For the 2009 Timex Run with Piolo Pascual heading the field, I will be gunning for a personal best in my 21K just so I can be at the finish line early for a photo-op with him
ONCE AGAIN OUR whole nation is united. All of us are cheering our boxing hero, Manny Pacquiao, as he fights for victory and makes history today.

Just about the same time that the Pacman is warming up, I will also be warming up, but for the 2009 Timex Run at The Fort.

TV heartthrob Piolo Pascual heads up the field at the Timex Run and I will be gunning for a personal best in my 21K just so I can be at the finish line early for a photo-op with him. Lots of special prizes are at stake so this will be a fun run for everyone to join.

Timex has been a generous sponsor of so many athletic events. Just a few months ago, they were so visible at the Cobra 70.3 Ironman Philippines along with Audi, the car brand of choice after doing all that running.

Next week, Timex is also sponsoring Team Philippines at the Asian Underwater Hockey Championships in Singapore. Among the supportive sponsors for the team are Cebu Pacific, Fern C vitamins and of course, Speedo, their official swim gear. The team has won the gold for two years in a row and is hoping for a ?three-peat.?

Speaking of sponsors, I?ll be checking out Pacquiao?s shorts, which now resembles a Formula 1 outfit, what with all the logos. Dennis and I are at the Araneta Coliseum this morning watching the live broadcast on 30-foot giant screens?truly Pacman will be larger than life!

There are so many exciting activities happening on that side of the shopping world. Even if I am a Makati girl, I don?t mind heading to the Gateway Mall in Araneta Center to enjoy a movie premiere at the Gateway Cineplex 10.

My last foray to Gateway was for the exclusive viewing of ?Coco Avant Chanel,? with a chic cocktail party hosted by TV master Boy Abunda at the pre-screening event. The Mandarin Oriental Suites was filled with celebrities and guests all having cocktails before the movie.

Chanel exhibit

It was such a timely film for me since two months ago, I was invited to a private dinner celebrating the launch of Chanel?s Bijoux de Diamants collection in Singapore. Amid the green lawns of the Lion City?s colonial-era Fort Canning Park, Fort Gate was transformed into a romantic haven leading to the exhibit hall and a specially constructed white ?igloo? for the main dinner.

Societe Generale Private Banking invited my parents but since they were away, I was happy to represent them and get the chance to visit my son Bryan, who works for SG in Singapore. It was also the birthday of a favorite aunt, Mary de Leon, so we were able to have a mini-celebration feasting on delicious chili crab.

The Chanel Bijoux exhibition was elegantly displayed on gigantic, stylized busts with 70 vintage pieces made up of diamonds set in platinum. The theme was aptly named Constellation. Coco Chanel designed necklaces without clasps, where comets with diamond tails shoot across the neck.

Chanel?s Cho Sung In welcomed guests inside the candle-lit dome with the brilliance and beauty of Chanel?s fine jewelry radiating throughout. My dashing escort for the night was my cousin, Jon-Jon Rufino, who also enjoyed the sumptuous menu from Singapore?s Shangri-La Hotel.

In the latest issue of Singapore Tatler, the Chanel event is featured and my photo wearing Philippine-made jewelry is included. As always, I proudly wear our nation?s products to promote our local talents.

My accessories that night were collections of Arnel Papa and Wynn Wynn Ong. My necklace was a gift from Wynn Wynn, who is a dear friend. She will be having an exhibition show called ?Ages? on Nov. 19 at Firma, Greenbelt 3, sponsored by HSBC Premier.

A portion of the proceeds from Ages will be donated to benefit Hands-On Manila?s Galing Mo Kid Program to aid public schools hit by Tropical Depression ?Ondoy.? The reason why her handmade pieces are so beautiful is because they are crafted with so much passion, love and compassion.

Fila?s high princess

Another fine lady who has been so supportive of so many of my projects is Fila?s high princess, Cris Albert. Lately she has also been busy finishing her Masters Degree at Harvard. Truly a lady with beauty and brains, Cris was chosen as one of 2009?s Best Dressed at the event of Karr Marin and Baby Fernandez at the Manila Hotel.

Master fashion designer Aurelio Alonzo fabulously outfitted Manila?s best dressed that also included Pinky Tobiano, Adel Tamano, Mia Mancio, Jesli Lapus, Baby Ortiz.

Donning a black-and-pink classic Auggie Cordero gown, Cris ramped the finale escorted by the night?s hall of famer Mikee Romero. Both were showered with roses and tulips by loving husband Butch Albert and mother Wanda Louwallien.

Black Tie Brawl

I didn?t make it to the Best Dressed list, but I was dressed to my best at the recent Black Tie Brawl of Rogue Magazine at the Renaissance Hotel. My husband Dennis has been a regular at this affair, thanks to the advertisements for his Pagcor e-Games Cafés. This year, we sat with the folks from Cole Haan, one of the major sponsors of the event.

The Black Tie Brawl is a unique event, as tuxedoed men and gowned women, like sexy Angel Locsin, get to enjoy a full-course dinner with the finest bubbly to boot, and then really get the adrenalin flowing by watching Ultimate Fighting bouts over dessert.

Which kinda brings me back to Pacquiao, doesn?t it? I just love it when I achieve circularity in my articles.

Let me squeeze in a couple of bazaar announcements. Christmas is around a month away and I feel a sense of panic all of a sudden. Here are some helpful hints for bargain hunters. The Assumption Bazaar is today and next Sunday starting at 9 a.m. at the Grand Ballroom of Hotel Intercontinental. There will be new products and more export overruns.

And finally, expectant mommy Tintin Bersola-Babao is inviting all to the Grand International Celebrity & Charity Christmas Bazaar next weekend, Nov. 20-22 at World Trade Center starting at 10 a.m. Wise Pinoy shoppers should check this out to stretch that recessionistas? budget.

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