Man Up! UNO Mag Fashion Show

November 19, 2009Noelle De Guzman

The recently revamped UNO Magazine threw its first fashion show last November 16 at the NBC Tent, and I received an invitation to attend it. You all should know by now I’m a sucker for fashion shows, so I jumped at the chance to dress up and make a night out of it. Ü

Titled “Man Up!”, the UNO fashion show presented menswear modeled by women, styled by Mara Reyes (Gas, Bench, and Diesel), Tricia Gosingtian (Massimo Dutti, Marithe e Francois Girbaud, and Levi’s), Xie Antonio (Gap, Celio, and DC), and Dominique Tiu (Blued, Raoul, and Marks&Spencer;). I first met Tricia when she photographed cosplayers (including Alodia Gosiengfiao) for my article on cosplay in the Philippines. She’s only 21 and in her 4th year of college, but she’s already styling for a major fashion show — props to her!

I arrived right on time, as the invitation said “6:30pm”. While I was wandering the precincts all by myself, I bumped into RJ Ledesma, the editor-in-chief, who I had met briefly at the UNO Bloggers and Contributors Night. (I also added him on Facebook. LOL) I was surprised when he approached and greeted me.

RJ: Hey! Where are the other six?
Me: Six? What six? Huh wait — who do you think I am?
RJ: (brief pause) Well, I think you’re Noelle.
Me: Yes, I’m Noelle but I didn’t bring six others with me. (awkward!)
RJ: Oh it must have been another Noelle who said “me plus six”. Well, thanks for coming early!

Oops.

After that, I texted Jayvee, who told me he was on his way. I was quite pleased to find fellow bloggers Fritz, Jane, and Dhon to sit with, and we attempted to find seats that weren’t in the direct path of the aircon vents. There was free-flowing food by Tamayo’s Catering and beer by San Miguel (I keep trying to appreciate it, but I still hate the taste of beer. Yech.), and guests kept pouring in as well. I think we stole seats meant for some of the celebrities who showed up, since I saw Joey Mead and Iza Calzado on their feet when the show finally started around 8:30pm.

Women as tall as men can wear menswear.

I recognized some of the models who strode down that runway — Grendel Alvarado, Ornusa Cadness (who was UNO’s October cover), Isabel Roces, and Ana Sideco. Three changes per model, but the show ran along smoothly. You can check out photos from the UNO Fashion Show on my Multiply.

And what did I wear? Oh, just something I threw on:

this old thing?

It was dressed up enough to stand up against the well-heeled women at the fashion show, but fun enough to wear at the after-party at Members Only.

So what do I think of the show? It’s an interesting concept, having women wear men’s clothing. It certainly must have been a challenge to keep the models looking sexy in boxy men’s cuts. And really, how creative can you get with button-down shirts, sweaters, shorts, and pants? But I watched these items of clothings come down the ramp transformed into skirts and dresses.

What I didn’t see were women wearing men’s business suits — pinstripes, neckties, formal jackets, fedoras, suspenders. At the end of the show, RJ promised an even bigger fashion show next year, and he left me a comment on Facebook saying that next year I could expect to see that sort of stuff. Hope so! Congratulations to the stylists and to UNO Magazine for a kick-ass event. Ü

Tags: Fashion Show, UNO Magazine, Menswear

Philippine International Marathon

November 19, 2009Noelle De Guzman

For my last 10-kilometer race of the year, I ran at the Philippine International Marathon held on Roxas Boulevard on November 8.

at the finish line

My dad dropped me off at the assembly area at Quirino Grandstand around 4:30am. The marathon runners had just started, and the roads surrounding the area were already blocked off. It took some effort to find everyone else I was running with, particularly Lalah, who had picked up my race kit for me. By the time we had all gotten together, I didn’t feel like switching my Race for Life top for the blue Izod singlet that all the other runners were wearing. (Hey, I like standing out.)

I was running the 10K distance with Joel, while the rest of the gang had signed up for 5K. Joel insisted we place ourselves near the front of the pack since I was attempting a new PR. I’d seen the route on Google Maps a few days before and knew that it would be a flat course for most of the way, excluding one flyover. This was the route used by the Milo race earlier this year (before I started running), so Joel warned me about certain smells I would encounter along Roxas Boulevard.

Former president Fidel Ramos fired the gun, and we were off. Some Marines and Coast Guard men were among us, and I found a group among them I could comfortably keep pace with. Everything about my run felt good; I wasn’t taking it easy like I did KOTR, but I wasn’t pushing myself too soon yet. I took notice of landmarks so I would know when to start pushing myself to sprint pace on my way back.

The water and hydration stations were wonderful. Water and energy drinks were there when I needed them, so I never felt like I was going to run out of “gas”. After every drink break, I was able to speed up just a bit more.

Then I hit the wall of stench: a smell of rotten eggs was emanating from stagnant water trapped between Roxas Boulevard and the reclaimed area in Manila Bay. I coughed, waved my hands in front of my nose to fan the smell away, but the only way I could escape the smell was to run faster. So I did.

When I got to the flyover, I leaned into the incline and drove my legs down to push my body up and over the crest. Then I sped up my footstrikes going downhill, gaining much-needed time. The U-turn point came pretty quickly.

I thought the home stretch would be the easier part since I still had a lot of leftover energy (I was unwittingly doing a negative split, where the latter half of the run would be done faster). I had no idea that the slow-moving ~~molasses~~ masses of people participating in 3K and 5K would block our way. All runners had been directed to U-turn onto the other side of Roxas Boulevard, so imagine trying to speed up when there are 20,000 people standing in your way. There were people strolling along like they were walking in Luneta Park (which was beside the race’s starting line), students horsing around, unmindful of serious runners like us who were hurtling towards them, girls moving against the flow because they were looking for their friends, and a woman who crossed the street while texting. I yelled at her, “NO TEXTING WHILE DRIVING!” as I sped by.

(I should have followed the other 10K runners who were on the other side of the street, counterflowing against the few stragglers who had started their 3K and 5K late. That’s what Gingerbread Runner Luis did, and he was able to finish under 50 minutes.)

A race marshal was pointing the way to the 10K finish chute with a placard, but he was facing the wrong way so I got shunted away with 5K runners. I had to vault a steel barrier to get back in position. Then I saw the clock at the finish line: 50:46. I went nuts, screaming “What? WHAT?!” in disbelief as I sprinted towards it. I felt another runner closing the gap behind me, and launched my body forward over the mat into the finish chute before he could overtake me. HAHAHA

For a run that I entered at the last minute, I did surprisingly well — I set a new PR of 51 minutes, 15 seconds (unofficial). Maybe it was my new cropped running tights and socks. Maybe (most probably) it was being well-rested and well-nourished the night before. Maybe it was the novelty of running a new route. I just remember thanking God for giving me a great way to finish my running year.

Well, it’s not over yet. I still have the Del Monte Dare to Be Fit ‘n’ Right Run this Sunday. I’m running it with the same group of friends I went to PIM with — they got hooked on running too! Ü

Tags: Philippine International Marathon, 10 Kilometer Race, Running

Headshot Clinic Project OneYouth

November 14, 2009June 6, 2019Noelle De Guzman

I joined the Headshot Clinic Project OneYouth shoot sponsored by Globe Tattoo at Cava! in Somerset Hotel, Makati. Photography was by Niccolo Cosme of Project Headshot Clinic.

We had to decide what advocacy to support: poverty eradication, improvement of education, gender equality and women’s rights, maternal and child welfare, combating communicable diseases, and environmental sustainability. Our advocacies would appear in our headshots. I chose Education because I believe a lot of problems in society are caused by ignorance, lack of ability for independent and analytical thought, and improper civic socialization — all of which can be remedied by proper education.

photo by Niccolo Cosme

Propel Vitamin Water: Not Calorie-Free

November 12, 2009Noelle De Guzman

Back two years ago when Gatorade launched Propel in the Philippine market, I wondered if they were going to come out with a low-calorie version. Then they released Propel Vitamin Water, with big “CALORIE FREE” markings on the label.

Yesterday, though, was the first time I actually examined the contents as listed on the label.

According to Food & Drug regulations worldwide, a product has to contain less than 1 calorie to be allowed to call itself low-calorie, and should have no caloric content at all to be considered zero-calorie.

Most people don’t read the Nutritional Information, which is the mistake I’ve been making for some time. But there’s 10 calories per serving, and each bottle contains more than 1 serving. That is definitely not low-calorie at all.

When I saw this, I wondered why the product could have any calories. After all, it was just supposed to be flavored water fortified with vitamins, right? Checking the ingredient list, I saw the second ingredient: sucrose.

It was totally disingenuous for Gatorade to mark a product as “calorie-free” when it’s not, but that’s a lesson learned not to trust claims of a product unless it’s backed up by the nutritional information and ingredients.

Tags: Product Label, Misinformation, Gatorade Propel, Vitamin Water

Kaladkarin sa Lakad/Takbo

November 6, 2009Noelle De Guzman

kaladkarin: n. one who can be quickly convinced to join a trip or activity

I think you can guess what happened after my back-to-back races — I rested hard. I went to Boracay on All Saints’ weekend and absolutely did not schedule any running. There wasn’t room in my bag for my Lara Croft boots and running shoes, and I think you know which one won out.

I wouldn’t be running this weekend either, if a friend who works for ABS-CBN hadn’t alerted me to the Philippine International Marathon: A Run for the Pasig River. Apparently, most of my friends who had run Race For Life 2009 would be there as well. No, not the full 42 kilometers of a marathon (except for Pastor Ferdie Cabiling, the senior pastor for Victory Ortigas). So, on the very last day of registration I agreed to join them all at the start line at Quirino Grandstand this Sunday. Oh boy. I’ve been teaching my exercise classes all week, but haven’t run at all. Good luck to me!

The good thing about this race is it’s not held at the Fort. Seriously, there is only one good 10K route there (but it also involves Buendia and Makati CBD), and it’s been used twice: by Globe and by Adidas. I want to see different sights! The 42K runners at the PIM will cross 9 bridges over Pasig River. There’s even a marathon relay event where groups of 40 runners will run the route (roughly 1 kilometer per runner). Takbo.ph has a contingent, which would have been a great alternative to running 10K all by myself if I had known about it earlier.

The one thing about this race I’m unsure of is its organizer. R.A.C.E. has organized good race events in the past, but its most recent one was the Adidas King of the Road, and that didn’t turn out too well — faulty race kit distribution, long lines at the finish chutes, and now inaccurate official results which are posted only on the Adidas Philippines Facebook fan page. I am hoping that PIM will be different and much better, although my experience with races all throughout this latter half of the year is that there has always been one issue or another. My smoothest race experiences have been with Globe and Race for Life, and even those had some hurdles to jump.

Side note: I used the Race for Life gift certificates I won to buy a pair of cropped running tights from Nike. I’m using those for PIM and I hope they make me run faster! LOL

Tags: Running, Pasig River, Philippine International Marathon

Habagat in Boracay

November 5, 2009Noelle De Guzman

The past weekend was a stormy one for Manila, but I wasn’t around to witness yet another typhoon tear up Luzon. Instead, I was away on a holiday that had been booked since February of this year. (Talk about God’s perfect planning and timing.) Just like last year’s All Saints’ Weekend, we had planned our trip to fall sometime around the 31st of October so we could run around the island dressed as people other than ourselves.

No, this was not my costume.

Due to the rehabilitation of Caticlan airport, our original fights were rerouted to and from Kalibo. That meant tacking on an additional two hours’ travel time each way. Since we’d booked for October 30 to November 1, it meant we had considerably less time to spend on the island. What followed from the time we landed at Boracay’s jetty port until we left can only be described as cramming. If we weren’t sunning ourselves on the beach, we were stuffing our faces with food from our favorite places, or dancing it up wherever the music and drinks were good.

We pretty much had Boracay to ourselves on Friday — because tourists were still at work — up until Saturday afternoon. The habagat (southwest monsoon wind) had blown in a strong rain shower and chopped up the waters on Saturday morning, prompting the coast guard to suspend all incoming and outgoing boat trips. Come Saturday evening, however, parties on the island were in full swing, and we were able to feast our eyes on some pretty lavish costumes.

Ah, Lara Croft. A costume so simple, yet so recognizable.

The best part about dancing all night in Boracay is you can sleep out on the beach the next day. I didn’t have all day, but I did get some color on my skin. The habagat had also died out overnight, so I was also able to swim in beautiful, crystal-clear, warm water before I left.

stolen shot

We will definitely be back next year. We’ll probably book our flights on Seair, which is the only commercial airline to be allowed to fly into Caticlan airport. It might cost a bit more, but it just means we’ll have to plan and save up for our trips to the island better.

Happy Trails

November 4, 2009Noelle De Guzman

Over the past year I’ve had the opportunity to talk with people who are uber-enthusiastic about mountain biking. Their passion for it made me want to try for myself, so one sunny day after a very rainy week I headed out to La Mesa Dam to ride with the boys from Dan’s Bike Shop. They lent me a bike, helmet, and gloves, and after a preliminary spin in the parking lot, we were good to go for my first ever trail ride.

my bike and gear

It was amazing. Propelled by the power of my own legs magnified by the gears and wheels, we barreled through the first few kilometers. The adrenaline rush left me giddy and flushed. To be traveling at that kind of speed going downhill and uphill without a windshield or a car chassis to protect me was as hard-rock as I was going to get. (This is possibly the only extreme sport I would want to do over and over again.)

zoom!

Our trail wound through the forest, past a brook, and over gravel and mud before finally leading to our ultimate destination: the waters of La Mesa Dam. This was pre-Ondoy but it had been raining that week, so the lake above the dam was pretty high.

We chilled out for a while at a view deck, and I savored the silence around us. All we could hear aside from our voices was the rustle of leaves in the wind and the occasional plop! of fish in the water breaking through the surface.

It was then I was able to take stock of my appearance. I was bedraggled with sweat and spattered with mud. It was a good thing I was dressed in dark colors and was too hyped to care how I looked. But I took a photo for posterity anyway.

my pants were muddier.

I wrote about my bike ride in detail for the December issue of Action&Fitness Magazine, so watch out for that.:) Mmm I can’t wait to ride again…

true tales as told by Noelle

Month: November 2009