I wrote this!

The Official Guide to ZAPPING the FRESHMAN 15 is here! It's my first ever non-fiction book, and I'm super excited that it's finally out. I co-authored it with fitness specialist, model and actress, Marsha Irving, whom I met one fateful day back in 2008. Three years later, we have our humble fitness primer dedicated to college freshmen and health aficionados alike.

I'll post select pages one of these days. In the meantime, please feel free to pick up a copy from the following online retailers: Amazon, (paperback and Kindle edition), Barnes & Noble, and Xlibris (our publisher).

A special shout-out to art director and designer, Claude Rodrigo, whose portfolio you may view here. She also posts more recent works at clauderodrigo.wordpress.com.

Here's what's on the back cover (and I don't have to put quotation marks because they're my words, yay!):

The Official Guide to ZAPPING the
FRESHMAN 15
by Marsha Irving and Mariel M. Chua

Fight the flab with this simple, easy-to-read guide to keeping those extra 15 pounds off during Freshman year…and beyond!

With helpful tips, tricks, and shortcuts to staying lean and eating healthy, this little handbook is your one-stop shop to all things fit and fab.

Navigate the tricky world of fastfood restaurants with a straightforward listing of belly-friendly options, and give yourself a body makeover with a custom eating and exercise plan—all within your busy, busy college schedule.

Not the 'exercising' type? The Freshman 15 lists gym-free moves to get you going, in or out of the locker room, on and off campus. You'll be hopping from class to class, party to party, armed with stress-busting moves and smart snacking strategies to help you make the most of what could be the most amazing time of your life!

Cover design by: Claude M. Rodrigo

Proud *author* (wee!).

Fired Up

Let the sunshine through. Summer Solstice is the day of the year
with the longest period of daylight. (Wikipedia)  

Walking to yoga class earlier, I caught a glimpse of my old office building down the road—a beaming tower of modern glass where I worked during my early days in New York. It occurred to me how the tower became the springboard for all the things that have happened, career-wise, from that time onward.

The thought passed and I arrived in class, not having any expectations other than the usual anticipation of an extra intense session, given that it was a Tuesday and that the teacher on that day always knew how to make everybody/every body sweat buckets.

When I got to the studio, students were quickly filling in and there were two bongo players in the room. It turns out, tonight was a celebration of Summer Solstice—the longest day of the year. It's when the sun reaches its highest point in the atmosphere, if I understood correctly (with the opposite being Winter Solstice). The teacher explained that Summer Solstice is the time we can harness the energy of the sun on this special day to initiate change/s in our life. And, if I go over the last 24 hours, I could very well say and point out special and amazing things that have happened; changes and happy occurrences, which, of course I ultimately attribute to God (because God made the sun, and the universe…).

While laying on the mat, I got to thinking about the words 'fired' and 'fired-up.' The former is a word that many prefer not to discuss, with 'layoff' being the more digestible and acceptable term. I thought, what if we started thinking about the word 'fired' in a way that it signified 'fired-up'…as in that springboard I mentioned earlier. We "fire up" to the next challenge. We "fire up" to the next job. We "fire up" to the next step.

Happy Summer, everyone!

University Fashion and Beauty

The 2011 version of what
I would have worn in college.

In retrospect, it perfectly worked out that none of the "cute" boys I liked and pined over back in college found me attractive—maybe because I looked like them and dressed like them.

I fondly refer to my college days as the time when I had fashion amnesia. (I pointed out my penchant for t-shirts and shorts back then in my "Blast from the past" and "Short Shorts" posts.) As a tween, I pretty much was as prissy as the next Selena-Gomez-Justin-Bieber follower if it were 2011 back in the late eighties/early nineties, but for some reason, by the time my college years rolled around, I had no semblance of fashion nor concept of beauty (I do remember purchasing one tube of lipstick in my junior year. I still remember what it was: Revlon Raisin Rage…so maybe I did have the makings of a beauty editor).

It would take a magazine internship, an editor promotion, and a makeover to snap me back to the kikay youngster I once was. One of my early purchases at this new stage was a pair of turquoise BCBG pointy mules from DSW (back when BCBG shoes weren't as readily available online) that I wore to one of the Seventeen anniversary parties. This is why when the whole magazine thing happened, university friends were baffled by my so-called "transformation," whereas my co-Sweet Valley Twins cohorts were probably just as surprised at how I managed to even start looking like a boy.

And, going back to those college guys, all the platonic friendships and unrequited crushes gave me enough time to climb, go to the beach and road trips, and make great friends—both male and female. If I had snagged a boyfriend back then, I would've been too distracted by the serious emotional involvement to create awesome memories of those carefree years.

Suffice it to say, I was finally asked out by good-on-paper boys during those early years as a magazine editor. True, it was fun and exciting, but now that I think about it, it was ironic because I was still the same person from college who wore t-shirts and Birkenstocks to class. Is it because of clothes that I attracted class clowns and geeks instead of frat guys, jocks, and politicians' sons? (On another note, those nerdy types turned out to be great career men and responsible partners later on.)

Fast forward to 2004, when I met the man who would become my husband, it was time for yet another makeover: I'd gained a lot of weight and was in the middle of trying to shed it all off. Simply put, I met my husband when I was fat, and no amount of beauty or fashion could have covered up all of it. That, too, surprisingly worked out. And, that's the subject of another blog post.

Image courtesy of Bluefly.com.

Summer Minute Now

A sunny spring day at Union Square in early May.

Summertime is when I have a more profound appreciation for New York.

In a city whose inhabitants find themselves walking on the street at any given moment; a city whose dwellers randomly stop by at parks or benches in the middle of intersections for a quick meal, to read any of the two free daily newspapers (or something a little bit more involved, such as The New York Times), or both, the warm weather heightens the propensity to scatter about and linger on the streets even more so. And, given that one only needs to slip on a single layer of clothing, getting ready and being out and about is only a matter of a few quick New York minutes.

That goes to say that I truly love this season. So much so it compels me to address the blog backlog and put these warm-weather thoughts in writing. Another reason why summer in the city calls out to me particularly is because this is when the Big Apple feels very much like my hometown of Manila—hot as an oven, yet, exhilarating and teeming with promise…maybe of something fun and awe-inspiring right around the corner (I know this may sound shallow and pretentious, but Serendra comes to mind. If it helps, Cubao as well.)

True, I may need to get an AC, ASAP. But, every bead of sweat further solidifies my conviction to choose to live here. And, when the temperature dips once again to a dreadful low come autumn, and  then wintertime, the promise of yet another beautiful, colorful, balmy summer will keep me sticking to and sticking up for this place I now call home.

Peek-a-Shoe!

Open-toe, bejeweled heels...so spring!

When blogger Christine Dychiao of the popular Manila Fashion Observer asked me to participate in her MFO Shoe Series, I was actually in the middle of spring cleaning—storing winterwear and giving way to a more colorful, vibrant wardrobe that simply signifies the change in temperature (Hello, sunny dresses!). I hadn't gotten around to the shoes, so the blog invite was a nice way to document footwear of this past cold season, and, get a closeup of the roster of heels, sandals, and other shoes, old and new, I had around.

The boots—save for my fave Kamik rainboots—are now on the topmost shelf and in their place
on the "front row" are spring/summer sandals!

Want a sneak-peek into my closet? Click on the photo to read the MFO feature :)

My "shoe closet" is also my "everything-else" closet, as you can tell from the Swiffer mop peeking through!