video of one of the many lessons she taught me: Count Your Blessings. I gathered some of my photos and mixed in one of the 2-minute Life Coach segments that I contribute to DZRJ-AM. (Background music is "A Love of Home" by Jim Chappell.)
11/11/10 - Finally gave in. Out of curiosity mostly. I'm now on Twitter too. rubybayan. Follow me. [Bracing for information overload.]
11/01/10 - You never really know where life takes you. Last week, I received an invitation to be one of the Life Coaches of the reformatted and revitalized DZRJ 810AM. It's now called The Voice of the Philippines, the only all-English AM radio station in the country. My life coaching delves into self improvement, self empowerment, and personal growth. It's an opportunity to talk about my favorite Inspiration:Motivation:Action topics.
The 24-hour long-haul from Florida that gripped me in a daze of jetlag, cabin allergies, and muscle cramps dumped me in Manila in the middle of the night. Nonetheless, I couldn't contain my excitement -- I was finally back home after 11 long years. Read more.
09/29/10 - A lot of pay-to-write websites are becoming popular these days. We all know Demand Studios (mother company of eHow.com), and the old Suite101, Associated Content, Squidoo, and Helium, among others. There's also Bukisa, ListMy5, and VideoJug. If I do a Google search for "pay to write" I get a long list of sites, as well as articles listing sites that pay writers for posting articles, blogs, reviews, and videos. Countless opportunities for content providers out there. Now's the time to get your foot in the door. Good luck!
09/02/10 - Received word from a fellow writer and long-time online friend, Marinza Bruineman. She's come out with a new book!
'Salt in Your Cocaine' is a wryly satirical expose of Global Warming, weather manipulations and the best Ponzi scheme ever. It is a highly irrevent page-turner about the state of humanity and the lies and deception that have become the standards for civilized society all over the world. In addition, Salt in Your Cocaine provides the readership with a very interesting and unique way to look at their fellow humans and recognize their potential behavioral patterns with the Human Behavioral Quintet. While supported by real facts, Salt in your Cocaine allows the readers to draw their own conclusions and decide for themselves if this is the world they want their children to grow up in. This book is a tremendously humorous read at the same time that it is a real warning to where humanity is heading.
Available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon and all major bookstores September 1, 2010.
For a discount and more information: www.marinza.com
08/12/10 - My new blog is up. Ye, ye, ye, another blog. This one's all about my jewelry. Nothing much to say, other than, head on out there and enjoy! Oh, the title of the blog is...
07/26/10 - One of the many hats I wear is Producer of the shows my partner (radio name: Stoney Burke) hosts over RJ Underground Radio, an FM station in Manila. If you're into classic rock and all its iterations, you'll enjoy listening to Stoney's weekly programs. Go to StoneyBurke.com or click on the banners of The Stoney Burke Show and Center Stage on the left margin.
07/10/10 - A promising star writer wrote me asking for the best way to jumpstart his freelance writing career. He wondered if he should start by writing free articles to get critiques. I said he can get feedback via the many writer forums online, where experienced and talented professional writers generously offer guidance to newbies. As to writing for free, I said, "Try not to write free articles. Value your words enough to demand payment in exchange for rights to publish them." Then I told him to Google "pay to write articles" for a long list of sites that pay writers for their work.
06/29/10 - And here's my necklace and earrings set that Creative Jewelry 2010 published. The mag is released once a year but it's packed with wonderful, stunning, mind-blowing jewelry projects. A must-have resource of inspiration for the jewelry handcrafter.
06/18/10 - Stringing Summer is in the stands! Lots of lovely necklace projects, all so fun and colorful! They published my set (bracelet and earrings) featuring ceramic flower barrel beads!
05/09/10 - If you're a tropical fish fan, come on over to RightPet.com. I'm hosting the Betta and Guppy pages. Rate your pets and share your stories, photos, and videos. There's a huge community of pet lovers over there.
This is my Betta splendens, Bruno.
04/07/10 - Emily Eddington, the morning anchor for WSIL Channel 3 in southern Illinois, emailed me to ask if I could be interviewed for their next "3 Ways to Save" segment. She wanted to do a feature on my eHow article, How to Save Money on Home Decor. We did the phone interview yesterday; the story went on air this morning. Read the story and watch the video: "3 Ways to Save on Home Decor."
04/01/10 - I just launched a new Wordpress Blog, "Neural Spork: Mental notes to masticate." After several iterations, I've settled on three main topics: "Filipina in America," "DTM: Did Them Myself," and "FWIW: For What It's Worth." Join me as I put my thoughts and feelings to words. I bet you'll learn something new.
03/11/10 - True to how a friend described it, my two-week trip to the Philippines came and went like a dream. Now I want to start planning for my return. Places to revisit, people to catch up with, tastes to remember--there was just not enough time. But I've stashed pictures to remind me of the wonderful couple of weeks I spent with family and friends. Details are at my Facebook page.
Ruby Bayan
Senior Recruiter Elyon International Inc
Go to Career Opportunities for a list of job openings.
Blogs
RubyBeads Bead jewelry and other beading-related musings.
Neural Spork Thoughts, tips, tricks, tirades, and other T words.
Learn-Something-New
Student of life learning lessons the hard way. [on hiatus... or semi-retired]My Multiply Site Blog, photos, videos, stuff.
Archive at Blurty.com Aug. '03 - Mar. '06. Thoughts... feelings... journey... life.
"Smell the flowers. Smile. Be nice to yourself. Care. Life can get too hectic, too confusing. Take time to pause and reflect. There's so much to appreciate, so much to learn... So many simple joys we take for granted." -- Ruby Bayan 1998
Submitted to the Friendship Quilt at Suite101.com. Base image is a crop from a sunset photo by Ray Deza. (Thanks, Ray!)
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