While there have been many souls that made my life this year really colorful, there are those who were able to influence my mind and heart directly or indirectly and those who brought remarkable experiences, enabled me to reach new places, and steered my life’s direction beyond my expectations.

I want to make this clear that this is not a list of my favorite friends. I have plenty of friends that brought good things in my life in the past 12 months, and I cherish them always. They understand that their names don’t necessary need to be included in this list.

This year, to be different, I’ve decided to remove the numerical ranking of top 10 people of my life.

So let’s begin.

David Williams (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada)

David Williams is one of my web-development-clients-turned-friends in 2010. I worked on some of his marketing websites and developed graphical banners to increase his online venture’s visibility. David started to become significant in 2010 when there was a time when I needed serious help on something. Since then, I felt comfortable sharing what life is like where I live and we conversed about farming, snow sports, and pets. David is a mature guy so it was always interesting to hear his stories about his younger days in England. He is one of the persons that I know that consistently reminds me that I could succeed in the future.

Kelvin Flood (Dublin, Leinster, Ireland)

Kelvin Flood is a rare gem I found in 2010. A very direct and infinitely humorous person, he taught me a few Irish phrases, words, and jokes, that managed to make me giggle and laugh boisterously in the middle of the night. He was not really that new to me: I came to learn about him through our common friend named Shane, who was an avid viewer of my tech show. The joy this guy brought in 2010 came to its peak when he participated in my show and when he wrote my full name on Ireland’s snow. It really made me feel special. Who else would do something like that to me?

Beau Dylan Sinclair (Bright, Victoria, Australia)

After a petty misunderstanding that led Beau to “unfriend” me on Facebook in 2009, he resurfaced in my life again in 2010. Beau and I were able to re-establish as good online friends as it has always been since the first day we met. Strongly driven towards radio-related stuffs and passionate towards computers, he’s an “uber” geek with random humorous flair. Like what we used to do in the past, we talked several times on Skype video at night about random things and many times our conversations ended up with me seeing him falling asleep. We even had a virtual party and karaoke session on Skype video call. It’s crazy, I know, but his desire towards music is just very contagious. Whenever I record a cover for some songs, he would always be the first one to receive the complementary copy and the first one whom I’d ask for an opinion.

Chris Morris (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)

Chris Morris is one of my long-time online friends whom I was able to share many details of my life. He’s very smart. We would always exchange stories and debate tech politics when we had the chance and offer advice to one another during challenging times. In 2010, we communicated less frequently than ever though when we do we never miss to exchange life updates. I believe he intentionally decided to put himself hidden or busy on many chat programs so he could focus doing what he wanted to do. I think his decision was wise. I’ve wished early in 2010 that he would figure out solid objectives for his career path. Now I hope he was able to do just that. If there’s something I’d like him to become, I would absolutely prefer him to develop into a person he wants to become.

Brad C. (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)

It’s not very common that you encounter a stranger from the Web that would become a reliable and trustworthy friend. People are just wired not to give too much trust unless they see the person’s face. My Aussie friend Brad is just an exception. I met him from a website called Justin.TV in 2008 and although I’ve seen him a few times, I still consider him as the most camera-shy person in my life in 2010. Nevertheless, Brad is also one the kindest persons I’ve known. Because of him and the green screen he recently donated, my Tech Conclave videos turned better than ever in terms of their quality. In 2009, he escalated the quality of my show’s audio by providing me a condenser microphone. As always, his passion to deliver episodes for his own podcast show, the Tech Webcast, continued to amaze me as he did last year. I’ve consistently believed that he has this unique skill to socially connect to people more easily and it allowed him to do beyond a hundred podcast episodes and still increasing.

Gerardo Velasco (Los Angeles, California, United States)

Three years after we first met as colleagues in a web hosting company, Gerardo continued to be a very close person to me in 2010. We generally consider each other as best friends and we strongly intend to remain like that for life. For three years, he supported me in every venture that I do online and offline. Life was easier because he was around. He was there when I started Tech Conclave, he was around in countless times when I was in distress, and he was always a person who would appreciate what I can do. I felt the same for him as this guy’s very talented not only with computers but with music as well. Although 2010 put Gerardo in a much occupied position due to his tremendous work and studies, we never missed to share updates when we had the chance to do it. He also started to work on his own rendition of “Why Come, Why Go” – a song that I composed ages ago and something that means a lot to me. I cannot wait to meet him in person in the near future.

Tom Maxwell (York, England, United Kingdom)

I am very fortunate to have Tom in my life. We’re so similar in many ways especially when it comes to the outlook of life. In 2010, Tom spent several months away from home – he went into a camping in the United States to serve disabled people, to meet new friends, and to travel across the America. Prior to his departure, he introduced films namely “The Bucket List,” “Into the Wild,” and “The Lovely Bones.” These movies were something Tom and I can relate with as they underscore some important aspects of life and how to appreciate it regardless of its circumstances. Tom brought me so much joy when he wore the shirt I gave him when he went to the United States – it felt like I was there. He’s undeniably one of few people whom I always feel comfortable sharing my day-to-day thoughts with – somebody whom I’d like to sit together with watching the afternoon sunset. In fact, if I could “apparate” to Yorkshire, I’d do it every time Tom’s free so we could meet and chat. I know there were times that I’ve cackled too much information about myself, but he really didn’t bother. Although Tom lives in a very far place in England, very far from where I am, I would never waste a lifetime not to try working hard just to meet him.

Eric V. (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

Eric will always be one of the most significant people in my life and that will not change. I adore him so much for bringing positive changes in my life in the past three years and I vowed that if I get successful, I would absolutely visit him in Montreal. In 2010, however, I had to drift away from his company to welcome new opportunities. It was a very sad and a very difficult decision though I think it’s also smart one as I believed I would never develop much if I continue to be stuck under his business’ umbrella. I just want a job that lets me advance my skills, knowledge and wisdom, in addition to the financial reward.

Michael Bolton (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia)

Michael Bolton was one of the people that I met online in 2008 and since then we rapidly developed into very good friends. We shared ideas and insights about our lives and exchanged opinions regarding the life and politics where he lives – in the land down under. When he expressed that he wanted to travel across Asia Pacific for a month-long vacation, he accepted my suggestion to travel to some Philippines cities and he invited me to accompany him in that part of his trip for free. That way, we could also meet in person – and we did. I will always feel grateful to Michael for the fantastic travel enabling me to write a lot of new records in my life. For the first time, I experienced:

• Travelling by plane all by myself from Davao City to the city of Cebu where we first personally met; and during my return from Manila to Davao.
• Eating Thai foods in a Thai restaurant in Cebu.
• Entering a casino and eating in a posh hotel restaurant in Waterfront Insular Hotel in Cebu.
• Watching 4D film in Cebu and IMAX theatre in Manila.
• Seeing awesome fishes in Manila Ocean Park.
• Seeing an ice skating rink at SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.
• Visiting the island of Bohol where we saw the Chocolate Hills, the tarsier, and the nice beaches in the island of Panglao. We also experienced eating in a floating restaurant there.
• Visiting the city of Tagbilaran, Pasay, Makati, and the country’s capital, Manila.
• Sleeping in the 25^th floor of a four-star hotel in the Philippine business capital of Makati. The highest level I’ve ever reached and slept in a building.
• Visiting the SM Mall of Asia, one of the largest malls in the Philippines, and other posh malls in Metro Manila.
• Tasting Wendy’s and Burger King’s burgers, and Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
• Riding in a train (LRT) in Manila.

Those were just the highlights of my trip with him; there were way too many new things that I happily experienced. After traversing the Philippines, he continued his trip to Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore before returning to his country. If I ever get to visit, work and/or live in Australia one day, I will never hesitate to visit Sydney to meet him again. And oh, he gave me my first vegemite experience as well. xD

Michael Bowie (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia)

How frequent do you get to see a rainbow or encounter fireflies? I am asking you these questions because amongst all other things that happened to me in 2010, nothing can ever compare the rarity of Michael Bowie’s abrupt entrance in my life when he randomly visited my country to meet me and to know what life is like in the city where I live. I featured him as a Geek of the Week in 2009 and since then we remained online friends, although distant. He was someone whose online absence is something I would not worry about. Not anymore.

His random travel allowed me to visit some new places in my region. Together, we crossed the seas, explored the islands, and climbed hills and mountains. We experienced adventures, enjoyed sights, and made memories that we’ll forever carry in our lives. His glimpse of my culture, and his exposure to the people I’m personally connected with, made him learn about my personal life so quickly in a degree that superseded anyone’s knowledge that almost blew my mind. It even made me write about something, which I did, because I felt increasingly unfair not to let him know about myself fully. I was just glad how nice he was in person than how I first perceived him to be. Things can just be very different when you meet an online fellow in person.

Michael’s return to Australia left me unintentionally on shaky grounds. It made me question where I am now in my life. While I hold true to my words to work hard and to be more productive to achieve my plans, it was not in my expectations that our parting would cause great sadness, temporarily slowing me down. I would always search for his presence every day and I still am. It was only when I began to mend I realized that his two weeks stay with me were actually the most euphoric days of my life so far. At any moment each day I would recall the happy memories of the travel. And I’m ever fortunate that we continued to communicate despite the distance, otherwise things would be less manageable.

If things were all congruent, as I wished were so, I could easily consider myself as the happiest man in the world, at least for the moment. But like everyone else, I’m bound with challenges, and these very challenges remind me that there are still plenty of work to be done to make things happen for me to get closer with the people I want to meet and be with. Michael stirred and softened my mind and heart, forcing me to reset my strategies respecting the new circumstance – a circumstance that screams this person’s new significance in my life. It would be a pain to let him go now. Fortunately, he’ll continue to be around as we will be working together on my tech news network. Only the future knows where it will take us.

This post is one of my year-ender posts for 2009. This is about the top ten people outside my direct biological family that brought happiness, helped me, or significantly influenced or contributed changes to the perspectives and ways of my life as a dignified human individual. It was difficult to come up with this list because there were many good people whom my life engaged with this year, but the people below are the creams of the crop and the roses among thorns.

10 – Demitri Aleksejev (Chester, England, United Kingdom)

I met Demitri through the online tech show I established this year, the Tech Conclave. Demitri found my show through Dylan Comb’s Live Show and since then he expressed his support and became a tech correspondent for my Internet show. Through him, I also met online a new friend, Sean Jonze, Demitri’s best friend who also appeared in a Tech Conclave episode. Demitri is a smart young bloke who loves all things tech especially web graphics, gaming and video production. In most of our chats, we talked about our tech passion and exchanged wicked jokes. I’m always hit by his sharp sense of humor which I find quite amazing as it always made me interested to engage a conversation with him. He originally came from Estonia which means he has a rich Latin and Russian background. These are few things that made him unique on my top-ten list.

9 – Geoffrey Moffett (Coleraine, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom)

Geoffrey is a new friend who just surfaced this year. He is my first friend coming from Northern Ireland. I think he found me through Tech Conclave. We share same passion towards technology except he has strong liking towards Internet marketing and online money making. He is frequently a busy guy oriented so much on his online ventures which is really good. He had shared some web work to me this year and helped me through that. And yeah, he has an outstanding English accent that is unique among the rest of people on this list. I tried to mimic it with no success – LOL – but I’m not giving up. Geoffrey is a good friend and I feel there’s going to be a lot of business work we’ll share in the future.

8  – Brad C. (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)

I really never expected to become a close friend of an Aussie guy who just popped up randomly when I was broadcasting at Justin.tv a year ago. At first, I was so hesitant to believe about Brad because of his unusual behavior especially when you compare it with other people among his age. However, I recognized I was too quick to judge and he turned out to be a very good friend among the rest. In fact, I owe the existence of my show, the Tech Conclave, to him as he influenced me into podcasting and sponsored me a condenser microphone this year. We also created a podcast together, called Tech Webcast, which I didn’t really expect to last long. However, his unusual determination slapped me in the face, as he stunned me in disbelief when his show reached over 50 episodes and he was able to engage many people into his show.

7  – Dylan Combs (Cincinnati, Ohio, United States)

It was Brad who brought Dylan Combs on my table this year. He runs his own tech blog featuring a live stream show called Dylan.Combs.tv. When I formally met this person, I had initial impression that he was a strong influence of Chris Pirillo shortly after I started the first episode of Tech Conclave. Our first few conversations on Skype gave me the impression that this guy has an impressive vocal tone on par with the quality that I’ve usually heard from radio and TV broadcast shows which I really, really find attractive because it sets the bar up of his potential in becoming a great show host virtually on any broadcast media channel he likes. At first I was quite hesitant to befriend him because he seems rather dominant and frank person when I listened to his broadcasts. I later realized when I finally made him as a friend that he’s also very friendly, very supportive and very professional on the flip side. What more when you learn you’re on same boat? Well, it just escalated my desire to work with him, share geeky thoughts and things that we can only understand. LOL Dylan truly made history by becoming Tech Conclave’s first ever Geek of the Week, which soon he later became a very active tech correspondent.  He also contributed so much to the exposure of the show and through him and his live stream I met many new geek friends from around the world. He also supported me big time with the HP contest that I participated in September. He created a testimonial video and wrote a blog post in support for my entry. Such noble acts are things that I’d always remember and never forget in 2009. You will know how special they were for me when you learn that I consider him as one of my favorite online geeks. I hope that we meet one day. That would be freaking awesome.

6  – Michael Bolton (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia)

I met Michael Bolton online and became my first friend from Sydney. Because we share similarities when it comes to our orientation, he was always one of few people who can easily relate my rough roads. Michael strongly supported Tech Conclave and extended my attraction towards Australia. He also gave me opportunity to visit KFC a few times and I shared that joy with a few people around me. If I ever have the chance to visit his country one day, I’m sure he’d be on my list as one of the many people that I’d like to meet.

5 – Chris Morris (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)

Chris Morris got to be one of few people who know where to hit me humorously. He has been my close friend for almost two years now – and like everyone else on this list, I just met him randomly online. He is possibly the most expressive, well evolved, and very talented young Aussie I’ve met so far. He’s one lucky person too – when it comes to ownership of good computer systems. Hahaha. And that inspires me to work more to be able to gain them one day. One thing that I really appreciate about Chris is his dynamism in dealing with people, his out-of-the-box attitude (our similarity), and his strong passion towards technology (again, our similarity) and innovation. If in the future there’ll be a nice shiny product that people appreciate, I would not be surprised if the creator is named “Chris Morris.” Perhaps he’s one of few people whom I can trust to share and understand whenever my pent-up emotions go overboard.

4 – Dimitar Avramov (Plovdiv, Bulgaria)

I’ve written a few articles for Dimitar since last year for his online business. Since then, he became very supportive of me and helped bring me and my endeavor, the Tech Conclave, into spotlight. Since I met him, I was exposed to his online feats and activities. They made me form a deep inspiration of him and his ability to travel from country to country to do or to attend business events. I have strong feeling that he will play a huge role in evolving my personal, business, and career life in the future. I believe he’ll contribute some unique history in my life that no other person on the list would be able to rival. I’m prepared for that and will do my best to reciprocate all of them with good service and relationship.

3 – Bryce Thomas (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)

If I have one good friend that’s shrouded with mystery without question that would be Bryce Thomas, also known online with a codename "bilsta57." He owns a tech reviews blog with same name. I first met him on Skype earlier this year through Brad’s podcast called Tech Webcast and I was able to converse with him about many tech-related things for nearly a year now. I must admit the first few weeks after I met him I was totally awestruck with all his computer systems — it’s my first time to know a person and a friend living a geek’s dream in real life. Oh dear! He owns many computer devices and gadgets many geeks can only dream of (including myself). His Apple computer systems are just his little toys among his massive geeky collections. Unbelievable? Why not watch his YouTube setup video that garnered tens of thousands of views? The chair that I sit everyday can’t even compete his’. LOL. But yeah, enough envy. What makes Bryce mysterious for me is that for so long I’ve communicated and exchanged thoughts with him, I still have no idea what he looks like! I don’t have a single clue either so imagining has no use. However, I respect the reason underneath the clouds when he told me that he’s doing it for his own security. I think I can understand that. I’m just very grateful that he let me witnessed his true character that goes beyond his hidden identity and purchasing power. He overwhelmingly supported me this year when I joined an HP contest on YouTube. A level of support that gave me and a few members of my family some tears of joy. I may have failed to know what he looks like, but his act was enough for me to get convinced to understand the shape of his heart.

2 – Gerardo Velasco (Alhambra, California, United States)

I’m really glad that Gerardo remained one of the most special friends I’ve ever met online. This year, he has been super supportive with all my online endeavors. He actively participated on many Tech Conclave episodes and supported it through his talent and time. I trust him with anything without doubt. It comes from his distinct honesty, keen listening, and open-mindedness. He’ll probably become one of the friends that I will cherish and keep for life. I think he’s already one since last year. This year, we both experienced major crossroads in our lives that made us really busy. He’ll go to university soon so I expect that we’ll not be able to communicate as frequent as before, which I feel sad about. Even so, I’m confident to meet him one day and be able to share stories about our lives, work or do tech-related business together. And yeah, he was my first Hispanic friend. That’s special.

2 – Tom Maxwell (York, England, United Kingdom)

If Batman has Robin and if Harry Potter has Ron Weasley, I believe Tom Maxwell has earned the same place and importance in my life this year. I met him online through Chris Morris early this year and since then we get to know each other well. He listened my daily stories of happiness, joy, and sorrow – things that not everyone would be willing to listen. He simply made a difference. I am eternally grateful for the time he spent with me whenever he’s online and for his eagerness to share his own exciting life in Yorkshire. He has helped me a lot by becoming a good company of whom I can comfortably share my thoughts about the world and our evolving, yet contrasting lives, as they run parallel. I would never forget the person who made history with an Easter egg and good thoughts. Hehehe. Tom has really become a special friend for me — no doubt it’s something permanent, and I’d really work hard to reciprocate the good things he brought me this year and the years to come. We might meet next year – who knows – and that is something I strongly look forward and extremely excited about. Fun times, big times ahead! I’m sure we can celebrate our lives together as good friends.

1 – EV (name withheld) (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

Don’t ask, don’t tell. Always remember, that the list above is a result of my personal assessment only for this year. In the future, I will look back on this post and I will be able to identify whose people remained attached in my life.

Check last year’s top 10 here.

As far as I can remember, this marks my first time to be featured on a website. And it’s especially remarkable because they interviewed me because of the show that I’m running online.

I’m quite happy with the questions that were asked to me. They basically dug information about how I started with computers, what my computer programming skills are, and how I see myself in my future IT career.  Additionally, I was able to share an glimpse of my life when I was younger and the challenges that I’ve faced that have molded me to a kind of person I am today.

In the interview, B10WH expressed their appreciation for Tech Conclave and I’m super happy to learn about that, considering the smaller audience that I have presently with Tech Conclave. As you know, Tech Conclave is something that I’m really working hard for online besides my main job and despite technical constraints, I’m doing my best to steer the show to a good direction by being resourceful and patient.

You can watch my Tech Conclave episodes here.

I’m hoping that the interview would bring more viewers to Tech Conclave. It’s really nice motivation when people appreciate your hard work. It made me encouraged to produce more content for the show.

While my work may have contained my life in the four corners of my home, it also brought some unparalleled events and evolution not just in my life but also to others who were directly attached to me in the offline and online world. I personally believe that I experienced some things that you can’t get in a real office environment. Of course, I also recognize that there are also things I have missed. I guess I can just say “C’est la vie.” I think that if I was working in the city, it would have exposed me to different places and people. Unfortunately, that’s not my circumstance and that being said, I’m relying on my holistic dynamism and upbeat intellect that have brought advancements despite my situational constraints. I believe it will continue to push me forward in the next years to come. After all, I think and dream about my future every day and I parallel that with hard work.

Recollection and Evaluation

When I started my work 2 years ago, I had nothing else in my mind than just four goals that boosted my motivation:

• to find an opportunity to visit, work, and live abroad,
• to solidify my career in Information Technology,
• to make money to help my parents and brothers, and
• to find new special people that I could integrate and be part of my life.

My first goal didn’t happen yet; I kind of fulfilled the second one but not to a sustainable point due to changing circumstances; the third one is a continuous work and that’s evidenced by what I do online; and the latter, I believe I managed to find special people that are now part of my life.

The past two years working at home have taught me many things and brought realizations that I have presented in the past milestone posts listed below.

• 18 Months Home Work Performance as Freelance IT Professional and the Bed!
• 365 Days Of Home Computer Work
• My Workplace After Nine Months Of Home Work

Professionally-talking, I think being a freelance developer has a risk especially when you’re not eager enough to teach yourself to be better in your field of expertise. As in my case, I have no choice but to develop my knowledge. It’s the key to realizing my goals and it has always provided me ways through life’s obstacles.

What’s Ahead

As uncertain as the future can be, I can only pledge to be consistent with my hard work to realize the goals I have and to be dynamic with each new circumstance. I’m looking forward to meet my online friends, I’m excited to the development of my tech news show, to start new venture and engage more in online business, to hone my I.T. expertise, and most importantly, to fly somewhere. With all these goals I have, it only means there’s an opportunity to do more in the years to come.

Now to the gist: the clock just hit 12:00 AM! Drum rolls…I’m officially 22 years old! But whoa, the memory of my 20th birthday is still very fresh in my mind. Time flies, huh? It does.

Speaking of which, this year’s birthday is probably one the simplest natal day that I ever have. I don’t have plans of what to do today: don’t have any money to go/hang out or start a celebration and I’m clueless if my parents are going to do something special because they just spent a good amount of money recently from their modest income to send my two brothers in college this year – one of them is a senior college student and the other one a freshman. Anyway, who knows? I might get a surprise! However, it’s a thing I’d less expect. Life goes on.

However, despite the drought of celebration (I’m thinking about eating  my favorite chicken curry with lots of potatoes, fruit salad, etc), I’m happy because I got plenty of greetings and blessings from my online friends. Brad of Tech Webcast, for instance, sponsored a condenser microphone to help improve my tech news show, Tech Conclave. Hopefully when it arrives, I’ll be able to use it for the upcoming episodes.

I’m taking Tech Conclave (and all the other shows that I participate or co-host with) seriously because I believe that it brings a lot hope in realizing my dreams, helping my family, finding new friends, and reaching places that I can only think about for now – as well as meeting that special person dearest to my heart and rather one of the reasons why the show exists and I put so much effort into it. I’m also thinking of recording my karaoke songs and hopefully they’ll sound good enough for me to be able to share to the world. lol

My wish this year is that I hope my family’s health will remain stable and good, that all the relationships and things I’m involved with will improve, and I wish that the global recession will end so that I’ll not be choked anymore with all the bills and I will have more freedom. I don’t want to stuck here forever and I’m looking forward to reaching new places.

To myself: happy 22nd birthday! Thanks for being so productive, objective, dutiful, and persevering and hopefully one day you’ll find what you’re looking for. Everything that you do is a legacy that will remain in me.

In the past two years working at home as web developer, there have been so many changes in my life and simple things that either I strongly needed or wanted to have in my childhood. To cite some, I used to be sleeping and working on the floor now I have my own half a bed to sleep comfortably at night; I used to be working outside my house now I have a cool room to maximize my productivity. Last year, someone told me I’d be somewhere in Canada this year but the recession hammered that. However, it didn’t stop my life and I’m still hopeful of going somewhere and meeting the special persons in my life.

Last month, I received a small but extremely remarkable surprise from my good friend from Yorkshire, United Kingdom: I had my first glance and taste of a Cadbury Creme Egg for the Easter Sunday – LOL!!! Yes, you read it right, Tom Maxwell wrote history in my life by letting me have my first experience of Cadbury Creme Egg – something I never experienced in my childhood. Receiving such gift is my first as well coming from the United Kingdom! That sounds really posh to me.

So, without further ado, here’s how I enjoyed the Cadbury Creme Egg. Have fun watching me eating:

Life comes with surprises be it good or bad. The most important thing is that you enjoy every moment, to amplify the value of things that come into your way be it big or small, and to share what you can in making new records in other people’s lives. It might seem pointless, dull, and uninteresting, but you’d never know how much happiness you’ve brought to one’s life until you do so. So Tom, thanks a lot. This is something I will always remember and never forget. The act is as sweet as the Cadbury Creme Egg.

Here’s the speech the I delivered to them:

First of all, maayong hapon sa inyong tanan! (good afternoon to all of you)

It’s my utmost pleasure to be invited by our City Social Services and Development Office, to be here and to be a guest speaker of this induction of officers for the Pag-asa Youth Association (PYA).

I’m John Raul Joven II, I’m from Lasang, Paquibato District and I currently work for someone in Canada as web developer.

Many years ago I used to be an active participant to the Davao City Children’s Congress. Just like PYA, it’s a local government-backed program except that it focuses more on activities that advocate the welfare and rights of every child. I was a Children’s Congress officer both in our district in Paquibato and in this city for several years and I actively participated programs initiated by our city government which include but not limited to art workshops, children literacy campaign, leadership seminars, recycling, anti-porno and anti-gambling rallies.

Many people say that the youth is the best part of every man’s life. I think I can agree finally agree to that now that I’m grown up. Why I say this is that during my days of youth, it wasn’t completely pleasant and it was more like a bunch of difficult challenges and hard-time dilemmas.

My college years saw the worst part of my life so far. It was during those days that my mother was assigned to Marilog from Paquibato District as a result of our local government politics. It affected my family so much. My mother had to travel every day to a district very far from home at the same time she and my father worked really hard to support me in college, and my brother, who was studying in Davao City National High School at that time.

Knowing that I’m on the financially disadvantaged side, I decided to use those grievances to focus on things that makes sense, to be realistic yet optimistic, to be active in the community than repressive or passive, to be more productive, creative, and resourceful, than just wasting time waiting for help and to be totally reliant from someone which could be our own parents, our family members, our relatives, our friends, or our government. I knew back then that the best thing I could do is to do the best I can to improve myself without losing the quality of being humane and kind to others.

There in college, I started to realize that money doesn’t really improve a person’s personality, and having money does not necessarily mean it can make a person fully happy. I had classmates who are financially more capable than me. While they go out to eat somewhere or go to malls, I was stuck in the library working for my education and got so many questions in my head asking why I am working while other people of same age are enjoying their college lives after classes. How unfair was that?

It also recalled my experience when I was a kid when I sold bananas in NHA Ma-a and in CENRO office. While I was shouting and trying to get people’s attention and persuade them to buy bananas, there were instances that I asked myself why I was walking under the sun when other kids that I saw on the road were having parties, playing, and generally enjoying life. Although those events were painful, it made me think that there is more to me to do and to understand the realities of life.

I realized later in college that all the hardships and complexities I’ve experienced tend to be designed for me to become a better person. I never thought of winning in the midst of my adversities and during our college graduation day, modesty aside, I was extremely surprised that my school recognized me as the best in the class. All I remembered was that I just did what I must do: I just carried out the purpose why I was sent to school (that is, to study and to absorb knowledge as best as I can).

Now, I’m happy that I’m living a life that is much better than before. I’m able to support and reciprocate my parents in a new way that I am now capable of, help my brothers, and now I’m trailing a path to my own future.

Success to me doesn’t only mean getting what you want, reaching places you want to go, or becoming who you want to be; it is having the greater capacity to help, support, and enlighten the lives of other people not just within the walls of our biological families, but also with people whom we directly interact each day in our community.

That being said, the reason why I telling you my story is to share with you that there’s always hope towards something good and it is something I can give. Refuse to be defeated by financial obstacles, stand up, learn, do what you must, and strive for the betterment of our community.

It doesn’t matter now if you’re poor, rich, successful, or not; everyone can fail, yet everyone can do something good for our society. Each of us has the ability to help and support one another, especially the youth, to collaborate for progress and to motivate each other. The more challenges we face and make through, the better persons we become.

So to all of you, elected city officers of the PYA, the chosen out-of-school youth leaders of our city, I hope that my little story was able to spark motivation not to try but to do your best during your term, and to grab the self-defining leadership opportunities from the government through this youth program.

Finally I hope that you share what you will learn from every activity that will be funded by our government to other youths who are in danger of being derailed in life, those who are still seeking refuge in your districts and communities. There’s always a way to be productive and PYA gives you an arm to help them out. So, you got to give them hope.

That’s all. I wish you all the best, congratulations, and daghang salamat! (many thanks)

The event marked a history in my life to become a guest speaker in a formal, government event. Before, I was one of the audience who listens to someone standing in front sharing his wisdoms in life. Now, it is my turn to share and I’m glad that in one way or another, I was able to inspire the lives of people. Such achievement is priceless.

Now, I’m so jealous of him – in a good way. In his previous academic strides, he was able to comb the major cities of the Philippines without incurring any major financial costs as he was frequently chosen to attend conferences, seminars and participate with academic contests through in his school. He’s been to Baguio City, Manila, and Cebu – places around my country that I’ve never visited yet. Two years ago, we were expecting that I would be working abroad today. Now, the changes happened and he’s in Osaka, Japan, making the first direct family member I have that was able to go abroad. He likes cold temperature and said Osaka is cold than he expected it to be. He is currently bound to visit Hiroshima, and Tokyo. How good is that!

Before he flew to Japan, he was complaining that he needed a computer or laptop for his Japanese language resources. So, I gave him the laptop I acquired two years ago. He said he will use it to boost his knowledge as he will be able to store Japanese e-books, tutorials and language guides for him to be able to "survive" his first visit in Japan since he will be using the language he started learning since 3 years and it will come into practical use. Well, I’m pretty confident that he’ll be able to make it. Why? I’ve seen it first hand. He has his freedom wall in our house that is full of Kanji characters and every time I see it I go crazy.

Well, it’s nice to know that his efforts is starting to pay off. He got brains that act as like a passport and whenever it works it sucks many opportunities along his way. I’m just trying to be the same. Now, I’m waiting for his safe return and wondering what he will bring home from his Japan trip. He said on Skype that the gadgets there are cheaper and that excites me to the bones. I hope he can bring something interesting for me. He’ll return here on April 27.

This is actually the second gift I received from Canada ever in my life. The first one was last year when I got a bunch of goodies from my great boss that I will always remember and never forget.  This time though, the impact to me is more like a token of gratitude or remembrance as there is no certainty how long will I still work for them.

As you can see on the picture, I got a red T-shirt with a company logo embroidered on it. I appreciate it a lot as I know it was sent with good thoughts and it’s what that counts more than the material thing. Knowing that it arrived shortly after Valentine’s Day, however, I find it hard to accept if this was really sent as a Christmas gift. It would have been great if it was sent for the recent event that took place earlier this month. Anyway, I love the gift nevertheless and I’m keeping the packet container as a remembrance.

The sender is from Montreal and it’s amazing to thinking that it traveled a long way up to here in Davao City, Philippines. I wish going to Montreal is as easy as getting inside a packet and going to the post office – I would send myself! But no, it’s not the case.

While many would agree with that, I’m lucky that here in the Philippines, Valentine’s Day is not intrinsically exclusive for lovers and committed couples. Valentine’s Day is for everyone who is loved and knows how to love. Pretty much I can say, it’s for everyone. Of course, those who belong in mutual relationships are proud to express their love during the day. My mother joked that in the break of dawn of February 15th, there will be new unborn kids that will have no parents. Well, that’s quite agreeable.

My greatest valentine fantasy is to play a piano for someone whom I care and in love with. I want to play the popular musical piece of Johann Pachelbel — the Canon,  especially the C version. It’s one of my biggest dreams in my life. Why? It sounds extremely romantic to me and the tunes parallel in many ways my styles when I fall in love. I pretty much have been listening to this music piece since four years every day up to this writing. I would continue to listen it until the very day this dream is fulfilled. The melody of Pachelbel Canon easily melts my heart and makes me feel so vulnerable and human in a good way. The music is so eternal to me and whenever I imagine myself playing the piano in front of a special person in my life, I feel so inexplicably happy from deep within.

I want to be as good as this kid or better:

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So from final fantasy, let’s go down and check the reality: Well, I don’t know how to play a piano – not yet. I’m slowly saving up to buy a musical keyboard (one day) in order to practice, learn, and master Pachelbel’s Canon in C. (Would you like to help?) I would passionately work for that to make one of my dreams a reality. I am sure that will be easy for me because I’m so filled emotions that have continued to push me forward for so many years.

If you don’t know yet, I have composed two songs three years ago – the Why Come Why Go and Do You Understand. My friends have loved my songs and they even shared and used them for themselves. I am still amazed myself how I did them. All I can remember is that during that time, I was so passionately in loved with someone and that passion made me extremely productive in a way that I can easily express myself through literary works – a poem, a story, a song, among others. Shakespeare in love? Hehehe, well maybe, but I have my own, unique style: I don’t play games nor with fire. 

Remember that:

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Am I in loved with someone? If you’ve read my previous posts, I’m sure you have found out. For now, I ask you to wish me luck that my valentine fantasy will come true in the near future — and thank you for doing so!

Spread the love to the world and hope you had a happy valentines day!