2025's Top 5

Here are my top 5 highlight of the year 2025, listed randomly:

5 books

I have read 5 books this year. These are books I haven't read before and do not include the ones I've written.

4 new Android Mini Collectibles

I have added 4 new Android Mini Collectibles to my collection. The first was a reward for PE mentorship. I then got one as part of the swags for PES 2025 Dublin. During the event, I also purchased 2 other collectibles.

From top left clockwise: PES25 Dublin, Noogler, Glow in the Dark, PE Mentor

3rd edition of How to Build Android Applications with Kotlin

The third edition of our book How to Build Android Applications with Kotlin has been released on September. If you still haven't, you can get your copy on Packt and on Amazon.

2 New countries visited

I visited two new countries this year: Mexico and Ireland. We went to Ciudad de México for the Concacaf Champions Finals of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC against Cruz Azul and spent a few days before and after the game. I tried Café de Olla (Mexican coffee) and we ate tacos and other Mexican food. We also visited Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Teotihuacan Pyramids.

Café de Olla (Mexican coffee) in Mexico

We went to Dublin, Ireland for PES 2025 and we extended for a few days in the city. I have tried Guiness, Irish coffee, Irish Stew, and full Irish breakfast in Dublin. We also visisted the Brú na Bóinne, Cliffs of Moher and the Book of Kells (at Trinity College).

Irish Coffee in Ireland

1 New App: Custom Currency Converter

I have released a new Android app, Custom Currency Converter. It is a currency exchange app that you can use to convert between two currencies using your custom exchange rate.

Days in Dublin

We went to Dublin, Ireland for a week. I joined the Product Experts Summit and we extended for a few days in the city.

I have tried Guiness, Irish coffee, Irish Stew, and full Irish breakfast in Dublin. We also visisted the Brú na Bóinne, Cliffs of Moher and the Book of Kells (at Trinity College). The weather has been great (not raining) so we were also able to walk around the city most of the time.

Irish Coffee in Ireland

It has been a great experience to visit Ireland. Hopefully, we can be back again soon.

Austin Adventure

I was invited again to the PE Summit Connect for North America in Austin, Texas. The summit was held in the Google Austin office on May 22-23, 2024. It was a smaller than the global one but it was a great experience to meet fellow Product Experts and learn more about relevant topics.

Celine and I extended a few days after the summit. Our first goal was to watch the bat colony fly after sunset but we were only able to see around 2-4 bats. We visited the Texas Capitol and Bullock Museum. The weather was hotter and more humid so we only did a few walks, along the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail and Rainey Street. And of course, we tried different barbecue spots and the hamburger from Whataburger.

I'd love to go back soon, especially when the weather is better.

2023: A Year of 3s

2023 has been a very unique year. The first three months was good but the remaining 3 quarters was not as good. Speaking of three, I have noticed that a lot of things related to the number 3 to me happened this year. Here are some of them:

Third Continent

After living and touring around Asia and North America, we finally visited a new continent this year: Europe. I was invited to the PE Summit 2023 in London, England and we toured around a few days before the summit. We went to the Prime Meridian, ate English breakfast, and went to Sherlock Holmes Museum, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter, British Museum, and more. I also got to meet my three co-authors (who are all based in England) for the first time since we started working in 2019.

Book #3

My third book, the second edition of our book How to Build Android Apps with Kotlin, has been released last May. It is available on Packt and on Amazon. The first edition was published on February 2021 and there has been some new changes with the new one.

Three Runs

I ran thrice this year: a half-marathon at BMO Vancouver Marathon 2023, another half-marathon at Vancouver Half Marathon 2023, and a 10k at Under Armour Eastside 10k 2023. My half marathon at the Vancouver Half is now my fastest (so far) at 2:16:41.

3 Other 3's

• Third Year of Blood Donation: This year marks the third consecutive year that I had donated blood.
• Three Visits to the US: We went to the United States thrice this year: a weekend in California (March-April), a day trip in Seattle (June), and another weekend in California (November).
• 3 VWFC Games: We watched 3 Vancouver Whitecaps FC matches at BC Place this year:
  • March 8: CONCACAF Champions League game against Real Club Deportivo Espana. Whitecaps won the game 5-0. It was our first time to watch their game where they scored more than 3 goals.
  • August 4: Leagues Cup Round of 32 match vs Tigres UANL. The final score was 1-1 but they lost on the penalty shootout 5-3
  • November 5: MLS Cup Playoff First Round Game 2 vs LAFC. They lost 1-0 and exited the playoffs

3 Honorable Mentions of Non-3 Things

• After more than 8 years, I was finally able to replace my Macbook!
• I joined two organizations this year and have already volunteered twice for each organization.
• We watched our first NFL game in person in November, the Detroit Lions at Los Angeles Chargers (SoFi Stadium).

Trip to London

As a Platinum Product Expert for Play Developer (Play Console), I was invited to the PE Summit 2023 in London, England. It was our first time in London (and in Europe!) so we decided to stay a few days before the summit to tour around London.

The Product Experts (PE) Summit was held in Hilton London Metropole from October 16 to 18. That was my first time to attend this event. I met fellow product experts, community managers, and Googlers. It was a great experience and I learned more about the PE program, Play Console, and other Google products.

One of the few places I wanted to vist is the Prime Meridian in Greenwhich. The prime meridian indicates 0 degree longitude and separates the east and the west hemispheres of the Earth. We went inside the Royal Observatory and learned about the longitude and time. Afterwards, we took photos in the prime meridian line.

Me in the Prime Meridian

Since my three co-authors for the two editions of our Android Kotlin book are all based in England, I sent them a message so we can finally meet up in person. It was the first time all of us met after we started working late 2019.

Celine and me meeting with my co-authors

We were able to do a lot of things and visited many places despite the short time in London. I was finally able to try full English Breakfast in England (after ordering one last year via delivery and not getting the full breakfast). We rode the red double-decker bus. On our way from Greenwich, we also took the riverboat on the Thames.

We went to the Sherlock Holmes Museum (in 221b Baker Street) on our first day. Celine and I also visited the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter. We also went to the Tower of London and saw the Crown Jewels. The day before the summit, we went to the British Museum (and saw the Rosetta Stone, Easter Island Moai among many other things). The PE Summit closing was at Madame Tusssauds so I was able to roam inside and take photos.

There are still many more places that I haven't visited and food we haven't tried. We would love to go back there soon!

Top Nine for 2019

It has been a while since the last time I have made a year-ender blog post. There wasn't much stuff last year so I was unable to make one. This year, I decided to highlight small and big things that happened. Here are my personal top nine for 2019.

Church Wedding

Celine and I finally got married in the Catholic Church last July.

Twice in Manila

We were able to be in the Philippines twice this year: February while doing the wedding requirements and June-July for the actual wedding. It was both wondeful as we get to meet family and friends.

Tigcal Apps and Projects

There has been two updates to Sweldong Pinoy this year: updating SSS contributions and the other one was for updating PhilHealth contributions. The latter also included Dark Theme among other design improvements. We also released a new version of Budget Pinoy.

The repository for Tigcal Apps has been open sourced on Github. Tigcal Apps has served as my sandbox project for learning and working on Material Design Components, AndroidX, Kotlin, Dark Theme, and more.

Boto Ko was also updated for the 2019 National and Local Elections in the Philippines. I also added in my Tigcal Samples repository the Android projects I've worked with in the past few months and the Bill Calculator I removed from Tigcal Utils. A separate repository was also made for my Tigcal Utilities app.

Special Project

I am working on a special project. This is my first time to do this kind of project. It's still a work in progress so I can't share anything yet.

Vancouver Sun Run 2019

After more than two years, I was able to run again! On April 14, I ran at Vancouver Sun Run. I finished the 10k at 01:05:55.

Monthly Run

From April to December of this year, I was able to run at least once a month, with a minimum of 10 kilometers per run.

My Monthly 10k Strava Challenge Trophy

Weight Watch

Earlier this year, I managed to record my lowest weight since I started recording on Google Fit way back 2014.

Hacktoberfest 2019

I tried joining Hacktoberfest this year.

Hacktoberfest 2019

Le Français

I've been learning some French on Duolingo for some time now. As of December 31, I am already on a 924-day streak on the app. They had also implemented leagues and I am have slowly moved up to the Diamond League, the highest league (so far).

My streak, league, XP, and achievements

2020 Vision

I'm looking forward to next year! It's going to be another great year.

Naga Trip

GDG Philippines went to Naga City for Google I/O 2017 Extended Naga on August 12.

Dy Viajero Transient Hotel
We stayed at Dy Viajero Transient Hotel which is at Bicol Central Station.

Bob Marlin
On our first day in Naga, we had lunch at Bob Marlin.

Red Platter
After our whole-day I/O Extended event at Ateneo de Naga, we had dinner at Red Platter, a semi-fine dining restaurant in Naga City.

Panicuason Hot Springs Resort
Before travelling back to Manila, we went first to Panicuason Hot Springs Resort.

Malabsay Falls

Google I/O 2017 Extended Roadshow

Google I/O is Google's annual developer conference, where they share the latest products and technologies. Google I/O 2017 was held in Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, California on May 17-19. GDG Philippines brought the I/O experience to different cities with Google I/O 2017 Extended Roadshow, a series of talks and workshops to help professional and student developers deep dive in the new technologies announced. We visited Rizal, Manila, Laguna, Palawan, and Naga this year.

Rizal

The first leg, Google I/O 2017 Extended Rizal, was held in University of Rizal System - Morong Campus on June 24. I talked about the latest updates from Google I/O 2017 in the morning plenary and conducted a basic android workshop in the afternoon.

Manila

Google I/O 2017 Extended Manila was held on July 1 at University of Sto. Tomas. I had a talk/workshop about Android Instant Apps in the afternoon breakout session.

Laguna

We were back in UP Los Baños for Google I/O 2017 Extended Laguna (July 15). I conducted a basic android workshop in the afternoon.

Palawan

Google I/O 2017 Extended Palawan was held on July 28 at Palawan State University. I had another Android workshop in the afternoon breakout session.

Naga

The last leg, Google I/O 2017 Extended Naga, was held at Ateneo De Naga University on August 12. I talked about the latest updates about Android Development from Google I/O 2017 in the morning plenary and conducted a basic android workshop in the afternoon.

Palawan Trip

GDG Philippines went to Palawan for Google I/O 2017 Extended on July 28. We went there from July 26 to August 1 to explore before and after the event.

Puerto Princesa

After our meeting with volunteers for the event, we went on a city tour. We visited Kuyba Almoneca, Crocodile Farm and Nature Park, Palawan Butterfly Ecological Garden and Tribal Village, Mitra's Ranch, Baker's Hill, Plaza Cuartel, and Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral before going to Baywalk for dinner at K'na Boyet. After our event on July 28, we also went to Iwahig Firefly Watching.

Kuyba Almoneca Meditation Garden
Kuyba Almoneca Meditation Garden has a holy cave with the face of Jesus Christ. There are also other caves with different rock formations, a chapel, and fish spas.

Crocodile Farm and Nature Park

Photo from Adam

Palawan Butterfly Ecological Garden and Tribal Village

At the Butterfly Garden

At the Tribal Village

Mitra's Ranch

Baker's Hill

Plaza Cuartel

Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral

Iwahig Firefly Watching, Mangrove Eco-tourism & Wildlife Park

Photo from Adam

Coron

We travelled to Coron via 2Go. We didn't have much time to tour because of the delays in our ship. Our first trip was island hopping (Siete Pecados Marine Park, Kayangan Lake, Twin Lagoon, Skeleton Wreck, Smith Beach)and then we had a quick city tour (Lualhati Park, St. Augustine Parish Church, Maquinit Hot Springs)

Lualhati Park

St. Augustine Parish Church

Palawan Android Study Jams

GDG Philippines, in cooperation with Palaweño ICT Association (PICTA) organized Android Study Jams on April 11-12. The event has been a part of the Puerto Princesa Technology Month and was held in partner school Western Philippines University-Puerto Princesa Campus.

Ralph and I went to Puerto Princesa for the two-day Study Jams. More than 24 participants attended the sessions. At the end of the second day, 5 groups presented the apps they have built.

Participants of the Palawan Android Study Jams

2016 in Numbers

At the end of each year or at the start of the new year, I have traditionally published year-ender blog posts to look back on the past twelve months of my life. As I reflect on how 2016 has been for me, I was reminded that not much happened this year. There were some gains but there were more losses. It would be hard for me to enumerate the top things that happened or to summarize the highlights for the year so I would just list down some of the relevant numbers.

3 runs (two 16k runs and a 10k run)
1 Chrome Extension (Android Gradle Extension)

0 new Android Apps published (though I'm stil working on at least two apps)
2 Android Study Jams facilitated in 2 Schools
1 Android App Development Competition Judged (STI App and Running 2016)
8 Android Workshops
9 Android Talks

1 local event attended (PWA Roadshow Manila)
1 international event attended (Google I/O 2016)
4 new local places (Palawan, Bohol, Dipolog, Dapitan) visited for the first time
5: Fifth US State (Washington) when we visited Seattle

I am praying 2017 will be a lot better than 2016. I'll do my best to do more stuff and accomplish more.

Seattle Weekend

Last weekend, Celine and I went to Seattle for a quick trip in the area.

We took an early morning Greyhound bus from Vancouver. At the US Customs and Border Protection, we alighted the bus with our stuff and went for the usual inspection before going back to the bus to continue our travel. We arrived in Seattle at around ten in the morning and went straight to Best Western Plus Pioneer Square Hotel. The room was already available so we rested for a while before starting our tours.

Our first stop was at the nearby Ivar's Seafood Bar where we had chowder and fish and chips. We became curious of the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop so we went inside and had a look.

We walked towards the Pike Public Market Center. There were a lot of stores there. We bought some food and souvenirs like keychains and magnets. We also went to the Pike Place Starbucks, their first store.

The next day, we woke up early and walked to St. James Cathedral for Sunday Mass. After mass, we took the monorail to Seattle Center and went up the Space Needle. Celine wanted to go to Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor Center but it was closed that day. We instead went to Pacific Science Center. There was a Sherlock Holmes Exhibition there.

That night, we rode a bus to Westfield Southcenter to go to Jollibee for dinner.

The third day was our last day there. We walked around to nearby places before leaving. Some of the places we visited include Waterfall Garden Park and Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. We had lunch at Uwajimaya Deli and cookies at Cow Chips before going back to hotel and the bus terminal.

It was a very short trip and we were only able to visit some places (and others were closed). Hopefully, we could be back soon. More pictures of our trip are available in this album.

Zamboanga Peninsula Weekend

Last weekend, we went to Zamboanga Peninsula for GDG DevFest ZamPen 2016. The event was held at Dapitan City Cultural and Sports Center on November 25-26. We were there for the DevFest on the second day. We also visited some nearby places in Dipolog and Dapitan.

Dipolog

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral

Dapitan

Gloria de Dapitan

Fantasyland, Gloria de Dapitan

St. James Parish

Rizal Shrine

Punto De Disembargo De Rizal En Dapitan

More photos are available in this album.