WiP [Work in Progress]

Thoughts and ramblings of a Filipino author

When you’re friends with a writer…

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Re-blogging this from Writers Write, but which I first saw shared on Elise Estrella‘s Sentinels FB Page. The heading says how to survive a relationship with a writer, I’m assuming it meant one that’s romantic in nature. But, I think this applies to plain friendships as well. Or even acquaintances. Such fun reading it. 🙂

I love item no. 4 because the idea of the police and the browsing history actually spawned a plot which was later released as one of my action-romance stories, Loving Louie. 🙂

Anyway, I have to get into the zone now. And man! Really difficult…

Ohm…….

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After wasting away on leaves and fruits and unflavored stuff so I can keep my calorie count to the prescribed 1,200 cal for my diet, I decided I don’t want to keep calculating everything I eat. Too tedious, and more than anything, I just end up pitying myself because I’m not allowed to indulge except once a week. The alternative is do regular exercise and I found that now doing yoga.

I’ve always wanted to do yoga for my health regimen. Well, at least in the past five or so years. Age does that to you. High-impact aerobics or hitting the gym is just too strenuous. Yoga, at least, allows you to move slowly, doing poses in a more flowing manner yet helps you achieve, more or less, the same goal – lose weight, build strength, and focus.

hands in chin mudra pose

Anyway, I’ve been doing yoga for about a month now. More or less, I attend class three times a week. I could attend everyday but I know my body needs to recover and recharge before I do something strenuous again. And believe you me, I do need the time. I didn’t realize I’d become so weak, I could hardly hold my pose in a low lunge. I hope to continue. I want to continue. Eventually, I want to be able to do a shoulder stand. Even a head stand.

I still mind what I eat, though. I stay away from salty stuff, too much sweets, too much carb, fast food, and processed food. Yoga isn’t an excuse to binge.

Sensible eating and yoga. Works for me. Now let’s wait for results.

Read more about the types of yoga in this helpful blog I found.

Hark! Daughters of the great St. Paul

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I left secondary school (high school) in 1989 from St. Paul College, QC (it wasn’t a university back then yet).

Yep, I’m old. Not very old, though. Just old enough. 😉

So we’re celebrating our Silver Jubilee in 2014 and one of the activities our batch sponsored was a career talk for the current Juniors at the ole alma mater. Was supposed to happen (the talk) February earlier this year but the Juniors then had already had their exposure so we had to wait for the next batch. And we did just that recently – give a career talk to soon-to-be-seniors-who-will-soon-also-leave-high-school kids.

There were eight of us picked out to represent several careers: communications, journalism, law, hotel and restaurant, politics, medicine, business and fitness, and education. I spoke for communications.

Me showing off my books while being introduced to the crowd

I was extremely apprehensive then, about accepting the task because well, I didn’t really know what to say about what I do. Writing Tagalog romance was (is) a career but I don’t exactly know what to impart to young minds when it comes to choosing this field. Of course, I’d had to marry that with my previous profession – marketing and public relations.

Oh, heck, I said yes, and whatever. Come what may, I prepared a short speech and just hope the kids learn something. I truly truly hope they learned something.

Anyway, I won’t share here what I said in my talk. That’s not the point of this post. I just want this entry to be a tribute to us. A short post to commend all of us. Some of us were once very shy, very introverted teeners. Some of us were not who one might consider model students in our time because we were okay, just getting by, not exceptional. But I guess we made exceptional choices as we all grew older and that made us have the success stories we all shared during the forum.

So here’s to us, ladies! Cheers to the past twenty-five years and to our Paulinian foundation.

St. Paul College Quezon City High School Batch ’89

* photos courtesy of Ray-Ann Pronstroller Manalo

Paalam, Mahal Ko

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I wasn’t one of those girls who swooned over Paul Walker during the first installment of The Fast and The Furious. I had eyes only for Vin Diesel back then, especially since I saw his movie xXx before I did TFTF. That was why I didn’t watch Too Fast Too Furious. Vin wasn’t in the film (though I did see the movie later on). And then Paul wasn’t in the 3rd, I didn’t bother to see that either.

But things changed when I came up with the plot of what was to become the story of my most beloved hero of all – Lt. Kyle Magdayao of Safe In Your Arms. Had a lengthy debate with myself whether or not to use Matthew McConaughey or Paul Walker as the visual inspiration. Eventually, Paul won. And although the cover became Josh Holloway (of Lost), in my mind, Magdayao remained Paul.

And so I loved Paul. Loved him as I loved Kyle. See, they were one and the same in my mind and in my heart. And now that Paul is dead…

Kyle, must I bid you goodbye as well?

Paalam, mahal ko. My heart aches for those you left behind, most especially your daughter. My heart aches for myself who believed (somehow) in the reality of our secret life together.

Rest in peace, Paul, you lovely soul. Shine on us from your place up above.

EDIT:

If there’s any reader of this post who’s interested in reading the story of Kyle Magdayao, Safe In Your Arms is available here. Just register and pay specific fees. For the benefit of foreign followers of this blog, the novel is in Filipino.

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