MANILA, Philippines - After months of on-and-off articles, it?s good to be back doing a weekly column!

For the reincarnation of ?TNT,? we thought of tweaking it a bit to fit your reading habit. It will still offer the latest in fashion, gadgets, travel, retail therapy, entertainment, society and more.

This week I kick off with an updated version of the column I started back in 1998 titled ?Her World??a Q&A of a woman, her thoughts on style, life, much like the ?Proust Questionnaire? of Vanity Fair.

With great pleasure, I resume this column focusing on a woman who is very special and means so much to me. We go way back, to Grade I, to be precise, when we were both at International School.

She has always been a true lady, a fantastic friend and beauty, inside and out. In the more than 30 years I have known her, she has remained down-to-earth, always gracious and positive.

Besides being a fantastic wife and mother (three daughters and one son), she is also passionate about getting the perfect backhand (a diehard tennis player), and singing like Norah Jones. This lady truly comes close to perfection.

She is an advocate and volunteer fundraiser for Center of Excellence in Public Elementary Education (www. centex.org.ph), a program managed by Ayala Foundation which provides deserving students from marginalized communities quality education.

She also has a newfound passion, photography, and is one of the participants in ?Photographers: Shared Moods? exhibit, part of Ayala Land Inc.?s Bravo Filipino series of events.

The exhibit will feature amateur and professional photographers such as Frankie Callaghan, Peachy Concepcion, Johann Espiritu, Gabby Lacuesta, Quincy Castillo, Emil Davocol, Pancho Escaler and Ernie Fajardo. It will run for two weeks starting March 27, at the Greenbelt 3 lobby, Ayala Center, Makati.

This is Kit Silverio-Zobel, and this is her world.

How did your interest in photography come about?
I had an SLR camera that was on automatic mode for a number of years. I reached a point where I felt I wasn?t using it to its full potential and took classes at the Silverlens Gallery. It?s been over a year and a half since then and I?m still hooked!

How do you feel about your participation in the Bravo Filipino series of events and exhibits?
I am, of course, thrilled, pressured, excited and very grateful to be one of the participants!

Who are the photographers whose works you admire?
Elliot Erwitt, Charles Harbutt, Robert Doisneau, Henri Cartier-Bresson, just to name a few. These artists took fabulous black-and-white images, knew when to press the shutter at the right time, masters of the ?decisive moment? which Cartier-Bresson became well known for.

Describe your personal style.
My personal style is casual and relaxed. I am almost always in jeans and comfortable clothes.

What?s a characteristic you like/dislike in people?
I?ll just focus on what I like in people... that includes having a great sense of humor, sincerity and integrity.

What book are you reading now?
? The Birth of Venus? by Sarah Dunant?a historical fiction set in the city of Florence during the reign of the Medicis, recommended read by a good friend.

What?s a book you would recommend?
? A Thousand Splendid Suns? by Khaled Hosseini, same author of ?The Kite Runner,? both must-reads! The former, about life seen and experienced from the point of view of a woman, the latter, about unconditional friendship between two men, both set in troubled Afghanistan during the rise of the Taliban.

How do you relax?
Reading, listening to music, watching movies, having a good massage, playing a great game of tennis.

What?s your favorite comfort food?
Sinigang, hands down! I even bring the ready-made mix on summer trips abroad. It?s comforting to have a taste of home while away on family holiday.

What was your childhood ambition?
To be a doctor.

What are your fond memories growing up?
Family traditions that we celebrated such as hanging ornaments on the Christmas tree, Easter-egg hunts, trick-or-treating. Running down the street to the homes of close friends and playing for hours and hours. These are some of the wonderful memories from my childhood.

Who was your first childhood crush?
Francis Arnaiz, during the days when my father coached the Toyota Tamaraws in the PBA, I must have been 8 years old.

What?s your favorite spot on earth?
At home with my family or wherever we spend a holiday together.

What are your passions and why?
Photography?I relish the thrill of capturing a candid moment, a surprise. I love images that tell a story. Those shots are challenging, the kind that are spontaneous, that are not staged, that are natural and where the subject is unaware of the photograph being taken. I?m also interested in other aspects of photography such as still-life, abstractions, and landscapes. There?s so much to learn out there and I am an eager learner!

Tennis?I get a great workout from it and thoroughly enjoy the competitive nature of the sport.

Plants?The garden at home is my sanctuary. My husband and I made sure that every room in the house has a view to the oasis that was created for us by landscape artist and friend, Ponce. I read a lot about plants and regularly attend the garden shows to look out for new varieties.

Music?There?s not a day that goes by without me enjoying one of my favorite tunes which can range from the ?50s to current releases! The music stores are one of the first places I visit whenever I get to travel and I can spend hours there (which drives my husband crazy!).

How do you divide your time between being a wife, mother, and having your personal time?
I try to strike a healthy balance between these three.

How has being a mother changed your life?
Being a mother has definitely given me much happiness and fulfillment as well as challenges.

Watching my children grow up, the excitement of seeing them discover and learn new things, the apprehension I feel when they have an illness or an accident, as well as the frustration on days they just won?t listen and obey, and of course the endless hugs and kisses I can never give them enough of?it?s all part of being mom, which I enjoy. It?s definitely changed my life for the better and it?s an evolving process.

How many years have you been married? (She is married to Fernando Zobel, vice chair of Ayala Corp.)
Going on 14 this year!

How did your husband propose to you?
In a beautiful palace in the middle of a lake in Udaipur, India.

What?s your secret to a long-lasting marriage?
Keep the lines of communication open, allow each other personal space and growth, constantly find ways to show you care...

What are your dreams and wishes for your husband/children?
For my husband?that he constantly finds fulfillment in everything that he does in life; that he achieves most if not all of his dreams and wishes, and that he always be happy and healthy (he has become a fitness addict so this shouldn?t be a problem!)

For my children?that they grow up to be happy, well balanced and kind individuals, who can each make a meaningful contribution to our country.

What have you learned as truth?
Live a day at a time, make the most of every opportunity, and never take anything for granted.

What?s something about you that people don?t know about?
I?m terrified of speaking before a large audience.