Our 23rd wedding anniversary is actually May 5 but Lauren will leave for a beach outing tomorrow so we celebrated our dinner at Portico tonight.
I can’t help but be happy for my cousin, Margot. Last Friday, she walked down the aisle in her lovely beaded gown with Dwight, the love of her life. I have often wondered why my beautiful, kind and smart cousin-doctor was still single at 30 something. I often dismissed it as not finding the right man. Wise girl. I never asked her but I am sure she often gets the brunt of questions from nosy relatives.
“Why are you not married yet? ang ganda ganda mo. wala pa ba nagkagusto sa yo? .”
Lauren started driving at 18 years old, rather I enrolled her at a driving school when she turned 18. I figured that she’d learn to drive a car using stick-shift just like I did at her age, instead of an automatic. We didn’t own an automatic car that time. I pride myself in being a teacher to my kids in (practically any topic) ever since they were babies but not driving. No, no….no
I want you to watch this youtube video of Happy Slip and Kevin as the latter learns to drive a stick-shift car. View it till the end because that’s the way I felt after I went on a practice driving session with Lauren the first time.
Put it in Purse
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
When my ex-boyfriend swept me off my feet 30 years ago, it happened at the UP sunken garden just before sunset. I screamed in delight as Butch kept twirling me around and around. Put me down now. I wanted it to last forever but a crowd of onlookers oogling at us from a distance brought us back to reality. We had no shame. Truly, madly, deeply in love. We were optimistic that whatever flaws we had could easily be worked out. Such an idealistic thought. A friend told me that the thing I loved most from my boyfriend is the thing that I’d hate about him when I get married.
Is it true?
This conversion chart for dating is meant as a joke but in reality, there is some truth about it.
Love is in the air these days. What better way to feature love than through the eyes of a bride in her dream wedding gown. Every wedding gown has its own story to tell. If it could speak, it would be the guardian of memories for the night. It isn’t just proof of one’s most beautiful state; it is witness to the gamut of our emotions, from the moment it is put on to the time it is returned to the box. Instead of featuring socialites in their fancy wear, why not feature our lovely Filipina bloggers? Guess who is who in these photos!
The other night, my husband and I slept at 2:00 AM because we enjoyed watching Happy Slip’s YouTube videos. You know, we needed our endorphin fix. The Peelings video hits close to my heart for many reasons because of my dad. The quirky characters played by Happy Slip as the “aunt” and “mom” display so many similarities to my dad’s Filipino personality. Is it old-school now?
(gasp), I see myself in them too.
THE WINNERS
Top 3 Winners
1. Mnel- First Kiss
Lauren says This story is captivating because it focuses on just one aspect of the love story – the first kiss. Other events and details were written in such a way as to emphasize the magic of that moment.
2. Lady Cess- The Promise of a Fairy Godmother
Lauren says that Her love story has a great hook and an interesting twist. I love how the ending leaves a lot to the imagination.
3. KingDaddyRich- Siya
Lauren says It was a bit of a struggle to read his entry because it’s written in Tagalog, but I love how he made poetic use of the language to create imagery that stays.
Runners-up
1. Kongkong – The End of Friendship
2. Fitz- A Valentine’s Date to Remember
3. Mr. Z- Strange Times My Dear
As a couple, Butch and I celebrate three anniversaries: the day we met, the day we became steadies and the day we got married. See, that’s how big I am with celebrations and anniversary dates. Celebration is a high form of praise of gratitude. To celebrate is to delight in the gift, to show gratitude. And that’s what I intend to do today. Celebrate the day that Butch and I first met each other 30 years ago.
I sifted through the yellowed pages of my diary to that day when I first met my ex-boyfriend at the UP Campus Shopping Center. I laughed at my entry because apparently, I was in love with another guy that day I met Butch. I simply forgot about it and it explains why I did not fall for Butch right away.
A dream about a late loved one is often a gift. “Don’t overanalyze it. Accept it with gratitude.” But what happens when a friend dreams about your blog entry? Here is a story which is one for the books.
I apologized to Cathy that I was unable to attend the Grief Share meeting last Saturday. Here are parts of our chat a few hours ago.
Cathy: okay lang. I read it in your blog.
Me: I haven’t blogged yet about boracay. Where did you read it? in my blog?
Cathy: yes. about my recovery
Me: No I haven’t blogged about it yet. The wi-fi was so slow in the hotel.
Feeling rather surprised, I checked my blog if I accidentally posted an entry. I knew that Abe blogged about it so maybe that’s where she found out.
Cathy insisted that she only reads my blog.
Cathy: I saw a photo of you in front of Microtel with Butch and Lauren.
Me:: Only Lauren went with me.
Then Cathy narrated all the photos she saw in the entry I never posted (until now):
Cathy: There’s a nice shot of palm trees at dusk. You have a photo with Abe.
I pointed Anton Diaz Boracay Escape with Pinoy Travel Bloggers and Ivan Henares Microtel Boracay in Diniwid Beach entries but Cathy did not read those entries either.
Me:: Maybe you accidentally saw my Boracay Photo Gallery?
Cathy: Ah No. It was a collage of photos. (Cathy takes a look at my gallery) There is that picture in the boat and I thought the man in stripes beside you was Butch
Me: How did you know then? I have not shown my photos yet to my readers because I have 500 photos to upload. Besides I cannot make a collage because my macbook does not have Photoshop.
Cathy: If you didn’t post, then how else did I see it? Psychic powers?
Me: then no other way unless you read the 12 other bloggers’ entry.
Cathy insisted again that she only reads my blog from the the list of Pinoy Travel bloggers I mentioned.
Cathy: You even wrote thanks to SeAir and Microtel and there was one other sponsor I cannot remember. And you added that you were glad that Lauren was able to join you on the trip.
The sponsorship and Lauren were the clincher. One can conjure dream images of the beach and my travelling companions. But the sponsors? There are a gazillion hotels in Boracay. And airlines? There are around 5 airlines that fly to Boracay. Also, how would she know that Lauren nearly didn’t make it to Boracay? Her dream is almost accurate.
How can one explain my blog entry that Cathy read but which I have not posted yet (or still drafting as I write this)?
