The altar is set...

Our wedding will be at the majestic Church of the Risen Lord sanctuary in the UP Diliman Campus. This arch shaped structure, designed by Cesar Concio, has been home to many Christians in the University and nearby areas looking for a place to commune with God and a spring to refresh their souls. It is shaped like a parabola and has inspired several interpretations on what could be in the mind of the architect when he thought of its design. The chapel does not contain any unnecessary adornments and the altar is so simple yet elegant.One thing for sure is that once you enter the main sanctuary, you will be able to forget all your worries and experience serenity and peace. It is like feeling the presence of God.

I do hope our family and friends get to experience that on Saturday, our wedding day.

Our ever, ever after

In less than 3 weeks, our fairytale story is coming true! "You two must be insane," our home Pastor would say. He says that marriage is the height of insanity, in case we still didn't know. "Putting two different people with two different personalities under one roof? It's a disaster in waiting!” (something to that effect) he adds. No, he wasn't discouraging us from walking down the aisle. He was just relieved to know that we get the picture he's painting and that we are so sold on going insane for each other after all the despites ;-)

EVER, EVER AFTER
Carrie Underwood
©Disney 2007

We've been very busy these past couple of days (the weekends, especially), running here and there, preparing for our wedding and readying our apartment. We rarely even have time for our laundry! Last Friday, we treated ourselves to the movies for the week's job well done. As with our last movie date (see related post), the combo was movie + boxed rice meals -- which we had right after.

Enchanted was indeed a treat! Although the plot is predictable (of course it's Disney!), we are more after the laughter and entertainment.

Quoting one line from the song (video on play):

No wonder your heart feels it's flying
Your head feels it's spinning
Each happy ending's a brand new beginning
Let yourself be enchanted, you just might break through!



Haaay, ang saya!

30 days and counting!

Time is speeding up the days and there's no way stopping it. We always tell ourselves to take it easy but honestly, stress is slowly creeping in! Haaaaay!

But one big thing crossed out from our checklist is the house, and this finally happened two days ago. The search is over! Yey! We found an apartment which is newly-built and very accessible to where we go to work. It’s very accessible to everything, actually. We're very excited about it. In fact, we already have design ideas in mind. Yesterday, we went to Ace Hardware in SM and bought lamps and window fixtures!

Just 30 days to go...

Going back after 11 years

I was quite apprehensive when Vincent first told me to go to Iloilo after he himself got back from his short official trip to this province last August. He said it will be very important for me to go back there before our wedding. I'm glad he persisted. And so we flew down there during the long All Soul's Day weekend.


Homecoming

On board to Iloilo.

Vincent mentioned in his post about me spending part of my adolescent years in Iloilo -- Miag-ao in particular. Mama was then an employee of UP's College of Fisheries when the "migration wave" in the University went full swing in the late '80s. Mama was one of those transferred to the Visayas. Since she can not give up her job, the whole family decided to join with her. I finished my junior and senior years in high school from this town's Catholic school and attended my first three semesters in UPV. A year after I transferred back to Diliman, my mother passed away. Papa and my sister remained settled there, but three years after Mama's passing, my sister lived with me and attended school here in Quezon City. The last time I set foot in this province was in 1996 and wasn't able to go back there since, until two weeks ago. As for Papa, I haven't seen him for six long years either. He got married again and now, I have two little brothers. This was one meaningful homecoming reunion for me, indeed.


Di-in kamo ma-agto?

Having counted the years, I scrambled big time in piecing together my Kinaray-a -- one of the province's local languages. Actually, I've never been fluent in Kinaray-a and never acquired the tongue accent. Kinaray-a na tunog Manileña pa rin. While I went to school there and got exposed to the language for three years, Tagalog is still the medium at home. Vincent was more confident that because he's with me, getting around Iloilo will not be so much of a problem, unlike when he was there three months before. We did manage to go around with my broken Kinaray-a, although we constantly get the "Di-in kamo ma-agto (where are you getting off)?" tagline from tricycle and jeepney drivers because we are obviously trying hard to speak the language. My personal favorite was whenever we go home to Papa's house after roaming around the town square. Whenever a tricycle driver asks where we're getting off, I would always say, "Rigto sa dako na balay ng mga Nerpiol (over there at the big house of the Nerpiols)". The Nerpiol's is that big house right next to my Papa's humble home. No, I'm not ashamed of my father's house (we actually love it because it's cozy). It's just that most drivers know this prominent family and so name-dropping the Nerpiol's would mean us never getting lost. Hahaha!


Ate Teng and Kuya Vincent

Welcome!!!

Papa's been married for six years to Jeane, who is a native of Miag-ao. I've never met her personally nor their little cookie monsters, CJ (5 years) and Jian (18 months). Papa is a father to pre-schoolers all over again at 53. The whole family picked up Vincent and me near the historic Miag-ao Church and took us home along with them. I should say I'm proud of Papa and Jeane for raising my brothers the right way. The kids are both smart and most of all, sweet! I was nearly in tears when I saw the banners they made for me and Vincent! Nakakatuwa!

Days before our trip, CJ would call me up wishing for a trolley school bag, a pack of crayons and pencils as his pasalubong (present). We got him his present and the moment we got home, he excitedly rolled the bag around the house! The boys are inherently sweet to each other. They share their stuffs sparingly without complaints. Of course they fight a little sometimes like normal kids do, but they are mature for their age. If it were me and their Ate Sheryl (my sister), we would be scowling at each other by then and Papa would be down on the floor pulling us apart! My sister and I didn't get along when we were kids. But CJ and Jian are not like that.



I am so grateful to God and to Vincent for this trip. It was indeed a humbling experience for the both of us. Among the many lessons we've learned, one thing that we realized is that WE ARE BLESSED WITH SO MUCH. We've learned how to be grateful with little things and count them as blessings. We tend to discount the simple things as gifts and call ourselves poor when in fact, we are richly blessed.

Only Papa and CJ will be here for the wedding, but we are going to visit the whole family again next year.


View more photos HERE.

Binsent and Teng in Iloilo

Family visit to Miag-ao, Iloilo.
02-04 November 2007.

Invites are out

We are finally distributing our invites! We've been conceptualizing the card since March this year (yes, it took us that long). Firstly, we want our invite to be unconventional. We want to keep it simple with all the essentials intact. Working along those lines, we first thought of adapting the theme "our favorite things", which would have showcased a collage of an assortment of our favorite things put together. But as we go along, we felt that while it does represent us, it doesn't really showcase who we are. In the end, we decided on design no. 8: the checkered, sepia-toned one. We had it done by Papemelroti, but the flaps, inserts and accents were on us. Jeff and Rona helped us out with the cutting and pasting.



WHAT'S INSIDE:

1. RSVP card. We are asking our guests to please return the response cards on or before December 1st (those who got RESERVATION cards need not return these). This will help us do the seat puzzle for the breakfast reception.

2. Gift registry card. We had our wish list registered at the SM Homeworld. All you need to do is to present this card at SM's (North EDSA, Megamall, Mall of Asia, Makati, Las Piñas) Homeworld department and choose your pick from our wish list. You get 10% discount with your every purchase. We chose SM because this is the mall that most of our friends (and even we) frequent. Honestly, we never knew how a bridal registry works until we approached the store's registration counter (wedding dummies, remember?). Well, getting ten flat irons or five rice cookers would be way too much, diba? We wish to avoid that. Although getting a hundred set of linen is okay with us. Hehehe...We enjoyed doing invisible shopping -- pointing at items we felt we'd need without really putting them into a cart! Don't worry. Most of our choices are affordable but functional items.

Of course, if you feel like gifting us with items not listed there (like all-expenses' paid holiday getaways, spa treats, et al.), you may do that too (smiles and winks)!

3. Location map. Please note (see bottom right-hand corner of the map) that the Church of the Risen Lord (CRL) compound is a NO SMOKING zone. This is a strict policy that we should all observe. You can't miss the CRL. This is the white, parabola-shaped building, almost facing the round UP Catholic Chapel (i.e., Parish of the Holy Sacrifice).


Tuloy na tuloy na 'to (this is it)! No turning back now! ;-)

Winning all heads and tails

We were on the phone with Denise last night. The call, which lasted for almost an hour, was for the longest time anticipated. We were having signal problems before, and last night, she finally caught up with us ;-)

We were just talking about her when the phone rang. We recalled that she was actually the first one among our friends who knew about our plans of settling down. We remember her even saying, "Basta please lang ha, 'wag n'yo na 'kong gawing bride's maid (Just spare me from being the bride's maid)." We promised her exactly that.

We asked her when is she touching down to Manila (she's based in Singapore now) for our wedding, to which she replied that it's going to be on the night before the wedding day. We sensed her dilemma because she was also invited to come to another colleague's wedding happening two weeks before ours, and she can only attend one. "Nag-toss coin ako, kayo ang nanalo (I tossed the coin, you guys won)!" We told her we knew about her "very well-thought" decision making scheme, because that's what the colleague told us she did. We added that suppose we didn't win in the coin, she's bound to come home whatever happens anyway, we'll make sure of that. We'll make her!

Before hanging up, she confessed, "Ang totoo, panalo talaga kayo kasi si Vincent ang head at si Christine ang tail (truth is, you guys are the winners through and through because Vincent is the head and Christine is the tail)." Hahaha!

About what we have in common

While we're on the subject of just in cases, we might as well go in depth about what we both have in common. There's an English idiom that says: familiarity breeds contempt -- the more you get to know a person, the more you find fault in him/her, disliking him/her eventually.

We've known each other for about six years now, and we can say with a straight, glowing face that we are so proud of our friendship/partnership over the years. Of course, it's not all rainbow bright. We'd have bumps and clashes (even in our pre-couple days) on some other days. There are times when, though not too often but should be taken in seriously, one is too annoyed with the other that folding up the arms while chanting, "This too, will pass..." seem to work perfectly well. Yet, we do not let the sun go down until we have dealt with our issues together.

That said, we've discovered that we still have similarities all along! From the literal to the abstract. Never mind if fried chicken is not for him and Gundam is not for her. Here goes:


Firstborns
We're both big brother -- to a brood of five brothers, and big sister -- to a sister and two brothers.

Books
Not bookworms, though...well, close ;-) We just love a diversity of literature for light reading. Maybe being librarians have its influences, but we do not entirely attribute it to that. Librarians or not, we read.

Memorial Parks
Graveyards are not anymore morbid to us. We would usually have our dates beside a grave stone! Our favorite hang out is the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina. At times, we would hunt for famous personalities' graves that we know were buried there.

University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) / UP SLIS
Although we started out from different colleges when we entered UPD (like most UP graduates have their own college stories to tell), we both ended up graduating from the School of Library and Information Studies (formerly, ILS, later ILIS). However, we did not meet at the SLIS as college students. Serendipity, my friend ;-)

Disney Channel
We are into Disney cartoons and original made-for-TV movies. We're from the Kuzco Academy!

Disneyland
It is our dream to see and experience the Anaheim and Orlando parks.

Chico & Delamar
We call ourselves the Silent Rushers -- we listen to them and participate from time to time. Chix and Del are Monster Radio 93.1 jocks and they board the morning program called The Morning Rush from 6 to 9AM, Mondays through Saturdays. You should hear them laugh. It's infectious.

Harry Potter
STUPEFY! Oh yes, we are Potter fans, book and screen adaptations! We saw the first Harry Potter movie four times.

Love Actually
Definitely, one of our all-time favorites. See related post.

Desperate Housewives
We see to it that we never miss an episode while we can.

Grey's Anatomy
Another one of our TV series addiction. Never mind if we don't understand medical jargon.

Pugad Baboy
We'd laugh out loud at this cartoon strip!

YouTube
Who else isn't hooked to YouTube these days? On Saturday lunch breaks, we would sit down and watch 80's music videos.



We have our differences but we still go together ;-)

"Just in cases..."

http://www.loveactually.com

When we are on a TV date and there seems to be nothing on TV despite channel-surfing for the last n minutes, our next desperate move is to check out our video collection (we have merged our VCD/DVD collections into one rack, which is really convenient for us) and pick which among the titles should we play again, if only to satisfy our craving for at least something to watch. We'd usually debate for a while.


Christine (examining the rack): "Ano panoorin natin (which should we pick)?"

Vincent (grins, knowing that the other has a prepared answer but is just being diplomatic): "Kahit ano, basta hindi 50 First Dates (anything but 50 First Dates)."

C (disappointed but quickly heads to plan B): "Titanic? Mulan? Three Men and a Little Lady? Ayoko ng maisip na pelikula (I don't want something heavy)."

V: "Love Actually?"

C: "Bingo."


Love Actually is one of our common denominators (check our list on the sidebar), actually ;-) We never get tired of watching this film over and over again. We didn't have much expectation when we first saw it on cable TV (we never caught it on the big screen).


C (while channel-surfing one night): "Uy (hey)! Love Actually. Maganda raw 'yan (they say it's good)."

V (was about to set off for home): "Naku, e panay talkies lang 'ata yan (could be all talkies)."

C (insistently): "Panoorin natin (let's watch and see)."


At the end of the movie, we were just sighing. Awwwww!!! This movie is something else, we both agree. Our favorite sub-story is that of Jamie (Collin Firth) and Aurelia (Lucia Moniz). Jamie, an Englishman, learned Portuguese in pursuit of Aurelia in Portugal to ask her hand in marriage. Aurelia, on the other hand, didn't wait for Jamie unprepared and learned English, just in cases. Love knows no language barrier.

Haaay.

71 days til Christmas = 61 days to go for us!

It's getting really, really near. Our make-believe days will soon be over ;-)

A glimpse of future Sundays

We attended Ali and Ana's wedding last Saturday in Pampanga. Ana was praying for rains to pass up on her Big Day, but it seemed that heavy rains were really destined to come anyway. Contrary to what she most feared, their simple yet very solemn wedding ceremony turned out to be a well-organized event. It was an inspiration to us, actually. Originally, they scheduled their wedding month same time as ours (December). Our pamanhikan happened a week before theirs. However, it was their grandparents' wish at their pamanhikan for it to be rescheduled three months earlier. Their reason: why wait any longer?

We couldn't wait for our own wedding day, if you were to ask us. But because we are wedding dummies, we have to take our time. No regrets there. Again, if you were to ask us, we are very excited for that day!

Sometimes, we would imagine how our ordinary days would be like when we're already married. On weekday mornings, Vincent would cook breakfast while I go pack our lunch boxes. We'll see each other at the end of the day and again, he will cook dinner while I will do the dishes right after (you can tell who the food critic in the making will be). On Sunday evenings, he tunes in to lite rock radio while cooking (na naman!) and I would be doing the laundry...

That will happen in just less than three months from now.

Ali and Ana's Wedding Day

Saturday, 22 September 2007, 10AM
Bible Christian Church of Pampanga (BCCP)

Simpsonized

I don't know if Vincent will change his mind in marrying me after seeing this (patay!).

Been experimenting with Emang's Simpsonizer and tried it out with our banner picture. I just Simpsonized our faces, minus the background, although I'm not sure if that can also be done. I swear, this is the closest resemblance I could "assemble". We look like aging parents of ten children with ADHD here! Hahaha!

Original photo

Simpsonized us!

Almost there!

As Tracy Turnblad (Hairspray) would sing, "I can hear the bells!"

Not that there are bells at the CRL Sanctuary, because there's none, yet we can hear them just the same!

Just three months to go...three months to go...

No matter what you weigh, I'll surrender happily

We caught Hairspray last week, just in time before it totally disappeared in cinemas. When we looked up the Internet for screening schedules, we had to choose between the Gateway Mall and SM City Iloilo (in case you're not from the Philippines, Iloilo is in the Visayas, another big island off Manila)! Tsk, tsk. You have no idea how unimaginable our dilemma was (eyes rolling). And since it's too late to catch the next plane to Iloilo, we just settled for Gateway instead. Hay (of course, you wouldn't bite that. Hahaha!).

HAIRSPRAY's official movie trailer.

The cinema was quite box empty when we took our reserved seats. That left us with more room to stretch out our tummies after downing each a tub of rice bowl toppings for dinner. We secretly belched in between gags of laughter as we enjoy the movie all the way. Well, Hairspray is a musical comedy. But for us, it was more fun than music. There were scenes where we were the only ones laughing -- like we're the only ones who saw humor in certain scenes that our fellow moviegoers didn't see coming, and then the crowd just laughs off right after. Apparently, they were laughing at the way we laugh, not at the scene. How embarrassing! Thank goodness for cinema lighting, they wouldn't see clearly who the clowns were.

Without Love stood out as one of our favorites in this 60s' era music repertoire. Listen to the song HERE and sing along (lyrics from the movie).



WITHOUT LOVE
Artists: Zac Efron (Link), Nikki Blonsky (Tracy), Amanda Bynes (Penny), Elijah Kelley (Seaweed)
Source: http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/hairspray/withoutlove.htm


LINK
Once I was a selfish fool
Who never understood
I never looked inside myself
Though on the outside, I looked good!

Then we met and you made me
The man I am today
Tracy, I'm in love with you
No matter what you weigh
'Cause...

LINK (& ENSEMBLE)
Without love
Life is like the seasons with no summer
Without love
Life is rock 'n' roll without a drummer

Tracy, I'll be yours forever
'Cause I never wanna be
Without love
Tracy, never set me free
No, I ain't lyin'
Never set me free, Tracy,
No, no, no!!

SEAWEED
Living in the ghetto
Black is everywhere you go
Who'd have thought I'd love a girl
Whose skin as white as winter's snow

PENNY
In my ivory tower
Life was just a hostess snack
But now I've tasted chocolate
And I'm never going back

PENNY & SEAWEED & ENSEMBLE
'Cause without love

SEAWEED
Life is like a beat that you can't follow

PENNY & SEAWEED & ENSEMBLE
Without love

PENNY
Life is Doris Day at the Apollo

PENNY & SEAWEED & ENSEMBLE
Darling, I'll be yours forever
'Cause I never wanna be
Without love

SEAWEED
So darling, never set me free
No!

PENNY & SEAWEED
I'm yours forever
Never set me free

ENSEMBLE
No, no, no!

LINK
If I'm left without my baby doll
I don't know what I'll do

TRACY
Link, I've got to break out
So that I can get my hands on you

SEAWEED
And girl, if I can't touch you
Now I'm gonna lose control

PENNY
Seaweed, you're my black white knight
I've found my blue-eyed soul

SEAWEED & ENSEMBLE
Sweet freedom is our goal

LINK
Trace, I wanna kiss ya!

TRACY
Let me out at the next toll!

ALL
Without love

SEAWEED
Life is like a prom
that won't invite us

ALL
Without love

LINK
Life's getting my big break
and laryngitis

ALL
Without love

PENNY
Life's a '45'
when you can't buy it

ALL
Without love

TRACY
Life is like my mother
on a diet

ALL
Like a week that's only Mondays
Only ice cream, never sundaes
Like a circle with no center
Like a door marked "do not enter!"

Darling, I'll be yours forever
'Cause I never wanna be...

Without love

PENNY & LINK
Yes now you've captured me

ENSEMBLE
Without love

SEAWEED & TRACY
I surrender happily

ENSEMBLE
Without love

PENNY
Oh seaweed
Never set me free

PENNY & SEAWEED
No, no, no

TRACY & LINK
No, I ain't lyin'

PENNY & SEAWEED
Never set me free

ALL
No, no, no
No, I dont wanna live without

PENNY
Love, love, love

LINK
Yeah, yeah, yeah

ALL
Darling, you had best believe me,
Never leave me
without love!

Who's Who on the Red Carpet

We are going to RSVP our guests by October and like what we've mentioned a couple of times before, our invites will carry minimal content, just the way we want it to be. It is going to be The Invitation, plain and simple. No more classic curly fonts, no doves, no bells, and no scents -- you know, those traditional elements that Glen, one of our Best Men, misses. Sorry dude, but we have to skip on those...or save them on your wedding day, maybe? Hehehe. Just kidding :-)

This entourage page wouldn't even be inserted to the final invite, but this doesn't necessarily mean that these special people are not at all important. Of course they are that's why we're putting them up here...in curly Edwardian script font! By the way, 97% of our red carpet royals are family members.

THE ENTOURAGE


Parents
Joel and Fe Abrigo
Conrado and Rosita Manglal-lan


Principal Sponsors
Alberto S. Abrigo
Ruben S. Abrigo
Eric A. Francisco
Elmer R. Manglal-lan

Jasmin M. Acode
Nida A. Cruz
Agnes A. De Guia
Virginia R. Eala
Helen N. Francisco
Lolita J. Macadaan
Rosa A. Miranda
Crizalda A. Peralta


Best Men
Glen R. Dedicatoria
Edmundo Y. Mallari, Jr.


Ring Bearer
Carlos N. Navales


Bible Bearer
Joberth R. Navarro


Maids of Honors
Sheryl M. Manglal-lan
Marlene M. Navarro


Flower Girls
Mariel N. Francisco
Bless Ann N. Uy

Pseudo-parenting

Our little "cross-bred" family (like that weird Cartoon Network series of a cow and a chicken who are siblings with human parents) is growing!

Almost three years ago, Vincent got Ting-ay, our ultra flexible stuffed pup, for me. It was my sister who gave the name for us because we couldn't think of any to call him by. According to her, the pet name’s taken from my nickname: Teng, and then she just evolved it from there. Just two months ago, Vincent brought home for me yet another cuddler: a blue cow named Mumuy! This time around, he's already Mumuy when I first held him and it was Vincent who gave him the name.

Mumuy on Ting-ay's lap.

Of these two "kids", Ting-ay is the well-traveled one. He crossed three continents around the world! He was supposedly Vincent's "warm" surprise for me in Brussels, since I was there during the winter. Our friend Denise and I arranged to meet in Munich around that time and so Vincent's game plan was to stuff Ting-ay -- along with my two-month supply of Lucky Me pancit canton and Goya white chocolate bars -- into Denise's already puffy luggage, which left her with no other choice but to succumb to his plan (evil ba?!). What happened was that Ting-ay never made it to Belgium...and never even came out of the bag! I had trouble with the last-minute train trips and ended up not even seeing Denise anywhere near Germany. When I came back home, that's the only time I was able to squeeze Ting-ay. Nag-Euro tour muna sya before we finally saw each other. Hahaha!

Mumuy on the other hand, still has a long way to go. And I guess he'll go farther than where Ting-ay has gone precisely because he's the handy one. You can stuff him anywhere, even in a small pouch. He's been with us for just two months to date, and he'll be with us for good so he's in for more thrilling rides.

Both our "kids" are staying with me ever since, and Vincent only has one rant: "Uy, paliguan mo naman sila (Give them a bath, will you)?!!!" That makes me sound like a non-hygienic mother! Hahaha. Hey, I do give Ting-ay a bath from time to time...although you can barely count it on one hand ;-) So last week, I passed the responsibility of bathing them to daddy. Hehehe.

Pseudo-parenting

Our little "cross-bred" family (like that weird Cartoon Network series of a cow and a chicken who are siblings with human parents) is growing!

Almost three years ago, Vincent got Ting-ay, our ultra flexible stuffed pup, for me. It was my sister who gave the name for us because we couldn't think of any to call him by. According to her, the pet name’s taken from my nickname: Teng, and then she just evolved it from there. Just two months ago, Vincent brought home for me yet another cuddler: a blue cow named Mumuy! This time around, he's already Mumuy when I first held him and it was Vincent who gave him the name.

Mumuy on Ting-ay's lap.

Of these two "kids", Ting-ay is the well-traveled one. He crossed three continents around the world! He was supposedly Vincent's "warm" surprise for me in Brussels, since I was there during the winter. Our friend Denise and I arranged to meet in Munich around that time and so Vincent's game plan was to stuff Ting-ay -- along with my two-month supply of Lucky Me pancit canton and Goya white chocolate bars -- into Denise's already puffy luggage, which left her with no other choice but to succumb to his plan (evil ba?!). What happened was that Ting-ay never made it to Belgium...and never even came out of the bag! I had trouble with the last-minute train trips and ended up not even seeing Denise anywhere near Germany. When I came back home, that's the only time I was able to squeeze Ting-ay. Nag-Euro tour muna sya before we finally saw each other. Hahaha!

Mumuy on the other hand, still has a long way to go. And I guess he'll go farther than where Ting-ay has gone precisely because he's the handy one. You can stuff him anywhere, even in a small pouch. He's been with us for just two months to date, and he'll be with us for good so he's in for more thrilling rides.

Both our "kids" are staying with me ever since, and Vincent only has one rant: "Uy, paliguan mo naman sila (Give them a bath, will you)?!!!" That makes me sound like a non-hygienic mother! Hahaha. Hey, I do give Ting-ay a bath from time to time...although you can barely count it on one hand ;-) So last week, I passed the responsibility of bathing them to daddy. Hehehe.

Binsent in Iloilo

Vincent meeting his future in-laws ;-)
04 August 2007

8 months down, 4 months to go!

Next to hearing Christmas songs a couple of weeks from now -- as the -ber months peer around the corner, is...tan-tan-ta-naaaan!!! December 15^th, 7AM, Vincent and Christine, husband and wife! And have we any trace of panic? Surprisingly, there's none. We're taking it nice and easy.

Here's an update: Almost half-way done with the preps. We've finally chosen the perfect caterer for the delicious breakfast and to dress up the venue; we are to order our wardrobe and souvenirs this weekend; invites are for printing; florist is under study...all others, in the works. Since we're both attending a Conference in India come October, we were thinking to shop for our rings while we're there. But that is just an option.

We are going to have an awesome wedding!

"Sa lugar lang…"

As I boarded the plane to Iloilo, there was not really much a feeling of excitement or anything. Aside from the usual uneasiness upon take-off and getting over that tinge of fear in flying on my system, there was not much for me to look forward to. It was a business trip and nobody enjoys business trips especially when you know that you are going to work yourself to death upon touch down. Good thing the boss wasn’t there. Otherwise she would have turned the plane into one flying office…hahaha!!!

But things changed the moment I stepped into the airport. The cool breeze of the early August morning and the lush green rice fields are a treat to my eyes. Suddenly I was warped into this paradise that made me not think of work or of the hustle and bustle of Manila. The sweet smiles of the people, especially the porters are also a treat. An astonishing difference from those in Manila actually.

Iloilo is not as bad as I thought. The weather is fine, the people are nice (though we had problems with the language barrier), and the food is great. But there is one thing about that trip that I looked forward to. Miag-ao was at the back of my head the moment I checked sat on that plane. It was also the place I asked our driver when we got off the plane. I found out that it was an hour ride from the city and from what I heard; it’s just a small town. The two distinguishing landmarks that set it apart from the other towns in the province are the Miag-ao Church and the University of the Philippines campus in Visayas.

Miag-ao, Iloilo was the place where my fiancée spent part of her adolescent years. I would always joke that she had quite an amusing and sometimes pathetic childhood. But those are just jokes. Christine’s stories of her spending two years of high school and one year in college have always amused me. How she and her sister would unwillingly sell bananas in their neighborhood and her dad catching frogs for her biology class always catches my fancy. And at the back of my head, I’d like to go to that place and see for myself how it was for her, a true blue Manila girl, to be in a very provincial setting.

Just imagine my joy when by some stroke of fate, my name was dropped from the meeting to take care of some trivial matter for my previous office. Much more, I have two of my best friends at work joining me. The first thought in my head was to go to Miag-ao. The hell I care if I have never been there, I am so bent on going there. Come to think of it, I never felt any apprehension going through such an adventure, considering it was my first time there. It’s not like Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur but still the place is foreign to me.

Using that sketchy directions Christine gave to me over Gtalk and tons of confidence that I will not get lost, I dragged my friends with me to Miag-ao. The jeepney ride was quite long, making occasional stops to every town we would pass by. From there, I got to appreciate the country side. The view of the ocean and the mountain is breathtaking, very much like my home province Zambales but also quite distinct as Iloilo countryside is less developed. Just the same, I was so sold on going there and meet Christine’s dad and his family. I have only met him once but I don’t really remember if he still remembers me. I mean she and I weren’t officially a couple yet back then and I don’t think her dad paid much attention when she introduced me some three years ago. Still I had no qualms. I just have to meet her dad and introduce myself formally.

After what seems to be an eternity of stops and gos, and hearing people saying sa lugar lang instead of the usual para!, we finally reached our destination. On an idle Saturday afternoon, Miag-ao seemed like a ghost town from those Panday movies I saw during my childhood. Apart from the towering Miag-ao church, nothing much seems interesting at the town square. People might be doing their siesta that’s why not much is in sight. And then I met him.

With CJ, Papa, Gian and Jean.

Skin is dark and aged; he seemed to have lost much of the vigor from his early days. Christine’s dad pretty much looked like her actually. They’ve got the same face, eyes, know and even the shape of the face. With him are his wife and sons, a one year old named Gian and a fiver year old CJ. I was actually laughing inside thinking that some years back, it was Christine, her sister and her now deceased mother that are with him. Years of hardship has evidently left their mark on his face. Still I saw joy and smile on his face when he met me and I took his right hand to ask for his blessing. Was it me or he was just being courteous.

The following moments are surreal and exciting. Her dad gave us a tour of the UP Campus where Christine once lived. Suddenly I was brought inside her stories as I stared at the employees housing compound where they once lived and imagined two skinny girls selling bananas at someone else’s doorstep. I also imagined her pulling out weeds at the old administration building for an org application requirement or their entire family enjoying the beach by the laboratories while their dad scrubs soot off the pots and pans. And then I thought of the two little boys that were with us at the moment. I asked myself if they also did those things with him? Did they also swim by that same beach or pull out weeds off some building’s grounds? Maybe they are too young for those things but will they also be doing those in the future? I don’t know. One thing is for sure though; I have to go back to that place. I have to bring her back here just before we face our future together.

Flying back to Manila.

As the plane took off the following day, I thought of my youth. My insecurities and discontent have always shamed me and that one hour experience with her dad humbled me in more ways than I imagined. I would always say that her childhood was pathetic, but in reality, mine was no different. Come to think of it, she made the most of it. I on the other hand had all that I needed yet rarely saw delight on what I had. That experience taught me a lot and made me examine myself and how I wanted my family to be. It made me think also that I want to go back and this time, let Christine take my hand as we walk towards our future together. And amidst the hurricane speed life that I lead right now, that experience made me stand up and tell myself to slow down, appreciate the things on the side, and its not too late to say Sa lugar lang.

Dos and Don'ts...but Don'ts, mostly

This was one "accidental research" that will definitely delight the curious. We hear about Filipino folk beliefs, which we collectively dismiss as basta (that's just it) and for various reasons, never really get to explore why it's become a basta. Basta lang.

Here are some folk beliefs on marriage (quips in italics). Most of them absurd, but trivial! Have fun and find out for yourselves why:


A person with dimples will marry someone from a far away place.
Well, we both have dimples. It now depends on how this phrase defines "far away".


Fallen bananas not good for marriage.
Why not?! There was no way figuring this one out. Hahaha!


When two sweethearts use the same towel to wipe their faces, one using one end and the other another end, they will never have peace in their home after their marriage.
Oh no, we should always have fresh towels in all corners!


If on the day of their bethrotal, either the groom or the bride gets sick, it is a sign that the marriage will not last long.
Hala! Bawal sakitin.


Marriage in February is not good since there will always be something that is lacking.
Thank goodness, we chose December.


Marriage in the last month of the year is bad, but if it is done at the beginning of the year, it is good.
And we were saying?...Too late to move the date now.


For a bride to be sad and late on her wedding day means bad luck. A bride who sleeps soundly and wakes up cheerfully indicates eternal happiness.
Challenging indeed. Our wedding is at 7 o'clock in the morning!


Rain before wedding ceremony signifies good fortune.
We're not praying for rain nor storm, especially at the reception. Breakfast will be held at the Garden!


If you lose your sweetheart's ring, the finder of the ring will marry you.
Scary!

Source:
Encyclopedia of Philippine folk beliefs and customs volume 2 / compiled and edited by Francisco R. Demetrio, assisted by Marcelino C. Panis ... [et al.]. Cagayan de Oro City : Xavier University Press, c1991.

One "Deathly Hallow", please.

Our decision to go get Harry Potter 7 on its release day was so out-of-the-blue. We were sort of in a Potter-high-EQ business, but well, on the morning of July 21st, we couldn't keep our excitement to ourselves anymore and agreed to go get it in the afternoon. We figured that though the book is going to sell like hotcakes, we're pretty sure that there's going to be a hotcake for every Potter fan.

21 July 2007. Vincent busy
skimming HP7.

Off we went to the new Trinoma mall. We thought it wise to go there than to squirm our way through the more popular SM City -- Saturday being a mall day. We got lost inside that huge, ill-lighted mall for a while (it was our first time there), but finally managed to get into the nearest bookstore we spotted.

Seeing that bountiful table full of dominantly-yellow books in the middle of the store, we again had to compose ourselves and act normal! We're like, "Okey, calm down, cooperate and nobody gets hurt", as if there was a mob rushing through, when there's practically none. A young couple got to the table after us. The wife (we suppose) ordered her companion to go get the clean one. Deep inside, Vincent was so tempted to let out his unsolicited professional advice and tell her, "Lady, that's not the way to go", but thankfully, we just kept it to ourselves and that saved us from a lot of impending trouble ;-)

And so, when we've finally kept our adrenalin down to normal levels, we approached the table, carefully selected our copy and let our automatic librarian instincts overtake us: collate through the book and make sure that the copy we chose has complete pages (no thirty chapter ones!); inspect for torn leaves; make sure that the spine stitch secures all 700+ pages. Having done that (and a little peek), we mounted our invisible broomsticks and flew off in no time at all.

By the way, this book is our third acquisition ever as an engaged couple. The second being The Half-Blood Prince purchased just months ago by Vincent in Kuala Lumpur! Strange, strange couple. Hehehe.

Pre-Wedding Album

The aisle is waiting for us.

We never really had a pre-nup album. We are not into choreographed stuffs kasi. These we took using our trusty digicam ;-)

Cupcakes de Emma

Emma, Ninna and I drowned ourselves into "essential" girlie chats while we let alone Vincent as he struggled with his British phone pals the other day. It's been quite a while since I last caught up with them (they're Vincent's soon-to-be ex-officemates) and so seeing them during my recent visit to the Abrigo household was such a pleasant experience.

I was giving them updates about our wedding preps -- which was more of like a Q&A portion because frankly (I've no idea whether or not they noticed), I wouldn't know where to start, if not what to say, unless you ask me -- until Emma, being the most active interviewer in the room, queried about our souvenir ideas. I told her that we were planning on giving away a functional memoir, something that our guests will not only put on display to dust. And in the spirit of breakfast buffets, we're considering either a breakfast mug or a piece of cake on a small plate (platito) bearing our initials and the wedding date. The latter sent Emma the giggles and volunteered to bake cupcakes for the platito. "Kaya mo ba 100 cupcakes (Can you make a hundred)?", I then asked her. After an ecstatic yes!, she's officially in for the job. Wagi!

Now we really have to scout for custom-made platitos.

Wedding for dummies

This has got something to do with our very sincere we're-getting-married-for-the-first-time alibi. Besides being lousy gift-givers ourselves (a dilemma we both share, especially when we go out on a trip; it's not uncommon that we come home without bringing anything for everyone), we are really not into frills and embellishments. We both are not the event planner type. As long as the reason (maybe a person or just Vincent submitting a project proposal a minute before the deadline) and the food (a celebration is never a celebration if there's nothing to chow, at least that's what we think. hehehe) is there, tuloy ang ligaya (the party goes on)!

Given that premise, you now can at least picture how big of a leap this planning and coordinating for the wedding is for us. It's a good thing we're both librarians and we both agree that it's a plus for us. We need all the help we can get from all resources available to us, namely: people and books. We are practically working on our Big Day with camaraderie (padrino!), self-help references and recollections from friends' weddings tucked in our belt. So far so good though. Church and reception venue's been booked, wedding party's been 85% committed, our invite design and layout is almost through (it's all sweat, heart and one tendon cyst surgery down the line for Christine due to Photoshop® addiction), food tasting and negotiations for a prospective caterer is on the way. No wedding disasters in sight as of yet, and we are definitely not looking for one :)

HQ 745/L45 1997. Translation: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Perfect Wedding by Teddy Lenderman. Mr. Lenderman is our new best friend!

Half a year to go!

See how time flies!

Half a year is done and just half a year of waiting more (or less?) to go. Our Ticker rope's been cut in half! It says that as of today, it's just 5 months, 3 weeks and 4 days to go until our big day comes to be exact. We're both excited and anxious at the same time. We've still got lots to do! But we'll all do great. We just know.

Thoughtfulness in glitter glue

We've tried to make this a no-mushy entry, but whichever way we try to put it, it will just end up sounding that way – yes, MUSHY. We've ran out of ideas! We could think of no other ways, really. Guess you'll just have to bear with us here (Hehehe).

Legacy Cards 2002-present. Our perpetual gifts to each other.

Over the years, we have both been exchanging hand-crafted greeting cards to one another. There need not be any special occasion to make one (or two). If there were only 2 valid excuses for card-gifting, those would be to encourage and reassure each other that one will always be there for the other; first, in friendship, then in love, and now, for life. In fact, the thoughts would too often come first before an idea pops up for a card's design. The overflow of the heart leads to creativity, whether or not the knack to create for one is there :)

We have been busy designing dummies for our invite for months and months now. We've been practically collecting all ideas that we could think of, and this we will do until we find the perfect design to represent us both. Yesterday, we gathered all our greeting cards as we were considering incorporating this to our sample 7 (!) dummy. You can tell we're not really serious about this invite thing. Hahaha!

Friends are there

Vincent found this season one OBB of Garfield and Friends again over YouTube. Reminds me of one anthropology class in graduate school. I had to do a presentation of my paper on pulutan (pick-up food). He was helping me out in brainstorming when he said, "Hey, how about putting Garfield and Friends' picture up on the board? Lahat sila pampulutan!" Thinking along the lines that Filipinos practically eat everything that could be digested, that idea makes sense! Hahaha!

We sound Latin American

It was Vincent who first heard Que Vida La Mia (what life, mine) by Reik over at Magic 89.9, and Christine who first memorized Shakira’s Estoy Aqui (I’m here). But it was Emang who made them both sing a song that they fell in love with.

We’ve put up a YouTube video of Una Cancion Que Te Enamore (a song you’ll fall in love with) by the Venezuelan duo Servando y Florentino on the sidebar. Direct (and indirect) translation of this song is courtesy of Emang (gracias tía!).

--o0o--

UNA CANCION QUE TE ENAMORE
by Servando y Florentino

Me levante con ganas de escribirte algo
(I woke up with an urge to write you something)

Y me salio esta cancion que aqui te canto
(and out came this song i'm singing for you)

No se si la escuharas, pero a mi me da igua
(I dont know if you'll hear it, but for me it doesn’t matter)

Es una simple escusa pa decirte,
(it’s just a simple excuse to tell you)

"Lo mucho que me gustas"
(You like me so much)

Quiero ponerle mi apellido a tu nombre,
(I want to put my surname to your name)

Quiero saber todo lo que tu vida esconde,
(I want to know all about your secret life)

Y ponerle color, a todo tu dolor,
(and put some color, to all your troubles)

Darte lo que me pidas por el resto de mi vida
(give you all you ask of me for the rest of my life)

Quiero cantar una cancion que te enamore
(I want to sing a song you'll fall in love with)

Cada catorce de febrero enviarte flores
(every 14^th of Feb I'll give you flowers)

Pa que pienses en mi
(so you would think of me)

Pa que mas nunca llores
(so you wouldn't have to cry anymore)

Quiero cantar una cancion que te enamore
(I want to sing a song you'll fall in love with)

.: :..

Que te haga suspirar
(to make you sigh)

Que te haga enamorar
(to make you fall in love)

Una cancion que ecuches y te haga en mi pensar
(a song you'll hear and keep you in my thoughts)

Why Gundam™ loves fried chicken

We've already shared this blog's URL to our chosen few -- close family members and friends, and yet we haven't told the reason why we entitled it as such. Not that there's a big explanation behind the Gundam™ and the fried chicken thing. We thought that some curious onlookers would want to know why.

After we got engaged, we were very ecstatic to share this incredible new chapter in our lives unfolding, that we decided to document every single moment of it. Consequently, building this blog. We wanted it NOT to be cheesy and boring. We wanted it TO BE catchy and an interesting read. We wouldn't want to infest our friends and readers with goose-bumpy entries (oh for goodness' sake, so do we!). So we both decided to better put our creative minds at work.

Gundam™ and fried chicken

Vincent couldn't take his eyes off of the Gundam™ toys from every toy store he enters. He's a certified Gundam™ addict. In fact, he wanted to name his future son, Athrun (after Gundam™ Seed's Athrun Zala). Meanwhile, Christine couldn't last a week without eating fried chicken and couldn't pass up a month without paying her religious food rites to any KFC store. He finds her manic fried chicken appetite insane (ano?! manok na naman?!?!), and she finds his Gundam™ obsession extreme (naku, robot na naman!). Their fetishes are an odd combination. Ironically however, they click. Gundam™ + Fried Chicken = Vincent + Christine.

"The theme is pink!"
(quoting Mushu to Mulan in 2004's Mulan II)

Since the ceremony's happening early morning (7AM), we picked the theme orange and yellow in lighter shades. We found the colors refreshing and perfect for this memorable occasion. We just pray that our guests will make it to BOTH the ceremony and the breakfast buffet (hehehe).

Rolling out the white carpet

We wanted our wedding to be solemn, intimate and less traditional, so for this, we are keeping a small entourage: 2 Maids of Honors, 2 Best Men, 2 Flower girls, 1 Ring bearer, 1 Bible bearer and 4 ninongs and 8 ninangs (Principal Sponsors). All of them are special to us, of course. Not much parade of stars there. The focus will be given to the One who will bind us (God), our families and friends, and our love magnified.

We are also planning for a short reception program. We haven't finalized it yet, but both of us agreed that we'll make it a simple, family breakfast affair. We want all our guests to feel family, because that's exactly what they are to us.

We'll keep you all posted.

No more cows and carabaos

Our running joke, whenever we transact business with a prospective supplier, goes, "Naku, pasensya na kayo ha, ang arte-arte namin. First time kasi namin ikasal e (Please bear with our frills. We're getting married for the first time, see)." and then smiles and winks everywhere. It usually works! Actually, the phrase was originally of Vincent's. That is just one of those I call the Vincent Abrigo Moments -- instances when he just blurts out what seems to him his normal take on things that to me, is good humor ;-)

And since it's our "first time" to get married (being the firstborns-first timers in our nuclear families at that), we have a lot of Filipino customs and traditions to get through and over with. Marriage rites we only know mostly by name with fleeting orientation. Of the many "needle eyes", we're at least done with the pamanhikan last Saturday. But prior to that night, we really had no idea as to how the formal procedure would go. We saw the occasion as an engagement dinner where families from both sides meet and sit down on the wedding details. Who goes to speak first (the opening statement), we'd only find out until that night and then we'll just have to pick up on cue from there.

Out of sheer curiosity, I tried to do a quick search about this custom. Rita Neri (1998) in her book, The essential wedding workbook for the Filipina, explained the pamanhikan as a Filipino heritage; an occasion when the parents of the engaged couple first learn of their intention to marry and that the parents of the groom formally asks the bride's parents for her hand in marriage. Ideally, the pamanhikan should come first before any formal engagement announcements are done. I have yet to find any references to its origin and history (Binsent, help!) but back in the olden days, especially in the rural Philippines, the parents decide for their engaged children and draw the "terms and conditions" before the bride is finally given away.

Since my father couldn't make it on the evening of the pamanhikan, I mobilized my closest relatives to represent the "red corner". While waiting for the "blue corner" party to arrive, my cousins and I were trading banters and that whatever happens, they're going to demand from them 3 carabaos and one hundred thousand pesos as dowry. Yep. I'm that cheap. Hehehe. What my cousins didn't know was that while I'm all game for this family meeting, my head was ballooning with tension when there is no dire reason to experience that sensation. Apparently, Vincent too (in his text message), was tending his own butterflies in the stomach at that time. I guess they all come last minute.

It turned out to be a very pleasant evening indeed! It was great seeing two families welcoming each other and drawing common denominators along the way. The meeting was brief, probably because Vincent and I have already made plans this early (the wedding is in December). We've even shown them version 1 (naks!) dummy of our invite. His Uncle Bert capped off the gathering by saying, "Ano pa bang dapat pag-usapan? Hindi naman ito tulad noong unang panahon na kailangan pang magsibak ng kahoy at magbayad ng dote ang lalake bago maikasal (What else is there to talk about? It's not like before when the guy would have to chop firewood and offer dowry before he's wed)..." My cousins' smiling eyes connived with mine after which I said, "Ang totoo, 'yan na nga po yung susunod naming sasabihin (Actually, we're just about to go there)..." And then we all laughed.

No cows, no carabaos. Just a hearty dinner of pakbet, chicken pork adobo, pusit, grilled big fish (2kg bonito), pansit sotanghon, cocktail salad, and of course, sweet Zambales mangoes.

Enjoy being Pinoy!

Things we do together.

This article from the Inquirer sent us Easter Sunday chuckles. Made us go, "Oo nga! Totoo ito!"

Read up, be Pinoy and enjoy!


--o0o--


Enjoy, be Pinoy; bahala na si Batman
By Gilda Cordero-Fernando
Inquirer
Last updated 02:03am (Mla time) 04/08/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- Pinoy is what Filipinos call each other, a term of endearment. You’re Pinoy from Pilipino just like you’re tisoy from mestizo or chinoy from chino.

It’s a nickname just as Minoy is from Maximo, Ninoy from Benigno, Tinay from Florentina and Kikay from Francisca. But now they’re Maxi and Ben and Tintin and Cheska.

You’ve been called indio, goo-goo, Negro, flip, noypits. Or Filipino, a biscuit that is brown outside and white inside, or a word stricken from the dictionary which means domestic. Ay, lintik!

You’re Juan de la Cruz or Mang Pandoy. You’re common tao, masa, urban poor but also Cecile Licad and Don Jaime, Jose Rizal and Tony Meloto, Shawie and Pacquiao and Nick Joaquin, galing galing.

Born June 12, 1896, the Republic of the RP is a Gemini, good at connecting, good at loving-loving, good at texting and interpersonal skills.

Filipinos like to yakap, akbay, hawak, kalong, kalabit. We sleep side by side, siping-siping, we go out kabit kabit.

There’s lots of us to go around. Someone always to listen to a sob story, even in a jeepney, to share-a-load or to share a TV.


Everyone’s tito, tita

Who has a hipag, a bayaw, a bilas, a balae, a kinakapatid? Who has an ate, dete, diche, kuya, diko? The maids call her ate, the driver calls him kuya and everybody is tito or tita.

Who has a Lola Baby, a Tito Totoy, a bosing called Sir Peewee, his wife Ma’am Lovely and their kids Cla Cla and Cring Cring?

The Pinoy lives in a condo, a mansion, an apartment, a bahay na bato, ilalim ng tulay, Luneta, Forbes Park, and Paris too!

He’s a citizen of the world, he’s in all the villages and capitals, colonizing the West, bringing his guitar and his bagoong, his walis na tingting, his tabo, his lolo and lola.

Where there’s a beat, there’s a Pinoy. You’ll find her singing in a nightclub in Tokyo, a musical in London, the Opera House in Sydney. Sure, they’ve got the infrastructure, the theaters and architecture. Who but Pinoys direct their plays, or trains their company managers, and imports our teachers, by the way?


Viagra to Victoria’s Secret

Look at that baggage—all pasalubong, none for herself. From bedsheet to hair color, Toblerone to carpet, Viagra to paella pan, Victoria’s Secret to microwave.

Hey, Joe, don’t envy me ’cause I’m brown, you’ll get ultra violet from that sun and turn red not brown.

Just lucky, I guess. God put us all in the oven, but some were uncooked and some were burned, but me, I came out golden brown!

Hey, Kristoff! Hey David and Ann! Your Pinoy yaya makes your kids gentler, more obedient, she teaches them how to pray. Hey Big Brother! Hey Grandma Moses! Who but Pinoy nurses make your sick days easier all the way?

We made the jeepney, the karaoke, the fluorescent bulb, the moon buggy. We invented People Power and crispy pata; popularized virgin coconut oil, scaled the Everest and made it with Cebu furniture abroad among the best. Ever trying for the Guinness World Record—with the longest swim of a child, the longest kiss, the longest longanisa…


Linguist

The Pinoy is a linguist. As in. As if. For a while. Open the light. Close the light. Paki ganyan naman ang kuwan sa ano. Tuck in. Tuck out. Don’t be high blood. If you’re ready na, I’ll pass for you.

Hayop; Hanep! Bongga ka ’day, feel na feel kita, kilig to the bones ako. Don’t make wala, don’t make tampo. Taralets na, babes, let’s go, nababato na ang syota mo.

I’m inviting you to my party, please RSVP. Oo means “yes” or “maybe,” or “yes if you insist,” or “maybe if it doesn’t rain.”

“Yes” is also a nice way of saying “no.” Yes, hindi kita sisiputin. “No,” eto na ako at ang barkada ko. Please don’t ask a Pinoy a question like that!


Just flows

She’s not so exact, not so chop-chop, she just flows and flows. Filipino time? Naku, huli din naman ang Kano!

The Pinoy finds time to be nice, to be kind, to apologize, to be there when you’re depressed, to help you with your utang and your wedding dress.

The Filipino is a giver, never mind what it does to his liver, never mind what it takes. Hardships of the Third World don’t dry up his blood, they just make him more compassionate, more feeling, of the other guy’s lot.

Note that the maid sends all her wages home to ailing daddy. She is the OCW whose labor of loneliness created the original katas ng Saudi.


‘Bahala na’

The Filipino is fearless, bahala na si Batman, which actually means Bathala na or “leave all to God.” Okay lang if I die by bitay, okay lang if I live, okay lang if I survive by the skin of my teeth.

Saway ni Inay: Di ka naman Bill Gates, di ka naman French, mahirap nang magbuhat ng sarili mong bench.


Be Pinoy! Enjoy!