Just another meat-free Monday

Something I learned:

A vegan who drives a regular gas-guzzler is more eco-friendly than a meat-eater who drives a hybrid. Seriously. Saw it on a Eco Solutions on CNN. They even cited the study that backs this claim, but I wasn’t able to take note. My bad.

So anyway, if I remember the segment right, carbon emissions from vehicles account for 3% of greenhouse gases, while methane from livestock (i.e., the bad stuff that cows belch—yep, belch, not fart) makes up a whopping 20% of greenhouse gases! (Hmmm...I'm not sure though if this includes the carbon emissions from meat processing, or just methane.)

Which means, we’ll help Motha Earth more by reducing the amount of meat we eat than by switching to an earth-friendly car. (Bye-bye, dreams of owning a Prius!) We don’t even have to quit meat cold, uh, turkey—even going meatless once a week would help immensely, hence the whole Meat-Free Monday campaign, supported by no less than Sir Paul McCartney. Why Monday? People may have binged on red meat over the weekend, and would be much more inclined to atone on Mondays. Ah.

So let’s try giving up Bessie once a week. Just think of it as Lent the whole year through!

Tuna fish don't belch, do they?

Radio (and TV) gaga

Appeared on TV for my longest segment ever for work. I don't like seeing myself on TV (particularly when it's my right side. Haha), but it was kind of cool coz I think I answered pretty well. I really made a conscious effort not to say "um"!

With the other interviewee, home makeover winner Kitchi.

Also went on my very first radio tour to promote a few things, and it was more fun than I thought it would be!

First stop: Magic 89.9 with CJ and Suzy. After CJ gave me an overly hyped-up intro (trumpets blaring and all), we had a fun interview, full of double entendres (as Magic humor is wont to be).

An excerpt:

CJ: So Tisha, tell us what to do when the house gets flooded.
Tish: Well, you have to wear protection. You have to wear rubber...
(all these jokes about using protection and rubber)
Tish: I meant rubber gloves and rubber boots...
Suzy: (to CJ) Be gentle, it's her first time here.
Tish: So yeah, you have to wear protection coz you might get dirty...
(even more jokes)
Tish: Sorry, that was my bad.
CJ: I like her, she's so game!

Second stop: Jam 88.3 with Tracy and Patti. These girls were so incredibly nice, and they even gave me and Ingrid (our PR girl who accompanied me) Krispy Kreme Snickers donuts. Evil.

With my donut...and their creepy Halloween decor.

Third stop: Wave 89.1 with Jerome. Jerome was super cool--before I went on air, he asked me if I had any requests. First song that came to mind was, of course, "Empire State of Mind." Then I blurted out "Oh! Trey Songz's 'I Need a Girl'!" and he said, "I can play both for you!" And he did! Talk about instant requests. I also saw the poster of that Lebron movie on their wall, and we started talking about basketball. He's from LA, so he's a Lakers boy. It's funny how he says "we" when he talks about the Lakers! (E.g., "We're going to win it again this year.")

Fourth stop: 99.5 RT with Slide. The interview was supposed to be with Inka, but she was late, so Slide just slid me in as we all waited.

Ingrid said that I'm "a natural," and that I'm pretty good at this, so yay! She says that other people sound really nervous. But I wasn't nervous at all. I was so comfortable in those booths, just having a conversation with the DJs. And my husband said I sounded sexy. Haha. I realized, though, that I can't stay on air for more than 10 minutes. Any more than that, and I'm in danger of letting slip a swear word (me and my bad bad sailor mouth)!

And that completes my tri-media domination! Mwahahaha!

Say "Spa-ahhh"

Last week, I had what was probably one of my top five massages ever.

I got gift certificates to Island Spa during one of my bridal showers, and there was enough for me and H to get a massage together. We booked a private room where it was just the two of us, and we went, not really knowing what to expect.

I figured Island was more known for its foot and back massage (P640 for an hour and 15 minutes) than for its full-body massage, but on that day, our whole bodies needed pampering. His legs were crying out for attention after we ran 5K a couple of nights before (his first run in months, and, with no basketball for a couple of weeks, his first cardio workout in a while), so he wanted the whole shebang. We coughed up the GCs and an extra hundred bucks for our Swedish massage (P550/hour).

I wasn't really expecting much. We walked in and found a flat-screen TV mounted on one wall, and a Japanese paper lantern dangling in a corner--H pointed it out because it was similar to our dining room lamp (the closest I will probably get to owning something Noguchi-esque). There were robes and shorts set out for us. After changing, we were made to lie, face down on the massage bed. I immediately gave this spa plus points--normally, I would feel some discomfort, even the slightest bit, lying on a massage bed. My neck would be at a weird angle, or the, uh, girls would be all squished. But on this bed, there was no discomfort at all.

I'm terribly annoyed with myself for not remembering my masseuse's name, but she did an excellent job! The pressure was just right, and she didn't hit any of the spots that normally tickle and/or cause me pain. I never enjoyed a leg massage quite as much as I did in this instance.

As they finished up our backs, they covered each of us with a big hot towel. Not only was this so soothing, but it also served to wipe off some of that oil from our skin. Nice touch. And then, we were made to turn around. As we did, we found that they had placed a heated pad on the bed! Ahhhh. It was hot, hot, hot at first, but later on it was just delicious. The masseuses proceeded to put hot towels on our arms and our bodies, making sure we were kept warm despite the cool air coming from the A/C.

At the end of it, H and I sat back (yes, sat--the massage bed could be turned into a lounger!) and watched a bit of TV, marveling at all the heated towels and pads used during the massage. "Hindi talaga tinipid," he remarked, as he sipped on his ginger tea (or what he dubbed as "sweet bulalo tea"--"Lasang matamis na bulalo!" he insisted). And tonight, after both of us spent a grueling day on our feet--me in four-inch heels, him in his uncomfy Cole Haans--we were both just longing to go back.

Island Spa is located at 2/F Jupiter Place, 138-138 Jupiter St., Bel Air, Makati City; tel. (02) 899-1234, 751-8296. You can also visit them at Rustan's Heaven on the Fifth, 5th Level, Rustan's Makati; tel. (02) 710-8588.

Bul-bowled over

As part of preps for the Big Day, I wanted to get "fully landscaped," as my friend Marie would call it. Well, not fully--I had already become a citizen of Brazil, but wanted to revert to being French. The whole Brazilian thing sometimes leaves the impression that you haven't hit puberty yet... TMI for male readers* (if there are any), I know.

After reading the Beauty Coach's entry about the whole landscaping shtick, I decided to call one of her recommended waxers: Wilma the Bulbulizer. (I am not kidding. She even has a calling card!) I had gone to salons before, and also tried my BFF's home-service waxing lady (who used a homemade wax that looked a lot like a katamaran lab project that Ching and I submitted in high school). My most regular waxing lady was Marifel from Aura Salon (along Katipunan), a woman whose uncanny talent is her being able to tell if a customer is a virgin or not. But I decided on Wilma because, well, she's very reasonably priced. And for the amount of waxing I intended to have done, I needed someone who wouldn't charge me an arm and a leg (and a back, and all the other areas I wanted done).

For just a thousand bucks, this chick from Pampanga would go right to your house and perform a no-nonsense, full-body waxing and threading job (including eyebrows!) in no time. Seriously, that was the fastest session I've ever had! And while she's at it, she'll regale you with funny (or sad, but told in a funny way) stories about her life, her showbiz clients, her job:

Wilma: Ah, ikakasal ka pala.
Me: Opo.
Wilma: 'Yung asawa ko kasi sumakabila na...
Me: Oh, I'm so sorry--
Wilma: ...sumakabilang-bahay.

~*~*~*~

Wilma: Sa Saudi, gusto ng mga lalake na wala talagang buhok ang mga babae. Kung mas wala kang buhok, mas madami kang sex.

~*~*~*~

Me: Wina-wax niyo po ba ang sarili niyo?
Wilma: Dati, nung nagse-sex pa ako.

~*~*~*~

Wilma: 'Yung UFC fighter na 'yon, nagpa-wax sa akin. Ang balbon ng pwet!

~*~*~*~

Wilma: Ang ibang babae, lalo na pag dalaga, ayaw nilang nagbo-boyzilian (a Brazilian for males), nahihiya sila. Ako, wala akong pakialam. Hinahawakan ko talaga ang t*t*.

~*~*~*~

But it wasn't her waxing and threading ability, or even her humor that truly impressed me (although those were certainly praiseworthy); it was her drive and her entrepreneurial spirit that struck me. Don't be fooled: Once you get over the shock from her unapologetically frank and humorously crass language, you'll find that Wilma is a very smart woman--one who has made a name for herself not just in Pampanga, but in the big city. In one day trip to Manila, she can attend to as many as 10 clients. She provides her homemade wax to a high-end waxing salon, and trains newbie waxers. She even offers services for waxing parties (a really good price for a party of 10--great idea for a bridal shower!).

I was only with her for about an hour, but I was pretty impressed with what I could gather from her life story. She was able to find the hair-free balls to leave a bad marriage, and is working very hard to put her kids through school. Her story is so interesting, in fact, that a bunch of students even did a whole term paper about her!

I'll be calling her again for some, uh, maintenance, some tsismis, and a bit of inspiration--such a great, surprising source.

*And now, I leave you with something especially for the male readers, a little something I found online as I was researching different cuts:

From here. That last one is what is more commonly known as a boyzilian.

Want to get bulbolized? Contact Wilma through mobile 0917-8059176. She's usually in Manila on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you're interested in having a waxing party, she's game to do it on a weekend.

The first month...

...is a lot like being on vacation.

The first in our series of mini-honeymoons (here), since we can't seem to go on our Real Honeymoon just yet.

You know how, when you go out of town, you don't quite know where to put all your stuff, and you keep thinking you left some important things back home? You can't grab that moisturizer or that shirt from its usual place, you have to figure out where to plug in your hairdryer, you don't seem to know what's happening back home for lack of a local newspaper (or, in our case for a couple of weeks, a TV or a radio!).

That's kind of what it feels like to move in with someone.

But you know that totally relaxed feeling you get when you're on vacation mode--when you're just filled with happy thoughts? Everything's a great big adventure, and you're just raring to see what happens next. You go to bed every night, cherishing the precious hours you have with the love of your life, and wake up the next morning, thrilled--and totally at peace--to see him sleeping beside you.

That's what it feels like to be newly married.

We're still settling into the New Normal. I have to wake up relatively early now to cook H breakfast, and people everywhere--H's friends, my mom's househelper Winnie (and my default yaya for years), my teammates, my mother!--find it utterly hilarious and quite unbelievable that I now do chores. I've pretty much unpacked everything there is to unpack, and we're slowly putting together things to make the house much more functional and pretty. I'm still trying to figure out the whole gym schedule, since I no longer have trusty Lolito to drive me. And while we're on the topic of driving--my husband enrolled me in driving school! I spent three hours one afternoon, stressed out in Espana traffic.

A lot of adjustments, and the whole packing and unpacking and finding-a-place-for-everything wasn't very pleasant. But on the whole, I am love love loving being married!