oldies ;-)

Archie and I went to Manila City Hall today to secure our marriage license. Prior to that, we had to attend a pre-marriage counseling/seminar. It was unforgettable for 3 reasons:

1. We were the oldest couple in the group that attended the seminar, hehe. How did we know? Kitang-kita naman sa mukha, plus, most of them had to have their parents' written consent together with the marriage license application. Archie and me, well, we didn't need one. Pinamimigay na nga kame, hehehe.

2. The seminar was really just a film-showing, more or less an hour long. In the Tagalized DVD, the "natural method of giving birth" was shown ~ literally! The camera focused on the mother's private organ, in all its naked and throbbing glory, until the baby's head popped out and the doctor finally extricated it from its mother. Before, I couldn't imagine how that could expand to accommodate an entire baby, but after seeing that video, now I can!

The film also showed what abortionists do when they, well, abort unborn children. Nakakaawa sila, and the method was so barbaric and horrifying. An ultrasound showed how a long instrument was inserted into the uterus, trying to pop the amniotic sac which protects the baby, and how the baby appeared to be dodging the instrument, as though it was aware of what was being done. There was an instance when the fetus' mouth seemingly opened, and that was the time when the amniotic sac collapsed... :-( So sad.

3. The fat lady at the City Civil Registrar, whom we shall call "Debraliz" because of the uncanny resemblance, questioned my Dad's name on my birth certificate, saying his last name reads something like "Ambien" and not "Almeida", and that "kahit anong pilit nya, hindi talaga Almeida" ang basa nya.

I insisted that she can't question the birth certificate because I used the very same one in securing my passport, and had no problem with it whatsoever. Hindi raw. So she finally asked her superior... and came back saying that they reconciled the entry with my Dad's signature which clearly says "Almeida", as well as his full name under the "Informant" entry. And to complete her power-tripping, she said, "Hindi kasi basta-basta yan gino-go pag may problema, hindi yan igo-go dahil lang sinabi nyo."

Sure. Go-go-hin ko kaya mukha nya? Kaya hindi umaasenso eh. Tsk tsk.

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Marriage license to be released on the 21st. Yipee!

movies, movies, movies

Archie and I were supposed to visit our venue, La Castellana, today to have a final look at the place and imagine how our agreed layout would be, and also to settle our balance with them. Unfortunately, as we were about to enter Intramuros via Anda Circle, we found that the street was closed because of an ongoing Marian Procession (don't know if it's at the Manila Cathedral or San Agustin). Going back to Taft Avenue and passing through the Round Table was likewise doubtful, as there would be no reason why it shouldn't be closed, as well. So we decided to just call Christian, our contact person, for payment arrangements and then drove back to MOA to go on an unplanned movie date. ;-)

We saw "A CHRISTMAS CAROL" on 3D at MOA's one and only Digital Theater. It was full-length 3D, adapted from Charles Dickens' novel. It was OK, the graphics were terrific of course, and the storyline, I think, is too major for little kids to understand. What they'll appreciate though is the magical scenes and pretty colors. We sure did. :D

It is, by far, the most worthy movie we've seen after "New Moon" and "Paranormal Activity".




Except for the awesome soundtrack - Franchette was right on this - there was nothing redeeming about "New Moon". "Edward" is still the same ~ looks constipated all the time, at mukha pa ring gumulong sa espasol. "Bella", as we'd predicted, was the most undecisive creature on earth. "Jacob", meanwhile, had great abs, and had no qualms about showing them off.

"Paranormal Activity" was a disappointment, because I actually believed that the entire thing happened. When the guy died in the end, I thought, hey, that couldn't be right, because I saw them being interviewed on one show, and I just didn't catch the whole interview to realize that they really weren't a couple and that the movie was a farce from beginning to end. To add insult to injury, the couple behind us, especially the girl, was so annoying, Archie and I spent practically half the time shushing them... And the girl was making sissy noises, bwisit!

This is why we're looking forward to "Inglorious Basterds" and "Avatar" soon.

Can't she buy something else???

I know that I don't have a monopoly on this particular unit/model of Blackberry smartphones.

I know that everyone with the money with which to buy anything they want can do so. Smartphones definitely included.

And I know I have no right to ask her NOT to buy the same phone as mine.



Pero naman.....


Ang dami-dami na nyang ginaya ha, kainis. Now she gets the idea to buy a new phone because she likes the specs of the particular Blackberry phone that I have.

Can't she just get an iPhone, or a Nokia e52???


Gaya-gaya naman eh. :-(

a sort-of apology is better than nothing

I was so frustrated and angry last week with my work, and certain people in the office. After giving the best that you can, suddenly, that's the thanks you get.

I vented out my frustrations on FB. However, when Archie read it, he deleted the status update, saying I should be more cautious with the things I write on my profile, as they may backfire. The incriminating post is no longer there.

And rightly so, especially with the sort-of apology that I received today. "Sort-of", because I will never (probably) hear a direct apology from this person. Admitting, though, that it happened before with somebody else, and that it will never happen again, is good enough for me.

I am happy with that. I choose to be. :)

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What's in the bag? :)



Archie and I begun our joint Christmas shopping today, starting with toys for the kids ~ our inaanaks and non-inaanaks, hehe. We dropped by at Toy Kingdom at MOA to get the job done.

And that's what's in the bag. ;)

(happily) turned 30

It was a happy and special day. The only thing that wasn't great about it is the age. ;-)

Early in the morning, Venice came up to my room and greeted me a "Ha-Burday Tita", complete with the singing. Having been compelled to wake up, I decided to get up already and prepare my baked spaghetti, 3 baking dishes of which I finished before noon. Then Archie arrived after lunch with a bucket of Chickenjoy and my all-time favorite Swiss chocolate from Becky's Kitchen. Sarap ng handa ko, hehe!

For dinner, we drove up to Tagaytay to our favoritest spot, Cliffhouse. We were both craving for some of Buon Giorno's bruschetta and freshly-baked bread (dipped in balsamic vinegar and olive oil siempre) kaya bochog na naman kame, in addition to their pasta vongole and calzone.

THANK YOU to everyone who sent greetings my way, whether thru text, Facebook or a PM. It makes me feel really special when someone greets me on my birthday. Nakakataba ng puso. Some people forgot, some people probably remembered but chose not to greet, but that's really OK. Life is happy, life is good, and I'm thankful for everything it has in store for me. :)

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Joel posted some teaser pics from our prenup on his FB. This one's my favorite of the three:



How artistic and creative can you get? :)

Thanks Joel, it was an honor working with you. :)

A blessed day for a prenup :)

Archie and I had scheduled our prenup shoot with Joel and trial HMU with Angie & Ogie weeks ago. I personally wrote a sponsorship letter on our behalf, signed by Atty. Ric (Boss' hubby), for us to be allowed to shoot within the premises of Tagaytay Highlands, of which they are members, also weeks ago. For his part, Archie has seen to hiring a driver to drive us on the day. Everything is actually set.

So when it began to rain in Manila at around 10am, as Angie and Ogie were making me up, and continued all the way until we reached Tagaytay before 3pm, we were becoming desperate. Up to the moment when Archie and I were changing into our first outfits, it had been drizzling heavily. My heart actually dropped when, driving up, I saw how foggy it was in Highlands, and not a bit of sunlight can be seen through the clouds. I was actually telling ~ consoling ~ Archie and myself that, OK nang ulanin sa prenup, wag lang sa araw mismo ng kasal.

Imagine how elated we were when, just as Joel and Mark were preparing their equipment, biglang umaraw.

Thank you Lord!

We were able to take great pictures, and Joel was such a pro. He just has the eye for it. He did make us lie on our backs on the wooden bridge across the pool (with me wearing white pants), but everything was worth it. Three outfit changes later, and we were done.

And not a drop of rain from beginning of the shoot til the end.

Pinagbigyan kami. Thank you po. :)

3 days to go, but I'm not all that excited.

No month-long countdown, no grand announcements this year.

It's the first time in my 29 years of existence that I'm not really excited about my birthday. Well of course, I will definitely be happy if friends remember and greet me on my special day, but the highly-charged anticipation that's brought about by turning another year older is just not there this time.

What's there, of course, is just overflowing gratefulness from deep in my heart.

I'm thankful for all the blessings that I received for the past year. God has been really good! This is the year I got engaged to the love of my life, my family became "whole" again and we've somehow patched our differences, Archie and I are still holding on to good-paying jobs and are truly, truly blessed that we're able to save up for our wedding (and not scrimp about it), and the really good friends that I have are still there for me. Despite the small bumps here and there, and the relationships that were inadvertently severed, there's still much to be happy and celebrate about.

And I already have the bestest gift I could ever have (this year!) from my darling fiance ~ my Blackberry Curve. I love my Blackberry! ;-)

So this year, as in the past one, I am so grateful, from the bottom of my heart.

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There's one event this month that I'm excited about, though, and that's our prenup pictorial with our friend/photographer, Joel Francisco, at Tagaytay Highlands. It will be this Tuesday, the day before my birthday, and I'm giddy with excitement, hehe! Everything's all set, with the venue, our photographer's team, and my hair and makeup (HMU) artist, Angie Cruz, who will conduct a trial HMU for me. Will try to post some pics when Joel gives us the CD. Excited! ;-)

not going anywhere... yay!

My boss applied ~ for the first time ~ for one of the 2 available slots in the SC. She was interviewed by the JBC panel (which include Chief Justice Puno and UST's very own Dean Dimayuga) on the first week of November, and she's one of 35 applicants ~ both old and new alike ~ who tried their luck.

I had lukewarm feelings about the outcome of her interview ~ it was neither good nor bad, something like that. But I definitely thought it could've gone better, though then again, that would be much to expect from a first-time applicant.

Today, the SC shortlist came out, and unfortunately for her, she wasn't chosen for the JBC's consideration.

I should be really sad and feel some sort of sympathy for my boss... but I can't lie.

I think that it's way too fast for her, being in the CA for only 5 years, and that she really hasn't "paid her dues" just yet. Personally, I don't think she's prepared to become one of the magistrates of the highest court of the land.

Really, I'm just happy that we're not going anywhere. :)