Magalove, Part 2

What makes you happy?

The perfect career for me would be something that would allow me to bake, read, write, edit, and travel for a living—all within the balance of sufficient (or even abundant) food, rest, and exercise.

Fortunately, I've been able to live this kind of life for the past year a half. It was nice to spend some personal time doing the things I love and getting paid for it, in modest amounts and otherwise.

However, I've set new goals in life that now require me to get back into working in New York City as a full-time employee. I am simply hoping that whatever the 40 hours or more of work I'll be doing would still allow for the things I enjoy, or preferably, would still be related to the activities mentioned above.

My turn on the Brooklyn Bridge.

In 2008 began an influx of "Magazines are dying, newspapers are closing, everything's moving online..." which was neither good nor empowering for someone who truly loved paper and print media in general (and for someone who had just moved across the miles to land her next editorial job). A friend recently mentioned that the buzz now is that the industry will be a dinosaur in five years: "The magazines are so thin now and the only one to survive all of this is most likely Vogue." And I don't even read Vogue. (Elle and Vanity Fair, I like.)

Magazines will always be my first love.
(Click on the photo for the first Magalove post.)

But, it's 2010 and magazines are still around. My newspaper column still comes out. Most of the publications I'd contributed to or worked in—with the exception of one or two—are still churning out pages month by month; with its editors working as hard as ever. As for the 'new media' thing, I've logged on a considerable amount of time setting up shop online, so I'm not too worried about that. In fact, I've enjoyed many writing and editing projects this past year, and, ironically, the assignments, except for one luxury hotel brand, that have earned me substantial amounts from working off-site and online were actually funded by parent companies whose main business and revenue stream come from—gasp—magazines!

So, whether or not it's true that the print industry would be extinct in X number of years, I'd very much like to be around when the curtain finally falls. In the meantime, the (glossy) show must go on, and I'm only happy to be part of the working cast.

Courtesy of Harper's BAZAAR and American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME).

HK by the way

At the Hong Kong airport last week, the first thing that came to mind was "I want to buy a [Canon] G11 camera." But, with a pending green card renewal that would set me back at least $800, plus, new expenses relating to my next NY move, a new gadget is definitely out of the question.

For those who know me, I'm not big on big-ticket items and fancy electronics. While my purchases seem to be done out of impulse—as in the case of my Nokia phone and Acer netbook—the splurges usually 'pay' for themselves in the form of the number of years I use them (very much like that famous fashion equation when justifying a purchase). I still have the same phone mentioned above bought back in 2007, and the only reason I bought a netbook was because a new battery for my seven-year-old iBook cost half of the price of my new computer. And, I needed something more portable for the new 'mobile' lifestyle I'd aimed for at the start of my freelance career.

Going back to the subject of cameras, I still have my trusty, sturdy, Sony Cybershot, now five years old! It fits the palm of my hand and still takes beautiful pictures (like the one above and most on this blog). It only occurred to me to upgrade when I saw how the newly-launched cameras featured ridiculously amazing and precise Auto settings, as seen in the G11, or my friends Frances and Vince's Olympus E-PL1. Oh well, for now, a new camera will have to wait.

Anyway, here are some thoughts on my recent layover in HK:

1) It's huge!

Other big airports are the way they are because they accommodate larger locales, but for a small country, this one had plenty of space. I flew out on a Monday and it felt like a VIP, as if the terminals were cleared for me to walk in peace! Anna Wintour alone on the elevator immediately came to mind.

One can do cartwheels in here.

2) So many stylish women!

I noticed a handful young ladies in heels, while the older women were in custom pantsuits and spring jackets in lovely prints. I spotted one in a black knit (or lace?) bolero paired with pearls. Good thing I've made it a personal policy to be dressed at the airport, ever since I started flying regularly almost a decade ago. (For the first two years, I always wore comfy sweatpants and trainers on long-haul flights. One time, I decided to experiment by wearing a tailored jacket and pointy kitten-heels—and I noticed everyone became nicer!)

3) It has a cute food court.

By 'cute' I mean it has substantial offerings in the form of hefty bowls of noodle soup, freshly-baked cookies and muffins, and the sort of things I like to eat and tote along when traveling. Anyhow, for more on food, visit my other blog, AllMySugar.com, where I've just written about finally making buttercream frosting. I'm in a baking frenzy! But more on that on my next blog post.

Oh, Lovely Beach Weekend

See that pristine stretch of sand? That's where we went.

I'd recently posted a message on my cousin Jacque's Facebook page after seeing a beautiful photo she uploaded from a trip to Camiguin Island a week before. I said how much I would want to get to go to the beach one last time before summer was over, at least in this part of the world. (I'm actually headed for my second summer next week, when I head back to the U.S. Yay!)

She asked if I still had time to visit the family out of town and within minutes, I booked myself and my husband Cebu Pacific tickets online. I actually only had enough money for the one-way trip, and I figured, I would buy the tickets for going back later in the week. Jacque, being naturally quick and efficient, scheduled the boat that would take us to another island (secret!) about an hour from where they live. Talk about fun and relaxing!

Here are some photos from our trip.

The kids on the net (at the side of the boat) en route to the island.

My husband, snorkeling in clear waters.

Enjoying a dip in flippers.

Good clean fun in the sun.

Sunning myself on the boat.

A stopover in the middle of the ocean.