The DJ who's not a DeeJay

After 5 years of organ lessons at the early age of 14, I self-studied how to use a computer to arrange songs. My first submission of original songs I composed were instrumentals, which were first published as part of Sound Canvas Users Group (SCUG) Archives Volume 11 in 1995.

2009 pictorial for my blog

I always wanted to have my own CD, so I selected and compiled songs from my archive and included them in what I call my first (and only) self-released album entitled "JayDJ: The Personal Collection."

If I was asked as a teenager if I wanted to work for the government, I would've immediately said, "Not a chance."

 

Receiving an award with my colleagues and Ambassador Harry Thomas

Received my 10th award while in Singapore

My mom is my hero. 

One moment I'll never forget is when I was 4 years old and we were crossing the street. Suddenly, a huge car wasn't stopping, even if the stoplight was red for the car. Due to the driver's excessive speed, the car's brakes failed to bring it to a complete stop, causing any remaining momentum to collide with us. While we both rolled on the street's concrete, my mom shielded me, somehow preventing any injuries. We were both rushed to the hospital afterwards, and luckily, we only sustained a few bruises. It was a traumatic experience, but having my mom never leave me, even to the point of taking the impact, showed me how much she would protect me with her life. After that, we didn't have any life-threatening experiences, but if I did, I would want my mom to have been with me to care for me.

I lost my mom to cancer in 2018, and I remember her every day since then. A big part of who I am today is because of my mom. Thank you for raising me with all your love and care.

During the pandemic, we made use of the limited space on our 22nd-floor balcony and started to plant. We tried different fruit and vegetable plants. I wanted to try growing an ornamental plant. After carefully selecting which one would most likely grow and look nice, we decided on planting sunflowers. 

We initially had three, but the other two did not survive past a few weeks. The one remaining sunflower, though, did flourish and grow to about 3 feet tall. Caring for it and watering it every morning paid off. After it reached its maximum height, it started to blossom. 

It made every morning exciting to see how the sunflower's petals would unfold. I was also surprised at how big the flower is. I wasn't able to grow a sunflower again, but I'm glad I've successfully gotten to grow one. 

My next challenge would probably be trying to grow a bunch of sunflowers together.

I received my driver's license while still in college. When I was 17, I obtained a student license and a driver's license shortly thereafter. I was fortunate because my parents occasionally let me borrow the family automobile to drive to school. We had a Ford Mustang, so driving to school in a sports car seemed cool.

"Fast forward" to now, and with over 30 years of driving experience, I've driven five different cars, logged thousands of kilometers, and have only been arrested for a traffic offense twice

I've also been fortunate to dodge a couple accidents, one of which was a little bump into a bend. I'm also glad I don't have any road rage. Being patient and calm is quite beneficial while driving.

Looking forward to getting more mileage out of my driving skills and thankful that I'm safe.

Among the things I am grateful for, I didn't need to do anything or work hard for this one. I thank my parents, particularly my mom, from whom I inherited her curly locks. 

I grew my hair long a few times just to see where the curls would go. I found out that it spirals the longer it grows.  Having wavy hair also helps cover those spots where hair isn't as abundant as before.

the longer the hair, the wavier it gets

I know that friends have remembered me for my hair, so I treat it as part of my uniqueness.

For now, I will continue to treasure the wavy hair, and I hope there will still be some left to comb and twirl in the years to come.

4. BEGIN CODE

One of the skills I that really helped me in several aspects is that I know computer programming. Nowadays, it's called coding, but back then, you needed to learn computer languages to program.

I'm thankful that my Computer Science degree in college is forward compatible with new skillsets needed today. I may not be creating programs, games, or apps, but the analytical skills, computer logic, and mindset of how a computer works has been useful in different fields. Also, being introduced to AI (Artificial Intelligence) 30 years ago surely helps now that it's mainstream. It sure helps talking to a computer easier knowing how they think and process data.

played key roles in organizing hackathons, such as Tech Canp.

I know I'm not the best, but it only takes a solid grasp of the fundamentals of programming to understand a lot of what is happening in the world of tech today.

Here's a quick list of things I've programmed/coded before:

1. a virus 

2. an anti-virus

3. a game

4. dozens of websites

5. automated processing

6. audit trails

7. content generator

8. content scrapper

9. content management system (CMS)

10. poetry simulator / lyrics generator

Who knows? May be I'll come up with some big idea soon.

END CODE

 3.  Almost became a black belter in Tae-Kwon-Do.

During summer break in my third year of high school, my parents enrolled me in a summer class of Tae-Kwon-Do at the Virramall gym in Greenhills. I was lucky to be under the tutelage of Grandmaster Sung-Chon Hong, the founder of the Philippine Taekwondo Association.

It was fun and I made new friends in the two months of training. But it ended short right after our promotion when we all underwent the proficiency tests. We all got promoted from white belt to yellow belt, some mostly low tier yellow, and some, including me, were lucky to get promoted to high yellow belt status. I also got to witness the beginnings of Monsour Del Rosario, Stephen Fernandez, and gymnast Bea Lucero, where we shared the same training area and taught by Mr. Hong.

When school resumed, I had a choice to continue my Tae-Kwon-Do training on top of my studies or stop. I wanted to continue so I had to bring my Tae-Kwon-Do uniform with me three times a week to school and take a 1 hour commute to my dojo. I continued my training for almost a year and got promoted from yellow, to blue, to red, to brown.  

Being one belt away from being a black belter, I did have my reservations about taking the promotion. And at this stage, I also had to prioritize my studies much more as I was graduating. So I opted to stop training and never did reach the last set of tests as the final promotion to black belt.

Do I have any regrets? It would have been a nice title and achievement to add to my skills but I'm just happy I've reached the brown belt status. The discipline I gained from learning this martial art has proven to be very valuable in different aspects of my life.  Knowledge of self-defense is a bonus.