No one ever taught me how to write a goodbye post—and truth be told, this is my first one! So I guess I’ll just start with the basics (which seems to be the wisest move for every situation).
I can hardly believe it myself, but it’s been three and a half years since I began working for FN. Even after I left my full-time post for a freelance alternative, I’ve never stopped writing for this website. Imagine—today’s column marks my 637th entry! And 95 of those 637 belong to Stylewise, my weekly fashion-and-beauty column since June 2011 (remember my first post?).
Wow, seeing the breakdown of numbers like that makes me feel as if I’m placing the final stroke on a very long (95 chapters-long!) book about style. It’s a little bittersweet, to be honest; I’m moving on to the next phase of my career, but I’m also letting go of my "baby." Still, I find consolation in the fact that I’ve been lucky enough to have had loyal readers (and lurkers—hi guys!) like you, who have taken the time to thumbs-up, tweet, and/or comment on my articles since Day 1.
Before I press the rewind button for this final entry (we’ll get to that in a minute), I must mention that FN has served as my proverbial mother ship since 2009, mainly because it was my first, real, big-girl job. But there were other, just as important reasons, too: I’ve built great friendships with the people on the team, been touched and inspired by supportive FNites, seen and done things that made me squeal I-love-my-work, and honed my writing prowess under the tutelage of some very capable editors. Understatement of the year: I will miss everyone!
Now, I know I haven’t posted any pictures of myself for this column, except maybe this one time (call me blog-shy)—but I figure, it’s now or never! So, here’s my closest approximation to a send-off: a pic spam of the best fashion- and fun-related things I got to do on the clock, from photo shoots that felt like a barkada reunion to getting sent abroad (which I will eternally love my editor for). It’s been a privilege, ladies, and I hope that if there’s anything you’ll remember about what I wrote, it’s that looking beautiful, feeling great, and dressing-like-you-mean-it is for everyone, everywhere, and every day. Ciao, bellas—and don’t forget to click-click-click!
(In-article photo from Funny Face courtesy of Paramount Pictures)
As an FN girl, I got to do awesome things like…
… attend fashion previews and sit front row at runway shows!
(Photos by Pranz Billones/Camille Santiago courtesy of Cosmo.ph)
… nab a working trip to Boracay, just to try yoga, Bollywood dance, and Hapa Haole Hula (below: I’m the one in the black skirt)!(Photo by Ingrid Villafuerte)
To tell you the truth, much of that “working” trip was spent like this (LOL):
(Photo by Tracy Ayson)
I was also able to…
… work on cool stories like this trend report, which was illustrated by my brother!(Art: Jose Jose)
… experience an all-expenses-paid tour of Singapore, to write about shopping, food, and holiday sights!
(Photo by Nana Nadal)
Keep clicking, there’s more!
Have I mentioned the cute boys I got to meet on the job? (Felix Roco!)(Photo by Regina Belmonte)
… or, at least, see up close and personal (Sam Milby and his abs!)…(Photo: Female Network)
… as in, within spitting distance (Daniel-my-ultimate-Asian-fixation-Henney!).(Photo by Stephanie Castillo)
I also got paid to write about where I’ve gone on vacation! (Read my travel stories here, here, here, and here.)(Photo by Anina Favis)
And, when I wasn’t on vacation, or parked in front of my computer as writers often are, I got to style photo shoots with FN’s super fun team. From left to right: staff photographer Mike Dee, me, default contributing photog-extraordinaire Dakila Angeles, editorial assistant Mars Salazar, and fashion assistant Pat Dayacap. Shout-out to FN’s features editor Myra Mortega-Calulo and staffwriter Jennifer Chan, who are not in this photo. (Forgive the wackiness—the team members were prepping for a K-pop themed party!)(Photo by Dakila Angeles)
On top of all that, I got to write this column for two years. And it really has been a blast!
