Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights. That’s it. End of story. Goodbye.

If only that’s the case, right? In the present circumstances, somebody had to wake up at 5am, take the bus at 6, and be outside the Supreme Court to join a highly energized crowd expressing support against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in particular, and for equality, progress, and love in general.

As my coworker mentioned today at lunch, it’s great that we’re finally tackling this issue, but it’s irritating that we have to debate it in the first place. The Beatles and one banner (you will see it below) reminded us:  All you need is love – can we just catch up already?!

Yesterday, Prop 8 was argued. I knew it was going to be a big deal, but not THAT big of a deal as I saw in the news. When I saw these ladies on the metro on my way to work, my heart got excited but my knees weakened, wishing I could join the crowds outside the Supreme Court.

Today, I made up for it. I was in DC by sunrise, when the press were just setting up outside the Supreme Court.

Right across it was the Capitol, which was basking gloriously in the fresh, resplendent sun.

Buzzfeed posted yesterday The 60 Best Signs Against Doma and Prop 8 at the Supreme Court. I saw some of the same signs today, and some even cooler/more compelling ones. Here they are (in order by which I saw them, too hard to do it by preference):

This elicited a really long “Awwwwwww” from me. Anna would love this. Any other Shakespeare fans out there?

Continue Reading…

Obama has fascinated me since early 2008. Back then, checking the latest on the Barack-Hillary nomination battle (and the McCain/Palin trainwreck that followed) was the first thing I did when I got home from school. I’d lost count of the number of times I watched his 2004 convention speech. Naturally, I watched the 2009 inauguration live from my computer, in my studio apartment in Katipunan. I downloaded Air & Simple Gifts into my iPod because I felt that capsulized the moment/the new era, and I wanted to repeatedly experience it.

Fast forward four year years after, I now live in DC and have the chance to go crazy and fanboy all over again, LIVE. There was no way I would miss Obama’s second inauguration, even if it meant camping out in the freezing streets of DC. A few weeks before the big day, I signed up to volunteer for the inauguration. Before I found out I got selected, I secured tickets for the inaugural parade. Whatever it took. I just HAD to be part of this event that I used to obsessively follow from my small room in the other side of the world.

January 15: All volunteers for the inauguration had to go through a mandatory training. There were SO MANY people that one had to wait in line for more than an hour to complete registration. We were told that 50,000 people signed up to volunteer, and only 15,000 were selected.

January 18: I picked up my parade tickets. I bought two in case somebody wanted to go with me, but my friends were either deathly scared of the 800,000-strong crowd that would descend on DC (based on previous experiences) or had better tickets than I did. I held on to the other ticket until the very end.

January 21 aka the big day:

4AM. My alarm went off. I had to drag my underslept carcass out of bed because my taxi was coming to pick me up at 5. (He arrived at 4:45, causing me to skip breakfast.) My ticket says that “Gates open at 7:30am” and “early arrival recommended.” I took this to heart. I asked around and the general wisdom was that batshitsuperduperearly arrival was the best course of action.

6:30AM. I arrived in DC. The crowd inside the Metro (Subway/train to some of you) was manageable at that point. The scene outside the station, though, was a different story: the crowd was building up among temporary stalls that sold hotdogs, hot coffee/chocolate, and souvenirs. “This is mayhem potential,” I thought to myself. Coming from a country where stampedes actually happen and kill people, there was genuine fear brewing inside me. But my desire to be part of history trumped that fear.

I managed to find my way to the Mall, where there were MUCH FEWER people. You can see it was still dark when I got there. And Obama wasn’t going to be sworn in until noon.

7AM. I lined up at my entrance for the parade area. Since the gates were still closed, I had time to reflect: Did I really want to skip the swearing-in and wait for the parade for HOURS? I had a moment of enlightenment. I walked back to the Mall and sat on the grass. By this time, the sun was rising. The jumbotron was showing clips of Ellen Degeneres, Jimmy Fallon, and the White House/Obama campaign moments on loop to entertain us lowly mortals who were waiting and freezing. Thank God for my Kindle and hard warmers, I survived there for 4-5 hours. Here are a few photos from the swearing-in:

Everyone was facing to the side – to watch the jumbotron – instead of the Capitol, where all the action was happening live. I knew people who had seats pretty close to the Capitol, but no distance outside the Capitol was close enough. Everybody watched from the mighty jumbotrons.

OBAMAAAA

Beyonce, duh. Seriously, at this point, all the stress and exhaustion I may have felt from early on had evaporated. All of it. I was refreshed, reenergized, the adrenaline in my system reaching a critical mass.

I should also mention that although I was alone, I was seated (on the grass) next to the most kind of people. To my left were a couple: I saw the man charging his iPhone just around the same time my iPhone’s battery died prematurely (which, of course, happens when you need it most). The man let me charge my phone, leaving it with enough juice for the rest of my day to unfold the way they did. His girlfriend, meanwhile, observed that I was freezing and gave me extra hand warmers, which were extremely helpful. To my right was a mother-daughter team. The mother was entertaining and the daughter brought me hot chocolate when I least expected it but needed it most. So: I was alone but not lonely. God will provide. Bless their hearts.

12:30PM. Before the swearing-in ceremony completely ended, I randomly thought of my friend Jason and asked him if he was watching the Inauguration and if he wanted the extra parade ticket I had. He said yes to both, so we agreed to meet. Because DC’s major roads were blocked, we walked more than 10 blocks to meet each other (Well I walked, he biked). We were hungry and tired and Jason wanted to go home, but I was resolute to watch the parade, because I paid for my tickets, dammit. We decided to try the entrance for the bleachers near the White House, and long story short we managed to not only get seats but meet new friends:

Jason, me, Maria, Mariam

Needless to say, the highlight of the parade/my day was seeing the Obamas in person:

We were screaming and flailing hardcore.
Here are the other highlights of the parade:

This poor guard was freezing the whole time. We wanted to give him a warm hug.

Our favorite Secret Service agent

Cool costumes

This group had the best uniform. Look at the details from the back:

And then came the floats/performances from the different states. The first was the best for me. WATCH (the action starts at 0:12):

There were many other cool performances that I didn’t bother capturing on video. Jason and I left halfway through this because I had to report to my duties at the ball and he was freezing (I, surprisingly, wasn’t).

6:00PM. I checked in at Volunteers HQ, collected my credentials, and reported for duty:

These were soft, comfortable hats and wearing that ID was pretty cool. I was in a team that worked with Secret Service in external security, way finding, line management, etc.

Speaking of line management, our job was pretty important because THEY WERE SO MANY PEOPLE. Can you imagine 40,000 people in an indoor venue? It blows the mind. Here’s a glimpse of the line outside:

Keep in mind that these were ladies in glamorous gowns and gentlemen in tuxedoes (mostly).

Of course, a part of me wished that I was able to score tickets for the ball (and a date), but after seeing and helping the attendees, I started to think of how I might just prefer Beyonce’s Lay Up Under Me kind of date.

Volunteers HQ

My “shift” ran for four hours, after which I went back to Volunteers HQ, picked up my things, bought a burger, and called it a (historic) day.

I was born on the year of the Dragon. My friend told me that if it’s your Chinese zodiac’s year, like 2012 is for me, it will be either your best or worst year. “That’s a scary thought. Can’t I just have an average year?!” I protested. He said no. It’s like a gamble, if one thinks of it that way. Now, looking back, here are a few reasons why I think I won. A thousand fold.

12. My cousin Iane’s wedding. 2012 was off to a good start in January when most of my relatives from my mom’s side were in town for Iane’s big day. Also, it was a really pretty wedding.

Photos by another cousin, Joy Asico.

11. Meeting my biological grandma. For the first time. I’ll get around to writing my dad’s fascinating life story soon.

10. Montreal. It was my first time in Canada, my first ‘mission’ at work, and I did what I love to do: promoting Fair Play, an advocacy platform I truly believe in.

Rapha & I outside the World Congress on Information Technology

With the other winners of the World Summit Youth Award

9. Paris, the second time around. For the perpetual adoration at the Sacre Coeur. Read my story about it here.

8. Sweden. Stockholm and Tällberg were astonishing. The learnings from the Tällberg Forum were on a higher, different level. Read my brief story about it here.

7. Berlin. Strange, beautiful city that will make you think. I loved biking there.

6. Brussels. Two BIG things happened in Brussels, and I am not so confident clustering them here together because I feel they were two separate major highlights of my year: First, I spoke at a high-level forum (Read about it here). Second, I facilitated the Global Changemakers Euro-Africa Youth Summit, which allowed me to meet 60 other amazing young people from Europe and Africa.

5. Digital Technology for Social Change. This year, I was also invited as a member of Global Changemakers (GCM) to speak in a series of seminars by the British Council in the Philippines, called Digital Technology for Social Change. I first spoke in Davao (I wrote about it here) then in Baguio, where I joined fellow GCMs Anna, Ponce, Dwight, and Jecel. These people, being with them is like going to a spa for the soul. (I think I stole that line from Anna…we have another term: “bubble bath for the being”)

4. Porto Alegre. Two great things happened in this city: ICT4Gov and barbeque. I’m willing to bet that it has the best BBQ in the world. ICT4Gov, as some of you know, is the program I work on. I saw first-hand the process of crowdsourcing policy solutions for the state government and I was directly involved in producing materials so we can tell our cool stories better. I was able to do all of these with amazing colleagues slash friends in the city. Thiago, Diego, Thais, Luiz, Fabricio: Muito obrigado! See you soon!

3. Brasília. It’s not one of my favorite cities, but it was a rare amazing feeling to see something you’ve worked hard on materialize so successfully.

At the International Anti-Corruption Conference

2. Friends. Meeting new ones, reuniting with old ones. You guys…complete me.

1. Washington. When all is said and done, 2012 will be remembered as the year I moved to Washington to chase my dreams. This was a big leap in that lifelong chase.

In 2011, I said “Ad astra,” and 2012 truly felt like a journey headed somewhere there, to the cosmos. It was a blast, and I am grateful to Him who’s behind all these. Is there something better than Thank you?

Here’s to to more travels and adventures; to good health and long life for family and friends; to prosperity, light, and love. -31.12.11

I’m ready, 2013, let’s wade right out and meet life halfway.

On the last day of the Euro-Africa Summit in Brussels last June, I booked a trip to Paris with Madeleine, the summit’s sole Parisian participant, and Anton, the Russian. I was excited to revisit the usual touristy sites, but my main purpose was to spend the night at the Sacre Coeur and experience the adoration, which I had read about here. That day, I also called up the church to reserve a bed.

It was wonderful to see Gare du Nord again after two years, except this time we arrived in the sweltering European summer.

Still at Gare du Nord: A plastic (trash?) basket to contain the water dripping from the roof. Madeleine and I laughed, Yes Anton, we’re finally in Paris (He was in Paris for the first time). I took this photo while waiting in the queue to buy my train ticket to Berlin (I hesitated to book online because it was expensive, but the fare at the station was the same. It was one of the most expensive tickets I’ve ever bought with my own money).

At Madeleine’s place, where I parked my luggage for the night and we hungout while planning our (late) afternoon.

Obligatory tourist shot

We were back on the subway shortly after this viewing of the Eiffel Tower because it wasn’t a short ride to Sacre Coeur and I had to be there around 8-9PM.

When Anton saw this, he was like, Woah that’s your hotel for the night?? I said yes, and it’s only for 5 euros. (He stayed in some hostel for definitely more than 5 euros.) In exchange, I just have to pray, which, hey, is a super cool deal.

Madeleine and Anton went with me inside the church, and left when I was guided inside the chambers where the dormitory rooms were. We agreed to meet again first thing in the morning.

At the “front desk,” I paid five euros and was given this ticket (which clearly states my fancy French last name). It’s important to keep this to show the church’s security that you’re staying for the night, otherwise they shoo you out after the last mass. Then I chose an hour when I would join the perpetual adoration and was shown to my bed for the night:

It was a dormitory-type room, but as you can see I still had some kind of privacy with the thick curtains. There was also a bathroom that was immaculate. Of course, if you come here, the goal is not to so much to sleep as to pray. But I tried to be clever by choosing the first hour of perpetual adoration (at 11pm) so I could have a continuous sleep right after. I was exhausted and hoped God understood.

This was my view from the room. It was eerie and magnificent.

After I settled my things, I joined a “meeting” with a nun and some others who were joining the perpetual adoration. This was a mistake because it was all in French, though I understood some bits, like the part on gay marriage. It was like a briefing on the current affairs that concern the church (or the church concerns itself with, whatever).

In other words, if you don’t speak straight French like me, skip this and go straight and sit near the altar at 9:30. The nuns sing their prayers and it’s lovely, even if you don’t understand anything. A guide to the words was given out, so I still managed to make out the powerful message of the prayers. At 10pm there’s a mass, which is also in French, but if you attend regular Catholic masses it’s all good. After that, at 11pm, people started to leave and and security checked for the slip. That was when perpetual adoration started for me, and though it was just for an hour, it felt long, considering I’d been there since 9:30. I wished I had my rosary, which I somehow managed to leave in DC. So be prepared with your prayer tools if you decide to do this. Alternately, you could just sit there and pray in the dark, like I did. The atmosphere was super solemn, with only red candles providing light. It doesn’t really show, but I like to pray and being grateful is one of the most important values in life for me.

At 12 midnight, when it felt like the next batch was arriving, I left. If you want, you’re definitely free to stay longer as the goal of the entire activity is to keep the prayers going, hence the name perpetual adoration. There aren’t many people who do this, I assume; that night, there were only about 20 of us.

I woke up at 6AM, packed up, and left. I did another round of prayers and took this photo (which was not allowed, please forgive me God). It’s a really beautiful church.

A sleepy Paris greets you in the morning and it’s a wonderful feeling. You have to experience this at least once in your life.

If you’ve been, you know that Paris is a dirty city. I like the contrast of the rubbish and the city landscape in this photo.

Before descending, I walked a few feet to the same spot where I first saw the famous tower in 2010. Nostalgia is a good feeling.

Because Sacre Coeur is the highest point in the city, going there means climbing up a significant number of steps. But there’s the faster and easier option provided by the funiculaire. I’m grateful for this because it means my Mom can someday effortlessly go up there.

I texted Madeleine to meet me near the station, where one of the few open cafes was. I had hot chocolate & chocolate croissant, which was redundant but French food in France is…different, to say the least. Somebody That I Used To Know was playing on the TV while I was eating, so that’s forever etched on my head.

The church from afar, while we were walking back to Madeleine’s place to retrieve my luggage.

We went back to the Eiffel Tower because Anton wanted to see it from the other side (the prettier side).

Next time I should really go up this thing.

The beauty of my background deserved better than my just-woke-up-haven’t-showered look.

Til I see you again….? Madeleine and Anton then went to tour the Louvre, while I left to go to the station.

At 12:01PM (sixth from top), my train left for Koln/Cologne, then Berlin.

If you’re interested in doing the perpetual adoration, here’s a quick recap of the steps:
1. Call the Basilica at +33 1 53 41 89 03 to reserve a bed. Do this the day before (or maybe earlier, I’m not sure).
2. Go to the Basilica and plan to arrive between 8:30 to 9:30 PM. The closest station is Anvers and allot some time for the trek up the church (about 20-30 minutes).
3. Ask for directions for the perpetual adoration, present yourself, keep the slip, and sign up for an hour of perpetual adoration.
4. Settle yourself and come down to the church at 9:30 and at your time of prayer.
(Read also this blog post.)

I want to hear/read other people’s stories when they experience this, so let me know when you do it. I think this is really great for couples, too. I don’t think you can stay in the same room/bed but you can pray together and I think that’s awesome. I wouldn’t know, really.

This post was originally published on The Philippine Star, 16 September 2012.

Tällberg is a small town four hours north of Stockholm in Sweden, and it doesn’t have a Wikipedia page. The town or city you’re reading this from probably has one; even my humble hometown of Midsayap has a comprehensive Wikipedia page. This small detail alone fascinated me about the place, nevermind that it was my first time in Scandinavia when I went there and nothing could have made me less excited. I was also there to do what I do best: promoting my advocacy to a diverse audience, some of them high-level and leaders of their own field. Through the British Council’s Global Changemakers programme, I was sent to the Tällberg Forum a couple months ago, along with three other Changemakers who work in human rights, conflict resolution, and social entrepreneurship. I was picked through my interest and work in using technology for better governance.

As memorable adventures go, our journey was nearly more exciting than the destination. From Stockholm, we took the train to Norköpping, then a bus to “Tallberga,” only to end up in the Middle Of Nowhere, Rural Sweden. “Where are the organizers who are picking us up?,” we helplessly asked ourselves. It took us about half an hour to see another human being and confirm that, indeed, we had the wrong tickets and we were at the southern end of the country when we were supposed to be up north. I was in denial, but there was no time for that as we had a conference to attend. We were promptly instructed by Paola Hjelt, our Swedish mentor and co-founder of Global Changemakers, to take the same route back to Stockholm, and from there to take the train to Tällberg — with the umlaut. Haggard and still in disbelief, we walked back to the bus stop, when suddenly a taxi came out of the empty road and stopped right next to us. The most handsome taxi driver in the world emerged and told us that he was instructed to pick up three people. “That would be us!,” we happily announced as we didn’t have any competition in the vicinity for his taxi. It turned out that the Tällberg Foundation, the organizer of the Forum, summoned a taxi company upon learning of our misadventure and organized the rest of our trip to the correct destination: Tällberg, with the umlaut. God bless them.

As you might expect from a town without a Wikipedia page, Tällberg seemed very small and deserted; at times it felt as if the participants of the conference comprised its total population. But the houses that surrounded the breathtaking foliage confirmed that we weren’t alone; in fact, we stayed in one of these beautiful houses, with gracious Swedish hosts who made us feel at home. They were so hospitable they could have been Filipinos. It also didn’t hurt that their house, as almost all of Tallberg, was overlooking the expansive Lake Siljan, one of Sweden’s hundred thousand lakes.

The Tällberg tent and Lake Siljan

The ‘hood

Nature, which the Forum counts on as providing “ecosystem services to the Tällberg learning experience” is central to the event. During the opening session, there were guided tours around the surroundings, which we missed by being lost in the other end of the country. For four days, The Forum asked one deceivingly simple question, “How on earth can we live together?,” which gave birth to four days of plenary sessions, workshops, networking, and overall good times. I attended group conversations on topics ranging from “big data” to “what words define our time?” and “what important questions have we not yet asked?,” the latter extending to discuss US-China relations. There were about a thousand participants, but the Tällberg Foundation accomplished in making it an intimate event, true to its unique model of “intellectual conversations tightly integrated with arts and nature,” by encouraging participants to form reflection groups in the woods, meadows, and lakefronts. Nature and technology, the Forum’s two major themes, didn’t immediately form a coherent narrative in my head, but the surroundings of Tällberg provided a compelling backdrop for thinking about it: how far have we advanced, really? And to what end?

This house was right next to the house where we stayed

I highly recommend that Tällberg and the Tällberg Forum be experienced together. But even if you cannot come in June, Tällberg remains a wonderful destination in itself. There isn’t a shortage of wonderful hotels, such as the Green Hotel, Hotel Dalecarlia, and the Klockargården, which also served as venues for some of the workshops in the Forum. Also, go have tea or coffee at the Tällbergsgarden, if only for its fantastic Victorian furnishings. And if you come at the right time, go skinny dipping at the lake. In the end, a four-hour ride from urban Stockholm is nothing if it means experiencing a very raw version of nature and the countryside: pack your laptops and tablets deep into your luggage, reachable only for the urgent need. Lastly, when booking, don’t forget the umlaut in your destination: Tällberg. (Although if you also end up in Tallberga and get to explore the place, let me know.)

The way up to Green Hotel

This hotel, the name of which I’m forgetting, was the most beautiful hotel I saw in Tällberg and had the most majestic view.

For more information on the British Council Global Changemakers programme, go to www.global-changemakers.net

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(more photos after)

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Considering how awesome this past year has been to me, I should probably write something contemplative/introspective, different from the sort of writing that I’ve been personally associating with this blog. And believe me I tried, and it felt like a conversation that should only be had over beer. I can’t trust that you have some beer with you right now, so let me just give you a report of what happened when I turned 24.

It started not so much like a regular day as I woke up early to go to church before work. Then it was like a regular day: emails, editing, more emails, and interviews for positions we recently opened. I got to sneak in a bit of FaceTime time with family in the Philippines and Ireland; I hope my boss doesn’t mind if he reads this. I also left earlier than usual to carpool with my sister on the way home, during which a wild thunderstorm descended upon DC. That’s some heavy outpouring of blessings for you, she said and I agreed. About half an hour after getting home, we left and went to Tysons to watch Brave. “Are you sure you want to see Brave and not Spider-Man? It’s your birthday,” my brother-in-law asked me a few days before. I said yes, I’m sure, I’m doing it for the kids and I really want to watch Brave anyway (I’ll watch anything by Pixar). Besides, I remembered how the kids fell asleep when we watched Avengers (!!!!), so go figure. Everybody loved Brave, to my great satisfaction. Dinner was planned after the movie, but the kids weren’t hungry, so I just grabbed some cheesesteak and let Jusdon (my nephew) play near the food court. The photo above was taken after, as we were about to head home. It was in that same place that I celebrated my 19th birthday 5 years ago.

And today, Saturday, was the celebration with our relatives. I’m writing this just after we finished cleaning up. It was very cool; I don’t remember the last time I really hosted a party for my birthday. Hard work, too, with my seafood lasagne being the star of the show. I say MY because I cooked it, but the recipe was from Matt Kimmich of Global Changemakers. He gave me the recipe last year after I asked for it in India, where, as a random fact about himself, he said that he cooks some really mean lasagne. So I got curious, and today, almost a year later, I can tell you that it’s really MEAN.

The white sauce and the red sauce…

…which goes in alternating layers with the lasagne sheets

This is how it looked before going to the oven. I followed Matt’s recipe almost to the letter, except I used Gruyère for the cheese instead of Sbrinz, which nobody else in DC seems to have heard of.

After one hour

It was a hit. I am so glad. This proves that I am not completely worthless in the kitchen. (Although I have to give credit to my brother-in-law, who’s a chef and supervised my cooking.)

My brother-in-law also cooked some ribs.

And chicken wings

Slicing the chocolate cake that the relatives brought

Ommm

Family business above the table

Ashley and Sailor under the table

Everyone, all smiling and proper

…not

I’ve said it on Facebook and I mean it: My cup runneth over with love. Thank you to God and the people who make up my life.

It’s been a month since I was in Stockholm, and it’s great to relive the memories. This past week, I caught up with friends who asked me about my Eurotrip and which country I liked best. My answer is always Sweden, maybe because I’ve been to Brussels and Paris before, and I was in Berlin to chill and peace out more than to be a tourist (There IS a difference). But I really loved Sweden.

I was in Sweden for the Tällberg Forum, where I was sent by Global Changemakers along with three others. It was like a sidetrip ahead of the Euro-Africa Youth Summit that we were facilitating in Brussels. Tällberg is a city/town four hours north of Stockholm, and you should never forget the umlaut when you spell it. Why? That’s another story.

Monika and I agreed to meet at Arlanda airport and head to the city together. My flight was scheduled to arrive ahead of hers, so I was waiting and hovering around this sign for almost an hour, but no Monika. Turned out that she was in another terminal. Thankfully it was just a 15-minute walk.

Stockholm central terminal

Gamla Stan literally means Old Town and quite naturally, it is Stockholm’s tourist central. I was proud of myself for having guided us through the complex Stockholm metro system (It was certainly more complicated than DC’s).

While we were on the bus, Monika asked me, so Manu booked us in a hostel called Red Boat, do you think it’s a real boat? I looked at her weird and thought, What are you talking about? A hostel in a boat?!

Lo and behold:

Continue Reading…

A couple days before I left DC for Sweden for the Tällberg Forum and Brussels for the Euro-Africa Youth Summit, Miss Katherine emailed me that I would be speaking about corruption at a high-level policy summit of the ASEAN that’d also be happening in Brussels. My heart jumped to my throat: an ASEAN forum in Europe? high-level? me being fully Hermanized? (for the uninitiated: Global Changemakers who go to high-level events receive a special training from the one & only Katherine Hermans).

Fast forward a few days later, I was sitting in a café in Stockholm, eating hamburger for brunch with Paola Hjelt, co-founder & former co-director of Global Changemakers. We pored over the main points that the organizers wanted me talk about: corruption and the 45th anniversary of the ASEAN. How serious is the issue of corruption in ASEAN countries? How does corruption in the member states affect regional integration as well as the international credibility of ASEAN? What are main tools for fighting corruption in the region? Is there anything the EU could bring in fighting corruption in ASEAN countries?

That’s a mouthful. But I was already decided on the overarching themes of my talk: democracy, social accountability, technology, open government, youth. That’s still a mouthful, but as long as I get across the message of building trust between citizens and government; using technology for participation & constructive engagement; and mobilizing the youth against corruption, then I would be doing a good job. Paola helped me weave all these together, and even suggested a punchline involving Imelda Marcos. She & I hugged each other goodbye shortly after, and I took the 2-hour flight from Stockholm to Brussels, where I met Kath & Robin, who both helped me polish my talk – both the content & delivery. I should also credit here my roommate Nick, who helped me come up with a smashing final sentence.

The next day, I met up with Robin at British Council Brussels. We had a quick breakfast, where I went over my speech with him for the last time, and walked to the EU Parliament, at some grand library in the back of which is the venue for the forum:

Needless to say, the Bibliotheque Solvay is one of the grandest libraries I’ve ever been. After briefly meeting the other speakers in a special room, the first panelists filed in to the stage:

The first speakers included Karel De Gucht, EU Commissioner for Trade, and Hartadi Sarwono, Deputy Governor of Bank of Indonesia, who both gave keynote speeches. The highlights of this panel were the talks of economic integration for ASEAN, especially as it takes the driver’s seat in an array of free trade initiatives (among others) spanning the region. De Gucht touched on the role of European businesses in Asia & stated that Europe’s degree of relationship with the region will be dictated greatly by its (Asia’s) political openings. Human rights & ASEAN’s internal problems were also briefly discussed in this panel, and Rajat Nag, Managing Director General of the ADB declared: ASEAN at 45 is a success. That was a bold statement, as many will agree with me that the success of the ASEAN is well wide open to debate.

There was a 30-min break, and before it ended, Robin took me out to the garden to take deep breaths (I was understandably nervous!) and told me: When you get on that stage, everybody will be on your side. Just smile.

And so smile I did. I was even quite giddy. Robin was a fantastic coach: made me realize that the audience was not my enemy, and I wasn’t there to be an expert on EU policies. I was invited to be me and talk about my experiences and ideas.

I sat next to Yeo Lay Hwee, Director of the EU Center in Singapore. The other guys in my panel were David O’Sullivan, Chief Operating Officer of the European External Action Service (EEAS); Andrea Perugini, Principal Director for Asia at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Larry Stone, President for Public & Government Affairs of the BT Group; and Ngurah Swajaya, Ambassor of Indonesia’s Permanent Representation to ASEAN.

Giles Merritt, Secretary General of Friends of Europe, the think tank that organized the event, kicked off the discussion of ASEAN’s global outreach: How does the EU-ASEAN relationship compare with ASEAN’s economic and diplomatic ties with other global players? With the EU serving as a “laboratory” for the ASEAN, how will ASEAN will be like in the coming years, and how will its relationship with EU evolve? The case may be true that the EU is lacking a strategic understanding of the ASEAN, with its “obsession” with Myanmar & China. Somehow more importantly, Shada (Head of Policy at Friends of Europe) pointed out the relationship and competition among ASEAN’s member countries for markets, influence, and others. 

There were easily many ideas on regionalism and the whole exercise of it being an experiment, but mine zeroed in on how corruption weakens nation states – individually & collectively – and examples of what can be done about it. There was a comment on how the conflict in the South China Sea (e.g., the Scarborough Shoal) is “not interesting,” and in addition to having a unified stand on the issue, perhaps the ASEAN should (re)focus on strengthening the other parts of the region. One question from the audience that stuck with me was on sustainable development, drawing from the Rio+20 event happening in Brazil. Somehow I felt compelled to cite this little talk I did last year on corruption in climate change.

As think tank forums go, there was no real conclusion to the discussions. It was all open-ended, just like how we decided my talk should end: I look forward to hearing EU’s own ideas on how it can help the ASEAN fight corruption & head on to progress. The youth in the region is a vast resource and an important ally: we are educated, literate, connected, and upset. If the ideas I presented somehow began a conversation among the panelists and the audience, then I would have done a good job.

(Photos, except the 4th one, are from the official photographer of the event.)

The prettiest, most stunning sunset I’ve ever seen was in Taipei, possibly my second favorite place in the world. One question I like to ask people is whether they like sunrises or sunsets better. I can’t explain it, but the answer to this question sometimes tells a lot about the person.

It was Sunday, the day before my last day in Taipei during my latest visit in November 2011. After a visit to the flower market in the morning, Paul took me biking to an area I hadn’t seen before and didn’t know Taipei had. I thought I had seen most of Taipei during my 2009 visit, but the expansive park was something else. Don’t miss it if you go to Taipei.

This is not a very scenic part of the park, but I didn’t take a lot of photos because 1) I was on a bike, 2) I couldn’t be bothered too much; I had great company and it was a fantastic afternoon beyond the lens of a camera.

Our bikes. I started with the yellow one, but it was.. slower. So we exchanged halfway through our “journey,” and I liked the white one better.

Some parts of the massive park had benches, like this area.

Paul putting his MIT skills to the test when the yellow bike broke (after we exchanged).

Chill Taiwanese fellas

Paul was always ahead of me, and when it was sunset I didn’t think too much about catching up with him. I stopped and took photos because sometimes I just couldn’t rely on my memory too much. It was too beautiful.

A rainbow on the eastern side of the sky

The other side, it was like this.

As if it wasn’t so tremendously stunning by itself, I went overkill with some settings in my camera.

I biked a few meters and when I turned…

Hues of red, orange, blue, and everything in between just bled into the sky. I wish life could be so effortless. #chos

Looking at this photo now, I’m wondering whether it was meant to be beautiful or frightening, like the sky was on fire
(“Every angel is terrifying,” Rainer Maria Rilke).

The other side of the sky was so calm. Those are mountains in the back.

We left when the heaven’s show was over and the curtains were down.

This Memorial Day weekend was pretty eventful for me. It ends/culminates with Balian.

Last Saturday was Auntie Gina’s advanced birthday celebration. It was surreal to be back in White Saddle Drive, where I have some pretty powerful memories from five years ago. The party was made up of relatives and some of my favorites: steak, chicken wings, and this fruit cake we always used to buy for special occasions back in Falls Church.

The “birthday woman,” as my niece Ashley called her

The next day, Sunday, my cousin Joy invited me as her +1 to an event where Adam Lambert was performing. She’s an awesome photographer who gets commissioned by different people and publications to cover events for them. Check out her website.

It was at the National Harbor, which is a really cool place:

The grass was just lovely, I wanted to roll on it.

Fake-looking grass + my hipster shoes

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