I live in the Q.C. (Quezon City) and it has everything a girl like me would need: shopping malls, parks, restaurant rows, etc. So I very rarely make my way to the other end of EDSA and that imposing structure known as the SM Mall of Asia.

I’m only here when I need to a) see some friends for whom MOA is the closest/most convenient mall; b) attend Fashion Week or any other event held at the SMX Convention Center in the MOA complex; c) attend work-related meetings at Fitness First MOA; or d) visit a specific store not found in any other mall in Metro Manila.

It’s for Reason D that I’m at MOA right now, having made my way through the 2-hour traffic jams caused by payday Friday (and I should note that it’s Friday the 13th as well). I’ve brought my entire mobile office with me as well, since I don’t want to pop into the store, get what I’m looking for, and then leave MOA to go work somewhere else on my articles.

So here I am ensconced in my little corner of Coffee Bean counting the reasons I don’t come to MOA more often.

Reason #1: It takes too long to get to MOA! I live about 15 minutes away from SM North EDSA, and 10 minutes from Trinoma. Today it took me 2 hours to get to MOA. One hour into the trip and I was only on EDSA-Santolan.

Reason #2: MOA is huge! While I appreciate that there might be more shopping choices in a mall of this size, most of the stores also have branches in other malls in the metro, and since stores of similar pricing and products aren’t located near each other, it can be quite tiring to window-shop in MOA. In fact, it’s making me tired just thinking about it… And good luck if you’re trying to find a specific store but don’t know where it’s located: there may be touch-screen store maps around the mall, but some of these terminals aren’t working anymore, and the listings may not be updated.

Reason #3: MOA is crowded! You’d think a mall of this size would have ample space for people, but during certain times of the day you won’t be able to find a place to sit down or even stand in line at the restaurants and fast food chains. There are always throngs of people here no matter what time of the day as well. Don’t these people have jobs they need to be at? Or maybe they’re all freelance, like me?

Reason #4: It’s too hot to walk around in MOA. Apart from the main mall, which is fully air-conditioned, getting from store to store involves walking along a non-airconditioned corridor. I know boardwalks are vey popular in other countries, and MOA is built right on Manila Bay with that boardwalk feel. Unfortunately, this is the Philippines and “al fresco beside the ocean” translates to “sticky and sweaty”.

Still, it’s always an adventure to come here. I just always need a whole day — and comfy shoes! — to take it all in.

Over the many years I’ve been alive, I’ve discovered and dealt with many allergies — from the milk formula I had as a baby, to a period in my prepubescent years where my parents had to put me on a prophylactic medicine because they couldn’t figure out what I was allergic to, to learning I could never fearlessly eat shrimp, crab, or lobster again. In medical-speak, I’m “atopic”, which means my body reacts to small allergens in a big way. They’ve always been rather temporary incident, however, and I’m thankful to God that I’ve never had to undergo desensitization because the things I’m allergic to are easily avoidable.

The past two weeks, though, I’ve had to deal with a new allergy. It’s not one that has me scratching at hives, or struggling to breathe, as in previous instances. It’s not even an allergy that’s immediately visible.

Not many of you know that I grind my teeth while I sleep. To keep my teeth from grinding down to a pulp (eww!), my dentist had a mouthguard custom-made for me. In order to keep it from becoming a harbor for bacteria (another eww!), the manufacturers treated it with an antibacterial agent.

The first month I had that mouthguard, I had nightmares regarding teeth falling out, but I reasoned that it had something to do with my brain adjusting to having something in my mouth while I slept. Now that I think about it, though, it might have been my subconscious telling me there was something wrong with that mouthguard; my body had started reacting in small ways to the material it was made of and/or the antibacterial agent it was treated with, until it finally could take no more.

Two Mondays ago, I woke up with swelling in my gums and my mouth’s inner lining, and my tongue felt burnt. I initially thought it had come from using a strong breath spray. It was so bad that I couldn’t chew or swallow anything solid without pain. I stopped using my mouthguard and waited for my mouth to heal, which it did by last Sunday. In the back of my mind, though, I had a nagging suspicion that the swelling had something to do with my mouthguard, since all the areas that had swollen had been in contact with it.

Last Tuesday evening, I put the mouthguard back in for the first time. Four hours later, when I woke up early Wednesday morning, the swelling was back. I knew then that it was an allergy. It was so bad that I had to take two corticosteroid tablets, and people thought I’d undergone collagen lip injections. (LOL!) And then began another cycle of being unable to eat. But since the second allergic reaction happened so close to the first one, it was even worse this time around. Even drinking water to moisten my tongue brought tears to my eyes, and talking was definitely out of the question. It got to the point where I actually began wondering if my mouth would ever return to normal.

I woke up this morning with the pain lessened just a bit, so I know the worst is over — and I’m never using that mouthguard again!

You may wonder, why would God allow me to go through the whole painful experience twice in a row? And why couldn’t this allergy be dealt with as painlessly as the previous ones?

Well, I do believe it was no coincidence. I work with words for a living, but sometimes I don’t realize how powerful speech is. Due to my enforced silence, I’ve realized a new economy of words. I’ve learned how much of my side of a conversation could be pointless or unproductive or just hampers other people from speaking their minds. I’ve also learned to listen more, and that it’s okay not to have to entertain people with “witty” yet fruitless conversation that, at its worst, is a series of sarcastic put-downs. Let’s not waste words, but instead use them to encourage, inform, and empower each other.

If I learn this lesson well, my pain for the past two weeks will not be for nothing. Ü

For the past month or two, people watching a certain cable TV shopping network at odd hours of the night have caught me demonstrating how to use exercise gadgets. (I might say “hawking wacky machines”.) I take it in stride but find it totally funny how people just have to mention, “Hey I saw you on TV!” But hey, I love the attention, right? Otherwise I wouldn’t even be putting myself out there.

I don’t know if you all realize how easy it is to get on TV. You just have to grab any opportunity that presents itself, whether it’s filing a VTR with an agency, attending castings and auditions for television shows, or simply making friends with segment producers. (It’s much, much harder getting into commercials, which are a completely different animal.)

Lately, I’ve been in much more than infomercials (hooray for busting stereotypes!) and hopefully am being seen as much more than just a gym instructor. My good friend Katrina Vinluan is the PR and marketing manager for a fashion brand, ilana, and she tapped me to model their clotheing on not just one, but two mainstream television features about their clothing. It’s kind of insane and hilarious to think I’ve taken on the capacity of professional model, considering my lack of height and abundance of curves — but I guess that’s exactly what the clothes need to come to life off the hanger.

We shot the segment for QTV’s “The Beat” about a week earlier than our live guesting on “Shoptalk @ ANC”, which I can’t find a video of. Here’s an edited version of our segment on “The Beat”.

It’s an exciting time for me, and there’s so much more in the pipeline. After about a year of waiting, I’m thanking God for these opportunities he’s sending my way. Ü

Tags: Television Guesting, Ilana Fashion, Modeling

Last Thursday, I woke up with light crease lines on my forehead. I was surprised — and horrified. I always moisturize after every bath, but maybe that wasn’t enough. So, it was a good thing on that same day Clinique held their press launch for their newest product, Youth Surge.

Freezing and Turning Back Time

There are so many competing anti-aging products on the market, increasingly targeted toward women of all ages who want to keep the signs of time at bay. Clinique Youth Surge does this by working at the cellular level. It helps cells replicate themselves exactly and repairs cell damage, which causes the signs of aging like wrinkles, dark spots, and sagging.

Youth Surge is offered in two versions: the day cream has SPF 15 to protect skin against incidental sun exposure, which is a main cause of skin aging. The night cream is fortified with vitamins and more moisture because skin tends to dry out more at night.

Clinique’s marketing department gave us a sample of the night cream, which gave me a chance to try it out. I may be young(-ish), but prevention is always better than cure. I’ve been using the night cream for a week now, and the crease lines on my forehead have disppeared. Whew! Additionally, my skin’s texture feels more even, and it always looks in the pink of health when I wake up in the mornings, rather than ashy like it used to look.

Small but Terrific

This small pot of moisturizer is brimming with a very rich cream; a little goes a long way, which makes me happy because I won’t have to run out and buy moisturizer any time soon. But when I do, I’ll make it Youth Surge again.

Tags: Clinique Youth Surge, Skin Care, Moisturizer

I’ve just realized that in all my years of blogging, I’ve never once written about Valentine’s Day, much less the month of love. Because this Hallmark holiday is such a bastion of romantic love and coupledom, finding myself single every Valentine’s Day has been cause for ignoring it and all the hoopla around it.

I’d like to believe Valentine’s Day is not just about romantic love, but about love in all its forms. I’m blessed to have people I love and who love me to share this day with! So even as a single young woman, I do have a short wishlist of what I would like on Valentine’s Day.

1. Flowers: yes, I know they’re overpriced and they’ll wilt in three to five days. But I still want them! /irrational woman
2. Hugs: not many people know this, but I love getting hugged by people who are important to me. Makes me feel wanted and appreciated.
3. Bling-Bling: of course, I’m only kidding. I’d rather have…
4. Chocolate: yes, please fill me up with phenols, the luuuuv chemical. Ü
5. Time: nothing makes me feel more loved than people wanting to spend time with me.

As you can see, I want simple stuff for Valentine’s, and I’m sure I’ll get these things one way or another. I thought I’d have more detailed desires, but it seems like I already have everything I could need. Ü

What’s your wishlist? I hope on Valentine’s Day, you get it!

Whoever said that showbiz is easy has probably never been in a production. For the past month I’ve had the privilege of guesting on Shop TV Live as a workout instructor demonstrating various equipment on sale with the regular hosts Phoemela Baranda, Vanessa Dime, and William Thio. But whether talent or crew member, everyone has to work through crazy hours (though there’s lots of slack time at times).

I’m at the studio now waiting to tape my last two segments for this season. Watch out for me on ShopTV (ch. 13 on Sky, ch. 9 on Destiny) at 5:30pm daily soon! Ü

Tags: ShopTV Live, Showbiz