MANILA, Philippines - Today I?d like to take you through ?One Day in the Life of the Sea Princess.?

Last Saturday, I was up at the crack of dawn to join the Adidas King of the Road fun run at The Fort. The race was part of my preparations for the New York marathon and I was glad to talk to the Adidas managers, who have been very supportive of my training.

Most of the crowd were there to run either 5K, 10K or the full 21K distance. I ended up running 15K, as I had to rush off to another event that morning. I could tell the day was going to be full, with no rest between my many events. I could almost empathize with my running coach, Ani de Leon, who coincidentally was completing the Kona Ironman triathlon that very same day, becoming the first Filipino to finish Kona. Congratulations, Ani!

Confirmation

By 8 a.m., I was in full ninang regalia, crammed with an ocean of parents at confirmation ceremonies at La Salle Greenhills. My nephew, Boo Barandiaran, asked me to be his ninang some months ago, and so I moved from one marathon to another, watching 440 boys get ?slapped? by a bishop. Still, it was nice to be seated next to my compadre, Dr. Jovie Eala, whose son was in the confirmation queue as well.

?House Life?

After a quick lunch with Boo and his parents, Frankie and Isabel Barandiaran, I headed to GMA Studios for ?Celebrity Duets.? As the contenders get eliminated and the finals loom, I relive the tension from last year?s finale.

?Duets? contender JC Buendia has been dressing me for my judging stints, and my fabulous hairdos are done by Ricky Reyes Salon. For the day?s show, hairstylist Lenie transformed my locks into a towering masterpiece a la hair-show competition.

While at GMA, I was pulled to do some VO?s or ?voice overs? for ?House Life,? my new show on QTV. We?ve improved our ratings since the first show, thanks to support from many sectors, including Butch Francisco of The Philippine Star, who wrote a wonderful piece about us.

By the end of the ?House Life? VO?s, my hairpiece felt like cement blocks on my head. I arrived home and my husband, Dennis, teasingly asked if I might not just want to watch TV.

Really! What a husband! After I had booked this date on his calendar three months ago! Did he not remember that tonight was the Tatler Ball?

Glamour ball

So a couple of Advils later, Dennis and I arrived at Makati Shangri-La, all aglitter with everyone from Manila?s social register in attendance.

We timed in late enough to interrupt Tatler Asia CEO Barrie Goodridge?s walk to the stage for his speech. Well and good that he wasn?t in mid-sentence, as my stunning red Rajo Laurel gown was a real show-stopper.

Tatler publisher Irene Martel-Francisco and her Tatler team put up a fantastic, most-awaited event every year. I also love that they introduce a generous charity angle into the entire spectacle, this year an auction ably handled by the quintessential host, Johnny Litton, with his formidable foil, Maurice Arcache.

After the auction came the Tatler Awards, as editor Anton San Diego and gorgeous Pops Fernandez recognized those men and women of distinction who have shone in their respective fields.

The first awardee was designer Bea Valdes, who garnered the Most Stylish award, along with a Louis Vuitton Shimmer Bag and Tiffany Jewelry. Clearly this was going to be a luxury-brand take-home party!

Most Eligible Bachelor Illac Diaz got a Hugo Boss suit and a Technomarine watch.

Other awardees received gifts from Bulgari, St. John and Dunhill, watches from Cartier and Philip Stein, jewelry from Hoseki and Vanafi, and weekend stays at Edsa Shangri-La and the upcoming new Boracay Shangri-La.

The next awardees were two elegant and truly deserving ladies, Most Distinguished Lady was Ambassador Isabel Caro Wilson and Most Charitable Force was Nedy Tantoco. Ambassador Wilson bravely stood to receive her award, despite falling and injuring her knee recently.

The next pair of awardees were fashion czar Pitoy Moreno, recognized as the Most Creative Force, while the Most Eminent Couple Award went to Secretary Alberto and Lovely Romulo. All the awardees delivered short and touching speeches.

Surprise

Last year, the only uninformed awardee was Bon Vivant Maurice Arcache. This year, it appears Tatler is starting a tradition as they failed to let the Bonne Vivant know that she was receiving the award! And was I ever surprised and thrilled to receive it! Now I know why Anton didn?t ask me to host the awards this year.

Well, after that full day, I was running out of gas. Nothing fills up one?s tank faster than winning an award, though, so after the ceremonies I was happy to dance the night away with the rest of the crowd.

Free fuel

That gasoline metaphor makes me think of Shell, which is giving away free fuel until Nov. 30. At participating Shell sites, just load up P500 of gas, buy one of six limited-edition Ferrari key rings, and get a raffle entry for P10,000 of free fuel.

Now that?s the sort of promo that we need these days! The big draw is on Dec. 15, where 100 lucky winners will win all that gas.

I was so excited by the Shell promo that I got a bunch of the Ferrari key rings and adorned one of my gowns with them. I wore my Ferrari red gown to Shell?s Go Artsy, Gas for Free party this week. Hopefully my creation will win free fuel!

Everyone is invited to get creative and upload their entries to www.mtvphil.com/shell before the end of November. E-mail shellkeyring@mtv-phil. com.

Rihanna, Chris Brown

The MTV guys never fail to run out of great ideas. Up and coming is their collaboration with Globe to bring in the biggest concert of the year?Rihanna and Chris Brown, two of Hollywood?s greatest RnB artists at the Bonifacio Global City Open Field on Nov. 16. Visit www.ticketworld.com.ph or Call 8919999.

Pink Kitchen

Meanwhile, the Tatler Ball was still in full swing past midnight and I was nearing the time when I would have been up a straight 24 hours. Truly this was a typical, fun-filled day in the life of the Sea Princess.

Speaking of which, here are two more ways to fill today with fun: Pink Kitchen is on at the Rockwell Tent, and if you?re an Assumptionista, today is Velada Day.

E-mail the author at seaprincess@inquirer. com.ph