People and Blogs: Marisabel Munoz

Let's start from the basics: can you introduce yourself?

My origin story is quite extensive, so I’ll try to summarize. My name is Marisabel—born in Illinois, raised in Puerto Rico. I moved to the Netherlands after completing my B.A. in Psychology and meeting my now partner-in-crime online through an old RPG game. First, I spent a year as an au pair in Amsterdam to test the waters and have a "normal" relationship before committing further. The country, my partner, and his family were all a perfect match, so after three years of long-distance, we finally moved in together in 2012.

Now, I’m a happy mother of two bright children and work as a metadata librarian at a prestigious university library. I’m fluent in Spanish, English, and Dutch. The finer details of this journey are scattered throughout my blog.

I love books, languages, drawing, writing, and above all, learning. I need to always be learning something—it’s what makes me feel fulfilled.

What's the story behind your blog?

This particular blog (I’ve had dozens over 20+ years) began as a way to improve my programming skills, network, and land an IT job. The earliest posts chronicled my Java learning journey. But as I climbed from a support role to my current position, it gradually morphed into a fully personal blog. I’ve gathered all my surviving posts over the years (many are archived now, though my old Blogspot remnants linger if you know where to look).

I started on WordPress but slowly migrated everything to PHP for the sake of freedom—I wanted full control. Over time, I added sections and consolidated my entire online presence into this single domain. I adore tinkering with the design, but since my second child’s birth, I’ve tried to stay consistent—free time is scarcer now.

What does your creative process look like when it comes to blogging?

My process varies by the text. Short posts? I often vomit them out in 30 minutes. But I gravitate toward long-form, meticulously crafted pieces—the philomath in me revels in the labor. These can take days, weeks, or months. This interview, for example, has taken about a week as I draft and redraft responses.

Most first drafts begin by hand. I use Moleskines (I prefer it due to the lines) and fountain pens—the ink’s flow slows my thoughts, helping me process them. Then comes the sculpting: what stays, what expands, what’s cut. It’s like editing, but not quite… more of a second draft. That version gets OCR-scanned to my computer, where I treat it like a puzzle to recompose. Lately, though, I’ve enjoyed retyping it manually after learning touch-typing. (Even this response is the second write-out of a notebook draft.)

Handwriting first makes my words feel tangible. My notebook is always with me, so I can jot down a sentence and revisit it later. Most computer-started drafts end up abandoned. Some pieces stay too personal—left in the notebook for my eyes only.

For instance, Question #5 was drafted in Google Docs while my toddler played. It all hinges on time, day, and family needs. Inspiration sometimes strikes at work (surrounded by fascinating books), and I’ll dash off a draft before the idea flees. Later, I might revisit and publish it—or not. Sometimes it goes live immediately; other times, never.

Do you have an ideal creative environment? Also do you believe the physical space influences your creativity?

Ideally, yes—I do have a creative environment, and I do believe physical space influences my creativity. I tend to lean toward the ADHD end of the spectrum (though I don’t consider myself to have it). I do, however, have traits that stem from my own way of processing information. I absorb my surroundings, so if I need to focus, I have to block them out. That’s why my favorite way to create is in the quiet of early morning (6 a.m.), with a fresh cup of coffee and a big, clean, empty table—just me, my pen, and my notebook.

Realistically, I haven’t had that kind of moment in seven years—since my eldest son was born. So now, I make do with what I can get: quiet mornings at work before others arrive, stolen moments while the kids watch TV (they’re only allowed 30 minutes at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.), or when my daughter naps in her stroller and I can finally catch my breath.

Maybe in the future, I’ll have my ideal space again. Maybe not. Maybe I’ve grown so used to chaos that a silent morning would stifle my creative flow instead. Who knows?

A question for the techie readers: can you run us through your tech stack?

I went through a lot of services in the past until I decided there was too much I wanted to do that wasn’t covered by any of them. So I drafted my needs in a notebook and manually coded them, mostly in PHP. I was familiar with PHP from the 2000s, but it wasn’t until after completing my Java courses that I truly understood programming practice—not just the design part. That’s when I decided to do everything in scripts.

I found a Markdown parser because I just wanted to write and go, and from there, I built it little by little. It took me the better part of a month. Other sections, like snippets, took less time since they were standard SQL + PHP projects. The library section was the most labor-intensive—I worked on it from idea to completion over three years while learning to code. The actual coding took a year in Java, but then I got annoyed with deployment issues eating into my writing time, so I re-coded the whole thing in PHP.

Now, the entire website is 90% PHP, with some JS where necessary. I always try to find a CSS-only alternative before resorting to front-end JavaScript. There’s a more detailed explanation on my blog.

For side projects—like my Dutch blog—I use WordPress for simplicity’s sake. I started those after my time shrank with the birth of my second child.

Everything runs on an AlmaLinux 9 server, a switch I made about a year ago after gaining confidence with the terminal console.

Given your experience, if you were to start a blog today, would you do anything differently?

I'd probably implement a better content logic system - maybe keeping everything in a single file for simplicity. Currently, due to my OOP background, each piece of content has multiple associated files that all need updating when I make changes. Everything else I'd keep exactly the same - I'm genuinely happy with what I've built.

Financial question since the Web is obsessed with money: how much does it cost to run your blog? Is it just a cost, or does it generate some revenue? And what's your position on people monetising personal blogs?

My costs break down to about €2.50 monthly for the domain and email, plus €11 for the server (which gives me 300GB storage and 8GB RAM).

As for monetization, 0. This is my private space. I do not need to monetize it. I love working. I never saw myself as the entrepreneur type.

Time for some recommendations: any blog you think is worth checking out? And also, who do you think I should be interviewing next?

I haven't seen enough appreciation for the whimsical, personal blogs that inspired me - the kind I wish I still had time to create like I did in my youth. Some noteworthy examples include:

• jessicajournals.com
• localghost.dev
• lostletters.neocities.org

Also, other blogs I always read online and haven’t seen on the list:

• joelchrono.xyz
• birming.com
• nicksimson.com

Final question: is there anything you want to share with us?

I am currently working on a Dutch essay on reading and youth. I’ll probably translate it later, but I figure the gist is worth sharing.

In the past, literature was seen as elite, and in school, we are forced to read literature that doesn’t match our worldview. It never shows us how the world was for the not-so-elite kind, so of course, children hate being made to read such books. I only came to what people call “serious” literature in my 30s. Why do we force this on children when we ourselves didn’t enjoy it at their age? What got me reading was literature aimed at my age, circumstances, and life stages.

We shouldn’t teach literature in school—we should teach how to read, give students the tools, and make literature history a separate class. That way, we can bring the love for reading back into classrooms.

On that note, I’m sad about the situation in the States with libraries and book banning. For each book, its reader; for each reader, their book. We shouldn’t turn a blind eye to these things—yes, the world is a mess, and I try to stay in my happy bubble—but we also shouldn’t deny what’s happening. Spread the love for reading. Spread the love for thoughts and expressions in all forms. And hopefully, future generations will be able to pick up the pieces of the mess we’ve made.