"Oo naman," she said, refusing to take lunch at Red Crab and settling only for a glass of water.
The truth is that, as far as Pops is concerned, Martin is a ho-hum topic. Besides, she runs the risk of making actually harmless comments which may be misconstrued by the irrepressible Martin and "provoke" him to react with a passion.
So, okay, Pops will rather talk about her career.
She has just come up with an album entitled When Words Are Not Enough, her first for Warner Music Philippines, which is a special compilation of remakes from several eras. A "must-buy."
She’s hosting a new talk show, simply called Pops, Monday nights (starting at 10) on ABC 5, written by Bibeth Orteza and directed by Bert de Leon.
"On the show," she said, "I’m able to explore more my talent for intelligent, interesting conversation. I’ve always been a curious person; I want to find out what people feel and think."
On Saturday, Dec. 11, she’ll have her birthday concert called It Girl at the Old ULTRA, with Jay-R, Christian Bautista and the Hotlegs as guest performers. It Girl will show a side of Pops never seen before (be there and find out for yourself).
I suggested to Pops that we do "38 Questions" since she’s celebrating her birthday on Sunday, Dec. 12, but she begged off, saying, "Please, no mention about age!" Okay, no mention about ehem, though I assure you that Pops is as young as she feels.
Instead, Pops opted to play The Alphabet Game, in the process revealing more of herself than she has ever done in previous interviews. Stay tuned.
A – Anna-Lissa (Liezl Martinez, wife of Albert) and Anton Tanedo (editor of Tattler). I’ve known them since grade school. Through the years, we’ve led separate lives; Liezl got married and so did I. But we manage to keep in touch. They keep me grounded – and vice-versa. During low moments, we turn to each other. They’re there for me and I’m there for them.
B – Brad (Turvey). He’s one of the few people who, I know, was sincerely concerned about my well-being, one of the few people who really know me and cared for me because of who I am, regardless of what they wrote about him. Ours was a good friendship, an honest-to-goodness real friendship. Other people might have put another meaning to it, but I knew that he was sincere. Boy Abunda. I met him during the MET days when he was not yet the Boy Abunda. Has he changed? Not at all. Except that he’s much richer now.
C – Cielito, my name, which also happens to be the name of Rowell (Santiago’s) mom. Cielito means "little heaven." Conchita (Razon), Martin’s mom. We have a good relationship; I’m grateful that through it all, she (and other members of their family) understood where I was coming from. A lot of things have changed but our relationship hasn’t.
D – Dulce (Lucban, my mom). My mom and I have been through a lot of "generation gaps" but we never stopped respecting each other. I have great respect for my mom because of how she raised us. She had a tough job as a single mom, raising four children. She did a good job. As you can see, we grew up to be good children. Deo (Endrinal). He’s a good friend of mine whom I met during the M.A.D. days (M.A.D. was Martin’s show). Deo has helped me a lot. Even now that I’m not connected with ABS-CBN, Deo (an ABS-CBN executive) would check on me.
E – Erika, my new one-year-old niece, daughter of my brother Edwin. She’s the only apo who’s a girl and my only pamangkin on my mom’s side. She’s the star and the sunshine in our lives.
F – Fernandez, my dad (the late actor Eddie’s) surname. That surname means a lot to me because some people questioned the fact that when I got married, I didn’t add "Nievera" to my surname. Did I regret not having spent a little more time with my dad? Not naman regret, but I just wished we spent more time together.
G – Glory as in glorious. I believe that I’ve had a glorious life, with lots of blessings given to me. What do I consider my most glorious moments? Oh, when I’m with my sons, Ram and Robin. Ram is 14 and Robin has just turned 18. We just talk. I learn a lot from my kids. Ram is into animation while Robin is the musical director of our church. Gifts. Who doesn’t love receiving gifts? What are the most memorable gifts I’ve ever received? They have to be those Ram and Robin gave me years ago when they were small. It was my birthday and I gave them money to buy me something so that they’d learn the meaning of gift-giving. Ram gave me a small stuffed toy and Robin, a bear figurine. They knew that I collected those stuff.
H – Heaven, which is what my name stands for, and home. I’m a homebody. It’s important for me to establish a home in whatever I do. It makes me feel comfortable; it makes me feel like I really belong. It’s important to me to also establish a home for my kids. Heart. I’m a person full of heart.
I – Inspiration? My kids, of course! They’re also my source of energy. Yes, I’m Intuitive. Sometimes, I’m 10 steps ahead of whatever I intend to do. That makes me wonder, "Oh, my God, why did I do this?" Intuition, I guess. I’m pretty good at it.
J – The Joses in my life – Joey, my brother; and Jocelyn, my sister. And Joy, another good friend of mine. Also, Joy, as in Joy to the World. People ask me, "Are you happy?" I don’t want to say that I’m happy because being happy is a shallow feeling. Regardless of the low moments in my life, I think that I’m pretty much full of joy. Being joyful has a deeper impact than being happy, I guess.
K – The Key to my heart? No need for a key. My heart has always been open, that’s why I’m a very forgiving person. Honestly, I never think badly or wish ill of other people. I’m naive, but not gullible.
L – Love. I always believe in love, no matter what and in spite of everything. I think that’s the reason why I know how to Laugh and how to Live. I’m a positive person and I think that comes from my love for and faith in God.
M – Martin? What’s the best thing I can say about Martin? I think we’ve come to a point where we’ve become comfortable with each other. In our present situation, no matter what, we will always be there for each other. I think that’s already a given. And the worst? Well, I can’t think of any. I don’t want him to react again, you know... As I’ve said, I’m a positive person. I don’t speak ill of anybody. Marriage? If it’s meant to be, it will be.
N – New York! I like that city but my favorite is Venice. I can’t think of anything else that starts with the letter "n." except Nothing. There’s "nothing" in my love life. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
O – Ostentatious. Nice word, isn’t it?
P – Pipay, my store (in Greenhills and EDSA Shangri-La). Pops, my nickname. It was given to me by my dad. It’s short for lollipops, my favorite candy daw when I was a kid. It used to be just Pop. When I joined showbiz, my discoverer, Tito Tito (Sotto) said, "Pop? Parang bitin. Lagyan natin ng ‘s’ sa huli." So naging Pops. Piolo (Pascual)? A friend. A nice guy. Princess. As a child, I wanted to be a princess. I think that I was a princess in my previous life.
Q – Queen. It has to be Queen. I like that word. Concert Queen? No, I’m not title-conscious. Did I fight with Ai Ai delas Alas over that "title?" No, we did not. I’m the queen of my house, that’s what it is.
R – Robin and Ram. The most important men in my life now. I’m not going to take full credit for this... But I think my kids made it very easy for me because they are good kids. I’m blessed with good kids. They’re very patient, very understanding, very kind. I’m glad that they’re both very spiritual; they go to church regularly.
S – Sharon (Cuneta). I grew up with her. Smart. Yes, I’m a Smart subscriber. We should be smart-wise in everything we do. Sexy? When do I feel sexiest? You won’t believe it but I felt sexiest when I was pregnant. I felt secure with myself, maybe because I knew that there was another life inside me. Sex? Next question, please! Survivor? Yes, I am. I think what I’ve been through made me the strong person that I am now.
T – Treasures that I will keep? A lot, especially beautiful memories, treasures of the heart. Also, photos. I’m sentimental. Among my collection are cards, letters, fan mails and old photos. Later, when I’m old and grey, I’ll recall my glory days while looking misty-eyed at those pictures. I also keep my outfits which someday I plan to auction off for charity.
U – Unity. Understanding. If we can unite and understand each other, our country would be better. Sounds like a Miss Universe answer? Maybe, but it’s true. United we stand, divided we fall.
V – Victory. I’m very competitive and I always want to emerge victorious. But more than competing with anybody, I compete with myself. I am myself’s biggest competitor because I’m such a perfectionist. I always criticize myself. I also learn from other people; I learn from what they do and what they don’t do.
W – Winning points? My charm! Ha, ha, ha! Some people think that I’m mataray and suplada. When you get to know me, you’ll find out that I’m really very friendly and very down-to-earth. Remember, don’t judge a book by its cover.
X – Can’t think of any word that starts with "x", except Xena the comics character.
Y – Youth. Am I afraid of growing old? Not at all. Everybody grows old, anyway. Honestly, I’m only experiencing life now. I feel that I have a long way to go as far as growing up and growing older is concerned. If you know how to enjoy life and you live your life well, you’ll never be afraid of losing your youth.
Z – There’s a "z" word that means the peak – yes, Zenith! Think that you’re at the peak, at the zenith, and that’s where you will be.
(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph)