Dartegnian Velarde

a lone star in the sky.

Life

At 26, Life in 35 Questions

Can a list of 35 questions sum up a person’s life? Here's me, trying hard to encapsulate everything by answering the Proust Questionnaire.

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Everything but the Kitchen Sink

When life takes everything but the kitchen sink, what happens with what's left behind?

Thoughts

Stories I Wish I Hadn't Told

We all have those stories we wish we’d kept to ourselves—the ones that hang around long after they’ve been told, leaving us wondering if some things are better left unsaid.

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The Empty Call List

When life gets tough, the phone stays silent. Unfortunately, some friendships are just numbers in a phonebook.

Life

Lost in Transition

Caught between "what was" and "what's next," finding clarity in the chaos of life's in-between moments.

Love

A Dream Come True

I'm mildly surprised at how I realized that I had one of my dreams in high school come true. I'm really tipsy, but I can still write (with okay-enough punctuation and grammar) so, while my thoughts are pretty "unrestrained," I guess I'll

Thoughts

Out on the Town

I set all my regrets on fire Cause I know I'll never take the time With heavy thoughts, a heavy heart, and heavy regrets, I took off for the night. As the evening was quickly approaching, there wasn't a more perfect time to leave my current

Friends

Bye-Bye Bestie

It's always extremely sad to lose someone close to you. It's even sadder when it's a conscious decision to let them go. Even though I want to think that it's not the case, the truth is that I have to really disengage

Friends

It Was Always a Good Time

The ever-worrisome idea that, someday, sometime in the future, you'll find yourself living in a "moment" in which you wish would never end. Until it does.

Thoughts

Slapped by an Epiphany

This is a pretty weird time in my life. 2022 feels like a year where I've experienced so much growth in the span of, oh say, 5 months, compared to the past 3 years. It feels weird because the person I was in December, 5 months ago, was

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My Korean Parents Never Picked Me up from School

I wonder what my eomma would make me for dinner?

Friends

It's Always a Good Time

Honestly, I can't describe how nice it feels to have my friends from high school talk to me again on an almost daily basis.

Life

The Waiting Game

I'm just biding my time, waiting patiently, hoping, believing, trusting, and wishing that day will come.

Work

Noise-Cancelling and Why It Works for Me

Ever since I've entered the professional workforce almost 2 years ago, I've witnessed how dynamic the modern work environment could be. There are different office layouts for each company, and people in higher positions could be placed in several places. In the first job I'

Life

The Lost Year

Hooray, a year has gone by since I've started working as a software engineer! It seems like it was only yesterday when I walked into the office as an employee of this company. Time has passed so fast, I can't believe a year went by! Actually,

Work

My 2019 Secondment

It's been a while since I've posted here, haven't I? It seems that August of 2018 was the last time I published a post here, and a lot has happened since then. Let's just say that, for the most part, things have

College

The 1-Day Time Traveler

Okay, well, the truth is that I was able to travel through different time periods in my life. Here's how I did it.

Life

Departures and Arrivals

It has been a few months since I have "landed" on this new plane of experiences in my life, and it's also been a while since I have talked about the place I have left behind—college. Today, I want to talk about the journey I

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A Letter to the Me of Tomorrow

Hi there, future me! I hope this letter finds you well.

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A Passage to Nowhere

It was today that I decided to visit this place again.

Thoughts

Dreams of Distant Lands

I boarded this boat, this path, because I thought that it'd get me closer to my destination.

Life

The Rainy Season

As of writing this, it is now the 10th of July, 2016, and we're well on our way onto the start of the rainy season (or "monsoon season," as I like to call it). There's not much to this season in particular, other than

Friends

My Big Sister

We all have that friend who shares almost the same set of interests as us, or someone who likes something as much as us. For me, that person is my big sister, +Elaine Avriele Santos. Obviously, it's great to have a friend like that, but what happens when

College

My First Semester

Oh man, my second term at Asia Pacific College has just started and, well, it is . . . not what I expected. It is hard to say but, man, do I wish I could go back in time to the start of my all-English term. Looking back, my English term was (actually)