Inspire.

[After this, Vince and I went on to order enough ChickenJoy to make a small child vomit.]

My weekend in San Francisco wasn't all fun and games as one would be led to believe. The whole reason I planned to head out west last minute was because I was invited to attend the Ayala Foundation USA retreat. Being the lone representative from New York, I had no clue what I had gotten myself into and I really did not know what to expect from the few days of work. I'm pretty much new to the project but they felt that I had key qualities to contribute to the various causes and solutions of AFUSA.

So here I was. Painfully the youngest head in the room...and they paid attention and put value in my ideas and thoughts. These are self-made individuals, movers and shakers, or rather, pillars in the national Fil-Am community. In my mind, I thought, this is exactly who I strive to be, and without realizing it, I already was.

Fast forward to the dinner on the last night...I was mingling with all sorts of individuals and before I know it, I've got my foot in my mouth...

"How you doin'? I'm JD from New Yawk" (slight accent came out), was the line I started with. My conversation moved to how open, open bar was; and how I was just starting in my career while trying to sound oh-so-impressive. Little did I know, I was straight up talking to one of the trustees like he was one of my boys. I found that out later in the same conversation. I was red in the face. But I think my unaffected demeanor was appreciated by those I failed to recognize as the trustees in the organization. I came across as myself and they felt that I was truly genuine. At least that's what I tell myself.

After meeting some of the most influential Filipinos in the world (literally, I could name drop a few billionaires) I came away from California with a new resolve and a fresh start to my commitment to helping enhance the Philippine way of life.

Oh, and I also got to hit Jolibee and In-N-Out...wouldn't have been a Cali trip without it.