Steady

Lately, I've been finding myself more kind and less of a brat to honeybunch. I guess this is because I realized that compared to other couples, honeybunch and I have a more steady, generally smooth sailing type of a relationship. If we were a carnival ride, I'd say we would be one of those kiddie rides--safe, tranquil, and laid-back. And if an adventurous teenager tries these kinds of rides, he might get bored.

On the contrary, I am far from bored. I used to ask myself why we do not fight as often as the other couples; why we never had those "you-don't-spend-enough-time-with-me" kind of fights even when I was spending very little time with him while I was taking my MBA, and even now, while he himself is taking his MBA. I also ask why we never fought over getting jealous of someone. I am not saying that we do not fight at all. But thank God, our fights are small fights that quickly get resolved . This, I attribute to honeybunch who, between the two of us, is more understanding, patient, and forgiving. He'd always be the first to say sorry even if it was really my fault.

It's April Fool's and this is not a hoax entry. I just wanted to say thank you to honeybunch for what we share right now. I may not be in an exhilirating, adrenaline-high kind of ride, but I am happy, peaceful, and content. And in the grand scheme of things, I would've really chosen to be in this kind of ride.

PS. In some rare occasions, honeybunch does suprise me with little things which occasionally gives me the chance to be in an adventurous ride. Thank you for those rare moments. It makes me look forward to the next one.

My Cousin's Wedding

Mark, my younger cousin, got married on January 13 at St. James the Great. He is one of the youngest amongst us cousins but the 2nd to get married and the first to have a child. He bypassed 7 of us elder cousins which was not really surprising since Mark is an adventurous and daring soul.

Mark with his chinky eyes and heavy built was a spitting image of Vandolph. Janicel looked very pretty with her curls and radiated a joyful glow. The two looked very young because they were indeed young, both still wearing braces and one still having a lot of baby fat.

The wedding was organized and prepared by relatives and friends while Mark was in San Francisco where he and his family now live. The preparation was relatively short with many of the details finalized only a few days before.

The wedding was simpler compared to Michael's which was a grand production number. This was more down-to-earth and less extravagant. Friends and relatives all contributed to put together a ceremony and reception that was simple yet heartwarming.

The video of Mark's proposal which was shown during the reception was prepared by Janicel's brother. It was raw and homemade but great effort was put into it. The hosts during the reception were the couple's friends who obliged for friendship's sake.

In the end, I guess the best weddings are not necessarily those that are grandiose and extravagant but those that are homemade, personal, and heart-warming. Besides, what really counts is not so much the wedding day itself but the days after the wedding which is the marriage.

Mark and Janicel with all of us

The Girls with Lola

The Wacky Shot: Mandanas Clan with Mark and Janicel

Favian and Family

Anna and Ria
Ria, Jen, Anna, and Favian at the Reception

Bittersweet Ending

The small carinderia on the ground floor of Globe was packed with Ateneans and Thomasians (or is it Thomasites?). When I inched through the crowded entrance, the 4th quarter had just ended. 64 all. Overtime. OMG.

I will not tell you how it ended. I'm sure you already know by now.

But what I will tell you is that Ateneo and UST played a good game. A great game. Both schools fought tooth and nail up to the last second and beyond overtime. It was a cardiac finish. I was literally palpitating. The feeling that I get when I recite in class with 50 of my classmates waiting to refute what I have to say. I could almost hear my heart. Hindi ako OA. The final seconds were really cardiac.

It was a bittersweet ending. Not exactly what I had hoped for but what I would have wanted now that I see the big picture. If there is anything that this UAAP season has taught me is that great teams are not made by a single or a couple of superstars. Great teams are made by great teamwork. Ateneo and UST have proven this true.

And with that, I think I feel better now.

Go get the Tigers

We've always kept our promise. Win or loose, it's the school we choose. We've always been here to support you--rain or shine, brown out or no brown out, nakaligo man o hindi. Promise. It's been 2 days without water and electricity in most parts of Metro Manila because of the typhoon.

But last night's game was really disheartening. We lost to UST by a painful 16 points. Ano ba naman yun? Nakakaiyak. Talaga.

If we lost by one point, it would have been easier to accept. SAYANG. But ok lang, there's still a next game to fight the battle, and hopefully win. If we lost by two points, ok lang. It must have been a tight game and both teams might have been really out to get the championship trophy. But to lose by 16 points? Waaah. No comment. Nightmare.

So what really happened my dear Ateneo Blue Eagles?

JC Intal, were you dismayed that they declared Ken Bono the MVP instead of you? Ako, oo. But ignore me, I'm biased. But judging on physique alone, I would have picked you any time. I would have mistaken Ken Bono for a wrestler.

Macky Escalona, please, please practice your free throw shooting. I do not recall any basket that you sunk in when you were on the free throw line.

Coach Norman Black, I was just watching King Kong this afternoon, and I must say, you look like King Kong when you get mad. Black skin, pearly white teeth. I don't want to elaborate. But you looked really scary shouting at your players to fix their game.

To the rest of the team...Chris Tiu, Doug Kramer, Arao, Salamat, etc. Let's play as if it were the last game of our lives. Besides, it is the last game of the season.

We've come this far, it's win or go home for us tomorrow. Let yesterday's loss be a distant memory. Let tomorrow be the day when we say we played our damn best. Let it be the day we soar and fly high. Go Ateneo. Go get the Tigers.

Please take the daga away

I can handle cockroaches. I can kill them with my slippers without freaking out. But a mouse. OMG. I get panic attacks.

I was talking to honeybunch when I saw a something like a moving shadow crawling on the floor. It was too gray to be a cockroach. Too large to be a cockroach. Waaaah! Daga!!!

To me, seeing a daga is just as good as seeing an aswang. Hindi ko talaga kaya. It's not a gross out type of fear but an I'm-going-to-die-if-I-see-it-again kind of fear. You might think I'm OA, but I'm sorry, dagas ARE my greatest fear.

So for tonight, my greatest take away is that I wish and pray that someone takes away the daga in my room. Please. Please. Please.

I am in my mommy and daddy's room now where I think there is no daga. I am scared to death to go back to my room. I think I will sleep here for the next 3 nights until someone takes the daga away.

One Voice

I’ve always been a late bloomer. In high school, I was one of the last girls to wear a bra. I got my period when almost all of the girls in class already had theirs. Years ago. And, I had my first boyfriend when the rest of my friends were already getting married and having kids. Now, I’m late again. It’s 2006, and it is only now that I have started to write my own blog.

One of my thesis mentors during my MBA told me that I should start to write a blog. Not for the reasons most of us blog today, like to keep in touch with friends, but mainly because a blog gives you a voice. So intense.

But true. A blog does give you a voice which you otherwise might not have. Easily. Suddenly, a shy and reserved girl like me can speak my thoughts the same why that Yahoo or CNN do.

In AIM, they call it “air time”. That golden moment where 50 of your competitive, recitation-hungry classmates, together with your professor, actually stop and listen to what you say. Outside of your air time, you are expected to keep quiet, listen, and wait for your turn to be called.

So a blog does give one a voice. It may just be one voice out of the billions of voices out there, but nonetheless, still a voice. And somehow, someone out there may just stumble upon your blog and listen to your voice. And who knows, that insignificant and immaterial voice you thought you were, may actually turn out to be someone’s answered prayer.

So here’s to all the blogs out there. The blogs of my fabulous girlfriends, the blogs that I read for amusement, and the blogs that I read for research. Thanks for airing your voices. Rest assured, they are not left unheard and unnoticed. I hear them. Loud and clear.