I was meaning to clean my room today, but I’m not in the mood to do so just yet. I will later, promise. Or at least, I will get started on it by finally removing the clothes I haven’t been wearing already (not my style or they don’t fit anymore). But before that, I had this sudden burst of nostalgia and I decided to pull out my old magazines and got this particular one out:

Ganns! Rick! JM! Trish! Remember this? :)

LIVEtheLIFE magazine is Ganns’ brainchild. It’s a magazine for Filipino youth, which, according to the tag line, is Relevant reading for the lifestyle with a purpose. Simply speaking, it’s a Christian glossy magazine. I remember all the meetings we used to have for this, as well as the email trails and even the launch we had (but I did not get to attend to) at Shepherd’s Voice in Greenbelt. I remember the photo shoots, the planning and the ideas thrown around. I even had grand dreams of us having an office eventually, where we’d be having brainstorming sessions and studio photo shoots and whatnot.

What’s really special about this issue (besides it being the first and only issue) is that this is my first time to be published in a magazine, not only as a writer but as a…er, model.

Yes dear friends, I was once a magazine model. :P

One of Ganns’ ideas for a section in the magazine was to feature different bloggers — specifically bloggers who blog about God (God-bloggers) which he called Bloggerhythm. Back then (2004) blogging wasn’t really that big — I don’t know if people have started earning from their blogs yet. Blogs are usually about what happened during their day and photos and plugs on other sites, reviews and that was it. This is where I met Ganns in the first place, because of our blogs. Anyway, he got me, JM and Rick as his first Bloggerhythm feature, which had us answering some questions and visiting CCP to have a photoshoot complete with great make-up and drool-worthy cameras that I did not even know existed. :P

I was reading some of my answers on this interview, and interestingly…it’s not that bad. Not dorky, even if these answers were given three years ago. Maybe it’s because I still blog the same way? :) My grammar is atrocious though. -_-;

Why did you set up a blog?
The first thing I thought of when I set up a blog [was] because I wanted to have an easier way to update my site. It was a lot easier [instead of] uploading all entries manually. Then I started making it some sort of a “journal”, where I can post about my day and other activities. Now it’s basically about anything that comes into my mind.

What’s behind your blog title?
My blog title is actually my site’s title. My domain name, Refine Me, comes from Jennifer Knapp’s Kansas album (track 9). It’s my personal prayer.

What can people expect to see or read in your blog?
People can basically read about anything and everything that comes into my mind. Sometimes I talk about my day, sometimes I post my assignments, sometimes I post quotes and birthday greetings. Sometimes I even end up venting out in extremes, which I believe is just normal for everyone. My randominities, as I call it.

How do you glorify Christ on your blog?
I have a category in my blog which I call In His Steps, named after this devotional that my parents get every three months. In this category, I post things about God that I read about, Bible verses, songs and realizations about my faith. Not only that, but I try to be as honest as possible in my posts, because I think the way people will better see how God works in my life [is] through the ral me. I also try as much to be positive.

The rest of the interview talked about my clothing style and my taste in music, which I can say is kind of blah even up to now. :P

But wait! That’s not my only appearance in the magazine. I also wrote a couple of articles (like I said, my first time to be published in print), and a couple of reviews (sorry for the bad photos, Triskal’s in Basic quality photo mode and I’m too lazy to bring out the scanner):

Look, it’s a byline. My first major magazine article, where I talked about being a dormer.

All about YFC’s Woodstruck 2004

My review of Five People You Meet in Heaven and This Present Darkness

Heh, would you look at that. :P Those were the days. The printed version of the magazine was cut because of budget constraints (too bad, I was really looking forward to the second issue), but Ganns continued an online version here (which hasn’t been updated for the longest time).

I think this is where I really started having my stuff published. A year later I was published in FiSH Magazine, and then a year later, I’m published in Didache, both of which I owe Jomar for giving me the opportunities (Which reminds me, Didache 2008 is out! And it’s so pretty! And I’m there too! I’ll post about it soon). I’ve got my Didache and Gabay 2009 already, due early next year. Yes, I do earn a little from these gigs. Not huge amounts that could get afford cruises, but good enough cash that I could not get easily anywhere else (except my job of course). And that’s not bad at all. :)

I have yet to be a magazine model once again, though. But…seriously speaking, as nice as it is to see myself in photos, I’d really rather just see my name as the writer/author…okay and maybe a nice headshot, but I’d really rather not talk about my taste in clothes. :P