Carless

July 11, 2007Noelle De Guzman

I recently bought some shoes. Now, normally I don’t wear out the soles before I’ve tired of the shoe itself, but this morning I took a good look at them and realized the heel of the left shoe has been worn down smooth. I guess it’s because I’ve been walking everywhere and taken to using the MRT commuting to and from work. This isn’t something really remarkable (most people use public transportation) until I realize that I only started doing this four weeks ago.

For most of my life I’ve been driven places I needed or wanted to go, and for the past five years I’ve been the one doing the driving. You can chalk this up to the parents feeling not just a little protective of me, as public transportation does have its share of unsavory characters. They’d rather I ride by myself in a ton of metal propelled by an engine running on miniature explosions of flammable liquid.

It’s meant a change of lifestyle for me. I’ve always been a light packer, but now I have to carry everything I need in one bag to minimize the risk of losing or forgetting baggage. I can’t wear anything impractical either, like skirts or low-cut tops, lest I attract the attentions of aforementioned unsavory characters. And I now have to deal with rubbing shoulders with masses of strangers (some washed and some unwashed). The last time I went through that was in my third undergraduate year in UP.

There are perks to this “whole commuting thing” though (do I sound Valley Girl enough yet?). The savings are great. Yeah I don’t pay for gasoline, but at least my parents’ pockets don’t have to contend with the fuel-sucking vacuum that is Makati at rush hour. I also don’t have to worry about finding a parking space and paying for it at Makati’s exorbitant rates. And I get a great workout just walking from Ayala Station to Salcedo Village — that’s easily 15 to 30 minutes of cardiovascular activity.

So, expect me to keep wearing my shoes out this way. Ü

Tags: Public Transportation, Railways

A Very Happy Birthday

July 4, 2007Noelle De Guzman

For the past few years I’ve celebrated the actual day of my birthday quietly with just myself and a few friends, and this year was no different. I consider it one of the best birthdays I’ve had in a while, though. Or maybe it’s because it was one of the best days I’ve had in a while, period. I woke up loving who I am and who my family and friends are, and feeling thankful for everything I have. Ü

Thanks, Papa, for letting me spend the day how I want, and thanks, Mama, for always keeping me in your thoughts even though you were off on a trip. Thank you to all the people who spent time with me — Marielle and Clark; the nice baristas at Gloria Jean’s Megamall who let me use their WiFi for 6 hours straight; my Genesis family who really love when I order pizza for them; Gelli and Laqui and R.A.; Susan, Blanche, Mitch and the squad of BodyBalance Challenge attendees; and James and Doni for having dinner with me (I know the free meal had something to do with it Ü).

I hope next year’s is even better!

UPDATE, JULY 7:I held my birthday party on July 7 with my family and friends. While not all the people I invited were able to come, I’m glad that the ones who are important to me came. 🙂 Here are some pictures.

Here I am ecstatic that people started showing up.

You know I love gifts.

With Ralph, Gem, and Don, my friends from my second stint at UP

Holding wine bottles with my sister Marielle Louise

With Tin, James, and Doni, my buddies from Body Balance and Boracay (remember them?)

Striking my best bombshell pose with my wholesome friends Ellaine and Vanessa 😀

These are three of my oldest and dearest friends: Julia, Rachel, and Paolo

With two of my favorite couples from Fitness First: hubby-and-wifey team Menchu and Brian, and Ethel and Clark

It was a great way to end my birthday week. I hope the time between now and next year will be filled with many such happy moments. God has really blessed me with so much, and I’m thankful.

La Vida Living Asia: Central Luzon Trip

July 3, 2007June 6, 2019Noelle De Guzman

I took home a lot of things with me last weekend: a tan, a killer back-ache, and some new stories to tell! Ü It was my first production outing with the Living Asia team, and we made the rounds of three provinces in Central Luzon: Pampanga, Zambales, and Bataan. We, meaning my sister and myself. We were doing a show called “Gone for the Weekend” and the format called for two people to go off on a weekend and see places and do things.

I’d never been on a working trip before, so everything was new to me: being on cam not for a family video but for a real show, traveling insane distances in bumpy circumstances just to get a shot of a required location, sleeping in a different place every night and at some point not having a shower to come home to… But it was so much fun!

Our first stop was Bacolor Church in Pampanga. It’s famous for being half-buried in lahar flows, and only the dedication of the Bacolor community saved it from being junked and abandoned. They excavated the gold-leaf encrusted retablos and still use the building for Sunday mass.

In the evening, we found ourselves at Crystal Beach Resort in Zambales, where the staff accommodated us for the night. We took the opportunity to shoot a short segment reading fan mail to Living Asia. I never realized VJ-ing (which is what this was akin to) was hard until I got my own paws on the script and my tongue kept stumbling on the words! I had two more similar opportunities later on the trip and I think I showed some improvement. Ü

The next morning, we took the resort manager’s invitation and learned to surf. I found out that when it comes to surfing stance, I’m a natural footer (right foot behind) and my sister is a goofy footer (left foot behind). We learned the positions on shore, and then they took us out onto the water using long and thick boards so we could have an easier time learning. To our surprise we picked it up quickly. The crew even got a money shot of me surfing — standing on the board!

We had to leave all too soon to head for Bataan, but we kept our spirits up with our own brand of wacky humor.

Abbreviations are a dangerous thing. To the Bat Crime Lab, Robin!

One of the places we went to was an inland resort, so people were running around in their bathing suits. Someone left something on the way out of the change room.

Parting a sea of tuyo (dried fish) at a fish processing plant.

Night fell soon, and before we knew it, another day had gone by.

Our last day on the trip, we headed for an undeveloped spot called Lumutan Falls. We endured a 45-minute ride in a truck over rocky trails, then trekked 30 minutes down to an ice-cold stream and its source, an 18-foot-high waterfall. I took a short dip for the benefit of the camera, then we had to come back the way we came. All I could say about that was “Whew!”

The rest of our last day was tame. We spent a few hours viewing relocated Spanish colonial houses at Ciudad Acuzar. It’s owned by a private businessman and isn’t open to the public, so we were privileged to see what very few people outside Bataan have seen.

Our last stop, like the first one, was a church. It amazes me how much a part of each town’s culture and heritage these buildings are. The townfolk reckoned the eras of their settlement by the age of the church that’s been standing there since the town was built and by the improvements and renovations done to the churches due to time and the whimsy of the town occupants.

I did my last fan mail reading. Then we packed up and started heading for home. I was tired, smelly, but excited for the next trip — wherever it takes me.

Tags: Living Asia Channel, Philippines, Recreation, Travel, Tourism

The Wide-Eyed Traveler

June 20, 2007Noelle De Guzman

It’s been a little over a week since I started at my new job as a writer for Living Asia Channel. Now this is a new thing for me and I’m trying to learn the ropes as I go along. This new job is a change of pace for me from the 9-to-6 office grind. Instead, I’ve been given the freedom to do research on my own time. I just have to make my deadlines. And the biggest perk this job has to offer is that I get to travel.

Yep, that’s right. My first assignment’s coming up next week, and it’s a pretty big one. I’m supposed to host a 24-minute show about a weekend getaway to Bataan. This means beaches and resorts and historical sights, and I’m not just going to see these things as a spectator and tourist. I’m going to have to keep my eyes peeled and my mind sharp because as a host and writer I’ve gotta have interesting things to say about the places we’re going.

The writer part of me just wants to buckle down and get to taking notes already. The beach bunny part of me is just happy she gets to go places in a bikini again. Ü Work is play, and play is play! I think I’m exactly where I want to be right now.

Tags: Beach, Work, Play

Technical Difficulties

June 11, 2007Noelle De Guzman

One bad thing about resigning from my regular job: I no longer have good internet access every day. Dial-up internet is really sucky when you get used to broadband speeds, so the ‘rents are signing us up for cable internet.

It’s hard to blog then, so perhaps you’d like to look at my Photo Log while you wait for my next post? Ü

Tags: Broadband Internet

Heavy-Duty R&R

May 31, 2007Noelle De Guzman

After attending the Les Mills 2nd Quarterly Workshop on Saturday, four of my friends and I boarded the earliest Cebu Pacific flight to Kalibo, Panay Island on Sunday morning. Why would we fly to Panay? That’s a rhetorical question; I think you already know the final destination. From Kalibo, an hour’s van ride took us to Caticlan, gateway to the island of Boracay.

Yes, Boracay. I was there a little over a year ago with my family and spent three glorious days chilling out in celebration of finally finishing my master’s degree. This year I meant to do precisely the same thing in celebration of making a clean break from the past. (Those of you who have been reading this journal regularly can deduce what this “past” is. Ü)

Many things had changed in that one year between my visits to the island. Instead of taking 30 minutes to make a beach landing, our boat ride from Caticlan took us in 15 minutes to Boracay’s jetty port on the side of Boracay nearest Panay. From there, we took a tricycle (the island’s main form of transportation) to get to our rented place behind D’Talipapa, the wet and dry market between Station 2 and 3.

It was a long walk from there to the beachfront, and an even longer walk to Station 2’s D’Mall where we had our lunch, and I met up with one of the friends I had made during the last visit. Trondz Cheng owns the pioneer glitter tattoo stand on Boracay as well as the Ice Monster franchise in D’Mall, and I hadn’t seen him in a while because he had been living on the island for almost six months straight. He was about as close to a native guide as we got (hee hee), but since Boracay is very much commercialized, my friends and I were able to get around without a lot of help.

Boracay, when compared with the nearly unspoilt islands of El Nido, is a big disappointment. The heavy influx of tourists uneducated in environmental conservation ensures that the beach is always littered with human-produced trash every morning. I must confess I was glad I had friends around and I could enjoy being with them instead of bemoaning how much Boracay had deteriorated in the span of one year.

Thinking back on the trip, most of it is a blur composed of a lot of laughing, camwhoring, lazing about on the beach and in the water, drinking milkshakes (and maybe not just milkshakes?), being cheapskates and enjoying chicken butts on a stick at Mang Inasal, splurging on Italian food and junk food alike, and letting it all hang out. We didn’t do anything touristy like go island-hopping or get on a banana boat; we were just happy to be around each other and have no work on our minds.

I felt recharged and energized upon our return to Manila, like I’d left a big load behind on that island. Laughter (and a hefty dose of smiling for the camera) is great medicine for what ails the heart and mind. It was our last hurrah for the summer, and it was a great big emphatic HURRAH! at that. It was Rest & Recreation indeed.

Tags: Boracay, Summer Vacation

Heavy-Duty R&R

May 31, 2007Noelle De Guzman

Tags: Boracay, Summer Vacation

Blazing My Own Trail

May 31, 2007Noelle De Guzman

When I said I was going through a transition, I wasn’t being overly dramatic. Last September I trumpeted getting my first job; two months later I had come to the painful realization that I didn’t really enjoy what I was doing. Maybe it’s the fact that after nearly a decade of freedom in managing my own time, I suddenly had to get my head around a 9-to-6 job that had me sitting at one desk most of the day. I didn’t get a frequent change of scenery, which I’d been so used to during my years in UP. There was no variety in my daily schedule.

Now, recognizing there’s a problem is half the battle; the other half means solving the problem. I hate to say it, but for the past few months I’ve been coasting along feeling as if I’d come to a dead end sooner or later. So, when an opportunity to travel and write for a cable television channel came up, I felt a strong attraction to the nature of the work, despite its freelance and per-project basis. At least it’s directly in the field I studied, and if I work quickly enough it will also allow me time to pursue other interests, like teaching group exercise classes and engaging in sports. Also I secretly hope one day to work on Globe Trekker. I want Ian Wright’s job. Ü

Next week is my last week in Genesis. After that, I’m going into unknown territory to blaze my own trail. Figuratively speaking, of course, but if the project demands it, I would be willing to wield a bolo and hack away at the jungle overgrowth. Ü I think it’s gonna be a great trip.

Transition

May 24, 2007Noelle De Guzman

Sorry I haven’t written in 12 days. There has been a lot of stuff going on in meatspace — personal and work issues. I’ve been stressed out and sickly and don’t really have my head on straight. I’ll be back this coming Wednesday to tell you all about it. Thanks for bearing with me.

Dancing Up a Storm

May 12, 2007Noelle De Guzman

Sometimes you do things for fun, most times you do things for work. But I really love it when I can get paid for doing something I love, and dancing is one of them.

Last Sunday I had an opportunity to join Gelli and four BodyJam instructors in Robinsons Place Dasmarinas (Cavite) to present some BodyJam hiphop blocks. This was part of Solar Sports’ Summer Training Camp: a free program held in Robinsons Malls to get people moving their bodies and engaging in sports and other like activities, dance aerobics being one of them (in a promotional tie-up with Fitness First Ortigas).

Our meeting point was at the RX 93.1 station, where Gelli was boarding for HIP 21 from 8 to 11am. I arrived there around 9:30am just in time to watch her train Bea (from Radio One) on how to program music, commercials, and stingers. I sat there watching them and trying to learn through osmosis (always take the opportunity to learn new things!) while answering crossword puzzles, reading Hollywood gossip magazines, and listening to some really great R&B; and hiphop music. The time went swiftly by and soon the other instructors Brian and Menchu Peralta and Clark Amaba had arrived. We were on our way.

We got to the venue in an hour and had some time to grab food for fuel. I ended up eating a burger, a strawberry sundae, and a bag of chips. That might not possibly have been enough to keep me going, because I found myself dancing for the next two hours!

We did an opening number composed of the steps from Jam 37, 35, 36, and 34. Then Gelli, Menchu, and I warmed the assembled crowd up to “Tamale/Move Ya Body” from Jam 37. Clark, Brian, and Gelli took to the stage next and did “I’m Really Hot/Like I Love You/Lose My Breath” from Jam 33 and proceeded to the “King of the Dancehall” tracks from Jam 35. I joined the people down on the floor since I was more familiar with the routine from the participant’s side. I hope I was able to lift the crowd and encourage them to keep going.

We segued into Jam 36’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot” block led by Brian, then gave the crowd a breather via “My Love”, the recovery track from Jam 40. Then it was back on stage for me and Menchu as we backed Gelli up for Jam 34. I had my doubts whether I could actually pull off the instructor’s side of that routine, but thankfully it was believable enough and I took some performance opportunities trying to hype the watching bystanders up as well.

All of us stayed onstage for our final groovedown: “I Don’t Feel Like Dancing” from Jam 40. I didn’t feel exhausted and probably might have carried on dancing if given the chance. Once offstage, however, the sweat started pouring out from every pore. I found it quite embarrassing that the audience had us sign their giveaway fans in the “Sports Celebrity Autograph” box. Sure I signed a few, but I managed to pimp Brian and Clark, since Brian does international and national gymnastics and sports aerobics tournaments and is even a SEA Games medalist, and Clark is one of BodyJam’s presenters in the Philippines.

Post-event we wanted to make a quiet exit, but to our surprise five of the mall’s guards accompanied us to the parking lot as a security escort! We must really have made a positive impression. Or maybe because we looked so gangsta that they wanted to make sure we left the mall without doing any damage to property? I’m kidding, of course. The last time I was in a mall with a security escort, I was part of an entourage. This time around, I was one of the people security was protecting/escorting. It made us all feel really good about what we did.

I totally smashed myself that day, and on our way home I started coming down from the endorphin high. It was great seeing all those smiles on the faces of the people watching and working out. This is why I love being a group exercise instructor: it’s knowing that in some way for maybe even just an hour, I’m giving the people attending my class a great experience. It’s worth the exhaustion from all that effort.

Tags: Dance, Exercise, BodyJam, Les Mills

true tales as told by Noelle

Blog

Carless

A Very Happy Birthday

La Vida Living Asia: Central Luzon Trip

The Wide-Eyed Traveler

Technical Difficulties

Heavy-Duty R&R

Heavy-Duty R&R

Blazing My Own Trail

Transition

Dancing Up a Storm