If zombies were to chase me, I only have a 300-meter chance to run for my life. Anything farther than that does not guarantee my survival.

Because I hate to admit this, I AM NO LONGER FIT AS I WAS BEFORE.

How do you survive a zombie apocalypse?

I used to be so physically active until I got derailed from my fitness goals because of a minor knee injury. I took a break but I never thought I would take a long one. Weeks quickly turned to months and before I knew it, two years had passed and I already made every damn excuse not to workout at all.

The struggle to gracefully juggle the demands of life — marriage, motherhood, work, household chores, and everything in between — definitely made exercise the last thing on my to-do list. It did not help that I work at home. I have my butt glued on my chair for eight hours daily and I got so used to having zero physical activity (if laundry, dishes, and walking to the toilet do not count).

See? I barely make 500 steps in a day.

And since being skinny does not seem to pose any threat to my health and self-esteem, I find no reason to exercise and I do not mind being idle at all. Until I was confronted with my lack of interest in attending social events because I tire easily. I also suffer from insomnia, inability to focus, and crankiness—all of which I have tried so valiantly to ignore the past two years and simply blamed everything to work and aging.

Turns out, I lack that much needed endorphins. I need to get high on it again.

I thought of going back to Muay Thai but a trip to the dojo would take an hour or two (I cannot afford to lose that much time). I considered yoga classes and even zumba parties but my non-negotiable schedule does not agree. I also tried signing up for marathons but I am reluctant to shell out at least Php1000 for a SINGLE run. The same amount can already get me a month's worth of gym membership which is not an option for me since I have this habit of not showing up after a session or two (the level of intimidation is pretty high there). Yes, I am still brilliant in making excuses.

Then I was introduced to Virtual Runs—something I didn't know exist. It is like any other run, but way more flexible. You can choose the day, the time, the route, and the distance that's most convenient and suitable for you. Perfect for my busy and unpredictable lifestyle! So when a fellow blogger, John, asked me to join Sun Life's first Virtual Run, of course, I hesitated. I knew I am too unfit to run 5k, let alone 50k.

But I did it anyway.

My virtual race bib.

I started out with baby steps. My first attempt was an easy 3k distance. To you, and maybe to myself today, that is nothing, but during that time, it was the hardest 3k of my life and I didn't even reach 3k! I saw death coming two minutes in. I was gasping for air and almost puked my lungs out. I was obviously in a terrible shape.

My first day.

But my momma did not raise a quitter so on the days that followed, I pressed on.

I tracked my performance and was happy to see that I eventually got better even though it still felt like I was using a spoon to dig a tunnel. But hey! Small progress is still progress.


It was not easy. It never is. But a hundred and one snoozed alarms, 22 daily battles-with-the-little-demon-inside-my-head-who-constantly-tells-me-that-running-is-not-really-worth-getting-out-of-bed-for, and 12 angry-mutters-to-myself-for-choosing-exhaustion-over-sleep later, I completed the 50k  challenge.


It was not as glorious as finishing an actual race but I am immensely proud of myself.


I wouldn't say I have fell in love with running. To be honest, I still hate it. But no matter how much you hear me whine about how boring, how painful, or how exhausting it is, you will still find me hitting the road on my Brooks because I know I am only 3kms away from feeling good.


Running has definitely proven beneficial to my physical, emotional, and mental well-being. It is the perfect antidote for my laziness. It energizes me to get me going the whole day. My mood has significantly improved (that's probably because when you're too tired from running nothing can stress you out anymore. Haha). I am now more focused and more productive at work. And best of all, I am already getting enough sleep—something I did not have in a very long time.

Yes, the virtual run challenge has already ended, but my journey to living a healthier life has just begun.

And in this world where technology is ruling over us and we are starting to inadvertently normalize sedentary lifestyle, I am so grateful to Sun Life Philippines for giving me that kick in the butt I needed to get me off my lazy couch and start with that baby step toward a victorious leap to a healthy life.

Good  job, self!

Well, what else can I say? With this 180-degree turn, I know I would live long enough to see a zombie apocalypse. And this time for sure, I will be able to survive one.

I'm not sure whether I should start my intro with a defensive speech as to why I got 39 new books (not including the children's book I got for Rhett) in less than two months or should I just accept my fate that I always get defeated in a battle against impulsive book buying.

Supportive. As always ♥

Here’s the thing, when you are in front of a million new books priced at 50-90% off, there's no way you could ever resist that. Not me. And it's not all the time you can get big book sales like this, that's why you have take advantage of it.  Meaning, you can’t just go barging in a book sale and NOT buy a book… because that’s just stupid. And besides, I don't really have anything to spend my money on.

And yes, I can come up with fifty more excuses to convince the world and myself why it's okay to be impulsive and splurge on books. But before I do that, I’d like to share with you what I got from the Big Bad Wolf book sale:

22 new books
2 empty pockets
1 stoked heart


I wouldn't go full detail about the frenzy that happened during the VIP day or how I felt bummed for not finding a single book on my must-have list and still ended up home with these:

Oh Brandon Sanderson and Haruki Murakami, why do you have to be so elusive?

And I'm not going to talk about how much I have spent here because it will only break my heart. But here are a few facts to make me feel less guilty about my haul:

✔ I got one book (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) as a gift from Big Bad Wolf during the presscon.
✔ I won one gift certificate (worth Php700) from Big Bad Wolf contest and was able to take home 3 more books.
✔ Unlike others, my cart wasn't even half full. So I guess, 22 new books that won't be touched in at least 6 months (if you have only seen my to-be-read pile) isn't that bad, is it?

Today is 11.11. Every online and physical store is on a HUUUUGE sale. Tempting, yes. But I wasn't really psyched about it because:

1. I'm broke. And even if I had the money,
2. The internet has been fucked up since Thursday.

So instead of wasting precious bandwidth, loading websites that will only make me a thousand more poorer, I'll blog about last month's National Book Store's Book Binge Bazaar book haul instead.

Even though I go gaga over Queen, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden, or Linkin Park, it has never been a secret how much I love boy bands.

I guess you can blame that to the curtain haircuts made famous by Nick Carter back in the 90s. That pretty boy look definitely won too many hearts. But more than the pretty face, they got the phenomenal stage presence, smooth dance moves, cheesy songs, and the voice that definitely made teen girls fall head over heels. And I guess, I have not outgrown that stage until this very day.

I was 12 when I fell in love with these guys. I used to watch them every day on MTV. And even though I claim to be a huge boy band fan, I've never seen one group performed live.

I live further down south in the Philippines. Most international groups don't come here. Sure, Air Supply, Dionne Warwick, James Ingram, Boyce Avenue, and such were here. But you see, I am not a  huge fan of these (Air Supply is definitely an exception).

I would say in Davao, given the lack of arenas, the concerts are pretty boring (but hey, don't take my word for it because I haven't been in one. Haha).

Then Shane Filan happened.

Well, he wasn't exactly a boy band, but he's the closest thing to one of my favorite boy bands, Westlife. And it was amazing!


I had a great time. I had the chance to relive that high school girl who had posters of Westlife on her bedroom wall. 20 years later, I am not surprised I still memorize their songs. I definitely had a blast! The video below will tell you so.


I am glad Davao Concert Scene is starting to bring international artists here in Davao. And things are getting pretty interesting. You know what I'm excited about? Boyz II Men and Michael Learns to Rock are coming this December! I can't wait!

I remember during my freshman year in high school, I saw a batch of seniors who were standing in neat rows under the heat of the sun. They looked cool in their combat boots and fatigue, except, they were more like puppies to me than soldiers. They're pretty good at obeying commands. Sit, roll over, drop and play dead, or whatever the commanding officer tells them to. I watched them every Friday and told myself I've already been potty-trained since 2, I don't need new tricks, and I'm never going to be a trained pup. And the only way to elude the comedy and horror of Preparatory Military Training (PMT) is to be part of a varsity team.

So I did. Football (a.k.a. Soccer) wasn't my first choice of sport. The Volleyball team had already closed their try-outs and Football was the only team that's still recruiting new members. I was not really into football. Heck, I didn't even know how to play. But I'm pretty sure I was good at running. The try-outs were never easy but I made it to the team only to find out a few months later that being a football varsity is far worse than being a cadet.

Ateneo Ladies Football Team, DACS '99.

- First, cadets will only have to endure an hour of formation on Fridays, while we have to practice at least 2 hours every day and have to be at the field 5 am on Saturdays (who would want to wake up early on a Saturday?!).
- Cadets do not have to worry about grades, varsities do. We have to maintain good grades or else we will be out of the team, and by default, all non-varsity seniors will fall under PMT.
- Cadets only have to endure an hour under the 3 o'clock sun. One football game lasts 90 minutes under midday sun.
- I never had a week without a scrape, a bruise, a sprain, or a dislocation.
- And lastly, we were made to follow commands that look more ridiculous than doing a parade rest - attention position fifty times in a row. (I was made to do a crab walk for 30 minutes for being 5 minutes late)

Hashtag that NganoNiEnter.

Here’s a throwback to my 2-toned skin brought about by years of playing football. Haha. Circa 2000.

Well, our football training sessions were hell and our coach back then was the devil. I guess, I was really made for hell because I enjoyed every part of it so much.

I love football. I will always do. It has been more than a decade since I last played in the field and I'm glad that every 4 years since 2002, that futbolista in me is awakened. Well, literally.

Starting tonight, it is going to be a string of sleepless albeit breathtaking nights. This is the time of the year I curse living in this side of the world where live games are televised from 12:00 am to 4:00 am. 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia is about to begin! I'll be rooting for the same teams I've been rooting for since forever (Argentina and Spain). And just like any other sports fan, I'm going to turn into that football expert, sports-analyst wannabe everybody gets so annoyed about.

For the first time in my life, I wished I have the singing voice and be in a musical.

At the backstage with the main cast of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in Newport Performing Arts Theater