From Beauty Blogging to the Boardroom
Two decades of making mistakes, pivoting, and trying again. I’ve seen every era and evolution of the web.
Welcome to my algorithm-free space <3 leave me a comment like we used to back in the day!
Why This Space Exists
I hate today’s internet.
Websites have too many pop-ups, ads are everywhere, everything is a subscription and we are “online” ALL. THE. TIME.
Having my own, algorithm-free space feels like “coming home.” I wanted to create a space where deep curiosity wins over mindless scrolling.
Welcome to my corner of the internet, made for slow reads and deep dives.
All the vibes. No KPIs.
— xoxo, Maria
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From Dial-Up to Digital Strategy: My Internet Origin Story
Updated July 20, 2026: I wrote this article in 2013 complete with em dashes and I will not be removing them just because AI uses it now!!! Edited to update the timeline. The first computer I ever used was in 1996. I was ten years old, and my family was still living in the Philippines. Like many Asian parents, mine were ahead of their time — they believed computers were the future, so they enrolled me in a beginner’s computer class. There were two sections at the school: one for kids, where we mostly used a Paint-like…
Three Decisions in My 20s That Quietly Changed Everything
I didn’t feel ahead in my 20s. I felt uncertain, behind my peers, and very aware of how much I lacked. I didn’t know it then, but a few small decisions I made early were already doing the heavy lifting. Not in any obvious way, but in how they shaped my thinking, my discipline, and my sense of direction. It reminded me of the “One-Degree Rule” – a principle about the tiny, consistent shift (like moving your compass 1 degree) would create a massive difference in the final destination, or…
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