My 27 most interesting encounters

1.My grandfather Fernando Lopez, politician: My greatest memory of him was when he charged me 50 cents every time I screwed up my Tagalog, how he hated Taglish. He was the true arbiter of keeping it real. He was a true Filipino.

2. Mark Ronson, producer and DJ: I had the biggest crush on him for a decade. In 2007, a friend of mine who was a bassist in his band set something up at Shoreditch. I was wearing my hottest dress and ready to roll when he came in with a hunched back and was out of it. My dream boy deconstructed. We had the weirdest conversation about the Internet and real estate. He didn’t even ask my name and finished both our dinners. It was a funny kind of heartbreak.

3. Manny Villar, ex-politician: I knew the definition of what a good man was when I joined the Villar family to Baguio one Easter many moons ago. I saw how he told his kids not to ask for extra allowance in the most even and persuasive manner possible. He explained the peso and his association with money. He went on to say how it should never define you. There he was sitting on that rocking chair while he gave his kids the best kind of dressing down; I got a glimpse of an excellent man and father.

4. Mick Jagger, rock star: When he went to Hong Kong 10 years ago he found himself bored and asked his people if there were any fun parties around. My best friend Sam was celebrating his 30th birthday on a boat by the harbor. Imagine our surprise when we saw him climb into the boat at 2 a.m. and just hang out. The one thing I remember about him aside from saying no to all the hot chicks who wanted to dance with him was that he was drinking Diet Cola the entire evening. It gave a whole new meaning to my idea of “rock star.”

5. Dennis Lustico, fashion designer: Of all the designers that I have worked with, he is the one I grew up with as we both started our careers at the same time. He bravely gave up the more secure life he had as a nurse and followed his dreams. My favorite Dennis memory was when we had a photo shoot for a magazine and he literally brought a roll of fabric and formed a dress right then and there without any pins and needles on my body. He is forever a singular talent.

6. Gilda Cordero-Fernando, writer: I will never forget that amazing evening where she invited me to her home to celebrate a new art piece that was made by one of her friends. It was really about a painting, but the context of togetherness and solidarity that we experienced that evening as we celebrated beauty was all because of the pure spirit of this woman. How I loved that evening. It was the best party ever.

7. Tim Yap, multi-hyphenate media talent: We had parallel career paths but Tim was always the stronger one. He isn’t afraid of anything. Tim’s real beauty is what he does off-camera. The way he cares for his staff, buying his mom a house and just recently after giving everyone who needed anything he bought himself a house. A house, which I am sure will be a home for those who need some Tim therapy. He really makes time for everyone.

8. Ramon Ang, businessman: My best interview ever. I have never been so intrigued by anyone, especially in the business sector. When he gets stressed, he won’t go for a drink or massage, he will deconstruct and reassemble a car. How’s that for interesting?

9. Kanye West, singer: I didn’t exactly meet him. I bumped into him at an after-hours party in Paris and I did my Running Man dance. He looked at me and, I swear, I saw fear in his face. He said: “You’re too intense.” Not so bad-ass after all.

10. Barnaby Furnas, artist: One of Tom Ford’s favorite artists (a label I keep using and he keeps hating) once sat with me in my room for couple of hours as he explained why he couldn’t paint million-dollar pieces anymore. He explained to me how artists have become puppets. I never saw another hyped-up six-figure artist the same way again. He showed me the difference between art and the art world.

11. Marianne Boesky, gallerist: You would never know with her flats and uncomplicated sense of dress that she is the daughter of the infamous stock trader Ivan Boeskey (the inspiration behind Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street). She has nurtured some of the sensitive talents in the industry with her gentle touch and trained eye. I asked her how does she do it (being erased from one of New York’s greatest scandals). She said plainly, “There’s always a different kind of New York.”

12. Sean Ellis, director: Sean excelled in everything he did. He wanted to learn karate, and became a black belt. He wanted to be a photographer; he did it under Nick Knight. He wanted to make a movie; the first one he made was nominated for an Oscar. He captured the beauty of the Philippines in our Sundance-winning movie Metro Manila. The moment he said to me, “Let’s make a movie,” I knew we were on to something special. I think it’s more like we’re glad Sean met us.

13. Camran Nehzat, Nobel Prize-nominated inventor of the Laparoscopy. Imagine how many lives he has saved with his invention. Yet he shares his time traveling around the world giving talks. My favorite Dr. Nehzat story is when he told me Steve Jobs had just moved next door to him and in the entire house he had no furniture. He made Palo Alto very interesting.

14. Sharon Cuneta, actress: My greatest idol. I remember meeting her after my grandfather finally allowed me to go to the studio. She was beautiful and I just threw myself at her like she could heal my wounds and bless my soul. I wanted her to adopt me. She is still unparalleled in my eyes.

15. David Chang, world-famous chef: A total New York moment. We ended up sharing a cab and then we got talking. We had a common friend and he ended up sharing his great NYC hole in the wall restaurants. My favorite, though, was all of us going to the Boom Boom room one night and he had his knapsack on. And there we saw the red carpet roll and fans asking for his autograph while he wore his sandals. Chefs truly are the new rock stars.

16. Diane von Furstenberg: She was the cash clerk in one of her sample sales in New York. I was so in awe of her, but I wanted to look cool and pretend I didn’t know her. It was painful and I willed every muscle in my body not to go bananas. She saw my pain and said, “It’s okay.” I jumped and hugged her. Now that was cool.

17. Imelda Marcos, former First Lady of the Philippines: I remember negotiating with her, explaining why Aimee, her daughter, should move out of their house and live on her own. I remember I caught myself thinking, “I am interloping on domestic affairs with Imelda Marcos.” That was a moment right there.

18. Yayoi Kusama, artist: She was surrounded by all these people and I remember just jumping in front her and telling her how much I loved her. She then asked me to look for a certain person. I scrambled around the museum looking for this person. I was told later on that person was already dead. She came out of her home, which is a mental hospital, so she could attend her exhibit at the Tate that evening. I love crazy.

19. President Fidel Ramos: I remember tearing up when I saw him come to our house. I was just a kid but I had pictures of him in my room. He represented strength and goodness to me. The fact that my grandfather also liked him was something. My grandfather was quite famous for not liking presidents. He looked at me thinking what a bizarre child I must be. He probably thought my tears were from sadness and, despite himself, he gamely posed with our family dog Sisley for a photograph. It was the first time I felt what it was like to stand next to a truly powerful man who still had his sense of humor.

20. Jericho Rosales, movie star: We did the Pepsi campaign together. My moment with him? I couldn’t speak the entire time. I was so in love with him. He was so handsome. I haven’t seen a matinee idol that has matched his hotness.

21. Senator Sonny Angara: It was one of those casual moments he was talking to my BFF, his sister Anna, and I was just studying them as they volleyed well-crafted jokes and astute observations. I remember catching myself thinking: Wow, could he be our JFK?

22. Todd Peyton: In Thailand he is a renowned Jungian psychotherapist. Todd was educated in Berkeley and because he was such a special person he also became an ordained Burmese monk. He had such a gentle soul and his ability to heal was something else. People were literally dropping to their knees. I asked how he did it: “You just really need to listen, people just don’t do it enough.”

21. Jaz Govern: One of the pioneers of the Fast Track method, a practice where your subconscious answers very personal questions by doing muscle exercises. If the answer was no, your arm just went down without any applied pressure. It was incredible. Something that I would never forget from Jaz was when I asked her why she did Fast Track and she said, “I married a man who became a transsexual, I never understood it until I realized one day that my mother wished I were a boy when I was in the womb.” This is a very real and important lesson for all would-be moms. The womb is the new excuse for being crazy.

22. Maurice Arcache, society arbiter: When I was little I asked Maurice Arcache what social climbing was. He explained to me what it was. To this day, I still don’t get it and why people do it.

23. Bernard Arnault, LVMH big boss: His PA recognized me at a party because I looked like my mother and he knew her from the past. I ended up meeting Mr. Arnault who was probably in a really good mood. He was laughing and larger-than-life. I just stood there like I would with Jericho Rosales in the past: speechless. He then said to me, “What’s wrong with you?”

24. Joel Tantoco, former retailer: One of the first few times I met Joel, who has since passed, was when he told me that my maroon pleather leggings were cool. I asked him if it was too crazy and he told me, “You can do whatever you want.” He became my greatest friend.

25. David Coulthard, former MacLaren F1 driver: I think he thought I was a good-time girl at the Ritz Carlton lobby in Shanghai. Pretty funny because I kinda played along until I got scared.

26. Christine Jacob, Olympic swimmer and actress: I was obsessed with her. I had Christine Jacob everything on my Trapper Keeper. I skated to her house and I dropped off a fan letter. As the heavens would have it, she was home and she let me in. She had a towel turban wrapped around her head and I was awestruck. I remember my words were, “I can’t swim but I love you.”

27. Aslie Aslanian, nightclub guardian angel: Thank heavens she’s there because everyone I know, including myself, has needed her help past midnight. Now, those are moments.