Memories of February 26s Past

I can fully remember two.

First was when Noy and I started this thing called togetherness twelve years ago.


After Humanities class at the new college building on February 26, 1998, we had a conversation in the middle of the classroom just when our classmates were leaving. It when on like this -

Noy (sliding his hands to my arms after resting his right across the back of my chair the entire time at class): So... (smiling) do I still have to ask....?

Me: Do I still have to answer (grinning)?

Noy (arms around my waist): So I don't have to ask... (grinning)?

Me (burying my face to his chest & hugging him): (inaudible giggles)

so technically, there never a yes or no thing. It bordered on "it just happened".

The details are in our theknot.com page we built while preparing for our wedding.

Nine years later, we had our pre-nuptial photos taken.

It had been drizzling since the morning of February 26, 2007. I was late for my trial hair and makeup appointment because Noy picked me up late, but Norman was a gracious and emphatic person. He's a very good artist, too. We were leaving the salon when Chito Vecina asked that the shoot be postponed, otherwise the quality of the pictures might suffer.
We could not let it happen so I prayed really hard while Noy d rove to Harbour Square. I mean I was ready to buy a really nice umbrella and some cool rain gear, if circumstances would ask for that. We really just wanted to have the shoot done on our special day. We were celebrating nine years for crying out loud.
The little streaks of sunshine on the car window a few minutes after felt like little warm pats on the back. We were ready. We were thankful.

But then there were little puddles on the floor.

And I was a sweaty nervous wreck.


But God gave me my sunset shot.


And the love of my life beside me through happy and sad, on-cam & off.


I could not ask for more.

Cliche Time!

Love is sweeter the second time around. It's older than our forefathers' harana days. It has become a movie and telenovela staple story. And we've seen different versions of it, from the "almost kinda like it" to the "really?" versions that seem unbelievable but we choose to buy anyway, for the sake of kilig and as testament to our undying belief that love, however impossible the issues surrounding it, surpasses circumstances and will remain true & within reach, because love moves in mysterious ways.

I have my own version, and it came to a wonderful culmination yesterday.
Sing is a good friend of mine. We went to high school together and sang in the same church choir. we had different sets of friends then but our friendship stood the test of time. She took an engineering course at a different university and worked her ass off right after graduation while I dissected corpses and memorized generic names. We saw ourselves through boyfriends (although I officially had just one) and all the controversies the foolish guys brought, and I'm just so proud that she got over them - fashionably.

Until Obet came. I didn't see him coming. Sing & I were sitting at mass sometime in 2005. I was a fresh medical board passer & Sing asked me about her seemingly increasing appetite. I jokingly replied that maybe she was pregnant. She laughed. Two days later she called, telling me she was indeed pregnant. Obet the sperm donor did not want to acknowledge the poor little thing. It's the same old story at this point - girl goes through pregnancy alone, curses the father in between painful contractions (which didn't work anyway; Sing went through CS), gives the child her own surname, raises the child on her own, moves on and forgets the painful past.
Four years and a failed attempt to make another past relationship work out later (I just hate knowing these guys at all!), Obet slowly & painfully tried to introduce himself to my fast-growing godson, Julian Angelo, or Lian, as his Daddy. And he succeeded. Little did we, Sing's friends, know that building a relationship with Lian wasn't Obet's lone agenda. Sing & he became fast friends and good "parenting pals".

Sing called last holiday season, inviting me to her wedding. Her & Obet's wedding. A shriek, then a tear, that's what Noy recalls because we were driving to dinner with a couple-friend to celebrate his birthday that night.


It was a simple, no-frills wedding - only casually-dressed close friends & relatives in attendance. Papa was one of the ninongs. It was nice to come back to the church where all of us in the family used to serve. The priest knew Sing very well because she continued to serve as lector/commentator when our choir took a gradual dissolution. But that's a different story.

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Speaking of second time, my wedding & engagement rings breathed a new life at the start of the week. Noy had one of the missing diamonds (must have loosened when I started work at PGH) replaced on the wedding ring, and had it cleaned as well, including his. The engagement ring was cleaned and plated and looks very pretty now. It's a fitting pre-celebration of our "togetherness" next Friday. I'll surely blog about it next time =)

First Dance

Four years ago today, Noy unassumingly showed me this video he made on his free time. There was no special occasion. He just wanted to make one.

It borders on the corny, really, but when someone makes something very nice out of very ordinary, who wouldn't feel good about it?

I was moved to tears.




Two years and a gathering of dust on the CD surface later, we thought the video would make a good background for the dance on our wedding day. We danced, and the guests could look at either us dancing or the video itself.

So we whispered more sweet nothings and danced like no one was watching...


...until he was moved to tears.

Downplayed and Happy

We met with Noy's med school buddies last Saturday to celebrate the wedding of Louie (whom they fondly call Badong) and Cat. We were late as usual, and found it weird that most of the male guests weren't wearing barong. As it turns out, they have been informed by word of mouth that the couple did not want to require their guests to be oh so formal on their wedding celebration.
Noy flinched at this, wanting to go back home and change. The church, the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart, is located in Makati and was just a bridge away from Mandaluyong. I saw several other guys in barongs, one in a coat and tie even. So that settled Noy.

I figured, maybe the couple did not want to make a big fuss out of their wedding because of the numerous natural calamities and all. The church flowers were all of white asters. You know, what's usually used as fillers are now the big star. They lined the aisle and were strategically placed everywhere else. It actually looked beautifully simple.

the lovely couple - Louie and Cat

The female entourage wore simple pink gowns. The female secondary sponsors came in their own gowns/dresses - no forceful wearing of hideous gowns by the bride here. I thought it was really practical. Untraditional, but works pretty much the same.

The bride wore her hair down. Her gown was simple and pretty. No ridiculously long train or tacky beads.

Were they short of budget somehow? I don't think so. They served an amazingly delicious lunch at the richly decorated Manila Function Hall of Makati Shangri-la. I could have eaten appetizers all lunch long, but the problem was that the roast beef was really tender and tasty and the salmon was insanely delicious. Im not a big fan of salmon but this one made me eat a whole piece. It's sad I didn't get enough seared tuna to satisfy, but the shrimp and mango salad kind of made up for it. Plus, I discovered that bamboo shoots and olives could make an awfully wonderful salad. Yum yum yum.

Noy and his med school buddies at
Louie and Cat's wedding reception in Makati Shangri-la

Badong and Cat didn't have traditions on their reception program, if you can call it that. His brother made a speech, two friends sang, and that's it. They hopped from table to table to chat with their guests and have photos taken. That was it - no games, no lousy speeches. Simple and happy.

Which reminds of Noy's cousin Greg's Dumaguete wedding, which was downplayed too. Their reception at the bride's family's beach resort didn't have much of the corny stuff, but the food was spectacular and the guests chatted endlessly since there was free seating. Anyone can come to the microphone and speeches weren't restricted to important people. There was no stage, no spotlights, no wedding cake! The couple mingled well with their guests and enjoyed every bit of their day.

"Our" table at Kuya Greg and Let's Dumaguete wedding in 2008:
guests were allowed to sit anywhere they liked, and food was everywhere

Starstruck: Christine Jacob's husband Paco Sandejas was Kuya Greg's best man

My wedding was all tradition, somehow. It wasn't downplayed, but we kept it simple and true to ourselves. I believe the guests have seen our personalities on the details, together and as individuals. Most of all, we had fun. Dowplayed or not, weddings are meant to be happy.

The Perfect Fit

When Noy and I got married in 2007, we had this unity candle custom-made for the ceremony. Since our wedding was beach-themed, we thought it would be nice to have it look like one. The most we and the candle maker could do was make an aquarium out of a large glass vase, white sand, some trinkets including a pair of rings, and put wickered clear gel on top. We kinda liked it. We could have put fish in it but thought it would be weird.

our unity candle pre-wedding

After the wedding, we placed it on one of our corner tables at home. Because it can't be lit again (it barely did during the wedding) we never really used it. We tried to light it once on our first anniversary, but of course it didn't; what with the barely-there wicker and accumulated dust. Time passed and we noticed this film of dirt from the inside gradually enlarging in size, until we barely saw through the water layer of the candle.

Noy and I trying to light our unity candle -
it held on for a while then went pffft.

This time, Noy decided it was time to put the candle, or what would be left of it, to good use. So he removed everything - first the gel, then the icky-smelling water underneath, the large glob of dirt, the trinkets and finally the sand. He washed the vase like there was no tomorrow, put the sand back on, some real plants, and live fish. We have an aquarium now - fantastic! :D

It was Father Martin's (the priest at our wedding) idea to put a regular
candle on top of our unity candle to keep "it" burning.

Then we noticed the pair of rings amongst the pile of trinkets that used to rest on the sand. We tried them on - and the rusty thingamajigs fit perfectly. I know, I know, it's coincidence. But it made us feel giddy. I mean, how could the candle maker have guessed our ring sizes correctly? Did she somehow foresee that one day two years after the wedding, we'd disassemble the whole thing and try the rings on? It would make no sense to some, but for the hopelessly romantic like me who'd watch Serendipity over and over, it makes all but good, hopeful sense...

The rusty rings from the unity candle. I wish I had a better picture,
but I'm very well hoping my hand would be distinguished from Noy's.

That someday, when I try to dissect my whole life, I'd see the perfect fit in everything I have done and will be doing.
That someday, when I try to look back at the relationships I made, I'd be thankful for both the good & bad because I ultimately ended up with a wonderful husband, I chose to stand by and support my family, and I have an amazing set of friends, colleagues, and co-workers.
That one day, I'd fully understand why my life is not so perfect as others'.
That everyday, I may be faithful despite the challenges and storms, confident of God's love and His Perfect Plan.