Althea Ricardo

Benedictine Abbey School, University of the Philippines, De La Salle University

De La Salle University, Attended 2003 - Present, Master's Degree, Creative Writing
University Of The Philippines (diliman), Attended 1995 - 2000, Class of 2000, Bachelor's Degree, English Studies: Creative Writing

writer, graduate student, English trainer

UP Quill, National Book Development Board

Web 2.0, literature, film, off-the-beaten-path travelling, vintage items, glossy magazines, old houses, volunteer work, secondhand books, museums, conversations with strangers

To Kill a Mockingbird, the A Wrinkle in Time series, The Little Prince, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Tropical Gothic, Bridge to Terabithia

Princess Bride, Usual Suspects, Amelie, Magnifico, Life is Beautiful, Ganito Sila Noon Paano Kayo Ngayon?, Cinema Paradiso

easy listening

The Amazing Race, crime and suspense shows, funny medical dramas, documentaries

After around three years of working as a marketing writer, I went back to school. I'm now a thesis away from my MFA in Creative Writing at De La Salle University.

I love puppies, daisies, strawberries, rainy mornings in bed, coffee and conversation, small kisses, dragonflies and ladybugs, meteor showers, long drives in the rain or before sunrise, Ilocos' bagnet, eating big fat mangoes with your hands (and peeling them with your teeth), dreams that you can continue after getting up to pee, long bus rides with friends, good books you get to buy at a discount, garage sales and flea markets, ukay-ukay, lazy Sundays, praying, dead star moments, bookstores and libraries, sincere smiles, friendly taxi drivers (who share my political views, haha), Web 2.0, breakfast, vanilla ice cream, the smell of pandan, and Filipino cuisine.

I've realized I don't particularly enjoy bubble baths, brutal massages, getting-to-know-you conversations, casual dating, pointless flirting, group work, breakfast in bed, clubbing, walking in the rain in Manila when you're wearing open shoes, shopping during a Midnight Madness Sale, alcoholic beverages, the smell of cigarette smoke, and getting praise I know I don't deserve.

My favorite places in the world include: Palawan, Banawe, the UP Diliman campus, Intramuros, my parents' hometowns in Cebu, and my room.

I'm also currently working as an English trainer.

People who love to laugh, people who see the good in everyone, people who aren't afraid to love.