A lot of people know you best as Chuvaness. Who or what is it exactly?

I started blogging around 15 years ago. I started really early. When blogging was new, there were no rules, you could do anything. We would write anything and the blog title was just like a joke. And then, sometime around 2001, there was a show called Meteor Garden.

There’s a group called F4, and one of them was Vanness Wu. Since my girlfriends and I were kind of bakla, we used the word chuvaness, which is a term you use when you’re stuck and can’t find the right word—like it’s at the tip of your tongue. I actually lifted Chuvaness from Vanness Wu. That became my blog but the title was just a joke. But then it got popular, so even if I wanted to change it, I couldn’t—it stuck.

Who or what inspired you to start blogging?

I was pregnant and I couldn’t leave the house because I was so fat. So, I went online and saw blogs were emerging. Since I had a background in journalism—I was a columnist before—I had thoughts of starting my own blog. So I did and I had 60 readers! That was way back in 2001. I was like “wow, people are reading my blog.” I realized that I had a voice, even if I was stuck in my house.

And then in 2004, I went to a party, and then 4 people told me “I read your blog.” I said “really?” So I decided to put a counter. And I was surprised that by 11:00 am, there were like 400 hits! Back then I remember saying “whoa, ang dami (that’s a lot)!”—but now it’s in the thousands.

At what point did you realize that your blog has gotten really big?

It was when I went to that party back in 2004, that was the first time. We’re talking about a world without Facebook yet, no Twitter, no Instagram. The only thing you could read online was a blog. Back then I could do one million hits a month!

Now there are so many things on Facebook… not everyone will go to a blog, so [my traffic is] considerably less now. I think it peaked around 2008 to 2012… that was the peak of blogging.

Did you ever imagine your blog to become as big as it is or get to a point where it is today?

No. Because it started as a hobby, and then I was so into it—there was a time when I didn’t even want to leave the house. If I got stuck in traffic for two hours, I could write multiple posts. I used to write like five times a day.

But then… I had no life. Now, I’m choosing to have a life.

How is it different being a blogger today?

Before, [bloggers] could say anything we wanted, you know… Now, everyone has an opinion.

Now, people are oversensitive, so I can’t say just anything anymore. Whatever I say might become an issue. So I write very differently now because I have to be nice. But even if I’m nice people are still… they’re like full of hate. So, I’m not the same writer as I used to be.

Do you still practice fashion design?

Yeah! I have a collaboration with National Bookstore launching soon. They’re accessories like notebooks, stationaries, tote bags, stickers and a lot of other cool stuff. Fashion is still there. It’s always going to be there, but it’s not my main focus currently.

If you could collaborate with anyone on a fashion project, who would it be?

Grabe ka naman! Vetements. Okay, I’ll tell you what Vetements is.
A t-shirt is forty-five thousand pesos. Like one semester?! Alam mo, when I was [still studying] in UP, parang, three thousand [pesos] yung tuition. Magkano na ngayon? Kamusta yung banyo? [laughs]

Let’s talk money. How do you manage your family’s expenses?

To be honest, uh… I’m gonna get bashed. My dad taught me not to hold on to money so much, like, ‘wag maging kuripot (don’t be stingy).

I like sharing so I tend to give away a lot but it seems to come back to me even more. It’s like a curse that If I give someone a cellphone, someone gives me a nicer one in return.

So I don’t treat money like—I don’t hold on to it. I think it’s just the way I treat money that it comes back to me.

What’s your view on financial investments? Do you have any financial investments yourself?

My husband handles all the money but I handle two bank accounts: one is my Chuvaness account, and the other one is our home account. I pay the bills at home—what my husband bothers with is the business side. At home, I’m the one in charge.

You look like you’re a long way from retiring… have you started planning for your retirement yet?

I want to retire next year [laughs]. But I won’t. We have a retirement account and I wouldn’t know what goes into managing it, but my husband is in charge.

I think everyone should prepare for retirement, because I hear most Filipinos aren’t inclined to saving, right? Then when they’re in the hospital they’ll need fundraisers? ‘Yoko ng ganun (I don’t want that) [laughs].