Alice invites you to travel with her

All dressed up but nowhere to go?

Many people find themselves in that situation only to realize to their dismay that they are locked down at home.

But Alice Dixson is all dressed up and ready to travel the world (to all the continents), thanks to her vlog (on YouTube) that allows her the luxury of traveling.

“I am inviting everybody to join me,” announced Alice through this phone interview with The STAR. “We can see the world without leaving home.” (STAR’s Remember When columnist Danny Dolor has actually been virtual-traveling to beat the quarantine boredom.)

Traveling (complete with tips) is just one of the topics on Alice’s vlog that has been attracting followers since she started it several days after the lockdown was imposed. She also talks about health and wellness, “day in the life” and meditation, which tries to help people deal with stress and anxiety.

“I call it a 30-day meditation challenge,” said Alice. “It’s very helpful in these times when everyone is under stress, melancholic and energy-deficient. It helps change one’s mindset. I’ve been doing it and it’s effective, so I want to share its benefits with other people.”

Aside from meditation, what Alice is doing these past 112 locked-down days is being productive.

“I just don’t binge-watching TV shows, hindi lang ako nakababad sa panonood ng kung anu-ano, I also do some soul-searching and create new ways of telling stories on my vlog. I keep myself busy. I also promote online my endorsements.” (Among them is Simple Solutions by System 4 Biobotanicals, a haircare product from Finland that has three components [herbal wash, vital cure conditioning and scalp tonic], good for both men and women and available in Watsons stores nationwide.).

Alice was about to start shooting the GMA soap Legal Wives (with Megan Young, Cherie Gil and Dennis Trillo) when the lockdown was imposed. She’s quarantined with her househelp and her pet Blondie, just the three of them at a well-appointed condo unit in an elite subdivision.

“Everybody was caught unaware,” related Alice. “I went through three stages before I got used to it. First, denial. Then, realization. And finally, acceptance. Helping frontliners did me good, and keeping in touch with family, fans and friends when I created a vlog.”

Her typical day usually starts at 5 a.m. She bikes around the place with Blondie running along with her. She sleeps at around 10 p.m. She observes a healthy diet (“Kaya hindi ako tumataba”) and follows intermittent fasting.

“I don’t have a routine,” stressed Alice. “If I go to bed late, I wake up late. If I go to bed early, I wake up early.”

Besides her GMA soap, put on hold is her love life.

“My love life is also locked down,” revealed Alice with a laugh, not naming her boyfriend (rumored to be a foreigner hotel manager). “Before the lockdown, I planned to go to Boracay but he said no need. He would just follow me to Manila. Unfortunately, flights were cancelled. We haven’t seen each other for almost five months. We do communicate via Skype pero iba pa rin siempre when you see each other personally.”

In September, a niece is getting married in the US and Alice doubts if she could go there. “Until a cure or a vaccine is created,” she sighed, “we’ll never know when it is safe to travel.” Still and all, Alice is taking things philosophically.

“I’m trying to sort things out. I don’t worry about what the future will bring. I live in the moment, living life as it comes.”

Well, you know: que sera sera; what will be will be.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)