LIB-UG

With only a few weeks left, the madness continues. Its hard to come from a small town where everybody knows everybody and are somehow related to the other in more ways than one. But we vote by conscience and by the way we see that person dealing with the trial up ahead. It may all be games right now but when the reality sets in and the names are announced, thats when a lot of hurt can happen. You think a lot of people have gotten hurt na? You haven't seen anything yet if the people we vote for fall flat on their faces.

Best example I think is Obama. Americans practically worshiped him! The rest of the world fell into the spell of the whole Obama-ism movement. Months into it, what has he done, really? More talk and no work. Bush may had been a clutz and a simpleton but at least he did something. Sometimes not the right things but he did take action the best way he knew how.

I'm scared that people in the Philippines are so caught up in the moment. The mythology of it all. I pray for all to wake up and finally go where their minds take them. Its not a matter of whos popular or unpopular. Its about whats right. And we all know right is not always and never will be the popular choice.

Vote wisely. God as our guide. Only He knows whats up ahead.

Green state of mind

the girl with the unforgettable personality

The earliest memory I have of Valerie Gustilo was when my brother and I were back in Assumption. I was maybe in 6th grade, my brother in 2nd. Valerie was Joey's classmate. She was the girl with the Beauty and the Beast stuff. She had the lunch box, the ruler, pencils, you name it. And one thing about her in that age even then was that she was quite a fun character and very hard to miss.

A few months later, she was known to me even more as the daughter of my dentist. Memories of braces come to mind quickly.

A few years later, after graduating from college at UP, I got to meet up with Valerie again during the MBA days (my gawsh!). She was always the center of the laughter and the best person to just dish out the tsismis with when things would be blah. She was still definitely quite the character.

They were just about to graduate from highschool and as the "manang" I did what I could to share whatever common sense I had learned during my college years. But when they went off to their own colleges, I went back to the life that I was just then beginning to make for myself. Since then, I would bump into her once in a while. Text her every now and then. But never like the days we had way back. You really miss those days.

Last week I heard she needed blood. She was B positive. Very hard to find. But I had no idea she would be passing away this soon in the prime of her life. Last Thursday, April 22, Val went back to our Lord, leaving a hole in our lives that only she could fill. We will miss you, Val. WE already do.

Sex and the City 2!

Tweetie

I hate to say it, but I finally got on the Twitter phase. The chismis you can get! Oh wow! Where have you been all my life?! I am so manol!

On the bad side though, just realized my phone automatically went on 3g mode on its own, so my Globe bill hit around the P16,000 mark! Crap! Sniff! I'm usually around the P4,000 area. Shucks! Made my knees weak.

When B met C

"When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. " - When Harry Met Sally

Congratulations to the Graduates!

What a sight to see them all together under one roof. Good thing that room had airconditioning, too. Saved us a whole lotta unsightful and unsmellful (yes, I just made this word up) situations. Thank God we had light showers throughout the afternoon, too.

Presidential candidate, Bro. Eddie Villanueva, was our baccalaureate speaker during the day. That was an experience, as well. 2 presidentiables in 1 year. Awesome!

So proud of this batch. The most exceptional as far as our history is concerned. Looking forward to the next generation.

oh happy day!

Last year was Obama fever. For us, its like Gilbert "Gibo" Tedoro fever! What a crowd we had last March 9. So happy I got to meet him. Even though I know he doesn't remember me anymore hahaha But it was worth the thrill and I know my aunts are so green with envy. Green! Hahaha!

Pamanhikan/Pamalayi day

So this is what its like! I researched it a bit online and this is what it is in a nutshell:

The blueprints of wedding plans are drawn or made known during this occasion. The pamanhikan is often hosted by the bride's family as the groom and his folks visit them to formally ask their daughter’s hand in marriage and discuss plans for the upcoming wedding over lunch or dinner. This can be an uneasy situation if it's the first time for both parties to meet. The soon-to-weds may feel a little awkward (nervous even) seeing and listening to their parents consult each other on matters like their wedding budget, guest list and the like.

It is customary that the visiting family bring a gift (often, the best home-cooked specialty of the groom's mom) for the hosts. Others may opt to hold the meeting on neutral grounds (a restaurant is a likely choice) or invite a mutual acquaintance to the gathering and help ease the awkwarness of the first meeting. Why do Pinoys bother with all the trouble? We all seek our parents' blessings for a happy and trouble-free marriage. Afterall, pamanhikan is a treasured Filipino heritage which, first and foremost, avoids the embarrassing situation of having the parents see each other as strangers come wedding day.

- http://www.weddingsatwork.com/culture_traditions.shtml

That aside, it wasn't as awkward as one would put it out to be. For one, our families have known about each other for a while now. Over a decade, now that I think about it. It was just Bryan and me who never met. Funny!

My dad was so adorable. He went all out! Daw sya ang bride! He was fussing over the food (we redid the menu over 3x!), the living room (he actually got some parts repainted, refurnished, rewashed, reap holstered, and borrowed some decorations from Pure!), the entrance to the house (he "borrowed" a lot of potted plants), the terrace (scrubbed and scrubbed). But in the end, it was a process that happens only once in a lifetime (I pray and hope it will be. No intention of doing another one). Seeing my dad in the middle of it all, he almost got choked up twice. It was simple. Definitely not the type of thing you would usually see in the movies or tv. But essential and meaningful. I only wish Gillian was there for it, too.

Gosh! 118 days left! Tick tock tick tock tick tock!

How could I not be able to blog about this? I can't resist and years from now I will regret if I didn't 100%! The next one will be in Bacolod. That will be something as well :D

someone should get a life

To be honest, I've been dying to blog all the things that have been happening lately. Unfortunately, someone apparently has the creativity to hassle me on facebook and through text messages. Like there are nothing else better to do in this world! Hello! Not to mention I have no idea what this person is actually even talking about. Hay... small, small minds...