Playing Office

On my first official day as a full-fledged freelancer, this is how my kitchen looked like. And now I have time to blog and get my online life in order.

My last day aboard the mother ship was quite serene and uneventful. Perhaps because I feel that I will still be a frequent passenger anyway. After all, I am not one to say goodbye to a hearty, savory bowl of Ocean Don. No, no, no.

Meanwhile, I have a beckoning to-do list. Between beating procrastination and battling paralyzing fear (i.e. Will I make the rent? Will I get enough projects to sustain my Whole Foods addiction habit? Will I finally meet Lindsay Lohan and Sam Ronson?) I am tackling tasks as well as planning for the future.

It's time to heed my own advice.

July felt like a theme park ride—dizzying, exciting, and at times, disorienting.

Okay, I know I haven't been blogging as often as... well, what cyberspace deems of its bloggers in this age of quick links and live feeds.

So there is my requisite oh-no-I-haven't-blogged intro. Anyway, here are my updates so far:

• Met the Patrimonio sisters (teen tennis players) and their mom for an interview. We met up at David Burke, a chi-chi cafe at the side of Bloomingdales. Overpriced, but cute. [See photo.] My feature is out today in the Inquirer.

• Former Preview fashion editor, Anne, is back in Manila now, but not before having a blast at Dante's Fourth of July Barbecue Bash. My friends and I had invited ourselves to an unwitting Dante, who ended up grilling steak on the deck of his lovely townhouse in Jersey City. I am finally enjoying Facebook, as I've successfully uploaded our pics there.

• Saw Hilary Roda, Gwyneth Paltrow, Elizabeth Hurley, and Carolyn Murphy at Estée Lauder's Sensous fragrance launch at Bloomies.

• What else? Sorry for this cryptic entry, my creative juices are being directed elsewhere at the moment, while I try to beat procrastination. Meanwhile, I'll let these pictures do the talking:

Murakami exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum.
Doing the whole floral thing with Anne.
Brunch at Serafina. This photo is priceless. But I won't say why ;)
Green day. Oh dear, that's so corny. Uploading more photos later!

Hello, Cosmo!

When I first saw the cover of this month's issue with Judy Ann Santos on the cover, I was blown away! I am so proud to have been part of this amazing team that puts out such a wonderful, dynamic read, month after month.

This issue is special, too, because one, my On My Mind piece on leaving one's comfort zone is in it, ("The Comfort Clause" p.176) and two, my Neighbor, Frances [far right in photo], looks gorgeous in one of the features ("Full Speed Ahead" p. 148). I was just raving yesterday about how her hair is so nice, and her skin, so fine (and exfoliated!). Galing!

Please grab a copy while you still can.

Cover photographed by Dix Perez
Dress: BCBG
Accessories: Monet, D!, and Cru
Makeup: Steven Doloso
Hair: Raymond Santiago for L'Oréal Professionnel
Fashion editor: Katrina Dy

Hot, Hot Housewarming

Little morsels of bliss: salmon, cream cheese, and caviar crostini.

Doing some catching up here. Click on the photo for more fun pics from Dave and Louie's happy housewarming party last May 31, where I won a Chi by Carlos Falchi handbag! The evening's theme was "Runway" and everyone showed up decked to the nines. (As for moi, I whipped out the false lashes and tubs of bronzer.)

Busy Business

Saying "I've been so busy" or "I've been so swamped lately" has already become some sort of cliche whether you live in Manhattan or Manila. But truth is, the phrases do apply to the state of my daily worklife lately—which I am taking as a good sign, right? Unfortunately, when this happens, the blog is the first to suffer a backslide. (Oops, I did it again.)

One of my favorite titas [aunts] used to say, "It's
easy to get lost in the busy-ness." She may have been referring to learning how to prioritize the important things in life, e.g. family, friends, and not just work. Back then (early twenties) I had been so immersed in my career as a young beauty editor at Seventeen, and later on Cosmo and Ok! Magazine.

These days, I would like to think that I have struck a balance between the kind of busy-ness that is healthy (a variety of preoccupations is key: desk job during the day, raket-raket [freelance gigs] at night, and yes I try—friends and family first) and the kind that makes you a slave to your Blackberry (I still don't have one, thank goodness!).

Anyway, in an effort to re-integrate myself into blogging, I am answering one of these very self-indulgent questionnaires that are just so fun regardless of their narcissistic qualities. This particular one is from the March 2008 issue of Elle, with Amy Adams on the cover. (I bought this magazine in February and I only got to read it today.) The original answers are by Narciso Rodriguez, italicized:

Elle Fashion Genius
(page 222)

Other than yourself, who is your favorite designer [writer]?
Cristóbal Balenciaga
The writers of Sex and the City the series.

If you could come back as a dress, which one would it be?
Lady Godiva's
A dress I saw in Harper's BAZAAR, I forget whose...
[This came out in the U.S. edition and adapted by the Russian edition for its cover.]

If you could come back as a model, who would you be?
Violeta Sánchez
Giselle Bundchen. I just wonder how it feels to be that gorgeous...

What's your favorite color?
Blue
Here we go again with this question hahaha.

What are you most vain about?
My weight
Skincare.

What are you most shy about?
Too shy to say.
My paunchy midsection ;)

If you could have somebody else's body, whose would it be?
Evandro Soldati's.
Ornusa Cadness's.

Who are you fantasy dinner party guests?
Louis Armstrong, Coco Chanel, Lee Miller, James Franco, Anaïs Nin, Romy Schneider, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Alain Delon, Abraham Lincoln, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, George Sand, and Amy Winehouse.
Diane Von Furstenburg, Martha Stewart, Meryll Streep, Hilary Duff, Paris Hilton, Henry Cavill. And then Henry Cavill will stay behind and help me do the dishes, woo hoo!!!

Where is your favorite place to have a drink?
Angel's Share, East Village, NYC.
In Manila, M Cafe. In Manhattan, Casellula.

What's your underwear of choice?
Zimmerli.
Marks & Spencer: the ones they sell a la Fruit of the Loom in packs of five or six—they last forever.

What's the last book you read?
Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart.
Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell. Now I'm rereading Basic Black by Cathie Black.

Do you have any pets?
Yes, three dogs, named Lucky, John, and Clifford
Basti.

What do you eat for breakfast?
Coffee, protein shake, egg whites.
I have a new mid-year resolution to start eating breakfast at home.

At age seven, you wanted to be:
A monk.
Most probably Betty or Veronica. Most likely Veronica.

What is one thing you find easiest to forgive?
A mistake.
An honest mistake.

What is one thing you find impossible to forgive?
Dishonesty.
Same.

Do you have any supertitions?
Many.
I try not to be superstitious but sometimes I really can't help it.

What's your biggest self-indulgence?
Ice cream.
Cheese.

Favorite place to shop?
Ted Muehling Store on Howard Street, NYC.
I haven't shopped in ages so for now I will say Zara. Today I've discovered Intermix though but I'm still a long way from calling it a fave.

Whose wallet would you like to steal?
No one's.
Ivanka Trump's.

Whose diary would you most like to read?
George W. Bush's.
Angelina Jolie's nannies'.

If you were an inventor, what would you invent?
A time machine.
A contraption that makes one fly (as in like a jet-backpack).

Who is your favorite furniture designer?
Poul Kjaerholm.
Alas, I am still in the Ikea stage.

What's your favorite car?
1967 Porsche 911.
My car in Manila! It's no longer mine now: Chevy Optra.

What was your childhood nickname?
"Cisito," diminutive of "Ciso" (my father), diminutive of "Narciso" (my grandfather).
Maan. Short for Mariel Antonette.

When and where are you happiest?
The holidays at my home in Brazil.
Siesta with Alvs.

Who is your best friend?
Annick.
I don't like the term. I'd been traumatized in high school so I try not to use it.

What is your worst enemy?
Cigarettes.
Sugar. But I adhere to the "Keep your enemies close" credo hehe.

What piece of art would you most like to own?
Gerhard Richter's 439.
Hmm... not there yet. Same as Ikea stage. I like Jack Vettriano's work though.

Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Bahia, Brazil.
Mustique is the dream. Palawan is the plan.

Who is your favorite fictional character?
Cartman on South Park.
She's usually fictionalized: Anne Boleyn.

What is your most treasured possession?
A handwritten letter from a late friend.
I can't think of anything at the moment. Maybe my portfolio because it has all the original clips?

Your favorite band/musician/song?
Radiohead.
Song: Fade by Solu Music featuring Kimblee. Band: Phoenix

If you weren't a designer [writer] what yould you be?
An architect.
A pastry chef.

What current trend would you like to see disappear?
Grotesque accessories.
I have to pay more attention to credibly answer this question.

What's your biggest fashion regret?
A mullet.
Wearing a Giordano polo shirt and pants—thinking that's what "semi-formal" and "dressed" meant—at a movie premiere when I was a freshman in college. Everyone else wore black dresses. That is probably one of the reasons why I am always overdressed now hahaha!

Favorite trend of all time?
Jeans.
Dresses and playsuits—they're so easy and fun to wear!

Worst trend of all time?
Logomania.
The only thing I could think of at the moment is back in 2001 or so, magazines kept on showing models wearing pointy-pumps, with colored socks. It just looked wrong, even if I didn't know much about fashion at the time.

Always:
Be cool.
Choose happiness and honesty.

Never:

Not cool.
Lie and backbite.