see a pearl form a diamond in the rough
December 5, 2023 I was remote-working in a café just beside Padre Pio Shrine in Quezon City today. There was a scheduled power interruption at the condo I live in, so I took a short walk down to the church for some quiet time and afterwards decided to just work…
I have recently incorporated a company here in the Philippines, and while I’m still a solo founder, I acknowledge the fact that I need a team to start and grow the business with me. Many years ago when I was looking for a co-founder for a startup project I’m building,…
A decade gone, now another one Some remain, so much we’ve gained The things we’ve lost, the wins we’ve claimed Love and longing, my God unfailing The source of all, every rise, every fall To You I trust, I will cry, I will call From this day on, here and…
I prayed for it, but I did not expect winning YES Philippines’ Startup Summit 2016 pitch competition. It is the first time I competed for our startup ResortsGuide, and with this win, we just got our first international recognition. Fast-forward to our prize, together with Acudeen CEO & Co-Founder Magellan…
First Published on Medium. On my way home today from my client’s office, I noticed the cabdriver was a bit loud singing along as John Lennon and The Beatles’ songs were playing. He was singing the lyrics wrong, and it was kind of funny. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.…
Above all aspects of online marketing, SEO still is my first and only true love. For those who do not know, SEO is short for search engine optimization. It is the process of attempting to improve a website’s (or any of its pages’) visibility in the search engine’s unpaid results…
Lately I’m being reminded of one of the greatest and handiest things I learned working in a startup environment, specifically from my ex-boss and friend Quentin Bouche: FOCUS. I met with one of my partners tonight, and he kind of sensed I’m trying to be Superman carrying the whole world…
Published also on LinkedIn. One thing I’m utterly proud of at the moment is that I love where I belong now and I love what I do. I was lucky enough to be able to discover my calling early in life. I’m 25 and I’m glad I don’t have to…
I listen to this song on full volume now, and I’m suddenly soaring through time, being transported six years back to the day we brought him to his final resting place. His name was Daniel. Daniel Lescano.
I was single back then, newly recovering from a broken heart and from a long series of weekly night-outs with my best buddies Edric, Ian and friends. I figured it’s time I get a real, decent job after months of living on irregular income. Enough of hungover mornings wondering how…
More than half of my birthday month is over, and I’m launching this site. I registered this domain name almost two years ago, but I’ve never had the courage to make it live up until now. There are so many things happening at the moment, so much on my plate…
Revived by Wayback Machine It’s hard to discern which path you are meant to tread when one is inescapable and the other’s the one you’re rooting for. I’ve had one too many crossroads in life, and they each had their own share in leading me to where I am now…
Revived by Wayback Machine About a week ago, I was in an office room sat around a conference table with a bunch of writers and writers-to-be, or so I assumed. It was an orientation for a web content writing stint I got through JobStreet. At that time, I wasn’t so…
Ang sarap ng simoy ng hangin. Dama ko mula sa loob ng sasakyan ang ganda ng klima ng Tagaytay. Ramdam na ramdam..lalo na pag ganung dapit-hapon. Nakakain na ko ng isaw at nakapagsoftdrinks na pero apat pa lang ang mga pasahero pa-Calamba. Sumakay na lang din ako at umupo sa…
Pulitika ang isang paksang kina-aadwa kong isulat. Marahil kasi kahit anong gawin mong paghinuha at pag-analisa, hindi mo maaalis ang baho at duming kakabit ng pulitika..sa gobyerno, sa kapitalismo o sa kahit saang aspeto. Andiyan na iyan at hindi mawawala. Pero hindi ko mapigilan ang pagkatakot at pagkaasar; pati ang…
Kung hindi umuulan, sobrang init naman. Maalinsangan ang paligid kahapon, tirik na tirik ang araw. Mag-aalas dos ng hapon na yun. Wala kaming mapuntahan ng kaibigan kong si Edric. Si Edu naman, isa ko ring kaibigan, hindi pwede dahil duty sa SA (Student Assistant). Iniwan na namin sya sa DevCom…
Published in Los Baños Times 2008’s magazine, In-Focus. “When I came here in 1939, I was so fascinated by the beauty and splendour of Los Baños that during that moment of my life, I prayed to the Lord, dito na sana ako mabuhay buong buhay ko (I wish to live…