Live it Up. Live it Big.

Belfort Tower, Brugge, Belgium Arrows that point to an...

Wed, 23 May 2012 19:05:11 -0400

Belfort Tower, Brugge, Belgium

Arrows that point to an infinitely beautiful townscape. The highest point in Brugge towers before a small square with horse-drawn carriages and food markets. I’d definitely come back here for the lovely city - and Belgian chocolates.

Santorini 2010. That year was the first time the island has...

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:01:20 -0400

Santorini 2010.

That year was the first time the island has graced snow after such a long time. We were lucky we had the sun when we arrived in November 1st. Santorini unexplainably has the most beautiful view of the sunset and and white-washed domes lining a caldera. Take me here for summer?

Pretty sunset while going down the winding road of Antique. We...

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 01:47:14 -0400

Pretty sunset while going down the winding road of Antique. We had to pull over :)

And there was light. Santorini, November 2011.

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 05:29:03 -0400

And there was light.

Santorini, November 2011.

Where the sky and the city are mapped out. For a winter day in...

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 05:26:42 -0400

Where the sky and the city are mapped out.

For a winter day in late December, it was surprisingly endurable a thousand feet above ground. Or maybe my senses just paid more attention to the sights. One of the best mornings, ever :)

Ateneo de Manila University, School of Management This is it. I...

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 04:58:00 -0400

Ateneo de Manila University, School of Management

This is it. I am graduating tomorrow! It’s been a wonderful 4 years but it’s time to make them proud :)

"Hinding-hindi dapat mahiya ang mga taong nangahas na sumubok at nabigo; sila ang pinakamatagumpay na..."

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 20:44:54 -0400

“Hinding-hindi dapat mahiya ang mga taong nangahas na sumubok at nabigo; sila ang pinakamatagumpay na tao sa mundo.”

- Ken Abante, Ateneo Valedictorian Class of 2012 (via spacesofsound)

December 2010. Taken during a walk around Cimitiere du Pere...

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:17:00 -0400

December 2010. Taken during a walk around Cimitiere du Pere Lachaise.

I don’t have a thing for roses but the fleuriste had really pretty ones for winter season. If I hadn’t slowed down a bit, I wouldn’t have noticed them at all.

November 1, 2010. On a 6 - hour boat ride from the port of...

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 06:14:00 -0400

November 1, 2010. On a 6 - hour boat ride from the port of Piraeus to Santorini, Greece.

Cheaper than a plane ride with the added perks of viewing the Ionian islands, scattered across the Aegean Sea. I always dreamt of sailing on a boat in exotic places. That was the closest I could get - vivid blue sea, white-washed houses, blue domes, rolling hills, the most spectacular skyline, a ferry and good friends.

Midnight in Paris. December 30, 2011. My last view of the Eiffel...

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 00:00:05 -0400

Midnight in Paris. December 30, 2011.

My last view of the Eiffel Tower up-close. I had an unsettling feeling of not being able to see it sparkle differently during midnight, just right before its lights completely shut out. So at around 11 in the evening, I took the Parisian cab to La Tour Eiffel and waited for the clock. I was lucky enough to buy Nutella crepe right before my favorite crepe store closed.

It was worth it. The play of lights was blinding, as sparkles of white randomly popped out from a dim, towering structure. Personally, it wasn’t the Eiffel at it’s prettiest, but it was most memorable.

Dylan Wilk Formerly the 9th richest man in the UK under the age...

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 23:34:00 -0400

Dylan Wilk

Formerly the 9th richest man in the UK under the age of 30.

Dad encouraged me to join a social entrepreneurship conference and it was absolutely one of the best ways I could have spent my time on that day.

I thought I’d never experience at an early age how it feels like to sit and be astounded by a real life version of a TED Talk (If you still don’t know what it is, you’re seriously missing out on the best of the web. Go to ted.com/talks). It’s the type of talk that empowers me to leave the auditorium and actually start doing something. This opportunity was so timely since I will be graduating college as a BS Management major in exactly SIX days.

Back to Dylan Wilk. He invented Gameplay at the age of 20. Under the age of 30, he could take a helicopter to work and owned Ferraris. Fifteen years later, he asks God, “Why am I rich?”. A feeling of existential angst clung to him despite everything.

Years later, he found out about Gawad Kalinga (GK), a Philippine organization primarily focused on building shelters through the Filipino spirit of bayanihan. He estimated that a wheel on his Ferrari could build 2 Philippine houses. The whole car? Worth 800 for 200 families.

To cut the long story short, he sold his car. Tony Meloto, GK’s founder, refused cash and convinced him to come to the Philippines to get involved. Today, he is a permanent resident of the country and actively involved in the organization. He also founded a social enterprise, Human Nature, receiving international recognition and start-up success.

The most striking thing about his speech wasn’t his story. It was that moment, when he delivered on stage, eyes lit up with so much energy and passion. His soul was alive, purposeful and bound by a responsibility for the other.

Nothing compares to having my first Churros dipped in hot...

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 10:54:43 -0400

Nothing compares to having my first Churros dipped in hot chocolate on a winter day in Spain. This has to be one of my best snack experiences ever.

Mar 12, 2012. Wat Phra Si Sanphet Temple. I had Thailand for my...

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 10:19:16 -0400

Mar 12, 2012. Wat Phra Si Sanphet Temple.

I had Thailand for my first jet-set experience with friends in Asia. The country was a fusion of things Asian and of buildings that kept up with modernity. Spicy and generous street food, crowded alleys, boat stations along the Chao Phraya River, golden temples popping out of neighboring concrete and the infamous show girls at Patpong.

Of all things, this area was particularly a beauty. Ruined and abandoned, yet still pretty. I think these are precisely what lent it an alluring presence. Wat Phra Si Sanphet was originally built as a private chapel for the King. It would be a huge understatement to render it our own understanding of how small a “chapel” is. Sun-baked bricks are sprawling everywhere. It also houses the ashes of kings. It immortalizes history in a way grasped differently by those stepping on the same grounds. It is haunting and beautiful.

"My life shall touch a dozen lives Before this day is done. Leave countless marks of good or..."

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:51:02 -0500

“

My life shall touch a dozen lives
Before this day is done.
Leave countless marks of good or ill,
E’er sets the evening sun.

This, the wish I always wish,
The prayer I always pray;
Lord, may my life help others’ lives
It touches by the way.

”

-

Bye bye, October. Memories from last year’s Oktoberfest...

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:50:46 -0400

Bye bye, October.

Memories from last year’s Oktoberfest at Munich. Strangers just coming together to have one hell of a great time!

Trocadero, Paris. September 14, 2010. Perfect skies, perfect...

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 05:45:00 -0400

Trocadero, Paris. September 14, 2010.

Perfect skies, perfect view, perfect disposition. Paris effortlessly teaches you to live in the moment.

elle: Street Chic: Paris A showgoer wears a vintage jacket,...

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 05:26:44 -0400

elle:

Street Chic: Paris

A showgoer wears a vintage jacket, Carven top, skirt, and shoes.

Photo: Courtney D’Alesio

September 2010. Chenonceau Castle, Loire Valley, France. There...

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 01:03:57 -0400

September 2010. Chenonceau Castle, Loire Valley, France.

There are some things I can better appreciate in retrospect. Nothing so special about this photo except that it makes me feel nostalgic for some reason.

en face du Louvre, Septembre 28, 2010 I think this guy has been...

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 20:06:00 -0400

en face du Louvre, Septembre 28, 2010

I think this guy has been blowing bubbles for years. I miss seeing this sight on sunny days - the huge square in front of the museum, the bubble man, teens rollerblading, the Louvre-Rivoli metro station, antique shops and beautiful skies with perennial jetplanes.

at Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris I miss being a kid.

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 22:52:29 -0400

at Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris

I miss being a kid.