So I Didn't End Up Going to CDO...

...but I did end up here.

View from the entrance


Living area at our villa (yup, "our"--Hamil came with me, yay!). Not shown: 42-inch flat-screen TV.


Dining area. Not shown: Kitchen.


Bedroom with four-poster bed. Not shown: Another 42-inch flat-screen TV!


Bathroom


His and hers sinks in the bathroom. Check out the reflection--yet another flat-screen TV at the foot of the tub! I quite enjoyed watching 30 Rock while soaking in a bubble bath!


And a private plunge pool for good measure

All these were taken at the Crimson Resort and Spa in Mactan, Cebu.

Tomorrow: Back to reality.

How was your weekend?

Training Day

So this is what running 15K feels like...

I used to abhor running. Back in college, the warmup before dance practice was sometimes a one-mile run. I could get through it pretty quickly (eight minutes, to be exact), but it was torture. I would bitch through those eight minutes and think about how I would much rather be learning a new routine. Cheerdancer training was no different. We sometimes had to run about half an hour, all around the Ateneo campus, and it was my absolute least favorite part of training.

When I started working, I didn't have regular dance training anymore, so I had to resort to other forms of exercise. Running became one of them. I would push myself to do interval training (increased my speed and endurance) and 5K runs on the treadmill (personal best: around 29 minutes. Obviously, it involved some walking!). For a time, I kind of enjoyed it, especially after a rough day. Running in Ateneo on cool evenings also helped me clear my head when I was feeling particularly overwhelmed.

Last year marked the first time I ran about 11K. It took a while, but I did it. I would've been so proud of myself if only my husband hadn't kept on running for 10 more kilometers (for no apparent reason other than he can), leaving me--and my personal record--behind in the dust.

Up until a couple of weeks ago, I had no desire to join fun runs. And then my husband signed me up for a half marathon. That's 21 frickin' kilometers. Our phone conversation:

Hamil: Ano, register na kita? (Should I register for you?)
Tisha: Ummm... Magkano ba yan? (How much?)
Hamil: P1,300.
Tisha: MAGBABAYAD AKO NG P1,300 PARA LANG MAPAGOD?! (I'm paying P1,300 just to get tired?!)

After much thought, and despite being in the worst shape in recent years (I hardly had any exercise in November and December, and I had the holiday fat to show for it), I relented. I figured that this was the first and last time I would ever run that long. And I figured I had one of my 100 kisses waiting for me at the finish line.

Hamil outlined a training program which I haven't been able to follow. The weather was uncooperative last week so I wasn't able to get in the miles I wanted to get in. I did, however, have the best possible trainer for my first 5K run of the year--Marie, one of my really good friends, who just happens to be the editor in chief of Runner's World! She's run the New York Marathon twice and an ultra marathon (that's over 100 kilometers!) so I'd say she's a bit of an expert in this area. She gave me some helpful tips and, more importantly, distracted me from the boredom that inevitably accompanies seemingly endless rounds at the Ultra oval.

Last night, as per Hamil's training schedule, we had to run 15 kilometers. All my old feelings about running resurfaced. (See first paragraph.) By the seventh kilometer, I was already bitching about the pain in my stomach, my knee, my ankle. I wasn't the most pleasant person in the world to run with, but my husband stayed positive, cheering me on and waiting for me. I knew that he was kind of holding back, that he was raring to run ahead. But he stayed with me. He wanted to practice running with me because he doesn't want to leave me when we finally run the 21K, personal record be damned. More than anything, that's what's going to push me to the finish line.

Wish me luck.

Image from here.

Live Show

Guested on morning show Unang Hirit last Friday, which meant a 6:00 AM call time. Not easy, considering sleeping is one of my most favorite things to do. (I kind of believe that the only thing standing between me and world domination is my desire to sleep! Har.)

For this guesting, I was asked to talk about stress relief at the office. And since I'm the girl who sometimes stays until 4:00 AM at the office, it was just a teensy bit ironic!

A few days before the appearance, I was asked to send a list of items that could help people relax when work is driving them nuts. When I arrived at GMA7, I was given a script which included questions I didn't prepare for beforehand (e.g., causes of stress at the office). I answered the questions and went over the script as I sat in the makeup chair. Thankfully, I had some help from the Unang Hirit researchers, plus some stock knowledge on stress. When you get psychosomatic symptoms like an upset stomach, falling hair, and a twitching eyelid, you're bound to know a thing or two about stress!

For this appearance, I was interviewed by Miss Lynn Ching. A friend, who caught the show on a bus on his commute to work, noticed how Lynn towered over me. And I was in five-inch heels! (Well, she was in heels too. But yeah, I'm kind of pocket-size.)

It isn't so hard to sound all peppy in the morning when you're interviewed by an energetic host.

The Unang Hirit people built a set of an office outside the studio, complete with blinds and a fake aircon! Pretty cool. I couldn't believe they went through all that trouble for a seven-minute segment.

In between Q and As with Lynn, there were spiels showing stressful situations at the office.

The actors, Betong and May, totally cracked me (and the crew) up! Betong played the boss, who said things like, "Eto, bilangin mo nga itong ream ng bond paper kung 500 talaga ang laman niyan!" ("Here, count this ream of bond paper to check if there are really 500 pieces!") I watched them rehearse a few minutes before we went on air, and they were just masters at ad libbing!

Hurriedly taken photo. Wasn't able to adjust camera settings.

The most fun TV guesting I've had to date, even if I did have to wake up at an ungodly hour!


First three photos courtesy of Tracy, my current TV pimp.

Tishie Tishie on Twitter

Yeah, it took a while. (Long story.) Follow, if you please: twitter.com/tishietishie. And while you're at it, follow Good Houskeeping too! twitter.com/ghphils

Will Work for Food

Well, OK, not really, since money buys me shoes (and helps pay for the roof over my head). But one of the best (and worst) parts of my job is that I get to eat at all these great places for free! I get invited to events and restaurant openings, where there is no shortage of yummy food. Afterwards, I'm left trying to figure out how to burn off all the calories. Sigh. Case in point: yesterday's scrumptious eight-course (count 'em, eight) lunch at Lola Maria.

We started off with vegetable quiche with a dollop of sour cream. (I ended up scooping more onto my little quiches.)


This was followed by prawn balls, which I described as very...prawn-y. (Ladies and gentlemen, the very eloquent EIC of GH...) We were free to get seconds but we all wanted to leave enough room in our tummies after seeing the menu!


My favorite: pinipig-crusted cream dory with tartar-cayenne sauce. Yum! Yum! Yum!


We were served calamansi sorbet to cleanse our palates for the next courses.

Cocido, served with rice (which I finished. Hey, I ran 11km the night before, so I was entitled!)

US rib-eye steak. Thankfully, they gave me an extra fatty cut so I sliced those bits away, and I ended up not eating too much beef. It was quite tender though! I would've loved a big slab if I hadn't started with four other courses!

Finally, three kinds of dessert: ube and langka pana cota, ensaymada bread pudding with grated queso de bola, and fried suman with chocolate sauce (mmmm).

Hours later, I was still stuffed! It's a pretty good life.:)

Read more about Lola Maria (located at Legend Villas on Pioneer Street, Mandaluyong) in an upcoming issue of Good Housekeeping.

Happy Birthday, Hubby!

It was a bit of a quiet birthday for Hamil, and a relatively healthy one too. While last year, we feasted on steak at 22 Prime, this year he wanted something lighter. The night before his birthday, we decided to eat at Kai, a Japanese restaurant in Greenbelt 5. (Years ago, the resto was at Greenbelt 2, and there, Hamil had his fill of sake.) The meal was predominantly made up of raw fish; while there was some wagyu thrown in, it was mixed with tofu and asparagus.

The day of, we stayed home and I cooked. Nothing spectacular. He just asked for my fake Conti's salmon, and I also whipped up cream of spinach soup (there was some leftover spinach) and a roasted vegetable salad with portobello mushrooms. Then, because he didn't want his usual favorite ube cake (which would languish in the ref, given that there's just two of us), I surprised him with a birthday mamon. Ube, of course.

We had long conversations over the weekend, and at some point, talk turned to religion. We are both practicing Catholics in that we go to mass every Sunday and say our prayers. But we both have a lot of questions, and constantly talk about our faith and other faiths. This particular talk touched on reincarnation, life's purpose, and the possibility of a passive god.

This last concept was a bit hard for me to grasp. If ours is a passive god, then what is the purpose of prayer? There would be no one to thank, no one to guide us and give us strength. And what I find most hard to believe: A passive god would mean that I merely stumbled upon the most wonderful man by sheer dumb luck or by virtue of my effervescent charm (both of which I do not possess in abundance). No, a passive god, He is not. For me to find the best man, for me to be indescribably happy, there must be a Stronger Force at work. And as Hamil blew out his little candle, I thanked that god for the day my husband was born.

To Go or Not to Go...

To Cagayan de Oro? Friends have been bugging asking me to come along for a weekend of disc (and possibly rafting), but I think I have an event in Cebu that same weekend. And then there's Boracay Open coming up. Hmmm. I do hope this year shapes up like last in terms of travel (Bacolod, Boracay, Cebu, Dumaguete, Singapore, Bali, New York--twice--with Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong in between!). I've really been itching to get on a plane and go somewhere. A friend joked that the reason I got sick was because I haven't traveled in a while. I've never been to CDO so I'm really tempted to go.

But that Janet concert is just as tempting! And I've gotta think about proper allocation of funds. Sigh.

And just so this post is not a complete waste, a recipe--something I whipped up last night. I tried to replicate Conti's baked salmon, with moderate success. Needed a bit more garlic, but my bechamel sauce turned out OK for a first-timer! Measurements not entirely accurate because, as I mentioned before, I just kind of throw things into a pot.

Poseur Conti's Baked Salmon

Ingredients
Bechamel sauce:
2 tbsp butter
1/8 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
Salt
Ground nutmeg

4 cloves garlic, crushed
Salmon
Quick-melt cheese

1. Make bechamel sauce: Melt butter over low heat. Add flour, mix until well blended.
2. When roux is a light golden color, slowly add milk, stirring continuously. Simmer lightly until sauce thickens.
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Remove from heat. Mix in garlic.
5. Place salmon in a baking dish. Spread bechamel on top, covering fish entirely.
6. Sprinkle grated cheese on top.
7. Bake in pre-heated 350F oven, 20 minutes.
8. Remove from oven. Serve with mixed vegetables.