20/365: Mapet's Wedding

The shot: Me with the bride (Photo taken from my phone)

The story: We went to Bohol today to attend Mapet's wedding. Mapet is one of my closest college friends.

My schedule went something like this:

March 9, 2012

10:15 PM - Ship left the pier. Cebu-Tagbilaran trip began

11:00 PM - Slept despite the urge to watch City Hunter over the TV set near my bed

March 10, 2012

3:00 AM - Arrived at the Tagbilaran Port. I woke up to make chika. Haha, where should we be at three in the morning?!

4:00 AM- Went down the ship to see Mapet who was there with her husband-to-be fetching a LOT of people (including us)

4:30 AM- Took a bath (against my will, LOL) because the bride insisted we have to start getting ready (thank goodness, she did)

5:30 AM- Went to Jollibee to get breakfast. They open at 6 AM but they allowed us to get inside and wait for the time

6:30 AM - Finished breakfast and went back to the hotel to prepare

8:30 AM- Finished with the hair-and-make-up thing + gown repairs (It's a hassle to be a girl sometimes but I have to admit I enjoyed it. Haha!)

9:15 AM- Wedding started, Mapet walked down the aisle to 'Ikaw'. She cried. I cried. We cried. Haha, we are a bunch of drama queens after all.

12:00 NN - Reception began

2:00 PM- Reception ended and we were back at the hotel to fix our things and be ready to leave

2:30 PM- Went around Island City Mall with my friends and I ended drinking a mocha frappe(!?!) from a store named V.I.P. It should be noted that I will not buy that drink again. Hehe.

4:30 PM- I was happily seated in Oceanjet and was on my way back to Cebu

6:45 PM- In SM to buy some things I needed

7:30 PM- In J Centre to buy the blank CDs that my mother needed

8:00 PM- Home sweet home

It was quiet a stressful experience. Even if I was not the bride, I could feel the anxiety, pressure, excitement and ka-warlahan building up as the hour draw near. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful wedding. As I told a good friend of mine, Charlie, I needed that wedding. So to end, I think I will leave you with my FB status (because I am lazy that way, haha!):

My friends' weddings always make me cry. I've witnessed how a lot of people have broken their hearts and yet they still have not stopped believing that what they seek is not just in fairy tales or chick flicks. Yes, marriages are not perfect and weddings do not always conform with the world's concept of 'ideal'. However, it is in these imperfections that we truly see the beauty of life, the miracle of mercy, the strength of His grace and the power of love. Thank you Myrva for reminding me about all of these. I wish you and Roel... happiness.

P.S. During the reception when you asked me to speak and the emcee introduced me as your 'best friend', my heart skipped a beat and hapit ko nihilak balik. Haha! I will forever treasure our friendship. I love you. =)

Christmas 2011

Last night, while waiting for the clock to strike twelve, I decided to pray and thank God for all the blessings that He has given me. Looking back and looking at what is, I am overwhelmed by how much the Lord has blessed me. I know I share this over and over again but what can I say, I tend to forget how blessed I am (true story. :p)

As one of my best friends have said, people are the best blessings we have. I am thankful for the gift of people in my life... the ones that break my heart and the ones that put them together again. Many times, they are the same people but it is only when I have come past through the hurtful experiences that I realize that God really has a reason for allowing these things to happen. Whenever I encounter something painful or something that brings me too much joy (which I, most of the time feel, won't last forever), I utter this short prayer:

Lord, you have allowed this to happen. It has gone through your filter and so I am allowing myself to experience this in its fullness knowing that your plan is greater than mine and that your plan is born out of love for me.

Although the words are not exactly the same every time, I speak this message to myself and I feel a sense of peace. It is a kind of peace that enables me to live with courage... to live seizing the day for all that it is. So, this Christmas, I wish every person could place himself/herself in front of the manger and marvel at the Love that has been manifested in a form of a baby. In that moment, may we all find peace... the kind that pushes us onward with faith and hope.

I do not know where I am headed. I have a plan (as I always do) but these past few years, I have given up complete control over the "route" to use in order to get to the destination. I just pray that as I go through these ups and downs and these moments of standstill, I may grow to become more and more like Jesus. May every twist and turn lead me to You, Lord. Bisan asa agi, bisan unsa kadugay basta kuyog Nimo, para Nimo, padung Nimo ug ikalipay Nimo, adto lang ko. Grant me the grace to accomplish this. =)

Merry Christmas, everyone! =)

13/365: birthday post =)

I turn 22 today. =) But there is so much more than that.

The shot:

Me and my brother during the 2010 fluvial parade.

The story:

Today started out to be a bittersweet day for me. Sweet because I have been blessed with another year added to my life and bitter because my brother is not graduating this year. Something like that is a big thing for me. My brother's success in anything that he gives his effort in means a lot to me.

For the rest of the day, I kept on praying that the Lord walk with me through the day and celebrate it with me. I prayed that He grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change. I spent the first few minutes of my day in prayer and in thanking those who took the time to greet me. At 9:30 AM, I was in school for the dissemination of my students' grades. After lunch, I went to hear mass. Amazingly, the celebrant is also celebrating his birthday and as the mass ended, everyone in the assembly sang 'happy birthday' which I felt was God's way of singing for me. Sweeeet! <3

My brother texted me that he is attending his classmates' graduation and so I decided to spend the rest of my time reading Leo Buscaglia's book, Loving Each Other. I was in the chapter about forgiveness when my brother joined me for the rest of the afternoon. My conversation with him was no less than inspiring. It wasn't because of his choice of words and nor was it because of his manner of speaking. What made it inspiring is the man that he has chosen to become as reflected in his thoughts. There was no tinge of bitterness or sarcasm in his voice when he spoke about the graduation. There was pride and great love for friends who stood by him and who he stood for for the past four years. He was happy for his friends and in many ways, I felt he has grown a lot wiser.

It has been said many times before and I think it holds true today. There is a purpose for everything. In the remaining hours of my 'birthday', I choose to write about my brother. He is more than the man other people think he is. He is more than what others give him credit for. I am truly proud of him. Thank you for your example, dong.

The 'ate' turns 22 today and has learned that in a heart of love, no room should be rented out to bitterness. That would be such a waste of space.

A happy day indeed. =)

9/365: new found love

Okaaayy. I chose not to blog yesterday because I was really tired. I did not even force myself to sleep. I lay down and poof! Haha! To make up for lost time though, I am posting two entries today! Ahaha!

The shot:

I would have taken a shot of the real thing but there's none of it left. This is a picture of a Red Ribbon White Forest Cake. Yumyum! :)

Photo taken from:http://www.sirearevalo.com/red-ribbons-new-white-forest-cakelet-there-be-white-indeed/

The story:

My father celebrated his 52nd birthday yesterday (Happy Birthday, Pa!) and my mama decided to buy this cake. As a backgrounder, let me tell you that the official birthday cake in our house is the Red Ribbon Black Forest Cake simply because it's the awesomest cake in the planet. Haha, ok. It's because it's my favorite cake. I love it so much that I don't specify any other dish on my birthday. It's a must-have on my birthday and in all other birthdays as well. Haha! But yesterday, my mama tried this one and Oh May Gulay. It was delicciioouusss. So delicious in fact that I couldn't get my fork away from it. Now, I have a dilemma. Will I let go of my first love? Haha! Oh well, I think both of them fit perfectly inside my heart... and stomach! :p

are you a deaf frog?

My brother shared a funny incident during his review for the NLE.

Their speaker told them a story about a contest among frogs. The goal was to reach the top of a very tall tower. The tower was quite tall and many of frogs started giving up as they tried to reach the very top. The audience did not help much. Seeing how tall the tower is, they shouted at the contestants that the feat is impossible and it'd be so much better if they gave up now. After quite some time, the race was over and one frog stood on top. Victorious.

Bryan: Why do you think did he get there?

Michelle: He's deaf?

Bryan: Right.

But the story doesn't end there. My brother happens to be "half-deaf". Sorry for the term but what I'm trying to say is he can only hear with one of his ears. Don't ask me which one because I get it mixed up all the time. (Peace, Yan!)

So, to continue on with the story, my brother was shocked that many kept looking and laughing at his direction. He was not really listening to the speaker (according to him) and did not get the ending the story. He only heard the speaker say, "the frog was duck" and could not see the powerpoint presentation from where he was sitting. He began defending himself by saying, "What?! I'm not a duck!".

LOL (My mama and I laughed too. :D)

Then again, the story does not end there. The speaker continued by saying that the essence of the story or the point he was trying to drive at was that the victorious (and apparently, deaf) frog is a metaphor for a board exam topnotcher who took the challenge despite the odds and did not listen to those who said that emerging on top was impossible. I told my brother then that the joke was now upon those who laughed at him. :)

He begged me not to make the story my FB status and so I obliged. He never told me not to blog about it though. HAHA! :D

Deaf frog or duck frog? My brother's made his choice. What's yours?