Back on the boob tube

Had loads of fun at the recent radio tour, where I met a new set of DJs--Wave's George (so surreal since I do listen to her on the radio), RT's Ron, Jam's Hilary and Scottie (really cool), and U92's Eri (hilarious!). I was also back in the booth with CJ and Suzy--I really do enjoy being on their show!

I generally like doing radio tours more than TV appearances, but lately I've had a lot of those too. Anything to pimp out my mag, encourage people to go grab a copy, and in effect, help me keep my job!

On ANC's Shoptalk with Pia Hontiveros

There are two kinds of TV shows: taped and live. Both have their pros and cons. While with taped shows, you can rest easy knowing that anything stupid you say can be edited out, the whole process normally takes longer. You get a call time, but often either the crew (for location shoots) or the host (in-studio shoots--I guess TV personalities' scheds are pretty packed) are late. So you end up playing the waiting game. And, in my opinion, sitting around and waiting is a huge energy drainer.

Live shows, on the other hand, have a schedule to stick to, so things are brisk and efficient. However, there are no re-takes. And there are those dreaded Q&A portions. You really have to be on your toes and come up with quick, satisfactory answers. Very Miss Universe-esque, but instead of talking about world peace or the essence of being a woman, I have to talk about the best way to clean marble flooring, for example.

Me with Wilma Doesnt and Lucy Torres on QTV's The Sweet Life. Also in the pic is our mag's pimp (the one who arranges all our guestings) Kritzel.

I'm thankful that I haven't been overcome by nerves so much, so my appearances so far have been alright. We've promoted the heck out of our latest ish, which covers Jan to Feb, so we have a month-long break from TV gigs for now. That leaves me enough time to look for 10-inch heels so I don't look quite so short beside Lucy!

Kids say the darndest things

Because my kuya and his wifey are away, I made sure to drop by and hang out with the kids. Highlight of my day! (Btw, my brothers are just going everywhere! Germany for Oktoberfest, Rio for Carnival, Africa, the Caribbean...meanwhile, I didn't even get to leave the country last year! Boo!)

So anyway, I love talking to kids because it is endlessly amusing. I'm all about the Socratic method because I think kids can have such interesting answers! Case in point, H's niece (one of our flower girls), Caity. This three-year-old seems so much older than her actual age. Some snippets:

Caity: I'll show you my flowers! (takes my hand and leads me to their sampaguita plant)
Me: Do you want to see a baby flower? (I point to a bud)
Caity: Ooh.
Me: Do you know what happens to a baby flower?
Caity: It opens and turns into a mama flower!

~*~*~*~

(Caity was playing with her new toy unicorn)
Me: What do unicorns eat?
Caity: (pause) Hay.
Me: Ahh. Where do unicorns live?
Caity: Umm...
Me: Do they live in a stable? In a forest? In a cave?
Caity: It liveth in an enchanted foretht!
Me: What do unicorns do?
Caity: It hath magic!
Me: What kind of magic? Does it fly?
Caity: (rolling her eyes and holding the unicorn up to my face) It doethn't have wingth!
(Kulang na lang may "Hello?"!)

~*~*~*~

This evening, I was with my two sweethearts (or "sweetie pies"--Diego corrects me whenever I say "sweetie"), three-year-old Diego and two-year-old Marga. I nearly had a heart attack watching them jump off things, and will probably have a sore back tomorrow after serving as their trampoline. But it is absolute joy just spending time with them--when they're in a good mood! Tonight's gems:

(Introducing me to their horsies)
Diego: This is Mister Diego!
Marga: (showing her horse) Mister Marga!

~*~*~*~

(After they ran around barefoot)
Me: Diego, look at your feet. Yak. What color are they?
Diego: Black!
(Marga was showing me her blue and green Tinkerbell nightgown)
Me: Marga, what color is Tinkerbell?
Marga: Black!

~*~*~*~

Me: Bye-bye na, I have to go home.
Diego: Why?
Me: Because Tito Hamil is waiting for me.
Diego: When the sun is out tomorrow, you wake up then go to my house.

~*~*~*~

Me: (singing to Marga who literally watches Cinderella 3 ten times a day!) Salagadula, menchikabula...
Marga: Badada badada booo!!!

Hahaha. That totally made my day!

These shoes were made for walking

A lot of people know me for my high heels. At my old job, I learned to run in three-inch heels because I was always rushing to beat the bundy clock (the security guards were on my side. And oh, I have since progressed to running in four-inch heels). And, on one occasion, when a co-worker caught me in sneakers on my way to the gym, he remarked, "Ang liit mo pala!"

Which is why I don't really wear flats. I always thought that ballet flats would make me look squat because of the width of my feet and my, uh, general self. Haha. But I resolved to buy ballet flats that I could live with, and so I went hunting. The result...

...Flats that I can't just live with, but which I actually love! As you can see, they're by el cheapo Parisian, found in all SM Department Stores. I heart this brand because they have such stylish shoes that don't cost a bundle. This pair, for example, was less than P500! Woohoo! I love the whole snakeskin thang it's got going. Funnily enough, while I was wearing these, I ran into one of the fab former Preview girls, and she was wearing platforms in the exact same pattern. (She got hers on sale at H&M.) And they don't make me look squat at all--in fact, they seem to make my legs look longer. Yay! On the minus side, these pinch my feet a bit because they're a half size smaller than normal--SM ran out of shoes in my exact size. But I snatched them up anyway because they're just so darn cute.

Hooray for cute, cheapie finds! Hooray for being a girl who can blog about such inane things!

On my nightstand

Poirot's Early Cases by Agatha Christie

Mystery, I've recently rediscovered, is one of my favorite genres. I remember being introduced to old-school Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew in second grade. Every Friday, I would borrow a hard-bound book from the library and spend my Saturday afternoon just reading. I can't remember when I stopped doing this. But I do remember that I was one of the few people who had to get another library card because I borrowed a lot more books than other students! Yes, I was (am) a nerd.

I first read Agatha Christie a few years ago, when a celeb I interviewed mentioned that his favorite book was And Then There Were None (also known as Ten Little Indians). He absolutely raved about the book, so my curiosity was piqued. I must admit I wasn't all that impressed with the book, but started reading Christie again after finding a few volumes at my brother-in-law's. This particular book is a collection of short mystery stories featuring one of Christie's beloved heroes, M. Hercule Poirot. I like the short story format because I don't have to read an entire novel before I find out whodunnit! My favorite so far is "The Chocolate Box," because it seemed like the most plausible. While all mysteries have clues peppered here and there, this story seemed like it gave all the necessary info for the reader to solve it, no weird new info revealed in the end.

The Long Tail by Chris Anderson

No, not the Birdman. This Chris Anderson is the editor in chief of US magazine Wired. So anyway, yeah, non-fiction. I'm not big on the non-fiction. It's funny how H's row on our bookshelf is all non-fiction, while mine is full of fiction. At a bookstore once, he tried to persuade me to go for something more "useful" by getting a non-fiction title. "I'm a writer. Fiction inspires me," I said coolly, and he just let me have my way. In truth, I am just not a non-fiction kind of girl. But Frances told me about this book after we talked about making money off of blogs!

"The Long Tail" is a term coined by Anderson in an article he wrote for his magazine, and it has since become one of the most cited articles in recent times. It talks about how the Internet is changing the way business is done. In business, he explains, there are those items that sell the most (the hits) at the top of a downward curve. This curve includes all other items a business has to offer, right down to those that sell few to zero units (the tail). Interestingly enough, when it comes to virtual stores, this tail stretches seemingly endlessly, with even the most obscure items selling at least one unit. It's all about niches now--selling less of more.

I've just started on the book, and I'm flexing my brain because I'm expecting a whole lot of statistics and economics (not my strong suit, even though I do come from a family of economists!). That part of my brain has lain dormant for a few years. Time to dust off the cobwebs!

The 3-in-1 workout

Yesterday, I tried my hand (and the rest of my body) at a new class called barre3. It combines "the grace of the ballet barre with the wisdom of yoga and the strength of pilates."

The equipment: a ballet barre, a strap, a ball, a mat, and muscle! (Photo from the barre3 website)

It is described as "a highly effective 60-minute workout using the ballet barre as a prop to create equal length and strength in the body." It isn't exactly a slow-paced class, as one might expect; instead, it's done with some upbeat music in the background. (When Kesha's "Tik Tok" came on, I wanted to drop my weights and dance!)

The class I attended was at the new barre3 studio at The Spa High Street. It's a fully equipped barre3 studio with a cork floor, lockers, and a shower with hot water (a must for me!). It's recommended to come in yoga-ish attire, meaning somewhat fitted clothes, so that your form can be seen and corrected as needed.

As seen in the photo, the workout makes use of a ballet barre, a strap, a ball, and a mat. There are also free weights (two-pound dumbells) involved in some moves. If my quads hadn't hurt from a leg-strengthening exercise that I did the days before the barre3 class, I might have been able to hold the poses longer and do the proper amount of reps (especially for the squats). But as it was, with all the existing aches and pains plus the excess holiday weight, it was a bit of a challenge! But a challenge is good. It's but right to give your body a push every now and then. It became obvious to me, though, how much strength I've lost since I stopped going to the gym and doing core exercises--I couldn't even hold the plank (bridge) for a minute and had to do the modified pose. Sigh.

In a barre3 class, it feels a lot like your body is being sculpted (sans invasive machines sucking and tucking!). After that one hour, I felt like my core was firmer and that my body was all stretched out. Our instructor, Marie, revealed that their teacher grew three centimeters after doing barre3! Now there's something Vitamin B can't do for someone my age!

Want to try barre3? Classes are held three times a day at The Spa at Bonifacio High Street and Alabang. Classes at Rockwell and Eastwood to follow. Single class rate is P700. Monthly and annual rates available.

Breathtaking

I first heard about Slim's a few years ago when I found out that a couple of friends were taking sewing classes there. I wondered about the name but wasn't curious enough to research. It was only late last year--when the office was all abuzz with excitement over the launch of the Slim's Retrospective at the National Museum--that I learned that it's short for Salvacion Lim Higgins, one of the Philippines' most famous designers.

I was not familiar with her work, but I got acquainted with it through this book:

I'm not a fashion person (though I often wonder what my life would be like now had I taken that Preview job years ago), but that was the first time that I ever got lost in the pages of a coffee table book about fashion. Neal Oshima's photography was glorious, the subjects even moreso. Even vintage photos of Slim's works really struck me. Beautiful gowns seemingly floating in mid-air, the masterful draping--I was mesmerized. Such detail, such construction, such imagination! The inspired, architectural things she did with the terno! Oh, this was a woman who was truly ahead of her time.

I have to somehow convince my husband to accompany me to the National Museum again, so I could see these works of art up close. If you get the chance, do head on over to Manila; the exhibit runs til March.

The Slim's Retrospective is at the Museum of the Filipino People, National Museum of the Philippines, Manila. Exhibit open daily except Monday and Tuesday, 10:00 am to 4:30pm. Entrance fees: P100 (adults), P30 (students) free admission on Sundays. For more info, call (02) 527-0278.

Top 10 for 2009 (part 2)

And the list continues...

5. GNO girls

I miss my girls! And my small waist! But not the stress that produced it.

The night was legend--wait for it--ary! My girls just gave me a night (stretching until sunrise) of fun, fun, fun! It was a rockin' way to bid my single life adieu! Jo, my reflective, creative, unbelievably intelligent friend, with whom I can have such meaningful, mind-blowing conversations. Mottie, my gorgeous gorgeous NY partner in crime. Chingy, my BFF--need I say more?

When I imagine what kind of friendships I might have thirty years from now, I think of Mamma Mia! and am quite convinced that that's the kind of friendship I would have with these ladies--jumping off piers in Greece, and just giving life and each other great big hugs!

4. Mads

My dress by Mads, of course!

What would I do without Mads? She is my soul sister, the one who never judges me, the one whose family has adopted me! Whenever I wonder if I'm a bad person, I try not to be too hard on myself and attempt to see myself through Mads's eyes. This pure-hearted angel always sees the best in people. Pancake House is my happy place, but her house--filled with the warmth of her family and the deliciousness of their food--is a very close second! I am ecstatic that 2009 was a milestone year for her as well, with her engagement to my soon-to-be brother-in-law. Mads deserves every happiness that this world has to offer.

3. Marie and Tata

Only pic I could find for now. That's me, Tata (center), and Marie (beside me) with the fabulous Preview girls.

The charmed ones. My two-man wedding committee. They helped me make decisions (not an easy task when the decision-making involves wedding details, mind you) and, more importantly, served and continue to serve as my nonwedding-related personal cheerleaders. From them, I get good vibes, lots of positive energy, great conversations, and plenty of laughs. And, in Marie's case, gorgeous makeup. When she remembers. Haha. (Sorry Marie, I couldn't resist! You know I love you.)

2. My mom

My beautiful mother with my sweetheart of a niece (she was in her Snow White phase when this was taken)

Being married is awesome, but what do I miss most about my past life? Or, more appropriately, who do I miss most? My mother. If it hadn't been for her, our wedding probably would have been delayed, more expensive, and more stressful. When H was away and I slept over at their place, she had packs of Moo stashed in the fridge for me. She sometimes sweetly asks me if I need our trusty driver Lolito. She is one of the kindest, most loving people that anyone would ever be lucky to meet, and I am immensely blessed that she is my mom! (The rest of my family rocks, too!)

1. Man of the Year: My husband

Our first Christmas as husband and wife. A very merry Christmas, indeed!

Of course!

What can I say that I haven't said before? That, even though I didn't think it was possible, he's an even better husband than he was a boyfriend? That every night, I relish sleeping beside him, and that every morning, it is absolute joy waking up next to him? That it makes me teary-eyed (case in point: um, now) just thinking about how deeply I love him? That I want to spend my whole life thanking God for blessing me with such a wonderful partner?

In fact, I want to spend my whole life thanking God for surrounding me with such amazing souls. (Miguel, that includes you. Haha.) Every person on this list has touched my life--in 2009 and even in years before that. And there are many more people who may not be on the list, but who are constantly in my prayers. To my family, friends, all the people I hold dear--thank you!