Georgina

Georgina, the new baby in our growing family.

We share the same birth day, April 14. I'm already looking forward to her 1st birthday. Free food for myself and my visitors, hahaha ツ

Every Sunday, the family gathers at home for dinner so we only get to see her once a week. We'd all hover around our little Georgina. Such a joy.

erstwhile

October 2008. My brother's civil wedding. With my sister.

Our 36th

It's our 36th month today. E and I didn't really make any eatout plan as we want our pockets to breathe. Oddly, his brother invited us to dinner with his girlfriend. Double date. A first. The relationship they have is not as open as ours so we're kind of glad that they're sort of coming out of their shells, at least to us.

I hope there will be more "bonding" moments like this one. I know it makes E one bit happier to have his brother finally opening up to him...and we're sensing she's going to be the sister-in-law soon :-)

learned by rote ツ

girl meets boy. girl breaks up with boy. girl cries over boy. girl forgets boy. girl meets another boy. everything is then repeated umpteen times without thought. it can be a pretty grim world.

epiphany. that's all we need. and i'd like to think that's what i got. it just feels so right this time.♥

superiority defined by beauty

take a room full of people. if you're attractive, you're greeted with an equal mix of curiousity, civility, and resignation. cusiousity from men, civility by some, and resignation from women.

women loathes other women they see as more attractive than they are. it's something stitched in our genes and cannot be warded off, however one pretends. fault-finding scrutinies will start boiling, some very vocal about it and most keep it to themselves. it has something to do with attractive women getting most number of backtakes, most number of ear-to-ear smiles, getting away with almost everything, and more importantly, being called and recalled beautiful.

if your face is nondescript, you're usually non-existent. "Joy, who?". you are then recalled only by the length of your hair and the purple tight-fitted jeans you wore ten years ago. "ah, kato nga Joy."

so if you are not cute, you might as well be clever. and that's hard to sport.

Perseverance

It's Sunday. I recently switched companies and my two days off has reduced to one day. It's not enough and working for six days is too long. But I contain all my complains as much as I can for as long as I can.

My boyfriend (he's been recently referring me his finacee, tickles me) inspires me to persevere. I would always remember the sacrifices he made for his work. He'd endure sleepless nights unappreciated by the boss and under-compensated. And I know it wasn't because he wants to keep his job or wants to earn OT hours or perhaps ladder up in the future...no, it wasn't all those. It's simply because that's who is.

Now his boss had been ousted and he's the new OIC.You truly reap what you sow. It's only a matter of time....AND perseverance.

I wish I'm more like him. I want to be more like him. So tomorrow is the start of another week. I feel a little off but I'm going to work.

Planning Singapore

When it comes to "going places", E, since time immemorial, has always been the passive one. I'm always the one constantly blabbering--kuya adto ta dadto, adto ta dani. I'm the curious and always on the go. Whenever I suggest a new adventure, he would sometimes look offended by my typical absurd and impossible suggestions. But most of the time, I can only see light bulbs glowing on top of his head, excitement from the prospect of experiencing something new.

November 2010.

We both wanted to go to Boracay and Palawan. Popular and touristy. We haven't been there and want to experience it together. Since Boracay is the more popular and we feel like everyone had been there but us, we decided it'll be our destination for 2011.

Oh, we always plan ahead like most practical people who do not have gazillions at their disposal. It gives us ample time to book cheaper plane tickets and accommodation, and at the same time plan our itinerary well to maximize our visit.

I solely plan our itinerary and E will just have to "approve" it. Convenient for me as I like doing things my way. If he's not comfortable about something, I can be persuasive :) So anyhow, a few weeks later E suggested we go to Palawan first. He told me about his brother's jaunt there and how it's more "virgin" than Boracay. I immediately agreed to it, not an iota of complain as I only truly care about spending time alone with him.

December 2010.

Over our dinner date in Countryside Steakhouse, I told E that why not go to a southeast Asian country instead. His reaction wasn't pleasant. It's as if I'm talking gibberish or what I just suggested is plain preposterous.

Did I say I can be persuasive? Oh, I did?

So by mid-dinner we were already choosing between Hong Kong, Thailand, and Singapore. I had been to Hong Kong so choosing it defeats the "experiencing something new" idea. Thailand is Philippines-ish. Singapore won.

January 2011.

By then I already had a budget plan in place after thoroughly exploiting the Internet for possible cost and exchange rates. No, I detest hiring travel agencies. Spoils the adventure. We had also agreed on a date. September 10-13, after E received his work forecast for the year. Our budget was over 60k, excluding shopping allowances. A bit higher than most but hey, we never like scrimping on food :-)

February 2011.

Booked our tickets. I'd been in the lookout for seat sales since December. It was Chinese New Year and purchased our CGY-MNL-CGY for less than PHP400. Less than a hundred per way per person. PHP99 to be exact. E's brother (who so kindly drove us to the airport and sooo kindly fetched us when we got back) would joke, "naa ba moy bangko ana inyong ticket?" It is super cheap he can't believe it. Our MNL-SIN-MNL is PHP2,300 per way per person.

March 2011.

Booked our hostel near Clarke Quay. A private room. I'm self-discovering SG through the Internet and did not bother asking my friends who now live and work in SG. Did not even tell them. Our time is too limited we have no room for "get togethers". But we did manage to have a quick lunch with E's college friends somewhere in Bugis.

So armed with SG's MRT route map, I chose a hostel close to an MRT station and also to the destinations featured in our itinerary. Speaking of itinerary, it was inspired by Filipino bloggers who shared their own online. I personalized it to suit our preferences. We're not big with history and religion. So no Raffles and temples for us. Ours was centered on food and everything touristy (hey, it's our first visit so naturally..)

April 2011.

The saving continues...

September 10.

Tantananaaaaan....

HELLO SINGAPORE!

**E would say, only I can make him do thins he never imagined he can do before.

that ooomph!

I just would like to share my most fondest (redundant, yes) memory to date.

It was Valentine's day this year. E and I spent it in Dakak Park & Beach Resort. We share a mutual love for the resort for reasons we can't quite point ourselves....perhaps it's the isolation? the white sand? the proximity? Although many might not agree with the latter. It is after all a 9-hour bus ride away :-)

Anyhow....February 14. Dinner at the resort's restaurant by the beach. I wore this flow-y maxi dress that made me feel like I'm a Greek goddess. The food, the ambiance, the wait staffs who tucked flowers in my ear, the table-hopping serenade...they all made me melt. Right after dinner, E and I went up the deck of their Pirate's bar. It's a ship-shaped bar of sort. There's a lonesome acoustic guitarist/singer entertaining no one but himself. Yep! Solo, no audience whatsoever. About this time most of the guests had been ferried to Fantasyland, an amusement park much like Enchanted Kingdom. So it's almost like we had the resort to ourselves! Ain't that lovely?

We bought cocktails. Relaxed, calm, loving...were our feelings. The weather was good...we had the moon and the stars and an acoustic one-man-band solely entertaining the both of us.

Then...

E surprised me by asking me to dance. I mean, he's not the kind to just randomly do things like that. He's reserved and always too embarrassed to do anything that attracts attention. So I actually just replied with a smile. I thought he's kidding.

No, he wasn't kidding. He stood and asked for my hand in the most gallant manner. haha. I stood, still not believing it's happening. The last thing I noticed was the song changed to Unchained Melody and the eyes of some of the wait staffs from the restaurant below.

We danced. Our first real dance. My first real dance. I almost want to cry. I'm too inlove.

Then we goofed for a bit and sat down after about two songs.

So yeah, that did it. I wished the night never ended. The night almost did not end :-)

blog traffic

It's amazing what a broken heart can do to your writing passion. I reviewed the posts of my other private blog...posts from many, many moons ago. I'm overwhelmed by how much I was able to convey my "feelings" into words. No happy thoughts there, though. It's sad, melodramatic, and, well, a bit bitter. I had to hide them as I no longer see them fit. I find comfort in putting them in my past, un-revisited.

This I came to understand over the years...when a woman is full of sorrows, her blog receives traffic!

reload

i'm back from slumber. been to the moon and back. i'll start with my kuris-kuris here again. putting my thoughts into words gives me, um, serenity. either it'll be read or not, it helps to put my words into, er, words. what am i saying? ugh. i'll try again tomorrow.

where is my end of the road?

my love life and career is going nowhere.

you know how they say that while in your 20's, make as many mistakes, take as many jobs, fall inlove as many times, and that it's okay to be confused, to change your mind all the time...because that's how it should be. that all those are your rights of passage. I'm still 27 but I feel like i've used up my share of those. Ain't it time that I graduate and be and do something more meaningful? (i.e. stable?)

When will my "light at the end of the tunnel" be?

once upon a time

It was April 5, 2009. Two years ago today.

My very close friend is celebrating her nth birthday over dinner at their house. After gorging the lechon baboy and failed attempts to drink the red horse beer, we, 5 of her friends since high school and always there always present, took a walk to the town center (i.e. plaza) to rid of the inevitable boredom. We decided to settle in the new bridge, which was still under completion that time. Our other friend then caught up with us and brought a FRIEND.

The friend's name is E...and he became my boyfriend four months later :)

But before that, here's how it was that night...

When E was introduced to the group, he was just another name and face that we'd soon forget when the night is over. I just waved at him when we were introduced (we were seated 10meters apart in the pavement). I saw nothing special, felt nothing special. I just got out of a relationship about a month ago. My heart is no longer broken but I was content with just being with my friends and wasn't interested in meeting another "boy".

Before we all went home, we'd agreed to meet the next day for poker lessons. I was eager. I've always wanted to learn the game. E, too.

The next day, we gathered in our friend's house to start the "lesson". During the playing, practicing, asking, laughing, losing, winning...E started throwing jokes and I don't how and why but I was enthralled by his playful and cheerful character. I started to notice his every move, his every laugh. Before I knew it, a crush was developing. Every time we play poker, which was almost everyday, I secretly hope he'd sit beside me. I pay extra attention every time he talks.

I was smitten :)

and I thought, "does he like me, too?" I got my answer weeks later when our common friend, Kim, secretly told me about his little conversation with E that fateful night in the bridge... here's how it was (MORE OR LESS).

*Before Kim and E joined us in the bridge...
Kim: kuyog ta na. naa ako mga barkada sa tulay
E: ulaw mn. kinsa mn naa dadto?
Kim: cla ra mn babaz (E is neighbor and friend with Babadz, too)... cla Joy dayon.
E: kinsa nga Joy?
Kim: kato tga likod padilla gud.
E: ah, kato? tara

I was grinning when i first heard it. I still am grinning now recalling it :D

E already knew me before we met and was part-reason he went with Kim to join us :))) weeeee my heart was jumping up and down... hahaha

About four months later, E asked me...Can we make it official na? Will you be my girlfriend? and of course I said YES! hahaha

So there it is...the story of how we met :)