Living in Lumia
EXCLUSIVE: Young STAR and Microsoft are giving away 10(!) Nokia Lumia 530 phones! Read on to find out how.
MANILA, Philippines - We’re lucky to live in an age where we get to do what we love as a career. Forget having to choose between a well-paying job and a passion that pays peanuts — it’s totally possible to set #lifegoals where you don’t have to sacrifice one for the other. Proven by creative entrepreneur Abbey Sy and actor Alex Diaz, anyone can enjoy the best of both worlds, especially given the kind of cool gadgets available today.
Abbey, a 21-year-old blogger and creative entrepreneur, first began doing typography under her accessory shop H.E.A.R.T., which sells hand-painted canvas bags. Abbey also speaks for design workshops and blogging conventions such as DesignHerStory workshop, and the recently concluded BlogCon in University of Sto. Tomas. Now, she’s preparing for her biggest talk to date: the TEDxUPM in 2015.
Alex’s training in front of the camera started as a commercial model. Off-camera, he also sidelined as a radio DJ. At 19, Alex has already appeared in several successful local teen franchises such as Got to Believe and She’s Dating The Gangster with Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo (you may have heard of them). And it doesn’t look like he’s going to stop soon; after all, this is his dream come true. “When you love working more than you love your days off, that’s when you know you’re living a good life,” he says.
Looking at their body of work, it seems like these two artists are already living their dreams. But is there anything else they’re aiming to accomplish? “I want to have an art exhibit. I also want a day trip to La Union or something just to unwind for a day. I’ve always wanted to do street art, too. It’s very interactive. I want people to feel something when they pass by it,” says Abbey.
For Alex, his list includes mountain climbing, going on a food trip and finishing a 3D puzzle.
With the pace of their careers, one might wonder if they have time to do it all. But at this day, all thanks to technology and the Internet, it’s hassle-free. One click on the search button and whatever you’re looking for will appear almost instantly.
This is also true in more professional settings; both Abbey’s and Alex’s careers started and grew with the help of social media. Abbey posts her calligraphy work on Instagram, through which she gained a considerable following. Using Twitter to promote his shows, Alex is able to connect to his fans in an interactive, personal way.
Being able to reach out and engage their respective audiences wouldn’t be possible without a handy smartphone. The great thing is that a multipurpose gadget, one that combines work and play, doesn’t have to cost a semester’s tuition. The Nokia Lumia 530, for one, does the job without breaking the bank.
Using the Windows 8.1 operating system, the Lumia 530 also offers a dual SIM variant, making it easier to split work and personal messages without lugging two phones. Posing for all those Insta-g photos will not only be a breeze, but a treat: if you think 64GB is not enough to store your selfies, you can easily upgrade the phone’s memory to 128GB just by buying a new memory card or you can use the 15GB of free cloud storage space Microsoft One Drive. It’s a little ridiculous, if we’re being honest, but you can enjoy all these features for under P5,000 (SRP).
So if you’re itching to get your hands on the latest bit of technology, or, more importantly, decide to follow your dreams, don’t let limitations such as money or time constrain you. Explore your options or create your own. Besides, just as Alex said, “You don’t want to wake up one day when you’re 40, and regret not doing what you love.”
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Young STAR and Microsoft Devices are giving away 10 units of Nokia Lumia 530 with the Lumia 530 Challenge. To join, answer the question “What item in your bucket list can you tick off given the budget of P530 or less and how can the Lumia 530 help you accomplish the challenge?”
Comment your answers on Alex’s (@alexandermcdizz) or Abbey’s (@abbeysy) Instagram posts about the contest with the hashtag #Lumia530Challenge. Winners will be announced via Young STAR’s and the artists’ Instagrams. Each winner will also receive a Skype call from either Alex or Abbey and get the opportunity to accomplish their winning challenge together. The contest will run from Oct. 17-31, 2014. For more details, check out Nokia Philippines’ Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/nokiaphilippines.
