Angelo Ignacio
20-something in Los Angeles striving to do some social good in this world. Recent college graduate now getting started on life in a post-recession era. Social media enthusiast determined to use what I've learned to bring social impact to the things I love and care about.
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- Apr 27, 12For years, Seattle has been on my radar of cities that I've wanted to travel to. Whenever I would browse on Virgin America or Southwest during fare sales, I'd notice how inexpensive flying to Seattle from Los Angeles was. So in February, Leezel and I finally booked it. She had reasons to visit, one of them being a graduate program at Seattle University that she wanted to check out. I, of course, wanted to expand my list of cities that I've been to, so our trip to the pacific northwest ultimately made sense as our next adventure.
With each trip I take, I feel like I grow up a bit more. Since you tend to vividly remember the things you see and do while you venture off to new places, I never forget the new things that I get to experience each time. Quite often these are things that I experience because I feel like I'm ready to finally do it. Other times, it has to do with the reasons I find myself traveling. This time, my "new" experience was drinking on a plane, which would seem trivial or insignificant to many, but a moment that I savored to the very last drop. I've always gasped at the prices of drinks and cocktails while on board, but last Friday, all of the circumstances led me to happily do it. Leezel had a tough drive from San Diego, we barely made our flight. I was enjoying being able to watch the Laker game while we were flying (until they started losing.) We were scheduled to touch down in Seattle late, so we figured to make the most of the start of our vacation over wine, beer and a "protein plate." For $30, yes -- it was probably on the pricier side of things. But given how I was feeling, you tend to put your dollars where you get the most bang/memories out of vacation. After a stressful Friday, Leezel and I had a blast on our flight! Great way to start the weekend.We got to Seattle at around 10PM and getting to downtown from the airport was extremely simple. We met up with Leezel's cousins at the hotel and called it a night. I realized over dinner that night and at breakfast the following morning that Seattle is a legit food destination. Everything I ate was super fresh. Noticeably more expensive, but after three super tasty meals, I stopped complaining. Even the street food was delicious. I have to say that I've eaten my best food while on vacation while in Seattle (tops Chicago, San Francisco, New York & Washington DC.)On Saturday, Leezel co-presented a workshop at the NWFASA conference (North Western Filipino American Student Alliance.) I'm always so proud of her when she goes out and does what she loves. It's always exciting to see her step out of the so-cal bubble and meet with people from all over the country/world. I was on my own Saturday morning, but made my way to the University of Washington where the conference was going on. I snapped this photo which became an instant classic.After the conference, Leezel and I met up with her co-presenter + friends for drinks. A lot of drinks. Seattle nightlife did not fail us in the Capitol Hill district. We met some cool people while we were out, mostly people who are connected in some way to the conference that was going on. It was a very fun night, indeed!With our tripmates Anna and Jomer at Havana
On Sunday, we did all of the touristy things you do in Seattle. Pike's Place Market, the Space Needle, the gum wall. I'm not as big on seeing all of the touristy things in a city as I used to be. Partly because planning to see everything is stressful and when you don't get to see everything, you turn out to be even more stressed. As I travel now, I'm so whatever about what I end up seeing and doing. As long as I am in great company and the food is delicious, I'll consider that to be a relaxing vacation. Here are some shots of things we did see though.Hanging out on a beautiful day at
the Space NeedleI offered Leezel twenty bucks to put her cheek
up on the wall and she did it! Just kidding.My favorite part of the trip was meeting up with a good friend of mine from college. Dan and I were in the same service organization and though he is younger than me, he's always given so much inspiration. For the years we were at LMU, I enjoyed hearing Dan sing for the weekly 8PM mass. He also led our service org to develop a better spiritual component for its members. We happened to both be in Seattle on the same weekend (Dan attends a grad program in Independence) so we caught up over some mac and cheese at Beecher's Handmade Cheese and then coffee at the original starbucks. Dan and I never got to hang out in college though we were involved in many of the same things, I'm glad we made our debut this past weekend. :)Why so blurrry? =/ On Sunday, we made it to Seattle University for Leezel's campus tour. SU has such an LMU vibe to it, I felt like home. I felt kind of embarrassed that I only recently realized that it was a Jesuit school! At that point, living in Seattle one day became an instant possibility -- especially with Leezel liking the program + campus. I never thought that I would say that Seattle would come out on top of New York, but after this past weekend...it did. I was kind of in shock as to how much we were liking the city. We walked from campus back to our hotel and enjoyed the amazing Sunday afternoon. It was at least 70 degrees without a cloud in the sky, their hottest day since September. I know, an anomaly in terms of Seattle weather, but since we were there we had to might as well enjoy it...over some ice cream.Molly Moo's ice cream :D
Seattle was the most unexpected surprise. The sunny weather. The amazing food. The hip music along with the fantastic company. It was all enough to officially make this my favorite city that I have traveled to. Yes, it's true. I love Seattle. I'll be back plenty of more times. Maybe even live there. Yes, I just said that. I know, I can't believe it. Part of me wants to go back to experience a weekend of normal weather. But until then, and hopefully forever -- I'll remember Seattle to be as pleasant as it was when I first came to visit. - Apr 17, 12
I turn 25 this year. Quarter of a century. I've thought a lot about what I want to do for my birthday. Finally go skydiving. Maybe travel to New Orleans. At one point, I had a list of 25 for 25 - a rather audacious list of things to accomplish before October (ex: become fluent in Tagalog. O_o). I'm sure I'll do a number of things on that original list at some point, some of them maybe before my birthday. But recently, I've narrowed it down to what I want to do to top off twenty five years of youth.
For my 25th birthday, I want to live healthy.Yes, dare to say it. I have once again set the bar for another surge towards a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. I've heard many things about turning 25. Mostly about habits and lifestyles that become solidified around this time of your life. On one hand, I hear your tolerance of late nights and rowdy adventures begins to transition into classy and social encounters that happen only on occasion. I definitely noticed this on a family vacation with cousins earlier this year in Big Bear when the cabin that we all stayed at fell dead silent by midnight once people had had enough to drink and were ready for bed, yet the fridge and shelves of the cabin were still stocked with plenty of beer, wine and untouched hard alcohol. I was devastated! But enough said, this separate battle for longing youth is for another post. It's the decisions about food, exercise and maintaining your health that I've heard becomes thickening like cement. It's like the tipping point of a decade of habit sets onto autopilot and become hard to change and mold later. That sucks, so for this reason, I'm talking about my birthday as early as six months in advance.Here's a look at where I'm at: I'm obese and have been fighting it for several years. In 2010, I was morbidly obese, which is a category of obesity that was created beyond the existing tiers of weight levels and implied that I was actively and surely contributing to a shorter life each and everyday I was weighing 200+ pounds. Years after I lost my mom to cancer, it hit me that obesity was a card that I dealt to myself with my own hands and went on to seriously change my life in I what I would write about as my War with Obesity. By the end of 2010, I was able to lose the morbidness out of my state of obesity. A year and a half has passed and I've maintained the same levels of weight. I've gained a few pounds here, while losing a few pounds there and as a result, I periodically slip back into and out of the most extreme form of being obese. I had realized that my lifestyle was lacking guidance and knowledge. I hadn't been challenging myself at the gym and things were becoming so utterly routine that my body was immune to any time that I was spending there. I had become complacent with my lifestyle that I had not only stopped watching what I was eating, but I also didn't know much about what I needed to be eating, either. So in January of this year, I teamed up with a great mentor of mine, Gary Dyogi who I meet with twice a week and discuss this now extended war on obesity. Gary trains me through efficient work outs as well as advises on my daily nutrition. Working with him has been super empowering. I feel more and more knowledgeable about the exercises that I do and what it takes to get better and live healthier. You see, getting healthy has never been an issue, yet sustaining good health has consistently been a personal challenge. It was a huge part of why I teamed up with Gary -- I wanted somebody to teach me the tools and information I needed to sustain a healthy life, not just accomplish one momentarily.The first month with Gary was slow and hard. I was getting schooled about exercise and nutrition. People think a personal trainer will solve all of your problems until you realize that you have to work just as hard. In fact, I didn't really feel that we were back in the fight until I took it upon myself to read up on everything Gary was telling me and plan out my own workouts and know exactly what I was eating. Slowly and surely, things came together. Last week, I ran my fastest ever 5K time, and the week before that I accomplished my infamous hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. What's even better is that my weight is no longer on a zigzag of gain-some-lose-some but instead on a steady downward trend and I am back to feeling healthier and healthier each passing week.My goal this year is for sustainability. In 2011, I got in shape through hard work, but lacked the knowledge needed to efficiently sustain my lifestyle. My eating habits did not adapt and my body was eager to grow back at each day I worked out less and less. There are differences in this new found surge: Knowledge, empowerment, motivation. I want to turn 25 with complete confidence that my habits of effortless weeks of inactivity and ignorant eating are forever shed. Thanks to a great coach/mentor, I should have what it takes.I look forward to sharing my journey to blowing out the candles of a successful surge into the next quarter of my forever young life. :) - Apr 05, 12
When I returned from our failed trip to the Grand Canyon in September, I felt like nobody understood my longing for redemption. There was talk of returning someday, but if you were to ask me back in September how I felt about running it back, I probably wouldn't have thought it would be this soon and with a few of the same people. After all, turning around just after one mile was devastating. It was an embarrassment to our training, our preparation and most of all our ability to work as a team. The first trip was setback by a series of bad decisions made by myself as a trip leader but also by people on the trip who had underestimated the difficulty of the hike. It would be these same people that I would put all of my trust in the second time around to give this quest another try.
I put a lot of thought into what it would take for a second attempt to be successful. Leadership, trust and training came to mind as I pictured how it would need to come together. This group would need a form of leadership that would be able to share the vision with everyone, not dictate it. A form of leadership that set the tone of how we were about to paint this picture of success. There also needed to be a level of trust that was shared throughout the group. Trust that led to a shared sense of ownership and responsibility. Making everyone feel open to sharing how important this was to them and in return, knowing that the chance of success directly correlated with their attitude and contributions to the team. In other words, making it personal was key. Lastly, a specific and rigid commitment to a training schedule that left nobody on their own and was designed for the team to spend a significant amount of time together prior to hitting the trail.
Hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon is no walk in the park. As we would joke around, it felt like we were running a sports organization at many times. After a few changes in the group were made, including some new faces who were up for the challenge, I felt we had what we would need to make a successful hike. By the time we left for Arizona, everybody in the car knew exactly what this meant to me and vice versa. Everybody understood that this was not a vacation, but a life goal that was put on the table for others to take in and share. A goal that lined up with experiences like running the marathon and cycling the California coast.
The planning paid off, as everybody in the group worked extremely well together. When a decision was needed to be made, there was a cooperative team focus on talking things out, discussing best solutions. When obstacles like rainy weekends that prevented training came up, people simply did not take the day off or wait for somebody to make a call on what to do but instead, worked to make up for missed mornings together. We came to know habits, temperaments, strengths and weakness, all of which helped with our communication and planning. In the end, there were no surprises on the trail, only affirmations of our commitment to the trip and to each other.
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The journey that we dubbed as the Road to Redemption came to a successful and humble end last Saturday as we reached and safely returned to the Hermit Trail Head minutes after the sun completely set past the canyon. The pain at that point meant nothing to the emotion that I felt as we made that final turn. We had started our hike the day before and for nearly 8 hours we made the hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, 3,800 feet below. As each hour passed, somebody would remind everybody to look up or look out at what we had just climbed and each time I was swept off my feet. The view of the desert canyon cannot be explained in words nor can it be fully captured in a photo. You simply have to see it for yourself. I was beyond my mind imagining how many millions of years it took for a formation like the Grand Canyon to take shape and I felt like an ant as we made our way through the cracks and narrow pathways of the ridges. The place is really a time capsule of what the Earth looked like in ancient times. Unbelievable. You find a deep source of respect for nature as you acknowledge its ownership of all surrounding elements and you feel humbled with each step that are you allowed to continue and take on your journey to the bottom.During a majority of the trip, it was evident that the group was prepared on all levels. This gave me great gratitude. The attitudes were on point and the energy that we needed to sustain while on the trail was all there. I felt like the training hikes helped out a lot and the stair climb training at UCLA was icing on the cake. We did pack a bit heavy again this time. The mystery of how much water to take went unsolved, and we each carried a gallon of water in addition to a full camel back pouch, Gatorades and a water purifier. Next time we do this, I'm sure we'll know exactly what we need.Reaching the bottom was practically taking the cake. We were super tired and getting restless before hitting the campsite, but when we saw the running water people were brought back. My cousin Chris found perhaps the best site to setup three tents, a clearing right next to a running water fall stream that fed water to the creek and towards the Colorado River. We had arrived with about an hour of light left so we setup camp and started to prepare for dinner. When it got completely dark, we brought out the glow sticks and flashlights and enjoyed our night in the middle of a mini canyon, right next to a loud but peaceful creek.Prior to the morning of our hike back up, I was SUPER strict with our schedule and departing times. But after seeing the beauty of the canyon that morning, I became pretty laid back. I wanted to take the morning to enjoy what we had worked for. The group woke up at 6:30AM, an hour and a half past the time we were supposed to be heading out. But I tried not to stress out that much. Part of me just wanted to spend an entire day there. One day, I know we'll return and do just that. I woke up in the middle of the night and could not help but stare at the stars from our open tent. I'll never forget how close to nature it felt being down by that creek. We were only there for a couple of hours, but it will always remain vivid in my memory.When we headed out, it was super hot. We had to take a number of breaks to cool off. The temperature in the canyon usually hits 10 to 20 degrees higher than the reported temperature at the top -- so that Saturday's high of 70 degrees could have easily been in the 90's while were down there. And it sure felt like it!We made it back to the top faster than we expected, probably because we had less weight to carry and we mentally knew where all of the landmarks were located. It was a long way to Laughlin, but by then I was at peace! Honestly, Laughlin was an afterthought to the extraordinary experience I had just encountered hours before arriving there. We talked about getting smashed and blacking out to celebrate -- but soon after showers were taken and dinner was eaten, we were knocked OUT. I woke up at noon to call the front desk and find out that check out was at 11. The cleaners were already knocking on our door! There's not much to say about our time in Laughlin other than sleeping on a bed was the best thing about it. :)
On the way back, we ran back jokes that we made on the trail and laughed at funny photos that were taken. Like this photo...At one point, we started talking about our next adventure. Hiking to Machu Picchu, running a marathon on the Great Wall of China, returning to the Grand Canyon to accomplish the Rim to Rim hike ... just to name a few. It was an awesome feeling to sit in my seat and know that the hike to the bottom of GC was now a reality and under our belts. To talk about such daring challenges was a good thing...and at that moment in time, we certainly had a right to do so.I don't know what I'll set out to do next. I have no idea, really. But hopefully, I'll keep gathering it in myself to set out and do these things while I'm young. Seeing these sights with your own eyes gets addicting.The most rewarding part about my trip to the Grand Canyon was watching my cousin Lainel set out and conquer it for himself. He had dehydrated on the first trip, which resulted in us having to turn around. The night before we started the hike, he had accidentally cut himself pretty bad with a hunting knife which jeopardized his chances of heading down with us momentarily until the doctor said it was fine for him to do so. Watching him fight through the obstacles one by one to finally see for himself the beauty of the bottom of an ancient canyon was inspiring. He says this is the hardest thing he's ever done, but in my mind I know that by the end of our lifetime, he will look back and eventually say that the Grand Canyon was by far the easiest. It was truly an honor to share this experience with him, to see it come full circle and to see him come out on top.The Road to Redemption is finally over. Until our next challenge, victory will be sweet with Grand Canyon on my mind. - Mar 25, 12
In the midst of the many hikers today on the trail who enjoyed a beautiful Los Angeles morning and exceptional hiking weather, it was a very different day for the group of us who were training for the Grand Canyon trip next week. Very different. Instead of deep breaths, polite smiles and astonishing gasps at the views on the trail, our group pushed through with repeated grunts, moist faces smeared with salty sweat and not a care for anything but the next small step up on what felt like an endless incline of a mountain. We have hiked Echo Mountain each Saturday for the past five weeks, but this one was definitely one for the books.
Today we packed full gear, pretty much a dress rehearsal of the kind of hike to be expected in Arizona. Although the sudden pressure of the 30-40lbs on our backs was not a surprise, it was a harsh reminder of the strenuous type of backpacking we were headed back to do. Runners and hikers with lighter packs passed us over and over again, but the squad kept focused. Narrowed in on a goal different from anybody else on the mountain today, we knew why this hard work was necessary. It wasn't about enjoying a nice little hike, that's for later. Today was all about final attempts to physically and mentally condition for the real deal.EJ in full gear for our training hike
It was pretty much the hardest hike I've ever done! But we definitely made it and I'd say today was also the most rewarding day as well. As I wrote in my last post, I've learned a lot about leadership from this entire experience, both from last year's trip and the one set to finally let me cross off this life to-do from my list. I've seen where my leadership style falls short and where it flows well. But one of the best things about this entire experience is watching the fruits of others' labors become realized throughout even just the month(s) before we step foot in the car.
Today I watched one of our group members who was skeptical about his ability to train for the descent into the canyon practically ace the hike beyond what anybody could have expected. After five weeks of his hard core research and dedication, he is perhaps the most prepared person in the group. Somebody else today saw above the clouds for the first time. I signaled him to turn to his left at one point on the hike -- to see the city completely blanketed by the heavens -- and watched his eyes widen, just like each of our first times. That, Oh, damn moment; I was happy to bring him to realize that experience. These are things that make training worth it.Another day above the clouds -- still my favorite part But the best reward from today's hike came during a meal afterwards with two members of the group who had hiked with me back in September. One of them said to me, "I don't even know why I'm doing this hike to the Grand Canyon anymore, to be honest." It kind of threw me off, but I listened to him continue. "At first, I wanted to just boast about doing it. But now, I don't care about that." He went on to tell me that he had learned so much from this experience that this trip to the GC was pretty much a fuel to the positive change that he has gone through. Everything from confidence, humility, communication -- things that training for a hike like this will bring upon you, he has seen transformed into himself.
You can say that at that point at the dinner table, we had a moment. It will be a moment that I will never forget, because it was an affirmation of my goal to plant a vision of success in the people who went on this trip with me. It has been such an honor to witness the growth in the leaders of our group. To watch them realize a vision and conquer their potential. In the end, as that person at dinner alluded to, this goes much deeper than the actual task of reaching the bottom of any ancient canyon.
There is still much to do for this trip, one being to hike again tomorrow in our final outdoor training opportunity. But after today, there's a lot to sleep easy about, especially with Grand Canyon on my mind. - Mar 21, 12
And so continues my series of mid-week dates with my mid-distance lover from San Diego, with tickets to the Boyce Avenue concert at the House of Blues in Anaheim. They're a band that caught our attention on YouTube with their surprisingly good acoustic covers of songs like Water Runs Dry (Boys II Men), Teenage Dream (Katie Perry), and Because of You (Ne-Yo). They played a lot of their original songs last night, as expected, but I still thought they were just as good. I think it's phenomenal how talent now can go from YouTube channel to performing on stage at the HOB, picking up millions of views and fans around the world along the way, not to mention a huge crowd at each concert that's really into your own songs too. Seeing the whole thing was pretty sweet, plus, I've got a thing for live music so hearing a full set by a band that I'm used to jamming during the afternoons at my office was definitely cool.
To rid of the stress of what we were going to do about meeting up so late in the middle of the week, Leezel thought of looking at Airbnb to see if we could get a relatively cheap room rather than a hotel. We just wanted a place to sleep after the concert so that neither of us would have a drowsy drive back. I learned a lot about Airbnb when we started working on Trippy (the guy who did their super cool video did ours as well,) that I always wondered if I would ever book a room/house with them in the future. And sure enough, we did!
Airbnb works just like how you search for a hotel room. You enter the dates you are traveling and enter an address or city that you would like to stay near. It then pulls up a list of places where people are offering up rooms in their house or apartment, or even their entire home -- you can choose to filter what you would like. I was a bit nervous at first. Staying at a stranger's house is something I have never done before, and it feels kind of unnatural to do. But I kept an open mind and my search led me to a private room in a house about 15 minutes away from our concert. (click screenshots to enlarge)If you're interested in the place, you can book it by entering your payment information and a message to the owner. The owner is then notified of your request and can accept or decline your offer to stay. The cool thing about Airbnb is that there is a ton of transparency in both the information displayed to the owner as well as to the customer who is interested in booking. Talk about an example of social currency, you tend to feel comfortable with the owners who have linked their Airbnb profiles with their personal profiles like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Here's what I found on Arvin's profile (the owner of the place we stayed at) as I waited for his response to my stay request.When the owner accepts your offer, you're notified that your payment went through and contact information for both parties is exchanged by email. Arvin was a really cool guy and was really nice! He treated us like we were family guests, even though we had just met for the first time. Airbnb had really facilitated the whole thing so that we could feel comfortable in my booking and his property.Arvin had left some breakfast goodies for us in the morning before we left. We made small talk, but overall he made staying at a stranger's house unbelievably comfortable. Him and his girlfriend started putting up the spare room he had in his house on Airbnb to supplement his mortgage as well as make new friends. The Airbnb experience led me to believe that you could actually make friends through this quasi form of couch surfing! I'd definitely stay at Arvin's again if we find ourselves in Anaheim in the future.Leezel and I had a great time. Although our mid-week dates are short, they come in handy during the long stretches where we don't have free weekends to see each other. It's all part of this whole making it work ordeal that keeps us reminding each other of what's important and the relationship that we're continuously working on for the better.Hmm. Reminds me of this song. Too bad Boyce Ave didn't have a cover for this one, Ne-Yo says it best. :) - Mar 19, 12
For the past five weeks, I have been working closely with a mentor of mine, Gary Dyogi on a plan to increase my health and sustain my attitude on living better. Gary is a fraternity brother of mine who offered to pick me up as a client in January, after we had gotten to know each other towards the end of last year when we grew close through a spiritual retreat that he had invited me to. There have been quite a few highlights that I am proud of from these last two months, most of them having to do with my strength and physical abilities. Just last week, I ran my fastest 5K on a treadmill. With Gary’s help, I have been able to bench press more than I ever have before (although I’m still working on lifting my own weight.) And to my astonishment, earlier this month I pulled out 100 pushups during one of our sessions – that’s the most I have ever done, and far more than I thought I could ever do. Gary’s done a tremendous job putting forth a challenge and guiding me with the support and know-how to lead me how to getting through it.
I’m just about halfway through my planned time working with a trainer one on one, and we still have some things to accomplish before we wrap it all up. One of my goals is to finally to do a pull-up…or two. I want to be able to bench press my own weight, and of course, I want to increase my running endurance to be able to sustainably train for a marathon.
TURNING THE TIDE
On the exercise side, I have pretty much nailed it. I average over half an hour a day each day of the week exercising at the gym or outside. Nothing new, but now I have a sense of proper technique and knowledge of the body to actually have a clue at what I am doing. However, now comes what I have realized to be the hardest part about living healthy: nutrition. For the amount of time and energy I have put into physically getting in shape, the number on the scale does not reflect where I thought I would be. For the past two months, though my endurance has improved and abilities have significantly been increased, my weight has maintained at yet another plateau. I was deeply discouraged at first and began losing motivation in working out. But thanks to Gary, we have narrowed it down to what will now be the next thing we focus on. My eating habits aren’t necessarily terrible, but they can definitely be improved. Starting today, now that we have got into the groove of how to work out efficiently, it’s an all-hands-on-deck style approach to monitoring what I eat.
I was at the grocery store last night, pen and paper in one hand, calculator in the other. Walking up and down the aisles, I made notes of the amount of carbs and protein that were present in my cart. I could already see with a conscious mind, where I’ve been going wrong and put in the effort to balancing the food I bought to meet my goals. The funny thing is that it’s not like any of the food I plan to eat this week is diet food. It’s all really just…regular food. But having a budget in my head on what nutritional values each food item gives me drastically shifts the inventory of what makes it to the checkout counter and into the bag. It’s all really just a shift in consumption.
It’s been a while since I wrote about my continued journey to living a healthy life. I hope to write about it more to encourage me to stay accountable to this portion of healthy living that I have now turned my attention to. Balancing this and my ongoing workout discipline will be a challenge, I know. But let’s see how these next two weeks go. - Mar 12, 12
Things are going well with planning for my upcoming trip to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Our expedition is three weeks from now and all six people on the trip look in great shape. Commitment wise -- it's all there. I have never worked with a group so eager to get everybody on the same page and so willing to proactively make this trip as comfortable, enjoyable and exciting as it will be. Everybody is available. Everybody is reachable. Everybody is responsive to the needs of our group. Planning for a trip like this requires every individual to be involved, a mistake that I made in my last trip. The trip in September was over-planned and over-managed by only a few people, and we really didn't connect on how important it was to shine a light on everybody in our group. We over managed, but under led. This time it's much more different (by no fault of our last trip memebrs,) mostly because we've learned a great deal overall.
The greatest difference this year is the training that is involved. Every weekend of this month, our group has gotten together to physically prepare in some form or another. Whether it's doing stairs at UCLA or hiking up Echo Mountain, everybody has been doing their part to get familiar with the kind of physical work we'll be doing at the end of the month while on our hike. Two weeks ago was the moment I knew that there was a huge deal of commitment present in the group. We had planned for a hike up Echo Mountain, but I needed to be down and done with the hike in time to catch a bus to San Diego. In order to fit the hike in with everybody in the group, the hike had to start as early as 5AM. With absolutely no lag time to spare, that meant that people had to be picked up by 4AM, prep, stretch and eat with enough time to drive to the trail head and get on our way. I was pretty sure that this was not going to happen. But to my surprise, the group had eliminated the notorious Filipino time differential and hit our mark to the second. We hiked up the trail, carrying weight to train, ate at the top and made our way back down -- all in time. Just seeing everybody ready to go at 4:30AM was a sight to see. I had the biggest smile on my face when I pulled up!
The rewards of this level of commitment are second to none. This kind of training was nonexistent in my last trip, mostly because the group was big and spread out. It was nearly impossible to get everybody together before the trip. Second, there's a big level of motivation on this trip. It's about getting it done. Doing it right.Catching the sunrise on our way up Echo, 5:45AM
I've learned a lot about leadership from this whole Grand Canyon experience. It's been very humbling. This trip has required a lot of trust to be passed around. Like any team activity, this kind of hike requires a strong familiarity of the temperament of the people you're with -- something we've all been getting to know in these past four weeks. Everybody has to be a leader, because everybody is walking down the canyon. Everybody is going the same path, everybody needs to know what's up. That's the route we've taken this time around.
For me personally, it's about learning to create a vision for people that they would have never thought was possible. It's about paying forward the confidence in those that don't have it yet and watching them grow to realize their full potential; something as crazy as hiking to very bottom of the Grand Canyon! The group is split down the middle with three new guys and three returners. I love watching how the new guys are building their stamina, step by step, hike by hike. Watching them realize things getting easier -- whether being awake by 4AM or hiking up a steep hill with weight on your back -- is a reward for me. Seeing how they take on physical challenges with more intensity than they did when we first started is big. And for the returners, including myself, I love watching us accept where we came up short last year and immediately putting on the table what needs to happen differently this time around. I'm inspired by the pledge-to-do-this attitude that I really couldn't find last year. There are more words of encouragement and affirmation among us, more leading. Nobody in the dark, everybody in the know.
These next three weeks are important. There's still a lot to do, including training, prepping our equipment, getting our food situated, distributing the weight. But in terms of underestimating what we're headed into, that's not the case.
And as far as motivation -- nothing is sweeter than reaching the end of the road to redemption. - Mar 08, 12
My friend Julian let Leezel and I into Disneyland last week for Leap Year. (Actually, not only did he let us in, he drove all the way from Burbank at 6:30PM to let us in...and then turn around and drive back. I am truly grateful!) Disney was throwing a special event where the park was open for an entire day. From 6AM on Wednesday to 6AM the following day, we were taking advantage of "One More Disney Day."
For the record, my idea of Disneyland at 4AM entailed a very dreamy picture of a super empty park where Leezel and I were going to be able to ride Space Mountain over and over again, enjoy an entire Jungle Cruise by ourselves and go on a double date stroll with Mickey and Minney down Main Street. NOT THE CASE! Everybody and their momma/kids/partner/business partner/roommate/booty call/etc. was there! I knew something was up when it took 45 minutes to get off the 5 freeway and cell phone service was more spotty than it was in New York. It was nuts. Tons of people definitely taking advantage of having a Disney sleepover, or in my case reliving high school Grad Night. ;)Leezel and I thought of getting some drinking in before we went inside the park, but we chose not to. If we did, we'd be sure to call it a night around 2AM. Our goal was to make it through the entire night! And sure enough, we did. With a quick 30 minute power nap at a table inside Pizza Port at Tomorrowland (the sight of so many people with their heads on the table reminded me of how UCLA's Bruin Cafe looked at 1 in the morning), we propelled to the 6AM closing time. :)We made it! The shot of dawn at Disneyland was pretty epic, considering we had gone the entire night battling through the crowds. We managed to make it back to my office and snag an hour nap before I went in for work. Leezel crashed until lunchtime, which was when we continued our mid week date.
Meeting up with Leezel during the week is rare because of us being far apart. So any time spent with her was very much appreciated, Disney Day or not. Spending it at the place where we once used to hit up when we started dating was just icing on the cake. :) - Feb 26, 12I love a good hike. Hiking keeps me reminded that the world isn't just built entirely on the streets and highways of a city or revolve around the famous hot spots of a metropolitan. I love the serenity found on trails that take you through rocks, cliffs and trees that have existed for thousands of years. I love racing against the sun to the top of the mountain. I find hype in reaching for the clouds, and then some, making my way above them as if I was looking out to heaven (see photo below.) I love the feeling of not being held back by traffic, but by the limits of your own body and the determination of your mind to take on inclines, watch your step as you work your way back down and pay respect to the natural hazards of hiking along trails. I love a good hike.
I also love a good challenge. One that prompts me to get and stay in shape, expand my list of things that say I've done and pushes me to take on lesser scenarios and situations in life that keep me grounded and focused. That's why when a co-worker of mine planted the seed of hiking all the way to the bottom of the Grand Canyon four years ago, I was rooted with a deep longing to go on and do it. It was really the first drop in what they call your bucket list. I love a good challenge.This is my favorite park about hiking Echo Mountain --
racing to the top of the clouds...and beyondYesterday I went on my first training hike of the year in hopes to prep for another attempt at getting to the bottom at the end of next month. The group that has committed to going has dwindled down drastically; two of the people training for next month's trip are newcomers to the group. In prep for the hiking phase of training, I've been gym'ing it regularly to get a hold of my weight and diet. This has paid off tremendously -- on our hike yesterday up to Echo Mountain, I felt the best I've ever felt throughout the whole climb as well as descent.
Part of me wonders why I am so eager to hit this trail again. Is it the pride? Determination? Curiosity? I check myself more and more as each person who has left the training process has let me know. I always ask myself how long will this mindset last. What if I'm the last person left on this trip willing to go? Will I still be down? Yes? Are these rhetorical questions?
Maybe it's because the biggest thing I love about hiking and the challenges around it are the closely related parallels to real life that I draw up each time I hike. Always focusing on the journey, the beauty of a struggle (mental and physical), a self-initiated sense of motivation, goal setting, hustle, hunger, drive...
Grand Canyon on my mind. - Mar 21, 12I took some time off from the office last week to spend a few days in New York City. Leezel was attending a conference for her work and since her hotel was covered, I decided to take advantage of having a paid room in Manhattan and flew over for some R&R. I have a couple of friends who now live in the city so I spent some time catching up with them and also some time on my own (to the right is a photo me and my high school friend Jarrell.) Anybody can tell you that New York is such an interesting place. The people, the pace, the culture, the food -- it's all wrapped up into something that forces you to take it all in, especially if you're from the other side of the country in sunny southern California.I've been to New York before two years ago in the fall, so this was the first time experiencing 20 degree weather. Luckily it wasn't snowing, but the cold air hit me the moment I got off the airplane and walked through the air tunnel. SO DAMN COLD! It was an easy train ride to Manhattan from JFK -- I love how accessible the entire city is. It's so different from the way things are in Los Angeles. Yes, there is traffic, but it's more human traffic than it is freeway traffic like here back home.
Here are some highlights:VISITING THE FLAGSHIP APPLE STORESince I had just recently finished reading the Steve Jobs biography, I thought to pay a visit to the store on 5th Avenue. The book talks a good amount of the store, particularly the way it is designed with the glass panels and the glass stairway that Steve had seen in Europe when he took a quasi sabbatical after being ousted from Apple. It was kind of cool to be there and see it...and appreciate it.NYC SHOPPING: DISCOVERY OF UNIQLODuring some downtime, I checked out Uniqlo which reminded Leezel and I of sort of like an H&M, but inspired from the other side of the world in Asia. Like the Apple store, it was the flagship store, so things were fully stocked and everything was to the point. I bought a jacket that was originally $100 for $20! It'll be forever remembered as my NYC coat every time I wear it.ARCHITECTURESaw some cool stuff in NYC. My friend Phil took me to see the original Flatiron building, a super narrow building that was built on the most narrow patch of available real estate due to the way the roadways were shaping in the city early in the 1900s. I also stopped by the MOMA and realized that Vincent Van Gogh's painting of Starry Night was there! I'm not too big of an art person, but I did know how famous that piece was! On our last night in New York, Leezel and I checked out The High Line -- a public park built on an old elevated railway. It's pretty much the narrowest park, ever. At night, it's a sweet spot to get away from the city noise and still be outside, which I can imagine people in NY really do appreciate.VISITING THE 9/11 WTC MEMORIALThis was a pretty somber part of my trip. I felt like going because the last time I was in NYC, the memorial had not been built yet. Last year I watched on TV the premiere of its opening on the 10 year anniversary, and so I figured it would be nice to see how it turned out. For many people, this is the final resting place for their loved ones lost from the terrorist attack, so there is a sense of solidarity and respect that is asked of visitors -- it's a healing place more than it was a tourist attraction.
NEW YORK EATS
Ate tons of food while I was there -- but the highlights of the trip were Shake Shack (NYC's version of In-N-Out), the Halal Cart/Chicken and Rice (classic!) and Luke's Lobster, a very pricey but tasty take on lobster sandwiches. I was sad that I couldn't hit all of the spots recommended to me on Trippy.com, but I was pretty happy with what I ended up going to. Plus, there is always next time.VALENTINE'S DAY IN NEW YORK CITY - ICE SKATING @ ROCKEFELLER CENTERAnd of course, the big finale! Yes, it just so happened to be Valentine's Day while Leezel's work event was going down. That was really what made the trip so special. We always tend to lean towards some type of low key travel for V-Day, like our staycation in San Diego last year, so heading to New York kept up that tradition (only this time, it wasn't so low key nor a staycation.)For Valentine's Day, I braved up for another first time experience by putting on a pair of skates and trying out ice skating. It was pretty romantic, I must say. Leezel knows how to skate, so she was pretty much helping me balance and move steadily along the ice. I didn't fall, but if I did I probably would not have been able to get up! It was a great time. My mom loved figure skating, so I know she was proud when I finally was able to get along without holding the wall or Leezel's hand. :) (will post video later!)
All in all, a pretty sweet trip to New York all around. Some great things came out of it: time off from work, experiencing east coast winter weather, Valentine's Day with my girlfriend and great catch up moments with friends who have moved to NY. Not to mention a phone call and invitation for lunch from Chris Draft, the NFL player who I wrote about! I guess I can say that I did some soul searching while I was away, much of my time was simply spent thinking about life; being in New York helped remind me not to forget what was out there: a world full of different people with all sorts of life stories, endless possibilities to dream up and watch come to fruition...and a list of experiences to write down, do, and cross off. :) - Feb 16, 12
I never expected the response I would get from the post I shared last week on former NFL player Chris Draft's story of his wife and lung cancer. A number of people shared their own story in the form of a Facebook comment -- people I don't even know, people who don't know me. The stories are heartbreaking, just as the statistics of a lung cancer diagnosis. But through the darkness, there is a community (both online and offline) that is forming. A group of people hungry to be in company with others who have a similar experience, particularly in a world where the voice of lung cancer progress remains generally quiet.
I am a believer in Generation Y. Partly because I am considered part of the age group but mostly because of what I have seen my peers achieve. For the most part, young people can make a good amount of noise and also a big deal out of pretty much anything. When we care about something, shit goes down. Just ask anybody who has felt the swell of pressure from thousands of people calling for change. From former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to the executives at Sallie Mae who received a petition earlier this month with over 77,000 signatures calling for them to alleviate unemployment fees on student loans. Mubarak would eventually resign and just last week, Salle Mae obliged.
Lung cancer is an interesting and deadly beast. It is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States though as mentioned in my last post, the least funded in terms of research dollars spent per death. The lack of funding has been the root of lung cancer's inability to produce breakthroughs and improvements on survival rates. But along with the missing funding for research, I think the lung cancer cause is also missing a critical piece on its road to amplifying its voice: Generation Y.
WHERE ARE ALL THE YOUNG PEOPLE AT?
In 2010 I was invited to participate in the Lung Cancer Advocacy Summit, a week long event put on by the National Lung Cancer Partnership. In that week, I was comforted in knowing that the lung cancer community is passionate. The stories I heard of successful advocacy work in government, the media and in local communities was a shining light on the fact that our movement is not entirely silent. There is a group of people working to bring it. But as I flew back from Tampa that week, I realized something that awkwardly stood out: I was the youngest person there. Generation Y is absent from the front lines when it comes to lung cancer. My peers are off and involved in voicing their support in other great projects that will bring great change. While you can't hate on building a well in Africa to increase access to clean water or a shoe drop happening in Argentina to help those in extreme poverty, you can certainly seek to learn how from those movements on how to inspire a generation to take action.
We can go on and talk about why lung cancer isn't yet one of those causes. But I won't. It is what it is. But here's what I do know: this is not a rare disease that only a sliver of the American population is experiencing. Each year 160,000 people die from lung cancer. Somewhere in that group includes the parents of young people, the sons and daughters of young people, the brothers and sisters of young people. For whatever reason Generation Y has not brought its voice to the table, the people are out there, but holding out. Perhaps its the stigma. Perhaps its the lack of space and support. It may very well be because of the dire statistics that people...that young people...don't want to face the mountain. But I know you're out there. And I know you're down.
CHANGE BEGINS TODAY
For years since my mom's passing, I've struggled in finding my role in the lung cancer fight. But today, the pieces have seemed to come together. I'm here to bring Generation Y to the lung cancer front line. There is a space that needs to be created for young people to talk about what's going on. A conversation that needs to be had. For the people that give a damn. For people looking for other people.
Maybe you're not comfortable speaking about lung cancer to your coworkers and/or friends. But that doesn't mean you have to be restrained to watching a loved one go through it and not do anything about it. There are things we can do. Gen Y has embraced the capabilities of social media and we can forge a community of our own. One that's supportive, one that is proactive.
Gen Y: If you are looking for your role in the lung cancer fight, if you are ready to create that space with me so we can finally have a national network and conversation with other young adults, if you are looking for that support from others outside of your day to day circle -- then I'm glad I've reached you wherever you are. I have created a private Facebook group and I hope you will meet me there. We can talk about a lot of things, and for now posts will not be seen by anybody who isn't part of the group. I invite you to join and share your story and together, change the face of lung cancer.
This is only the beginning.
Join the group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/307739425950524/ - Feb 16, 12
As the Superbowl played itself out to its final minutes that led to a Giants touchdown and victory, I couldn't stop thinking about the moment on TV that had a lasting affect on my mind. It wasn't any of the plays that were made in the game nor was it any of the ads that ran that afternoon. Instead, it was something that was very personal. Earlier that morning my cousin was watching an ESPN segment that aired during Sunday's NFL Countdown that caught my attention. Right before we were about to turn off the TV to leave for breakfast, a story about former NFL linebacker Chris Draft was playing. And in the next five minutes, I had felt a rush of close-to-home emotions come swinging back at me.
The story was about Chris Draft losing his wife to lung cancer just five weeks after they got married. She had been diagnosed with stage IV cancer just 8 months before he proposed. "You can't guarantee what's tomorrow," he said. "If it's one more day, I'll take it. Two? I'll take that. But to have that with your wife, the woman that you love? I'll take seconds." We were all swept away. Here's the video of the segment in its entirety.
This is very personal to me because my own mom died from lung cancer in 2007. And just like Lakeasha, my mom had never smoked and was in the prime of her life. This strange fact is a growing reality about the disease that the lung cancer community is working tirelessly to raise awareness about. Chris and Keasha started the Team Draft Foundation and one its mission objectives is to do just that: change the face of lung cancer.
Non-smokers are a growing portion of those who are diagnosed, 80% to be exact. And the numbers paint a story that I feel everyone should know. Over 160,000 people will die from lung cancer in the U.S., that is more than many other cancers combined, including cancers in the breast, colon and brain. Despite being the leading cancer killer in America, research funding is disproportionately spread out. For every lung cancer death, approximately $1,400 was spent in research compared to the nearly $24,000 spend for every breast cancer death in 2011. As a result, survival rates naturally have stagnated -- up only two percent since the 1970s to 15%.
A big part of this is the awareness issue. Letting go of the "smokers get cancer" stigma. I'm inspired by Chris Draft and the Foundation's aim to fight for more research and awareness. I hope that the Foundation will work to empower young adults to take up this issue, as that is a critical step in tomorrow's fight against the disease. I have admittedly been discouraged from continuing to advocate for the very cancer that took my mom's life. I often find myself being the youngest person in the room at conferences and meetings...it's kind of a buzz kill. And the support for young adults involved in the lung cancer fight is sparse. A lot is on my mind tonight as I envision Gen-Y talking more about our generation's biggest threat next to heart disease.
Just a few thoughts:
STORIES MATTER - We need to actively shed light on more of these stories. As tragic as they are, they provide an undeniable truth that young people are suffering from this disease. Two years ago, there was some traction when 21 year old Cal student Jill Costello passed away from the disease and our community rallied behind her. We need to swing into the light and tell our story.
THINK POSITIVE - Many of the campaigns I have seen to raise awareness have been fact driven, just as my quick blurb above gave statistics on the current situation. But much of this kind of awareness strategy had understandably taken the angry road in delivering message. The lung cancer community needs a positive light to its vibe. Something people can rally behind rather than droop their heads as they talk about it. We can compare our funding and survival rates with other cancers, but we shouldn't bash on their success at raising awareness. It was a turn off for me when a group of lung cancer advocates I was at a conference with started throwing down some hate on the breast cancer movement because of the traction they got in their pink ribbon campaign. It turned me off. Make our own story something people can get behind. Make it positive, give it some hope.
GENERATION Y - Gen-Y has been able to do some remarkable things. Many of us are in our mid 20s and 30s and we've been able to start businesses and movements, petitions and protests. Our excitement and passion, when kindled, is undeniable. We have figured out ways to make profit while changing the world all in the same transaction. We have done wonders with social media. We have changed the outcomes of your normal voting pattern. But there is a caveat to all of this madness. All of what we've been able to do has been because we've been inspired, engaged and challenged. Call us entitled, but yes, in other words -- we need to feel like we matter. Win the hearts of generation Y -- and the lung cancer cause will be advanced, and won, like no other.
The story of Chris Draft has inspired me to once again light the fire inside of me that is forever a part of my life story. It's a fight that I'm most certainly proud of, despite how devastating it has been to those it has affected. Lung cancer is a demon. But this story has given me new hope.
I was never into football, but now I can say I have a favorite player. A new role model, and possibly someone I can meet someday to join hands in this fight we share together. Props and prayers, Chris.
Lung cancer advocates, what do you think can improve our engagement of our communities in the discussions about lung cancer? I'm really interested to hearing what you all think. - Feb 02, 12
Just a quick post to bookmark my favorite reads from last month. All of these I shared on my Tumblr. Looking to create a way to look back on the best articles so that when New Years comes along, it'll be easy to pull them up. Enjoy!
SOCIAL GOOD
How Oliberte, the Anti-Toms, Makes Shoes and Jobs in Africa (GOOD)
Americans make up half of the world's richest 1% (CNN Money)
Five Simple Ways to Help Haiti (GOOD)
GENERATION Y
Thoughts on Reluctant Entrepreneurship (Stanford Social Innovation Review)
8 Reasons Why Students Should Blog (ProBlogger)
What 20-Somethings Want (Thought Catalog)
HEALTH & EDUCATION
Obesity Epidemic May Have Peaked in U.S. (NPR)
Controversy Swirls Around Harsh Anti-Obesity Ads (NPR)
Plan Your Free Online Education at Lifehacker U: Spring Semester 2012 (Lifehacker)
OBAMA / POLITICS
Bill Clinton Esquire Interview 2012 - On Romney, Gingrich, Obama and 2012 (Esquire)OTHER COOL STUFFBOOKS I FINISHED - Jan 28, 12
It all started when the service organization that I was a part of in college held a week long event called Homelessness Awareness Week. It was culture shock for me. We would post up on the sidewalks and pathways on campus and sleep on newspaper and cardboard next to signs and posters with facts about the serious epidemic. The sight of shady men setting up make shift camps and congregating on high traffic areas of campus around the clock for a whole week made a beautiful Loyola Marymount campus setting look drastically awkward (looking back, it reminds me a lot about today's Occupy movement.) It was for sure an eye catcher; you could not help but notice what was going on.
But I'll never forget how I felt while being a part of the simulated homeless camp that week. Often times, students would walk by and ignore me as I asked them for a minute to share facts about homelessness. My own roommates would refuse to meet up with me at camp and would make fun of what I was doing. I sure did get a small taste of society denying you a basic acknowledgement of your existence and dignity. It made me think of the people who wave you down for change at freeway on ramps or the entrance of grocery stores. It made me think of all the times I had just passed them on by. Homelessness Awareness Week taught me many things and changed my life moving forward. Just to name a few:- I've decided that the word 'bum' is offensive
- Not all homeless people are drug addicts and alcoholics
- A disproportionate number of homeless people are people of color
- A disproportionate number of homeless people are veterans
- A number of people homeless in Los Angeles were people that came here from other parts of the country looking for work (actors, construction workers, farmers, etc.) and could not raise funds to return home
Homelessness has become more and more relevant to me since college, especially when the recession hit and my family had to downsize from a five bedroom house in the Antelope Valley suburbs to a two bedroom apartment closer to the city over five years. Yes, we've lost the luxury of space, but I've watched as millions of Americans lose their homes and possibly get closer to the bottom edge of the middle class and below the poverty line. I was lucky enough to pool resources with my parents to keep us afloat, but what about the people that were on the streets before the recession hit? What about the very people that we were advocating for in college? They must have been feeling it more.
THE SANTA MONICA HOMELESS COUNTPhoto: Brandon Wise
Since then, service projects dealing with the marginalized 1% of the US population have stood out to me. The most recent project was last week, when I volunteered for the annual Santa Monica Homeless Count. Every other year, federal mandate requires cities to conduct an actual count of the number of individuals that do not have permanent housing. According to this report, over 50,000 individuals live on the streets in Los Angeles County -- and unfortunately, that's the largest number in the country. In Santa Monica, the number of homeless individuals remained the same in 2011, but dropped nearly 20% since 2009. The city hopes that in 2012, the count will show better results. This was different than any service project I had done before since it did not deal with raising awareness or providing immediate relief. By counting the number of individuals seen living on the streets of Santa Monica, we were helping the city proactively gauge the severity of the problem, identify areas of the city that the homeless population is growing and trends of movement that can help the city allocate its resources.
The count started at around 1AM in the morning. Sixty one teams of four were assigned an area of the city and cumulatively, every inch of Santa Monica was searched. Every alleyway, every staircase and every park along with every shelter. The police department was out in full force to provide safety for volunteers. My team was assigned a residential area near Lincoln and Pico Blvd. Not to mention, it was a nice neighborhood, full with plenty of luxury cars and apartment lofts to peer into as you drove by. It did not look like an area where a homeless person would stay; I doubted we would find anybody. But sure enough, we found people throughout the night. We found them looking through the trash bins of alleyways. We spotted them walking along the main street with their backpack of belongings, their destination God only knows. We found them living in old cars that stuck out like an eye sore next to the BMWs and Benzs parked on Euclid. My doubt was erased. The results of our count will be released sometime next month. The experience of taking part of the simple but very important event reaffirmed my passion for helping the homeless.
To find out more information about how to get involved with the fight to end homelessness in your community, visit the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness' website or twitter. You can also register to volunteer for the 2013 Greater Los Angeless Homeless Count.
If you're feeling inspired to get involved in more projects. Below are a few that I know of. Feel free to contact me if you want more information. I'm also open to more opportunities too, so let me know!
FEED THE HUNGRY EVENTS
Every Tuesday & Thursday - 12-2PM
Loyola Marymount University, meet at Campus Ministry
Prepare lunches and then deliver and distribute at shelter in Santa Monica
Ongoing, 7AM - 11AM
St. Francis Center, near downtown Los Angeles
Prepare breakfast and serve to the hungry
Ongoing
Midnight Mission, Los Angeles
Prepare meals and serve to the hungry, including families
http://www.midnightmission.org/
SOCIAL SERVICES FOR HOMELESS
Ongoing
Blessed Sacrament Church
Provide various services for their program that provides shelter, clothing, food and resources to those in need
http://hollywoodsocialservices.org/ - Jan 19, 12Google+ users, awake from your slumbers! Last week, Google announced its launch of Search, plus Your World. Yep, you read that right -- Search, plus Your World. It's meant to provide users with search results that are more personal and relevant based on what people in their existing social networks are consuming and sharing. For many fans, using Google is already very much a life staple. Over the years, it has given us the ability to find information about anything and everything in a matter of seconds from our computers, cell phones and tablets. Now, the G wants to take it a step further, but this time it wants to show the world just how it can and will claim its stake in social networking. (Google has attempted and failed in the past when it comes to competing in the social space. Think Wave, Buzz, etc.) Check out the video...Sounds cool, kind of. Being able to see what your friends have shared may or may not be something I want to know when I'm researching something. I'm not sure, yet. As with any big website's overhaul, you can expect that criticism that ensued. The most visible of them all was a statement released by Twitter:
“For years, people have relied on Google to deliver the most relevant results anytime they wanted to find something on the Internet.
Often, they want to know more about world events and breaking news. Twitter has emerged as a vital source of this real-time information, with more than 100 million users sending 250 million Tweets every day on virtually every topic. As we’ve seen time and time again, news breaks first on Twitter; as a result, Twitter accounts and Tweets are often the most relevant results.
We’re concerned that as a result of Google’s changes, finding this information will be much harder for everyone. We think that’s bad for people, publishers, news organizations and Twitter users.”
Why would finding this information be so much harder? Well -- here comes the game changer. One is quick to realize that after browsing through the new personalized results, yes you do see a good amount of personal recommended links that show up in results as your search. But many of them come from people who have shared them on Google+.
Here's a personalized search result that I did for Las Vegas:The topic of Las Vegas is highly talked about within my social network. Tons of friends going on any given weekend. So in this search results page, what do you notice as marked by the red boxes? All of the results come from items shared through Google+. Not Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare or any other social network. After doing more searches, I've noticed a few tweets appearing here and there, but for the most part, Google products (Reader, Blogger, etc.) are favored in the search results, no doubt.Is it fair that the site that dominates in search completely bastardize other social networks' content in their new personalized feature? Some think so, as the European Union has begun a formal process to decide whether or not to file a formal complain against Google for its "misuse of its market position." We'll have to wait and see what happens.It's also a debate about whether or not personalized search results means results that are actually better. For example, in my search for Las Vegas, you'll notice the image results show photos that I posted on Blogger that have to do with Vegas. Out of the 5 pictures displayed, it's questionable on which depict Vegas in some sort. Personal? Yes. Relevant? Kiiiind of, maybe.WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUGoogle Search plus Your World means several things for normal users who use Google to search for information as well as use their suite of products as well as marketers.Incentivized use of Google+ and Google products - If Search Plus Your World develops into a mainstream feature of Google, then the use of Google+ becomes increasingly weighted in the whole idea of sharing with your friends. You'll get more out of sharing on Google+ as compared to sharing on Facebook or tweeting on Twitter. You'll get more exposure and traffic writing on Blogger than you do on Wordpress or Tumblr, since Blogger is a Google product and given priority in display. The things you share will have lasting/eternal viral capabilities in the future rather than the short lifespan they have now in the chronological fashion news feeds are currently designed. All of a sudden, Google+ is back in the game.
Google Pages is critical to SEO - If you have a fanpage on Facebook, you can essentially forget about it. With Google's new search, personalized results show as high as the first page. All of a sudden, the engagement of the +1 and share functionality of Google's once laughable attempts at social become a BOOM moment. As a marketer, it'll be absolutely necessary to build up a following on Google+ using their brand pages and engaging with followers and getting them to share and +1 your content and page altogether. The more fans that engage with your Google+ brand page, the higher and more frequent it will show in personalized search results.
I think it'll be interesting to see how users react and adopt/adapt to the new search features. It's a legit attempt by Google and something is definitely there in making things more and more personal (or at least giving people the option/opportunity to have it that way.) We'll just have to wait and see how this whole movement in search evolves.
Talk about a game changer. Here's a tweet that I saw that made me laugh: - Jan 13, 12
This weekend is Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. I'm pretty excited about it because for the first time ever, I actually have it off! In past years, my office would observe President's Day in February but we would come into work for MLK. This holiday weekend nicely caps the long streak of four day work weeks for many of us, and many will of course go all out and enjoy the liberty of having no work Monday, some will head out of town to places like Vegas, others will maybe do a little shopping. I myself didn't find out that my office was going to be closed until the middle of this week, so as I've been looking at what is going on I thought it would be cool to share a few ways that I think would be cool to celebrate this occasion, now twenty five years old.
5 WAYS TO CELEBRATE MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. WEEKEND
1. Watch the famous speech - I Have A Dream is one of the most famous speeches of all time, but my gut feeling is that not many people have watched, listened or read it in its entirety. It's a damn good speech, one like any other made by even the best speakers of our present time. It's one of those speeches that doesn't drag and keeps you saying woah. If you haven't yet, take some time and check out some of the original footage.
2. Serve and volunteer - In 1994, President Clinton signed into law the King Holiday and Service Act which challenges Americans to "transform the King Holiday into a day of citizen action volunteer service." Since then, many cities and organizations have used this weekend in January as a day to engage normal citizens into service projects throughout schools and community centers. If your around town and looking for something to do, look up what's going on. The Huffington Post made it easy this year: MLK Day of Service 2012 in LA: Where to Volunteer & How to Help and lists at least 10 opportunities around LA. You can also visit http://mlkday.gov/ to find opportunities near you.3. Help Haiti - Unfortunately, Dr. King's holiday/birthday will forever now share the tragic anniversary of the earthquake that shattered Haiti to pieces in 2010. Two years later and reports still talk about much of the work that needs to be done. Officials say that only half the rubble has been removed and thousands of people are still displaced. Imagine that. On my Tumblr this morning, I shared an awesome article by GOOD that talked about Five Simple Ways to Help Haiti. Among those opportunities, the chance to donate $20 to provide a new stove for a family, or help build new schools for as little as $5. If you're feeling very ambitious, you can provide the funds for a wheelchair or even a prosthetic limb for a child who lost some in the earthquake.4. Enjoy your nearest National Park - Ok, so this one stretches a bit in its relation for Martin Luther King, but the National Park Service has done it in his honor. This weekend, a series of National Parks that charge entrance fees to visitors will waive them. Get out there and save your money! One of the parks includes the Grand Canyon, which I visited last year...and had to pay. So to know there's a time in the year where you can get in for free is kind of cool. Check out a list of participating parks here.5. Party - Finally, the one you've been waiting for. If none of these four hit the spot (which they should,) then go ahead and party on, player. There are several free events happening throughout southern California, which include a free concert in San Diego and a parade in Los Angeles. Not to mention, the Clippers and the Lakers face off again on Saturday, but that doesn't mean that's all you should look forward to all weekend!Whatever you decide to do, live this weekend (and hopefully from now on) with one of Dr. King's famous quotes: Life's most persistent and urgent question is: "What are you doing for others?" Happy MLK!!! - Jan 05, 12
Believe it or not, you may be richer than you think. In an article posted on CNN yesterday, calculations by World Bank economist Branko Milanovic suggest that if you make $34,000 a year or more, then you are considered part of the world's richest 1%. What's more interesting, but definitely not surprising, is that half of the world's richest people live here in the United States.
It definitely puts things into perspective, and for many of us, a brighter light to think about things. Along with the statistics of where in the world the richest live, the article also talks about the growing global middle class. When aligned with the rest of the population, people who may be considered in poverty here in the US are actually part of a growing middle class around the world. "The true global middle class, falls far short of owning a home, having a car in a driveway, saving for retirement and sending their kids to college," according to the article.
Even if you are still in college, recently graduated or even unemployed, you can't deny the truth found in the entire range of American lifestyles. We have it good. Some better than others, but all of us have a good chance at having it better than the rest of the world. It kind of echoes the countless reminders of my dad talking about how lucky I was to be born in America. And let's face it, even if you don't make $34,000 a year -- this figure only talks about the one percent of the world's richest people! To begin to thinking about the world's richest 10% or 25% should only lead one to an encounter of undeniable reality...and hopefully, gratitude.
THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT
Applying this to the Occupy movement that sprouted in New York and spread throughout the country last year, and without belittling or taking away from the important work of protesters and organizers, let's just scale back the scope of who we're talking about and look at the entire world. Who is the 1% now? Are you still the 99%?The Occupy movement has made a loud and clear stance to demand better values from the "1%." Things like better corporate citizenship, fairer rules of trade and economic policy, a more efficient structure of government that stands by the people on Main Street. I believe in all of this, yes...But perhaps as we continue to fight for these modern day changes to (American) politics, society and culture in the angry and passionate fashion that we do, it is definitely fair to say that the world's 99%, all 6.7 billion of them, are hoping we do the same. - Jan 04, 12Happy New Year, friends.2012 will be a year of great experiences and relationships. On the tangible side, it will be a year of photographs and videos, new foods and recipes, not to mention more miles and weekends of travel with the ones we love. On the deeper end, this will be a year of true conversations, passionate projects and posts of nothing but utmost purpose. This year will be ours. :)
Celebrating the New Year in San Diego There's no looking back from here. At least not for now. God has blessed me with another day and hopefully three hundred and sixty four more to take my life to the next level. And with the help of this blog, I plan to do just that. For Christmas, my cousin gave me Stephen Covey's The 8th Habit, From Effectiveness to Greatness (a sequel to his bestselling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People). It's no irony that of the many books I've received recently, I chose this one to begin reading. And there is no coincidence that upon reaching the New Year, I discovered that the 8th habit is actually finding your voice and inspiring others to find theirs. More on my Stephen Covey journey as it comes (thanks, Sam!)For years, I have journaled about life for the sake of publishing posts to remember in the future. While I'm grateful for all of the memories that I have preserved, they haven't been quite instrumental to me truly "finding my voice." Yes, all of what I have posted has been reflections of the true me. But now, at a time in my life where my passions, interests, talents and values are just beginning to align perfectly in my horizon, I'm curious as to what more I can get out of my writing in addition to these many dear memories. How can I find my voice and help others find theirs?I have changed my blog address from thedeguzmanproject.blogspot.com to angelodignacio.blogspot.com. After nearly five years of hanging onto what used to be a visionary title of a documentary that I once thought of filming about my Filipino heritage, I have realigned my URL with a more personal address. In addition to the New Year's change, gone is the blog title Commencement of Thought. This was a perfect summarization of the context behind my writing in the past two years; life after college graduation, my thoughts on the real world. Moving forward, I'll be working to focus on some key areas on my blog and you are more than welcome to share your thoughts and opinions on what I publish. These topics have now made the new title: SOCIAL MEDIA, SOCIAL GOOD, SOCIAL LIFE.From my updated About page:Now in my twenties, I'm passionate about social good and social media. As humans, we've got a lot of work to do to make the place better for future generations. But as young people, I believe we also have the means to find our voice along the way.
I hope to share with you the truths of this world (from the perspective that I see it), the passions of the people who are working to make it better and the ups and downs of discovering and processing it all as a young adult. To me, this is where I can most strongly find my voice and possibly help others find theirs, too.
So, let the voice finding begin! I hope you join me in another year of sharing and writing 2012 into an epic series of thought. Here's to an exciting year! - Dec 30, 11
New Year's Eve 2010 in Valencia with Leezel, Nate and Ivan Another year. Where did it go?I would say that New Years is one of my favorite times of the year for reflection because of the tremendous opportunity to look back at what you wrote and think to yourself, Damn, yo, what a year. Sometimes, this self reflection is a mixed bag of good and bad, as life folds itself out to what it naturally becomes. There are the highs and the lows, the exciting moments and the dry valleys of you know, the same ole' shit. Either way, it's a time to get HYPED for what's in store: a much needed new beginning, or for some, a push to just keep on flowing with the good times. For all of my fellow bloggers, the last post of the year is often our very own chance at publishing the Writer's Note to our life stories. The epilogue to what we had attempted to portray in the past twelve months to those who tuned in. And so with another year coming to a close, I'm making my annual look back on 2011.In top shape on Valentine's Day vacationing in San Diego For me, it's the finale to yet another season of my life on Blogger. Several years (seven, to be exact) of capturing the times, writing down my thoughts, broadcasting my rants and sharing my goals. Yes, it has been quite a journey for this reality show that I call my writing. but through it all, there's been some true personal growth to account for along the way.
There's not much to say about 2011 other than it made me stronger, wiser and much more patient. I had my share of new life experiences, many of them which I shared with either myself, my family or with God. This past year was all about taking my moral compass out for a spin and really practicing and living out the things I believe in. If past years were all about building character, then 2011 was all about actually living up to it.
I was also called to open my eyes to the rest of the world. To acknowledge just how much work needs to be done for humanity and challenge myself on how to offer my skills, talents and passions to seek out a better place for future generations. This life is not just about the bubbles we live in. No longer do I live in the LMU bubble, the Los Angeles bubble or even my family's Filipino cultural bubble -- I am just as connected to the world as the slave workers in North Korea, the children in South Africa and the security forces working in the Middle East. Yes, I have felt enormous amounts of frustration, anxiety and helplessness in aligning my day to day with this epiphany of a global society, but at least for now, I have come to peace knowing that as the year comes to a close, I begin the next with a mind that is more compassionate, more willing and much more aware.
And so this now leaves me with prefacing 2012 and the many bookmarks in time it will bring. A US presidential election, the Olympics and maybe even the end of the world. By this time next year, freshmen who started college the year I finished will also be graduating, a very sober framing of time if you ask me. The new tax code that will no longer make student loan interest deductible will be in effect and, well, I'll be turning twenty five. Whatever else the next year brings in store for me or as a twist to any of these set events, I leave to God. For prayer was the root of this strength, wisdom and patience, I only wish to double down on it in 2012 and years to come.First mud run up in Castaic Lake Ending my 2011 epilogue with a lyrics from the most frequently played song in my iTunes. For anybody who is ending the year tired, worn out and exhausted from staying afloat, keeping up or keeping things fixed, hang in there. Seek out the hope in this past year and use it to carry you through. 2011 may or may not have been one for the books, but keep your faith, alter your perspective and seek out the light in 2012.Hold tight, it'll be alright.Reach for the light at the edge of the dark.Reach For the Light, Tim Be ToldHappy New Year, world.-Angelo - Dec 22, 11
It's a tragic time for the Philippines. What seems as a yearly occurrence of natural disasters, this one is different. One that isn't getting as much traction in the media, probably because of the nature of the Philippines being such a typhoon prone region. People are used to this sad story. But the truth is that this tropical storm is the worst that the Philippines has seen in decades, worst in history for some cities. Given the world's economic crisis, the Philippines' ongoing battle for control in its own sea regions and the ever so continuing struggle of poverty of millions -- this storm comes with unfortunate timing.
Things like this really put things into perspective. It takes everything one could complain about and shuts it up as irrelevant and self centered. I thank my faith for helping me keep life "in focus," you could say. A faith that guides me to be thankful for everything in my life, to be compassionate to those in need. Knowing thousands of people are getting screwed over the weather while I sit pretty in Los Angeles is something that takes humility to accept. One of my parents this morning posted a Facebook status update about the washer at my new apartment being incompetent in thoroughly cleaning the clothes. I thought to myself, really?For anybody interested in helping out to the Typhoon relief, cash is best. In times of catastrophe, many people genuinely look to donate what they have to victims in need, such as blankets, water, clothes, etc. While this is much appreciated, the most needed resource for first aid responders and crisis managers is cash money. Goods cost money to transport and resources/time to allocate throughout the region. Cash allows for operations to continue on the ground, with personnel already on the ground.While there are many places to donate, I am defaulting to the Philippine Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org.ph/Lastly, on a totally off topic but somehow (emotionally) related to this tragic event, the new Air Jordans come out tonight. That's actually how this post got started. I woke up this morning and read up on intertwining tweets of people standing in line this early for tonight's midnight release and people spreading the word about the death total rising above one thousand. After reading up on a tweet of somebody bitching about how they were annoyed with the five hundred other people in line with them at the mall, I took to my rant....99% of people in line for the #concord wouldn't be down to stand in line to feed the hungry. And you're telling me you're mad at the 1%?
— Angelo Ignacio (@aignacio09) December 22, 2011And the one more...
Filipinos: If you're buying the new J's, I'll call you out asking for a matched donation ($180) to the Typhoon relief. #openyourdamneyes
— Angelo Ignacio (@aignacio09) December 22, 2011My emotions ran something like this...
Boo hoo, Americans. Call me a party pooper, but this is your world. This is our world. You choose how you want to see it.For my Filipino-Americans, we're better than this. I know how big shoe wear is to some of us, including myself. But the timing of this shoe's release could not be setup better to test our character, our awareness and solidarity to those around the world. Side on the right side of the moral scale this time around.Just my thought. - Dec 15, 11
This morning, I noticed a great deal of articles relating to looking back at 2011. I'm a sucker for these. I always love recapping a year by it's best/worst/funniest/most whatever. Each year, I usually do an overall life post before New Years. I'll do that again for sure, but this time around, I wanted to put this list together of my favorite videos. Thought it would be cool to recap what was most interesting and inspiring to me, let alone a few videos that got a laugh as well. These are a result of the hours spent on Google Reader, Tumblr, YouTube and email. In fact, I can't say I remember where exactly I found a few of these. Of course, there are the inappropriate videos that were shared -- we all know those, but the following ten are clips that will always remind me of 2011. Enjoy!
MY FAVORITE VIDEOS OF 2011
HONORABLE MENTION: Grandma's Rendition of "Go the F***to Sleep"
Before we start the countdown, I had to include this one as an honorable mention. This one cracked me up! Maybe it's because more and more of my (Filipino) friends are having children, and so thinking about how my/our parents will be towards their grand kids is just outright precious. I know for sure my mom would have been making me laugh so hard if I taped her reading this book to little ones.
NUMBER 10: Canadian Cancer Society - Join the Fight
Although this video was uploaded in 2009, it did not come across my screen until earlier this year. A very serious video that depicts some of the truest and deepest emotions felt by the cancer community. It gave me chills, because most cancer videos you watch are very light and offer hope. This one was very angry and dark, but conveyed such a strong sense of rage and urge to fight this disease.
NUMBER 9: Toughest Place to be a Bus Driver
Caught this documentary episode on BBC (not sure what the title of the series) where people take their jobs and attempt at doing them in a different country. In this case, a bus driver in London takes his job to the Philippines and tries to see how driving jeepneys are. Nothing new about the hard Filipino life is shown, but it was definitely cool to see reality along with my culture get highlighted in a show like this.
NUMBER 8: the raid on zuccotti park
While I still don't know exactly my role/stance in the ongoing Occupy movements happenings throughout the country, this video definitely marks the attitude and tone of everything going on. Clips of average, every day Americans getting bitched at and at times roughed up by the world's finest police force -- with filmmakers on deck to document every ounce of it. Love the music choice of Frank Sinatra's New York, New York, too.
NUMBER 7: 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient - Congressman John Lewis
Saw this on Obama's youtube channel. Wasn't too familiar with Congressman Lewis' legacy, but listening to him speak definitely brought depth to where he came from, which was clearly in communion with a big part of America's history. Most politicians speak with such "Washington" tones, but this man definitely delivered something special in this interview for receiving the award.
NUMBER 6: Live Video: Crowd Roars as Mubarak Steps Down
I was particularly interested in what was going on in Egypt and the rest of the entire Arab Spring movement. Something about seeing people fight with everything they've got for something that I see so many of my friends and family take for granted is refreshing and inspiring, though tragic at the same time with many of the deaths that went down in the movement. This video is one that I'll remember forever -- the Friday morning before heading to work and seeing this on the news that Egyptian's ruler was stepping down. It was cool to see that big crowd kneel to the floor and begin prayers of gratitude at sound of his resignation. Truly a sight at seeing a country come together.
NUMBER 5: Now You Know: Lung Cancer Awareness Month
Very impressed with this video infographic which showed stats and information on lung cancer, the disease that claimed my own mom's life in 2007. November is the awareness month for lung cancer, which follow's Breast Cancer's month in October. It's very hard to promote the dangers of lung cancer, even though it is much more deadly that many cancers, taking more lives than many of them combined. This video was the first that I had seen that did an effective job in sharing the truth.
NUMBER 4: Chef John's Cooking Video Series
This is the only video series that I'm including on my top 10 list for 2011. Chef John is AMAZING. His videos really show how to make some good tasting food. I discovered him while trying to find things to cook one day with Leezel, could not believe how easy he was making things look. I've cooked probably five or so dishes using Chef John's videos as a guide and each time, dinner has been a success. I owe you so much, CJ! Below is a video that I used for cooking birthday dishes for my parents. Try it!
NUMBER 3: The Topsy Foundation - "Selinah"
Rounding out the top 3 of my favorite videos is a promotion video for The Topsy Foundation. This organization is involved in various HIV/AIDS work in countries that are experiencing the worst of it. And boy, does this video truly show a miracle. To me, this is the most inspiring video of the year. Hope is found all throughout it, especially at the end. This video is short, right over a minute long, but its effects will last with you forever.
NUMBER 2: (REMAKE) Love Language
Coming close to the top of the list (it was a hard call!) is a music video that pretty much makes you go AWwWwwWWW after watching it. Apparently, this is a remake of an original video -- but I like this one much more. Probably because the people are young and the music is pretty sweet. I think I like it because it shows the talent and creativity of the person who made it (I think he made it for a class video project.) Either way, props to this video for creating such impact. Definitely one of the very best of 2011.
NUMBER 1: 2012 Presidential Election: Volunteer for Barack Obama's Campaign
And finally, the best video of 2011. While this won't definitely be a surprise to many of you, there was no way that I could pass up on hyping up my top pick in next year's oh-so-important election. Believe me, I'm a realist. I'm not in denial at how the past four years have gone. Pretty shitty. Just taking a look at my inner circle shows at how the economy hasn't really changed. Tough times, most definitely. And that is why this video by Barack Obama is my top pick for rounding out 2011. One clip after another, I was swept away. This video reminds you of the hard work that's been laid out for us as a country, but more importantly it shows how far we've come. Yes, times are pretty weak -- but damn, Obama did all that? Much of what is highlighted affects my family and generation directly, so if you're feeling down about our president, or wondering what the hell he's done for our country -- watch this video. 2012, baby! - Dec 10, 11
As the summer ended this year, I made a decision to make an executive decision. I have always let my parents spend their money however/wherever they've wanted to spend it. My dad is his own person, and he's always respected what I've decided to do with my own time and money as an adult. So in return, I've never really meant to question any of the things they have done on their own as well.
Until recently, that is.
It's been two years since we moved to Valencia. You could say that my parents chose a high end apartment complex to live in. It is near the mall, walking distance to a Pavilions super market, and a place with lots of amenities. My cousins and I have even taken advantage of the private theater a couple of times, maybe once more before I leave, too. The pools are nice, and the place has a brand new clubhouse that anybody could use. It's great for parties. The unit my parents moved to was nice as well, very modern and contemporary living. They were able to get a garage and even manage to get their laundry in unit. I guess you could say that it was the next best thing after my dad and I eventually downsized our lifestyle from the estate kind of living that used to be when my mom was alive. Thinking more about it, I never questioned why we moved to Valencia, I just went with the flow. After all, God makes things happen or not happen, and so as Valencia turned up in my family's cards, I figured it was all part of the grand plan. Of course, in a way, it was."Thinking more about it, I never questioned why we moved to Valencia, I just went with the flow. After all, God makes things happen or not happen, and so as Valencia turned up in my family's cards, I figured it was all part of the grand plan. Of course, in a way, it was."
With no doubt, Valencia has been great. First, it helped me cut my rent budget in half. I still help my parents with the rent and I get to put more towards my student loans. It's amazing to look at what kind of damage I've done to my loans in the past two years. I'm very satisfied! But even more importantly, besides the financial benefit to living at home (while still helping out), it also meant that I was living close to my cousins. That's really where God saw it, I think. I'm not sure how I could have built my relationship with my cousins who are mostly from the Valley to what we have today if I continued to live in the South Bay or even on the west side after college. And in actuality, I never thought about this benefit when I chose to move back home. It was more of something I came to realize as the past two years unfolded.
Valencia sounded like it was working out until I started noticing that my parents were on a straight track course to a very deep financial hole. Sure, our move from my old house to a smaller apartment was a good start, but it didn't seem like it was enough. Especially with the economy continuing its decline and job security not improving for any of us, the rent that we were paying here seemed to become less and less worth it when you compared it to the overall picture. My parents were saving close to nothing and rent was taking up a ridiculous part of their budget. No bueno. Not to mention a garage that we were paying for that was practically being used as a storage unit instead of conveniently assigned parking for our cars and the amenities that we were hardly ever using, I started thinking what was up.
A HUMBLING INTERVENTION
I didn't say anything at first, but after it became evident that my parents were struggling to keep up, I stepped in. I backed my Emergency Funds and even did some side hustle on late nights and weekends to cover for an apartment that was flat out too expensive. Tough times, I thought to myself. Must be the economy. But after two years and a financial outlook that wasn't looking much better, I wondered if there was something more we can do. So as the summer ended, I took my parents to dinner and broke it down to them that we had to move out of Valencia. I made a firm and pleading call that living in the American suburban lifestyle was not in our best interests, and actually, it was something that neither of us could continue to afford or sustain. While I haven't written about it much, finances have been very...crisis-like these past six months. I felt it was time my parents got the wake up call.
I was kind of nervous to what my dad would think because for the past decade, he has become accustomed to suburb living. But in a separate and private conversation, I drew out the story of what the consequences were if we chose to do nothing. I made the case that our ignorance to the reality of today would set back any chance for our future generation to prosper (my future kids.) In a very dramatic, but very real way, I talked about how we needed to fight to prevent a cycle of poverty coming full circle. I talked about how much we as a family have progressed in the past thirty years. From my parent's immigration to the United States, to raising a generation to graduate from college. We had come so far that to continue living beyond our means and into a pile of unforgiving debt would be a sad low to our story. I reminded him that despite how shitty things look today and in these past couple of years, we needed to do what we could for them. It sounds kind of silly, but in a way, it is an angle of today's American society that could bring mine and my dad's generations together. I see politicians try this angle a lot, but it works best when you think about it with your own family. Doing it for them. Them as in, little ones. I think when I put that on the line, my dad got the message.
So, my family became unified in taking a pass at practicality. My parents needed to budget within their means so that they can save and avoid living to the very last dollar of every month. I needed to continue attacking my student loans and get out of debt. Together, we could stabilize our financial outlook and live life in a way that would benefit our future generation. What seemed very indirect became very direct in this effort. Do it for the kids. Putting the long term picture in focus seemed to work.
Today, I'm happy to announce that next week, my family and I are making a move to the Valley. We are cutting our rent budget by over $3,500 a year, not to mention saving on fuel and maintenance expenses in our commutes to work, which will be closer. We were very lucky to find a good place with decent space (I was scared we were going to be living in a tiny shoe box!) There are some added benefits to the move as well. Since the place we're moving to is a bit smaller (no garage), my dad and I worked to clear out some of our old things that have just sat in storage for the past two years. All day today we worked to organize things to throw away and give away, either donate or give to family as a gift. It felt really good to get this behind us. Almost like a healthy ending to a long, long chapter. I kept a few things, many of them that remind me of my mom. But for the most part, it's good to be able to let go. We need to.
I see this really as a new start, just like any move to a new place. Valencia was very good to us, and was a very good interim to getting caught up with life after what happened and getting focused on the future. Yes, it took a while, and in some ways -- my family isn't there yet, we may never be. But this is a very big step.
Lastly, I'm super excited to be even more closer to my cousins + relatives. Now I don't ever have to worry about driving home so late after we hang out. :)
Will post some photos of some of the cool old family belongings I find in the move. Here's one I snapped today. All five of my NSync collectible bobbleheads from the No Strings Attached album! Ha! - Dec 05, 11
A few weeks ago, I gave a speech at my fraternity's formal. Everybody knows how much I love Zeta Phi Rho. It was home away from --..., actually, it was my home for four years while I was in college. The brothers gave me a bond that I was so proud of. A bond deeper than one you share with house mates, and one more loyal and eternal than with people in your average student club.
As an alum, it's cool to look back and see what the bros are up to now and days. To see how much we have continued to grow. It's really cool to catch up with bros from my time, to laugh and joke about the things that we cracked up about in 2005. It's great to see the brothers who I crossed grow up and do their thing. Sometimes, it's hard to watch, because it makes me realize how much I miss college, but overall -- it makes me so proud.
I took Leezel as my date to formal. She wasn't really a part of my Greek life, but I took so many things from Zeta that she knows me for, not to mention my life long brothers that will be around forever. I wanted her to see the big part of where I came from. Of course, it's safe to say that I was a bit more crazier and partied harder at formals back in the day, but I think for that night -- the event was perfect.
My speech was about how far we have come and what will take us to the next fifteen years. I think everybody could agree with what I had to say, and I pray that our actives will take something from my speech and be inspired to make their mark on our young fraternity.
Thank you to the brothers for putting this formal together. It was a record breaker.Me and my beautiful date! Surreal I'm usually pretty good at these, but that night,
I was SO nervous. Could not keep my voice from quivering!With Brother Ronan. Five in, five out. Mu class (missing Mike) - they're growing up.
We're growing up.Thank you and good evening. Mr. President, Bao Duong, Mr. Vice President Ting Wee, to our formal chairs Mr. Mikey Garcia and Jason Luu and to our founding fathers present, Mr. Alex Zapanta, Mr. Ray Mandap and Mr. Franz Quiambao. Thank you to the actives for putting on this beautiful formal together for us, and thank you to three of you for joining us this evening. And to my brothers, all of my brothers, both joining me here tonight and those who join us in spirit, it is my great honor in celebrating with you all what I consider the most important moment in our fraternity’s history: the 15th Anniversary of Zeta Phi Rho.
I can’t speak for our founding fathers, but I can only imagine that as surreal as this feels to me to be here and see all of the new and young faces along with some of our long time friends together in one room, under one name, as surreal as that might be for me, it must be twice or three times as surreal to Alex, Ray and Franz and maybe those in our early classes like Alpha, Beta and Gamma class. From what I’ve heard, it was a cold night around this time of the year in Santa Barabra in 1996 when our founding class started the fourth chapter of a small but growing fraternity in southern California. A fraternity with chapters at the California State University of Long Beach, the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of Southern California near downtown. Who would have thought that a small private Catholic university would be in on something like this, this early?
For myself, it’s been a long time coming as well. It’s been six years since I crossed into our fine brotherhood, and it’s been five years since I shared a similar moment with many of you who are here tonight. In 2006, we gathered to celebrate our 10 year anniversary formal, as I’m sure many of you remember. I had just crossed the fall semester before, and for those of you who may remember, I was the newly installed president of our chapter. As I planned out the formal for our ten year, and many months leading up to it, I was extremely overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with what I had encountered, what I had witnessed throughout the pledge process, overwhelmed with the sense of brotherhood that was being displayed, but most of all, I was overwhelmed with what was at stake.
Everybody in this room knows the kind of struggle our organization endured in the mid 2000s. We were an organization that found itself in the deepest identity crisis that any brother in this organization has encountered. We were a brotherhood desperate for revival, a fraternity that was on track to writing and finishing the last and final chapter of our story at Loyola Marymount University.
Perhaps overwhelmed is an understatement.
I remember sitting in my seat at the formal in 2006 and listening to Alex speak briefly to us all, and I remember hearing him say, “I’ll see you all at the 15 year formal!” -- and I thought to myself, What is going to take for what he just said to become reality? What will it need to happen to make sure that is the truth? What do we need to do to make sure what Alex said is our destiny?
You can imagine that tonight is a very surreal moment, indeed.
Leading up to our 10 year formal, we had crossed 9 associate classes. And tonight, 5 years later -- we’ve crossed 9 more. We have welcomed more than 30 brothers to the Delta chapter since 2006, each one of them with a story as diverse and unique as the stars in the sky. Tonight, our chapter remains strong and our brotherhood remains true.
In order for tonight to happen, each of us has had to own up to our identity, define for ourselves who it is we want to become and live up to what who we say we are. That is why, I have some much gratitude for Iota, Kappa, Lambda and Mu class who pledged and fought for everything we were in the mid 2000s and reestablish the things Delta chapter is known for today: loyalty, brotherhood, humility, diversity, talent, leadership, love. We are men with goals, values, priorities, dreams and great ideas.
So like I said, tonight we celebrate the most important moment in our fraternity’s history. The departure from a decade of our deepest trials into an era of unknown struggles that I know for sure we will overcome.
To everybody in this room, I share with you all tonight, what will carry this chapter for the next 15 years to come. A commitment to character, and once again, defining for yourself who it is you are and the man you want to become. Starting with a look inside yourself will only bring back to Zeta Phi Rho the genuine brotherhood that results from inspiration and admiration of all in our chapter. A never ending focus in our individual character is what will feed this ever so burning flame that all of our brothers in this fraternity have noticed has been relit strong and rekindled.
Present day, our chapter lacks a unified and consistent effort on philanthropy. Some would say, including myself, this is in fact the missing piece that is needed to bring our chapter to the next level. A level that would secure our moment in history and would glue the bond and loose ends of every aspect of our chapter. For 15 years, we have combined each associate class to form an active body and our energy has focused internally on our own structure, our own growth. In the years to come, we can only build within our walls so far and so much, and when we reach out and as one chapter commit to not only the well being of our active body, but the well being of our community -- then a blessing of purpose shall be born.
FInally, my brothers -- the bridge between active and alumni is getting longer and longer. As alumni, it is our responsibility to continue to provide whatever we can to our young brothers in undergrad. While many of us have started families, some of us, including myself have started businesses, do not ever forget that we also started a brotherood - 15 years ago. The need for a better alumni/active mentor relationship is now bigger than ever. It gives our actives a look into the past, as well as a a guiding light to the future. Tonight, I want to thank my own mentors, Mr. Gary Dyogi, Mr. Mike Perucho and Mr. Paolo Fernando -- for being strong mentors for myself both as an undergrad and even now as alumni. The brotherhood does not stop upon graduation, and in fact -- the essence of our character, the tradition of our Zeta family can remain stronger than ever if we continue to actively provide a mentorship to the active body who at times, speaking from experience, can feel so in the dark. I know our early classes did not have mentors with a large alumni base, and that is the very reason our long term focus must include a wholistic chapter approach to planning and guiding our chapter to the future. Because of our strength.
Character, philanthropy and mentorship. When writing this speech, I thought about how it felt to sit in my chair at formal in 2006 and ask myself those questions about getting to tonight. For any active sitting in their seat tonight, who may wonder those same things, I hope you look to these three aspects as your light to future.
So with that, I want to end by saying. I’ll see you all at the 20, the 25 and the 30 year anniversary. Cheers, brothers! - Nov 30, 11
After nearly five hundred miles of traveling, another successful holiday weekend is in the books!
On Thanksgiving morning, I was up and early to volunteer with my dad at the Cathedral. It's a tradition they have to get together early before mass to prepare meals for those in need. I have always wanted to volunteer on Thanksgiving after hearing what how my friend and his family actually go out at night and hand out meals and eat with the homeless. The service opportunity wasn't any more special than any other morning, the needs of the hungry are equally as important everyday. But at the minimum, I felt called to serve that morning since the weekend was lined up with so much food and family -- giving a few hours at the beginning of the holiday weekend was the least we could do. I was really happy that my dad made it out, though. This was the first time him and I have volunteered together, he thought it was a 'very good' experience.After we were finished prepping the meals, my dad dropped me off at the train station to head to San Diego. When I got there, I made it to Leezel's house in time to help out with some last minute cooking. I made a special request for mashed potatoes because believe it or not, Filipino Thanksgiving may or may not have potatoes with the turkey! I'm glad I asked Leezel to make some, because I was right! Leezel claims that she doesn't cook, but I thought her food came out awesome. I'm a bad boyfriend, because I forgot to take any photos of her food. :( But if you ever read this, you did awesome, babe!Speaking of cooking, I ended up buying a kitchen set at Bed, Bath & Beyond on Black Friday. I was too sick (and broke) to get up early early and hit the lines for a TV or other fancy electronics. But by the time we were up and out and about, there were still some good deals around. I felt like this started set would really kick off my quest to better my cooking ventures.#chefangeloso The rest of the weekend entailed a lot of being lazy and Call of Duty (on the company's xbox live account.) On Saturday, Leezel and I headed to LA to visit my family. Super thankful that we're both willing to work harder on these holidays to accomplish that. We ended up seeing my dad's side on Saturday night and then my mom's side on Sunday.Leezel headed home early on Monday morning. 4AM early, nothing crazy for us. Thanksgiving was a weekend full of food, family and quality time - but the actual giving of thanks was nothing new for me. Last Wednesday, I talked about being thankful for my job. I'm super excited to share photos from our recent office renovation. It definitely was great coming back to the office after such a long holiday that people usually dread going back to work.More photos to come. - Nov 23, 11
It's 7:30PM, on the eve of Thanksgiving. I'm still at the office after (almost) finishing out the final touches to the office beautification project that my boss left for us to take upon ourselves to do while he was out for the holiday. Traffic...yes, there's traffic. So rather than sit in it, I choose to wait it out. Maybe I'll go to the gym, maybe I'll have dinner. A couple of friends are meeting in Korea town tonight, maybe I'll head out there. Not quite sure what I'll do, but Thanksgiving eve always has me in some thought. A lot of things on my mind, mostly good things. So, while people rush in and out of town tonight, I think I'll just unwind a little on my blog. :)
Traffic? No thank you. Tomorrow, I'm headed to San Diego to spend the holiday with Leezel's family. Maybe a little Black Friday shopping, but not counting on it after I saw a line forming today at Best Buy. We'll be back in LA on Saturday to swing by my family, hopefully catch church on Sunday. It's a short work week, but that doesn't mean I won't be counting on getting a lot of rest -- Leezel and I work extra hard during the holidays to spend time with both of our families.
Thanksgiving means the year is nearing its end. I'm already thinking about my favorite moments about 2011 that I'll share in a post before the New Year. I'm already surprised at the kinds of things that will make this one a year to remember: FaceTime, my cousins, my company, just to name a few that already stick out.Black Friday lines starting up early at Best Buy
Of course, you can't think about this holiday without thinking about the things you're thankful for. Off the bat, I know I'm most thankful for my restored faith in God. My relationship with the Lord has picked up this year, and it isn't just a fad or phase. Of course, it'll be something I'll want to build on, but so far, I'm so thankful that faith has played a big role in my life this year. Making decisions, dealing with people, growing as a person. All of it has revolved around working to build my faith. Without it, my life would probably be a shit show by now.
I'm also thankful for my job. Or my career, I should say. I've been blessed to grow in my role at my company over the past year, with only more to look forward to. I've opened up more to the people I work with. I've been able to share some ideas that have come to light (a few big ones that have to do with our current office make over project!) My job has helped me help my family, an experience unique to my generation, or at least a few of us. I'm thankful for the side opportunities that have come my way in the past year, too. For sure without them, life would be a lot harder.
An attitude of gratitude. It's something I heard a speaker mention in a recent youth ministry event I attended. Seems like an attitude that is keen to being thankful for everything is the way to go. I know some people that don't get how being thankful can bring them places, and tonight I'm glad that I've worked extra hard to focus on my life attitude this year in order to keep myself in check when it comes to thinking positive and never letting the bad energy get the best of me.
Damn, it's times like these that I wish I wrote more on my blog. I always want to work harder at capturing the times...because these are some trying times. And I have to admit, it's pretty sweet with moments like Thanksgiving to look back at how you described and talked about life.
I think Thanksgiving this year is a reminder for me to never stop writing. To share the things that make me happy, the things that have allowed me to grow. To account for the experiences that I'm so blessed to have and the life that I'm so grateful to live.
Happy Thanksgiving.
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Tweets
- God bless LA and God Bless D. Fisher, my favorite Laker of all time. Go get it, D. This is our city's sub-conscious apology for the trade.May 22, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Enjoyed a pleasant bike ride this morning on the way to my bus to work. Saved gas, avoided traffic, got my exercise. #allgoodMay 21, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- I've turned off the TV. If the Clippers win, then God bless 'em.May 19, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Somewhere out there, @YungBolo is teary eyed with redeemed emotions about this LA Clipper team.May 19, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Today will for sure NOT be the last Laker game. And for this, I am thankful!
- Thank God for free throws. Clippers should take note.
- Just made it home. Tip off in minutes. Best feeling to sit here, Corona in hand on a Friday w/ the sun barely about to set #lifeisgood
- For $75, This Guy Will Sell You 1,000 Facebook 'Likes' via NPR: http://t.co/WMiNIEmD
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Editor’s Note: Last week, after President Barack Obama endorsed same-sex marriage, Manny Pacquiao — the world champion boxer, Philippine congressman, and staunch Catholic — was asked for his opinion on the issue. He does not support gay couples’ right to get married, and early reports of his stance misquoted Pacquiao in a way that led readers to believe he had quoted an Old Testament passage that says homosexuals “must be put to death.” Pacquiao denies that he said those words, as does the author of the Examiner.com post that quoted him. He clarified his position on gay marriage in the Philippine press Thursday.
(via Lakers fans are most rowdy, worst tippers, says DTLA bar staff :: blogdowntown)
For the first time ever, all three sports tenants of Staples Center will host playoff games. While some fear the impending traffic jams, others wince at the idea of even more games where they have to serve fans who don’t treat them right.
(via G.O.P. ‘Super PAC’ Weighs Hard-Line Attack on Obama - NYTimes.com)
A group of high-profile Republican strategists is working with a conservative billionaire on a proposal to mount one of the most provocative campaigns of the “super PAC” era and attackPresident Obama in ways that Republicans have so far shied away from.
(via For $75, This Guy Will Sell You 1,000 Facebook ‘Likes’ : Planet Money : NPR)
Looking to get more popular on Facebook? Alex Melen will sell you 1,000 “likes” for about $75.
Melen runs an Internet marketing company. About six months ago, companies he worked with started coming to him more and more with a simple problem: They had created pages on Facebook, but nobody had clicked the “like” button.
“You would go there, and there would be two likes,” Melen says. “And one of them would be the owner. And people right away lost interest in the brand.”
For the right price, Melen can fix that.
(via Pizza Delicious Bought An Ad On Facebook. How’d It Do? : Planet Money : NPR)
What happens when two guys who sell pizza out of a window in New Orleans buy an ad on Facebook?
Super cool to see @stuffjrsays and @usetrippy featured in Entrepreneur mag! (Taken with instagram)
Gotta say, I’m hoping the President pulls this out in November. These close polls baffle me; but I’m just going to start working with OFA. A friend of mine joined in; it’s easy and you’ll meet some great people.
Who knows: might inspire you to start doing pull-ups, too.
See Wild Lions Up Close With The Beetle Cam (via See Wild Lions Up Close With The Beetle Cam | Geekologie)
Blind Man Goes for a Spin in Google’s New Driverless Car
In celebration of 200,000 miles driven without an actual human driver, Google has provided us a glimpse of just how powerful this technology will be for people who are blind. A video produced by the company shows Steve Mahan drive from his house to a local Taco Bell. Mahan is 95 percent blind, or as he puts it “well past legally blind.” As he turns into the driveway of Taco Bell, Mahan exclaims breathlessly, “How neat!” We couldn’t agree more.
[Video: Google]
This is fantastic.
Here is a video about Krystle (a 27 year old Filipina/Mexican with Leukemia) and her journey to find a bone marrow match. (by FindKrystlesMatch)
I discussed meeting President Obama and other stuff on Jimmy Fallon last night. Here’s a clip if you missed it. Part 2 of the interview is here.
Points for the POTUS impression.
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Info
- SummaryGraduate of Loyola Marymount University with a degree in Business Administration and a concentration in Marketing. Highly involved with philanthropy projects involving cancer awareness and support. Knowledge and experience in leveraging recent social media trends to promote brand awareness, community engagement and site traffic. Driven learner in the field of online marketing through various forms of new platforms today.Specialties: Social Media, Start Up Companies, Cancer Awareness, Event PlanningExperience
- Sept 2011 - PresentMarketing Coordinator / Trippy.com
- Nov 2010 - Nov 2011Business Development Associate / Lunch.com LLC
- Jun 2008 - Jan 2011Social Media Associate / Lunch.com LLC
- Jul 2008 - Jan 2010Founder & President / Team Alegre, Cancer Volunteer Organization
- Aug 2006 - Oct 2007Marketing Assistant / Elite Resorts & Spas
- Sept 2005 - May 2006Special Projects Assistant - Asian Pacific Student Services / Loyola Marymount University
Education-
2005 - 2008Loyola Marymount UniversityB.S. in Business Administration; Marketing Concentration
Additional Information-
Websites:
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