The Writer In Catriona Gray

Above image is the Introduction in her blog Cat'elle where on the top right you see her name (cat-elle.com). In "About Me," the text underneath her photograph reads:

CATRIONA GRAY
Hello there! My name is Catriona and I'm a
creative mind living in the beautiful islands the
Philippines. Here on my blog, I write and
document my ceaseless wanderlust and creative
pursuits around the world. Welcome to Cat'elle.

Just that and already I writer see a bright, bold girl, a good writer. She is not afraid to say she is creative – that's not only refreshing to see but also refreshing to read.

The article I'm reading is titled THE RICE TERRACES, posted 14 March 2016.  Underneath that ALLCAPS title is this merchandising: Forever New Top / Zara Women Skirt. She writes below that:

It's not hard to see why travellers from all around the world endure the winding, mountainous roads to see this millennia-old, man-made marvel. It is after all, a sight that takes your breath away – especially when one ponders the sheer amount of will power it took to chisel out the mountains to create each and every rice paddy by hand. After a gruelling nine hour drive from the main capital of Manila, the small, provincial town of Bananue is a sight for sore eyes (and legs). The town itself is a simple dwelling that is cradled by an undulating valley of rice terraces. The Ifugao Rice Terraces made it onto my bucket list a long while ago, but it wasn't until recently that I made concrete plans to road trip up to the famous heritage sight. When I finally met the landscape for the first time, it was all I could do not to kick myself for putting off the trip for such a long time. If you haven't made the trip yet, I implore you to do so to find out for yourself why the locals adoringly call it the "eighth wonder of the world".

Excellent, as far as travel blogging is concerned!

She is creative as she says she is; read "a sight for sore eyes (and legs)." And "It was all I could do not to kick myself for putting off the trip for such a long time."

Still, I can see that she needs a damn good Author's Editor. Proof: 3 errors: 2 grammatical mistakes and 1 typo. The phrases should read:

In the beautiful islands (of) the Philippines
Here (in) my blog, I write

Of course, Bananue is wrong.

And you know what? That piece was written almost 3 years ago! I check the Archives and the latest is for January 2017, meaning she has not been writing for 23 months!

Now she needs to write more and faster because all of 2019 will be spent traveling, seeing faces, seeing places, hearing people. Left alone, she will hear herself – those thoughts will bug her if she doesn't write them!

So: I'm offering her (plus friends) 1 free weekend Friday-to-Saturday creative brainstorming workshop before Miss Universe duty calls. (email frankahilario@gmail.com). My contribution to the Universe!517

My Catriona Gray QuickBytes essays

Here are so far the 8 essays (including this one you're reading) I have written about Miss Universe 2018, with the quick links, from the latest to the first:

(1) "The World At Home With Catriona Gray" – blogger.com

(2) "The Workhorses of Catriona Gray" – blogger.com

(3) "The Warbler That Is Catriona Gray" – blogger.com

(4) "The World View Of Catriona Gray" – blogger.com

(5) "The Works Shown By Catriona Gray" – blogger.com

(6) "The Warmth From Catriona Gray" – blogger.com

(7) "The Warrior That Is Catriona Gray" – blogger.com

Even here, you can see how creative this series is:

They all begin with the exact same 4 letters The W.
Can you beat that?!