I love shoes and wear ’em to bits, so from time to time I find myself shopping for new ones. I don’t really like buying shoes in boutiques or department stores, though (I only make exceptions for athletic footwear), since shoes that are sold at tiangge sales (bazaars) are usually 100 to 300 pesos cheaper.

However, has anyone else noticed that half-sizes are–more often than not–unavailable? I’m not sure whether it’s because the world’s shoe producers have decided by fiat that they will no longer make half-sizes, or if it’s because the people importing these shoes for sale don’t acquire the half-sizes. It’s the consumer who’s on the losing end here because she will either need to squeeze her tootsies into a pair that’s too small, or pad out a larger pair with shoe corks and additional insoles. And if your feet are alanganin (in between sizes), it can be murder trying to find a pair of shoes that don’t cut into your feet with every step or threaten to fall off if you so much as move your toes wrong. Ü

I hope this trend reverses itself; even though each person has individual differences in foot shape and size, having a lot of options regarding shoe fit helps people acquire a shoe in the size that fits.

Tags: Shoes, Shopping

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I’ve been thinking about progression and process for the past few days. Some people would simply like to get to their goals and get results as quickly as possible; others savor the journey towards the goals. I’m not saying a person can be exclusively one or the other, of course. However, there are milestones in every process and to be able to show progress, we have to be able to say, “Look, I’ve accomplished such-and-such so far” or “This is what I’m currently doing.”

Basically this entry is about how I am so far.

WORK-WISE: I’m coming up for review at my job, and my immediate supervisor has said she’ll recommend I get regularized. However, she has also asked me to start sending weekly accomplishment reports and to show her my timetable and plans for the projects I’m handling. Apparently, they’ve been expecting things to move along faster than they have been, and since most of the developments have been in the back end of things rather than on display, externally it looks like I’m not getting any work done. 🙁 In this case, it’s truly important for me to show those results as soon as possible.

It’s been a process of adjustment over the past six months, and I’m still having trouble being just on the administrative side of things. I’m a very hands-on kind of person (I’m a kinesthetic learner) and it’s hard for me not to want to do it all myself or at least demonstrate how it’s done. Because the people I administer on these projects are not physically in the office, it’s hard for me to keep tabs on what they’re doing or how they’re progressing. All I have are emails and text messages and sometimes they don’t get back to me for weeks! Le sigh…

PLAY-WISE: If only work were more like play, eh? Then I’d be doing more work, and enjoying it. I’m referring to my burgeoning sideline as a BodyBalance instructor. So far I’ve done four classes team-teaching, and I’m reasonably overconfident that I can handle covering a class or two sometime soon. Right now I’m enjoying getting familiar with teaching the program and becoming/being an instructor instead of just acting like one.

I find that the more I do classes (whether as instructor or participant), the easier it is for me to verbalize instructions and show how it’s done. Technique and choreography issues also get worked out in the process. I’m feeling very good about this.

POLITICS-WISE: I’ve basically become very blase when it comes to Philippine politics (I don’t even know if I’m going to be able to vote in the upcoming elections), but a friend of mine is working with Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan’s re-election campaign. Now as most people should know by now, Sen. Kiko is running as an independent, and so they’re using innovative ways to campaign. One of these is an online reality series called “K! Tubed“, which shows the senator on the campaign trail and at home. Interesting concept, really. I hope I start caring about who runs this country soon…

***

I just want things to get better. Getting all of these written down helps me get a clearer picture of where I am, and I know there’s still a-ways to go.

Tags: BodyBalance, Career, Philippine Politics, Progress Report

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I’m sitting here typing this smiling inside with a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. You might ask why, since it’s so early in the morning. Well, for the first time, I team-taught a BodyBalance class this morning at Fitness First ABS-CBN.

Because I passed the BodyBalance audition last month, I underwent training (Modules 1 and 2) over last weekend from Saturday to Monday at Fitness First Manila. My general impression of those three days was that it was like another reality. For one thing, that was the first time I’d ever been to the Manila branch. Another thing is because those three days were packed full of activities to do and information to digest, my world was the gym, the trainers Mr. Frank Drew and Ms. Peewee Sanchez, and my fellow trainees.

We trainees were a motley crew of instructors of other group exercise programs, BodyBalance fanatics, and inexperienced but talented newbies (ahem, ahem, a little bit of tongue-in-cheek humor there Ü). On the first day we were welcomed into the whole Les Mills culture, were given our training manuals and CDs, and then did a master class and an in-depth technique session. At the end of the day we were all assigned a track to master from the release we were training on (BodyBalance 35). I was given Track 4 “Breathe” by Sia to learn in time for presenting the next morning. It’s a balance track with moves like Tree Pose, Eagle Pose, Dancer’s Pose, and Warrior III, and I had to cue them properly for participants while keeping in time with the music and showing role model technique myself.

We presented twice on Day 2: after the first one in the morning (after a nice ice-breaking yoga session with Peewee — I love Lion Pose!) we were given constructive feedback to integrate into our second presentation which ended the day. By then we’d pretty much begun to understand the essence of the program and our role in giving participants not just a workout, but an experience in itself.

At the end of Day 2 we were each given another track to present twice on Day 3. Track 5 “No Worries” by Simon Webbe is a hip-opening track, which I think is one of my strengths. It was easier for me to master the choreography, perform with correct technique, and coach participants through the poses. This gave me enough mental space to start connecting with class members and really enjoy the whole thing. Our final presentation was make-or-break and would determine whether we’d be cleared to instruct or to shadow.

We were all assembled in the members’ lounge waiting for each of us to be called to a one-on-one meeting with Ms. Peewee. She’d already told me during Day 3’s first presentation that I had shown more than what was necessary to pass this initial training, but as I sat down in front of her I was still apprehensive.

Peewee: O, why is your face like that?
Noelle: (embarrassed) I’m just really tired?
Peewee: OK. (pause) You know, you were a surprise. Mader Fhe was right to send you to audition because she saw something in you.

Peewee went on to tell me that I had fulfilled what they were looking for (what stuck with me is she said I looked and moved like an instructor). So, she marked me as “Cleared to Instruct.”

I seriously did not know how to react. I wanted to hug her and start skipping around, but the rest of my batchmates who hadn’t yet been told their fates would be offended. So I thanked her, got up, and sat with the rest of the group as I wrote down some short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals in my training manual. I tried not to give anything away, but Frank let the cat out of the bag by giving me my certificate and other walking papers while he congratulated me in front of everyone else. I felt abashed and could only let out a strangled “Wow” and a smile as he told me what I could start doing.

I still have to script and prep the rest of the tracks on the current release as well as start on those for release 36 (which we’ll be launching next month for sure). I attended a Balance class last night at FF Ortigas taught by Arnold Warren (also one of the program trainers for BodyJam here in the Philippines), and he gave me some advice on how I could get started as an instructor. And then this morning AG and my fellow trainee newbie Balance instructor CJ invited me up on stage with them, and I got to do the entire class from the instructor’s side as well as present the balance track. Ü

I really do enjoy this and I hope I excel at this new endeavor. I may be an instructor of a group exercise program that’s supposed to leave you calm and centered, but I am definitely buzzed about it!

Tags: BodyBalance, Fitness First Philippines, Group Exercise, Les Mills

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Almost six months ago, I announced that I got a job. Sure, I had mixed feelings about it especially since I wasn’t used to the workload. I went on to whinge about the hours and the fact that I couldn’t please everyone. I eventually started to find some workplace humor. Plus, the salary ain’t bad and I hated losing even a single cent due to being late.

It’s taken me almost six months to get to the point where I actually appreciate my job and am realizing how important I am to the workings of this company. Ü I was in a meeting today with one of our artists and she told me, “With you here this makes everything so much easier. Where have you been all this time?”

It’s nice to feel needed and appreciated. I hope they take that into consideration when I come up for regularization in a week’s time. With regularization comes a reduction in official number of hours I need to be at the office (hello, work-free Saturdays! hello, 9-to-6 weekdays!), maybe a raise (wishful thinking?), and overall a feeling of stability.

This may not be the last job I’ll ever have, but while I’m here I’m gonna work it like it could be.

Tags: Work

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Ever been in a situation where you find out you’ve got absolutely no money on your person — and you’ve absolutely got to pay for something?

Happened to me this morning. After rushing off to the gym, late because my alarm hadn’t woken me up early enough, I went through the motions of a workout then showered and dressed for work. (I also had a teensy wardrobe malfunction which explains why I still look like I’m going to the gym, but that’s a story for another time.) When I got down to the basement parking area, which has a fee of 40 pesos, I realized that I hadn’t brought any money with me.

(I had bought lunch the previous day from my office building’s canteen, but they couldn’t give me change for my 500-peso bill. I told them I’d be back for it later — and then I proceeded to forget about it completely.)

So there I was inside my car, scrambling for any loose change I could find. I could only summon 20 pesos from my coin purse, so I decided to look for an ATM so I could withdraw money. It was just my luck that payday was yesterday and people were lined up for blocks behind each nearby ATM. (I exaggerate a bit, but it certainly seemed like that.)

I returned to my car and proceeded to ransack all the compartments again. By God’s grace, I stumbled onto 38 pesos worth of one-peso coins in the console box and only had to add two pesos from my coin purse to make the fee.

After that experience, I’m definitely never taking coins for granted. Not even the lowly piso.

Tags: Coins, Money, Small Change

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Yesterday I attended a press conference my company held for one of our artists, although it ended up getting hijacked by two other headline-making personalities as well. At least we only had to feed the press once.

Coming from a Media Studies masteral program where in theory the press shouldn’t expect to be paid to cover a story, I feel like I’m selling my soul every time I help out with our press conferences. Particularly when it comes to ahemgiftcertificatesahem. I hate that we have to slip in something extra when we hand out press kits. I hate that some of the recipients of said press kits actually openly look for said extras. Some even ask for them!

That’s the price I’ve got to pay for working in an industry whose events aren’t really newsworthy. After all, do developments in the love life of celebrities help make the world better?

Tags: Philippine Entertainment Press

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Admittedly I’m a gym rat but I’m more of the sweat-my-way-to-fitness kind, which is why I was totally surprised when Mother Fhe (so called because she’s the “mother hen” of most group exercise instructors at Fitness First Philippines) told me to audition for BodyBalance. It’s a program that combines yoga, tai chi, and pilates for a total mind-and-body workout.

It’s your personal “time out” from the stress and strains of daily life…

Each class follows a set sequence of exercise disciplines and is made up of 45 minutes of simple yet challenging exercises followed by ten minutes of relaxation and meditation. Your teacher takes you through the moves and gives you options depending on your level of fitness. Like all the Les Mills programs, a new BODYBALANCE class is released every three months with new music and choreography.

The last time I’d attended a Balance class was back when Kylie Gates was in Manila giving special Jam and Balance classes. Prior to that I’d only ever attended Balance four times. I had really big doubts about my potential in teaching the program.

Still, I trusted Mother Fhe’s judgment, and it really wouldn’t hurt me to audition, right? (It would only hurt my pride, which is in sad need of deflating anyway…) And anyway it’d be a great release for my tension-filled muscles, regardless of whether I pass or not.

The audition was last night at the Greenhills FF branch. It wasn’t too well-publicized because they only had 10 slots in the training module for people from Manila. The rest of the slots were to be filled with people who wanted to become Balance instructors in FF Pampanga. I spent an entire hour prior to the audition just sitting by myself (because I didn’t come with an entourage) debating whether or not to audition, praying and asking “Why am I here, God?”

I still hadn’t made up my mind as we filed into the group exercise studio. Then, Ms. Peewee Sanchez started to give numbers to people who had raised their hands signifying their intent to audition. I was the last person to raise my hand, and got the number 36.

We did the current release, which I had seen and done only once — during Ms. Gates’ class. I tried to remember pointers I had learned during the other times I had attended Balance classes: tuck in the tailbone, square the hips, lengthen the spine, release the shoulders, open the chest, keep the knees strong. Most importantly, breathe. Ü

After the audition as Ms. Peewee called out the numbers of the people who’d made it, I was just waiting to be dismissed even though I didn’t think I did too badly. She was rattling off numbers while walking around the room, and then she approached where I was seated and asked, “And what’s your number, dear? Number 36.”

I felt my body go cold and warm at the same time. Moi? Passed? I was still sitting in the same position after all the other attendees had left the room except for those of us who’d been asked to stay.

We then gathered around for the Q&A; section where Ms. Peewee and the other judge, James, asked us our names, where we came from, and what had spurred us to audition. When my turn came, I said, “Hi, my name’s Noelle, and this was a surprise!”

More like a miracle, I suppose. Lord, I don’t know why I passed Balance and not Jam earlier, but I’m going to do my best at this program you blessed me with. We start the module on the first week of March.

Meanwhile, I’ve got to attend more Balance classes just so I’m not a complete newbie at it.

Tags: BodyBalance, Fitness First Philippines, Les Mills

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I am a Nike woman. Hear me roar! Ü

SEE NOELLE’S STORY

Tags: Nike iStories

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Last night my friends from elementary and high school threw a surprise despedida (going-away) party for Alma, who will be flying off to Copenhagen to work there for two years. The thing about get-togethers when people haven’t seen each other for a long while is that most of the conversation starters are about personal appearance, about how much one has changed (or hasn’t changed). People kept telling me how slim I’d gotten. Can I say EGO BOOST!? Not that I don’t already enjoy working out hard, but seriously this gives me added motivation to continue what I’m doing and drop the last ten pounds to get to the so-called “ideal weight.”

Check out this photo from 2005 (okay, I look thinner in this photo), then this photo from October 2006, then this photo from last night. I’m thinner in the photos from October because I was strung out from the NRSW Bollywood competition, but I regained some weight (binging due to work stress) over the rest of that month and half of November before I came back to my senses.

So, of course, after I got all those compliments about my weight loss, I got myself stuffed on the buffet. Oh, dear.

Tags: Reunion, Weight Loss

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