The hills and mountains of Zamboanga in aptly named Buenavista, which means "Beautiful View".

On my 27th birthday

Buenas! I am Flisha Fernandez, a Filipino; firstborn to a prominent newspaper editor-in-chief (rest in peace, Papa) and a Philosophy teacher (now Vice President of Academics of my alma mater); and eldest of three sisters.

I consider Chavacano my first language. I speak fluent English, passable Tagalog, unrecognizable Visayan and am learning Japanese.

I entered school at the age of four, at a nursery called Tanglao. I spent two years of kindergarten, six years of elementary, four years of high school and four years of college at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University. I graduated cum laude, top of my class and top 3 in my batch in 2003.

Journalism and I have a love-hate relationship. I grew up writing poetry and short stories (I even attempted a novel at the tender age of twelve, and I hold my cheesy, unpublished and unread work dear to my heart. ;-P). In high school, I joined The Blue Eagle, our school paper. I won many awards and writing competitions in my time, mostly from my news and feature articles. I failed to garner the top position of editor-in-chief in my senior year, which contributed to my disillusionment with journalism.

A girl on the brink

I took up Computer Science in college, in a bid to challenge myself (Math, next to Filipino, was always my weakest subject) and separate myself from the world of literature. I was quite active in organizations — helping to revive the fading debate society, becoming one of the core founders of the computer society and working as the editor-in-chief of the Beacon Yearbook. After graduation, I found work as a programmer for the local government before returning to my alma mater to become a systems developer and part-time instructor.

I completed two years of a masteral degree at the Ateneo de Manila University. I am currently working as a SAP specialist for Hewlett-Packard.

Gracias con vos otros and I hope you enjoy reading my blog!

*Updated October 2009