The Couple, The Husband, and The Mother

The Couple

It has been more than a year (and 20+ pounds re-gained) since the train incident...


Still wow.


The Husband

Last Saturday, January 27, Dionne and I met with OJ, Bon, N93 (with Allan), Dhang and Irish. In that order. Hehe.

OJ was the early bird. According to Bon, he was already at Gateway at around 11AM, while everybody else came after 12PM. Meeting was set between 11 and 12... Nuninu.

When we got to the food court, OJ was munching on delectable french fries from NYFD. Then he left us to meet Bon downstairs. He was kind enough to offer us the half-full regular-sized bucket of fries. We were quite hungry by then that we couldn't resist eating them... Nakakahiya naman kay OJ kaya we decided to buy large fries! Good thing too, since we still had to wait for the others.

Allan and his wonderful N93 arrived next. Seeing the N93 made me want to hide my N90 in shame...

We then decided to check out the movie schedules. Babel was it.

A few minutes later, Irish and Dhang joined us. Unfortunately, Dhang won't be joining us for the movie because of more important people (drama, hehe). So it's just 6 tickets for us at the center of row K, which I will later realize is a little too far. Row G would've been "optimal". At least according to Richie's theory that the best seats are those that are as far to the screen as the screen is tall. Whatever. Hehe.

Lunch was at Bellini's. YEAH!

Dionne and Bon

OJ, Irish and Dhang

*Pics courtesy of N93 and Allan

Allan, at first, because he thought we were going to Marikina (Shoe Expo), then Gateway. He preferred the latter. OK... After a little explaining by the girls, he was in.

Before 3PM, we were on our way back to Gateway for the movie. I got 2 vanilla lattes for us from our favorite coffee shop, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

On to the movie!

The movie was interesting. I got a bit disoriented at first, regarding the sequence of the events. But eventually got it. I must admit that I was more attentive with the parts with the Japanese girl... Haha!

After the movie, we went to Dionne's new favorite clothes shop, F&H. She got a new office jacket at 50% off.

We also went to Bayo and Kamiseta and then Rustan's, to look at wish bracelets, crocs sandals, and the new Wade. *drools*

Before going home, we dropped by Fully Booked to check out the expensive books... We went home with Orson Scott Card's Shadow Puppets, a book on Spanish verbs for Dionne, and Dean Koontz's The Husband.


The Mother

January 29 was Nanay's 52nd birthday. We had lunch at Aristocrat's at SM San Lazaro to celebrate this wonderful occasion. Mommie came with us. Jonjon, unfortunately, was not able to make it from Laguna. He better make up for it next time. Hehe. Meanwhile, Jayson came just before we left. He came from work and looked exhausted. He ate the supposed takeout chicken barbeque right there and then. I'll be awaiting his libre from his sweldo. Nuninu.

Dionne, Mommie, Jeff, Nanay and Mae

Nananaba. Nuninu.

To Nanay, may you have good health and many more years to come! Happy birthday! We love you!

Joven's Birthday (2006), Part 2

... aka "So Dark the Con(s) of Wade".

Dionne and I watched The DaVinci Code at Greenbelt 3 last Saturday. Good thing I was able to buy our tickets a few days before that, as the ticket booths were overflowing with people. Before we went into the cinema, we saw this booth by Coffee Bean. They have this service that they'll deliver the drinks right inside the cinema. Lucky us, since we were quite sleepy from a tiring day. There was also this promo that if we buy 1 large Ultimate Ice Blended drink, we get a regular drink for free. We ordered mocha and vanilla, which was delivered just as the movie was about to start. I was too engrossed in the film to remember how they tasted...

Ah, the film. One of the most anticipated titles to hit the screen. Dionne got bored on some parts of the movie because some scenes seem to just drag on... Whereas I was fully awake throughout the movie. I wanted to see how it was executed, having read the book (but couldn't remember what really happened, and sometimes mixing it up with Angels and Demons, hehe). At the very least, Tom Hanks was much better this time than the last time I remember watching him.


After the movie, we felt like grail questers rushing from Landmark to Glorietta, looking for a pair of Wade's. They were supposed to be part of Dionne's gift...

But luck was not on our side. Most shoes in stock were just too small for me (size 9's, 10's). Even before that day, we already tried to find a pair at Megamall and Robinson's Place. :(

I originally wanted a pair of I-Robot Chuck Taylor's. I thought that the whole upper part was black but, apparently, the ones in the stores have white rubber for the toe part. (I just found out now that they have rare black versions. Now where can I find those? Hmm.) Until I finally decided that I'd be using the new pair as workout shoes as the And1's I'm using are already worn out. Heck, I would've even settled for the Limited Edition All-Star Wade that comes with a Dr. J pair, for twice the price. If only they had a size 11! Oh well..

As backup, I would've settled for a pair of Nike Free's. But no, size 10.5 is still not the right fit. Haay. I guess I'd have to wait for another time. I do remember a guy at SM mentioning that the bigger sizes will be arriving in 2 or 3 weeks time. Yey, just in time for the wedding!

I could use them as dancing shoes... =P


Speaking of dancing, last Sunday, Dionne and I got a 2-hour instructional class (mostly for me) from Mang Tony on the basics of swing and foxtrot. He advised us to practice everyday, after office, to really get a feel of the dances. Yesterday, we had another round of practice, but something in me was out-of-sync. I was "bouncy", as Dionne would describe it.

I say, it must be the shoes (Nike ACG's). Hehe!

Joven's Birthday (2006), Part 1

It's Friday again. And I'm wearing the same shirt I wore to the "Stag Party in the Sly" last week (details of which are to remain confidential, hehe). It's the same shirt I wore to our Christmas party.

I wanted to take my picture now but I'm at the office and it's a bit embarassing when my officemates hear me clicking away, trying to get the perfect angle. Hehe.

I guess this has to be my favorite shirt. Dionne gave this to me last year and at that time, I was still hesitant to wear such bright colors. These days, I try to wear this shirt as often as I can. ;)

Let's see if this streak continues next week...

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Yesterday was my 28th birthday. My friend, Ryan, even kidded that it was my last as a bachelor. Sorry guys, no stag party for me. At least, that's what I'm publicly declaring. =P

Dionne, once again, treated me to a wonderful dinner. She cooked, with her mother's help a lot. My mom, brother (Jeff) and sister (Mae) were also there to join us.

Thank you, my beloved Dionne! I love you too!

Happy! Happy!

Big events this weekend for us. =)

My birthday and our anniversary (2 years!).

The celebration started last Saturday. Joven surprised me with this!

Friendster flowers! After all, we owe Friendster.com a lot. Hehe!

He's not too keen on sending flowers. He'd rather pamper me with other stuff than give me flowers that will eventually wilt. It's always nice to receive flowers, that's why I was always dropping hints about it. It took him two years! Haha! But I really, really appreciate it! *Kilig!*

After his "meeting" with Benj, we decided to head to Binondo to see two of our suppliers. First stop was Unifair. Erwin's sooo easy to talk to. We're set to go back next week for the proofs. =) Next was Marita of Hearts and Bells. Unfortunately, she was not there. Fortunately, her trusty assistant was. After signing another contract for the toppers, we went our way.

Next activity was one of the most anticipated activity with my French friends... Eurostar!


Ang saya! We were like kids running around. =)

Highlight 1: Buena Mano: Flipper! Actually, more like killer! We made the biggest mistake of not watching this ride before we "bravely" mounted it. MISTAKE! We all had difficulty standing up after.


That did not dampen out dizzy spirits... We jumped from one ride to the another. Well, not the scary ones. Which left us with the bump car, carousel, ferris wheel, and the one similar to wild river. Hehe! The others were braver and tried their luck with the Joker (which basically tries to kill you also by throwing you 40 meters up and down). We were busy walking around and enjoying the night, until Joven froze and told me...

Highlight 2: "Bearwin is here!" =D

I was too shy to do it until the others convinced me...

Woohoo! He was my crush after all. Birthday ko talaga! =P

With aching backs, arms and legs... we decided to call it a night (more like morning). More pics here and here.

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Sunday! Mon anniversaire!

Early Sunday morning, I received a card from Joven and a copy of "Tuesdays with Morrie" (My friend lost my copy). Yey!

After mass, we prepared for a hefty lunch. What diet? =P Food details in our food blog. =) The day was spent at home with my family. Playing with the super kulit Jeff, chatting with my sister in Dubai, kwentuhan with Joven, my mom, sister and "sister-in-law."

Uneventful perhaps but the birthday greetings and time with my family definitely made my day. =)

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Monday! Our anniversary!

Late Sunday night, I gave Joven a letter. A letter full of love. Yihii! =)

We met at UN Avenue early Monday morning. He just got off the gym while I was heading to Philam to have something corrected for my HMO.

After that was done, we headed to Robinson's Place. As part of my anniversary gift, I treated Joven to a sumptous lunch at Cabalen. Busog! At this point, Joven brought out his gift to me (again). A card and a bottle of perfume. =)

After lunch, we headed to SM San Lazaro to meet my mom. We're set to watch Memoirs of a Geisha. Since it was still early, we went shopping. I got us new shirts at Hang Ten and Joven a new office jacket as part of my anniversary gift. =)

Honestly, I was a little disappointed with the movie. The book was better. I will not say more, others have said a lot already. But I still think Ziyi Zhang is pretty and can really pass herself to be Japanese. =)

happy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIONNE!!!

It's My Birthday!

18th: It's a good thing that there's someone at the office who has the same birthday as I do! Either we double the treat or we split the cost between us. Guess what we did... Split, of course!

The week before, Sherwin and I already agreed to treat our officemates to lunch. On our birthday, we ordered one bilao of pancit and one bilao of palabok, and two gallons of ice cream. The bilao which was supposed to be for 15-20 persons turned out to be for 15-20 non-Joven and non-Sherwin types! Whew! Buti na lang di namin kasinglaki ang karamihan sa office...

Later that night, we were to have a simple dinner (food c/o Aroma Chicken) at Dionne's house... to my surprise, Dionne bought vanilla ice cream (from Magnolia) and chocolate sans rival cake (from Goldilocks). Grabe, ang sarap! Thanks Dionne! Mwah! Mwah! =)

19th: We had dinner with Benj, Richie and Ryan at Sentro. Grabe, sarap nung Crispy Pata! We went to see Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith after that. Ten-ten-tenen tentenen tentenen tentenen! A great movie to close out a great series.

20th: Dinner was courtesy of Pearli and Vincent. Mr. Kabab was the place of choice. Brings back memories... Mr. Kabab was where our grade school mini-reunion took place last year. Yup, that was where I had dinner with Dionne and our classmates after 13 years of non-communication. It wasn't the first place we met again because we met earlier at KFC, which was easier to spot... I had shawarma (with rice) while they had dishes I can't recall the names... Syempre, masarap din! Spent the rest of the night at Starbucks, talking about work, weddings and other people. Hehe!

21st: We had lunch with my family at Jollibee/Greenwich. Carbonara, lasagna, beef with mushroon, spaghetti, chikenjoy and a square pizza for 6 people. Sarap (lagi naman eh)!

Thanks to everyone who greeted me. Salamat sa inyong pagsakay sa abudedey trip ko. =)

Bawal ang diet pag may birthday! Next year uli. ;)

27

When my little sister, Mae, was younger, she would sing:

Abudedey tuyu,


Abudedey tuyu,


Abudedey, abudedey...


Abudedey tuyu!

Today is my 27th... Abudedey to me! =)

Mon Anniversaire, First Anniversary, Santisimo Rosario Parish

Last weekend we celebrated two important events in our lives, mon anniversaire (for those who texted me and sent me e-cards: thanks thanks thanks! love you guys!) and our first anniversary. We both decided to keep it simple.

For my birthday, We went to a 7:00AM mass (aga no?) at our local parish. We went to meet his mother for 10 minutes because she has to go elsewhere. We went to the mall to buy stuff we need for the family dinner. The whole afternoon was spent watching videos which we bought a week earlier. The rest of my family arrived in the late afternoon and we had a sumptuous dinner (mostly cooked by my mom... yummy!).

A year ago, my birthday became my and his gauge of how important we were to each other. That was the moment where he chose me over his one true love... basketball! Sweet! Hehe! On my end, I was able to see that he was sincere (I know his love for basketball!) and I knew that it was worth a shot. =) The rest they say is history.

We planned to celebrate our anniversary by treating each other to a day at our local spa. Thing is, a few days ago... the spa was burned to the ground! Jeez!

Since most people are telling us that it is important to make church reservations as early as now, we opted to go church hopping instead. In our itinerary we had: Binondo Church, Santisimo Rosario Parish (UST), Ermita Church, Malate Church and Shrine of Jesus. We only went as far as Santisimo Rosario Parish. We already knew that it was the one. We chose the church because of its simplicity and solemnity. Other than the facts that it's accessible, parking space would not be a problem, the aisle is long (syempre para mahaba ang exposure! hehe!) and my discount ang alumni! Another sentimental value of the church for us: we both had our first communion there! Our school decided to have the communion rites there. We were both in grade two but in different classes. Wearing our white gala uniforms, we had our photo taken with the parish priest receiving the host. Who would have known that twenty years after, we would be walking down the same aisle... wearing white, receiving the host and starting our new lives together! =)