25 Facts About Me

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In no particular order of importance, here are 25 random facts about me. Enjoy!

1. I firmly believe that people shape their own destiny, though admit that luck and prior circumstances have an incredible impact on one’s own future.

2. I’m terrible at sports.

3. I don’t watch TV, but my favorite shows are Anthony Bourdain’s (RIP) Parts Unknown and House Hunters International.

4. I was born and raised in Hawaii, spent most of my adulthood in the U.S. Northeast, and have recently relocated to the Bay Area in Jan 2020.

5. I travel for the views, for the food and to meet new people.

6. I’m a fairly grateful person, and practiced the “Three Good Things” exercise for over a year.

7. I enjoy running, and so far have ran 37 half marathons and several 5ks as of Spring 2020.

8. Someday I’d like to get my pilot’s license.

9. Although I’ve called DC home for the past six years, I like to consider New York and LA my “second homes.” I’ve never officially lived in either city, but have visited both cities more than two dozen times over the past ten years.

10. I graduated college with roughly $85k in student loan debt, and have gradually worked to pay them down paid off this debt after nearly 8 years of diligent repayments!

11. I love going on or taking road trips.

12. Since my family didn’t have the means to travel a lot as a kid, I spent countless hours reading books about the world. I loved learning and reading about other places so much that I competed in the National Geographic Bee.

13. I attended the University of Pennsylvania, where I majored in Economics and Mandarin Chinese.

14. I absolutely love the act of traveling. Whether on a train, plane, bus, boat or car, I love looking out of the window and seeing the world go by. The journey is half the fun!

15. I tend to pack my schedule pretty full, both with professional and personal commitments throughout the week.

16. I love being outside.

17. At 25, I finally came out as gay.

18. I grew up Catholic and still try to attend mass at least once a month (but rarely do).

19. I started this blog to get better at writing, to document my travels, and to meet like-minded people.

20. My favorite city in the world is Istanbul. The history, the food, the culture, the people, the views. I loved it all and can’t wait to go back.

21. I lived in the DC from 2010-2019, and despite draws from friends to move to New York City, felt happily grounded and settled in the DMV area.

22. I am a third generation Filipino American who unfortunately can’t speak Ilocano (my family’s local dialect) and Tagalog (the national language of the Philippines).

23. I loved being based in DC. There’s so much to do in this city, and it’s super easy to get around to the rest of the Northeast.

24. If I’m in a new city on a weekend, I’ll try to visit the local farmers market to get a feel of the area.

25. In 2011 I quit my first job right out of college to travel and study abroad in Taiwan.

Last Updated 03.26.2020