Simply Agot

"What do you normally do for the New Year?" Pancho Escaler asked, trying to finalize the concept for the shoot. "Sparkles and coins," Agot answered simply. Nothing extravagant, no earth-shattering revelations. It was typical of the whole evening - uncomplicated, unguarded, light.

There was a cheerful "Hi!" when Agot came into the studio. She was dressed in casual matching black outfit. For a stupefied moment, I struggled to place the face in front of me. She looked... different, not at all what she looked like onscreen. It's ture: TV does add a lot to one's body!

Introductions were made and the photo shoot was discussed. She sat there listening intently, her brow wrinkled, pondering. It struck me that she doesn't really fit a most unfair impression most people have of her, that of a snob. She's simply focused. For somebody as multi-faceted as she is, this could be a challenging feat.

Logistics dispensed with, she crossed her legs and in a most lighthearted tone told me to, "fire away!" For starters, I asked what's keeping her busy.

"TV work. I have three regular shows: 'Sang Linggo nAPO Sila, Oki Doki Doc and Oka Tokat. I also have some corporate shows, so my schedule's pretty busy."

"Busy" became understatement as she described in detail her typical day. "I wake up around 9 am, or 10, if I'm really tamad. Then I get ready and leave for the studio. I get there around 11:15, get ready for the show, put-on make-up, briefings, then I do the show until 1:30 pm. After the show, I have lunch with the cast and crew and that could take an hour and a half to two hours, if the chikahan is hot and heavy. After that, basically I'm off to something like this [pictorial], or a show, a movie, or maybe taping for my other shows or shooting for a movie. That's a normal day. And for TV work pa lang."

In addition to her numerous TV shows, she also launched another album called Winds of Change and is now preparing to do another one. Her acting career isn't totally on hold either as she recently finished two movies, Ipaglaban Mo 2 and April, May, June, the latter awaiting release early this year.

On the other interests, she lamented that busyness keeps her from working full-time on her fashion line, Agot for Sari-Sari. "Fashion has always been my interest. I felt this could be a career I could pursue."

She began along these lines in 1989 when she studied Fashion Merchandising at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She graduated Magna cum Laude - impressive even if she dismissed her accomplishment, saying that loneliness and boredom simply motivated her to study harder.

Her perchant for fashion was hard to miss. "I'm very adventurous, specially with hair. And I love make-up. But my designs are pretty basic. I prefer basic colors like black, white, blue, naby, beige. And my lines are classic. My designs are wearable and casual. Something you'd wear on a lazy Sunday afternoon."

Inspiration for her designs usually comes from magazines. "From there you'll know what colors will be 'in' for the season, what lines - things like that. But the rest comes from personal taste. My designs have a touch of me. They're tamad, really tamad, like me," she relates.

Especially because of the demands of her mulitiple career, she hopes to find more time for exercise. "I need to exercise more because I feel very lethargic after work. I feel I should really go into different sports and other physical activities." A brief pause then, "I'd like to try rock climbing, 'coz I tired it once at Power Up and I liked it. It's good upper body workout, [and] I plan to get into [it] on a regular basis. And also swimming; I used to be a swimmer. I just need a pool." Agot is certified diver - something she was forced to do but ended up really enjoying. The only drawback is the sun. "I get black, as in really black quickly."

Celebrity status and all, there's something refreshingly normal about Agot. She's frank about showbiz and has no illusions about where it can and can not take her. "Believe me, I don't think I'll go on for a long time in show business. I've thought about quitting many times, but it's just too exciting right now; everyday, it's different. I'm enjoying it but it's not gonna last forever."

Showbiz is not something Agot is but something she does. This distinction is crucial for Agot who enjoys the limelight but who also guards her personal life jealously. "I believe when I'm not wearing make-up, i'm not working. But when people come up to me and say 'hi' I say hi. I try to be normal because I really am normal. I just have a different job."

And that's all there really is to it, the pursuit of normalcy, to live like ordinary, normal people with ordinary normal people's hopes and dreams. Marriage and raising children are definitely part of that dream.

When the spotlight dims, this one sar will probably not. There are many options and since she's met with success everywhere she's turned thus far, expect no less of Agot in or out of the limelight. She's got plans but not one to map out the specific details of her future, she'll take change as it comes; and in her typical Agot way, each day will simply be a different experience.