What's This About?

Webado is my own little pet web site. I just thought it might be a good idea to build one for myself, considering I've already built a few for my friends. You know how it is, the cobbler goes barefoot, etc...

I am Christina, a computer systems analyst (don't let that scare you, it's just a looooong title that means very little practically, because they say if God created the universe, analysts created chaos, and I sort of agree). My locale is Montreal, Quebec, Canada, which also implies that I am (if I say so myself!) fluent in French. It tends to come in handy once in a while, anyway!

I know you want to know what WEBADO stands for? At least I think you do, I may be wrong, but I'll tell you anyway. First of all it's pronounced WEB-AH-DO, with a little twang, to sort of suggest WEB, I DO! Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time! Sort of pro-active, gung-ho, you know what I mean?

You see, in 2002 I knew nothing about web design, could barely surf the web myself adequately (at least until I discovered Google and Ask Jeeves). They are significant as a lot of my acquired knowledge actually comes from there. OK, have you stopped laughing now? Thanks, I'll go on.

Then I had the inspiration to offer my then 12-year old son Daniel's services in designing a web site for a non-profit organization called RapSohD with which I'd become involved and which didn't have a web site at the time. Daniel started something and eventually gave up, handing me the "prototype". Ah, kids! I continued it (had to, I had promised!), learning as I went along. It's a work in progress, I must say. But it holds a special place in my heart as the first web site that I made and that actually works reasonably well. As I learn new things, I add them there too.

Later, armed with all this new knowledge and some priceless help I boldly launched a web site for my daughter, Melina, who is a musician. This too has become quite a project, a labor of love. As she matures and her career progresses through more and more promising stages, so does her site, which I have been constantly refining so that it will reflect these new stages. Also because she wants her site to mature as well. Ah, youth!

Early in the beginning of 2003, feeling brave and energetic, I set up another little web site on a lark, as a portal to a chat room I experimented with, so that a bunch of people with more or less common interests could meet and pass the time - and burn the midnight oil! This bunch of people are all users of what used to be the JLSC spin-off forums which originated at JLSC. I won't tell you what it's all about, just that it was a lot of fun. In time this little chat web site grew and sprung all sorts of features, such as a guestbook, an FAQ file and lots of other goodies, besides the chat room. I had lots of help here too so all in all I'm pretty satisfied with the results. Well, why shouldn't I be? I am the main user! Sometimes the only user!

Oh, yes, I forgot to mention. My speciality is making good use of freebies. Like free web space, tools like guestbooks and journals, all sorts of things. Or at least inexpensive web space and domain registrations and such. Yep, I'm rather proud of my thrift. In fact I don't think I'd know how to do it the expensive way! Surely it must be lots more complicated!

But all my other efforts pale in comparison to my nicest and most satisfying creation: Nancy's Heartmusic web site. Nancy is a special friend of mine whom I've met in the original (now defunct) JLSC forum. Well, I did, honest! Just don't say "cyber-friend" or "virtual friend" or I blow a gasket! She's a great friend. So I set up her web site to showcase her art: music, poetry and photography. Naturally this web site would have been rather bare if Nancy didn't have such a huge collection to put on display. Because, let's face it, a web site has to have content too, not just pretty colours! There's only so much you can do with fancy fonts and funny clip art! Nancy's has lots of content: her bio, her music, her poems, her photography. Sure, a more creative webmaster than me would have put in some really fancy stuff there, maybe Flash presentations, Quicktime movies, interactive thingies..... I dunno..... I didn't feel I had to, Nancy's art speaks for itself. OK, I'll admit, I also happen to not know how to do those things, but that's just between you and me..... and the web spiders!

OK, so now you know all there is to know about WEBADO. I will eventually build this site up as a portal to I don't know what. Well, I don't, do I? This domain name was, after all, a birthday present to myself! Have domain, will do web stuff! That's how it goes. Can't let it go to waste, can I?

Why am I telling you all this? Good question. I figured that maybe, just maybe, there might be other worthy people or groups or what have you out there who can't afford any fancy web sites, would like to have something simple yet effective and don't know where to look. So along comes WEBADO! It costs nothing to ask if there is any way I can help achieve that. Until now I've done it for free for all the web sites listed here. I may continue to do so if the cause tickles my fancy, until such time as I can consider myself truly professional at this and my costs start outweighing the personal benefits (i.e. pleasure) that I derive from all this. A few words of caution: I have to really, really take an interest in any such venture, or I won't do it at any price! And if you think you'll spam me, don't even try it! Protection against this is about the first thing I've learnt!

I absolutely have to thank the great help I have received lately from a great web design resource. I am referring to Ramblini, a good and talented friend, who was instrumental in kick-starting the WEBADO site.