my busy bz boy

since jojie's resignation (his boss), olie's workload increased steadily. if before i can call him just to blurt out a random thought, now i can't. he is contantly in meetings, preparing reports, talking to people.

yesterday, he was so busy that he came for me for lunch at past 12 already (our lunch break is 12 to 1). he spent most of the morning at the office of our EVP finalizing stuff. he didn't even have time for snack. i only get to see him when he meets with the accounting and budget people who are on the same floor as i am. even then, i don't even know that he is in the area until after his meeting and he passes by my cube.

he said we are to go out last night. but he worked tirelessly till half past 6. tapos inaway ko pa. coz i thought he forgot :-P.

anyway, we still got to watch Ms. Congeniality 2, although i offered to let him off. i asked him not to see me home seeing how tired he was and he has reporting the following day to the owner of the company but he persisted.

one really admirable trait of his - he daily sees me home.. we work in makati, his trip home is to Pasig via San Pedro Laguna. i love him for that. a really rare treasure, that's what he is.

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this week, olie's basketball schedule was MWF. we'll be going home late tonight, again. kasi naman 2nd game pa sila.

i am looking forward to this weekend's activities:
Saturday: company outing to Los Banos (we'll probably die of boredom and spend the whole day playing billiards)
Sunday: meet Matus, Cecil and Veluz. :-) sana dito na mag end yun couturier hunt ko.

wedding in my mind

Reminiscin..

when i started the wedpreps, everytime olie asks me about the wedding, i shut up. i don't know what to say. getting married wasn't really in my plans.. don't ask me why. i really don't know.

some people know what they want for their dream wedding, they have visions of how it would be like. i didn't. which made it harder and easier in different ways.

it was harder to pick when you are given loads of choices. it was easier to limit your choices to those which are within budget.

this early though, i'd say we didn't stick to our budget. i had a certain total in mind but the breakdown doesn't add up to it. haha!

first thing we bought for the wedding was the Unity Coins for fear of not getting one if we defer buying it later.

wedding fairs, xmas tiangge and the w@wie xmas party raffles..

we started attending bridal fairs about september last year.. and we keept winning in the raffle in all the fairs:

to summarize our winnings: 2 (not 1 but two) 2D1N accomodations at Pearl of the Pacific in Boracay, 50% the rate for succeeding nights, 4D3N accomodation at Palawan (i forgot na where), accomodation at Subic Days Hotel, a gift set of trays, discount coupon, prenup with Eddie Boy Escudero, Sara Lee gift set, prenup with Decisive Moments..

church: SOJ

olie wanted Caleruega.. but i liked Chapel on the Hill. and then the issue of convenience to us, our guests and suppliers came to mind. for sure i didn't want to get wed in Pampanga (my family's province) nor at the church near our place in Chrysanthemum.
initially, we set it at Manila Cathedral. but when we went to see the Cathedral, San Agustin and Shrine of Jesus.. we picked Shrine of Jesus. Manila Cathedral's aisle is sooo long, i would most probably feel tamad to continue walking in the midst of my procession and go back to the car. San Agustin has tombstone as its flooring. i couldn't imagine myself stepping on them. i'd freeze at the door. hence Shrine of Jesus. another thing we liked about SOJ is that its new.. (we are not really into the old world sort of thing)

we started asking about the availability of schedule of 17 September 2005 (our original wedding date) about late last year. of course it is available since the date is in the off-peak season.

we asked again in january, really intending to move it from September to November. we felt that 9 months is too short, seeing that we haven't really made any progress or informed anyone. we wanted a Saturday 330 pm slot. all slots for November, December and January were booked. hence, we have 18 February 2006 for a wed date. a plus thing is that it is a saturday with the number 8 (infinity symbol? lucky?)

reception venue: Villa Imaculada

i soo wanted to get Coconut Palace but after adding all the charges for the venue to be workable, it wasn't acceptable. after all, i would have to get an event stylist pa after all the charges to arrange the place.

we looked at Westin, Manila Hotel, Diamond Hotel. my second choice was Heritage Hotel's grand ballroom. but the only request my parents' made was not to have it in a Hotel since most hotel food are bland and leaves the guest still hungry after all the courses.

so we looked for venues near SOJ:
Pope John Paul 2 Youth Center (under SOJ) - ayaw ko ng underground
Heritage, Diamond - ayaw ng parents ko ng Hotel
Ramon Magsaysay - nku akala talga namin eto na.. shucks.. naalala ko excited na excited kami to see the venue on a saturday morning. we even brought a camera to take a picture.. when we got there... tawa kami ng tawa.. parang.. eto na ba yun???? shocks. sa sobrang ka ewanan.. tumawa na lang kami ng tumawa.. the place was even half setup already for an affair that afternoon. i didn't want to take a picture as evidence that we even considered the place. what we didn't like, specifically, was the brown wooden walls and brown ceiling.. it reminded us both of old libraries.. the lighting fixture wasn't so pretty as well. (ngayon regret ko, i didn't take a picture of "what could have been". hahaha)

no choice. we have to go to either the Intramuros area or Makati area.
Makati - we heard of the Filipinas Heritage Library and Kasalikasan.
Intramuros talaga naman maraming venues dito.
Teatrillo is really out of the question - another underground venue. (side kwento: after booking Villa Imaculada, i showed the place to olie who hasn't been there before. we haven't been inside the actual venue, just at the doorway for about 2 minutes and i felt his clammy hands and cold sweat! haha. na suffocate!)
we also went to Father Blanco's garden, Patio Victoria, Ilustrado..
as time passes by, we both realized we are not really an OC couple who are into details (at least not yet then). i wanted an indoor venue so that i wouldn't have to worry about the rain, lighting, decor so much. hence Villa Imaculada. :-)

video: Threelogy

our first supplier booked. after seeing their w@w xmas party video, olie contacted them and pencilbooked them for our 17 September 2005 wedding (which was moved to 18 February 2006). sidekwento: bakit 18feb2006? special ba? anniv or something? we answered: no. yun kasi un available na date eh.. hahaha.. walang kasweetan!

Right now, our standing is as follows:

Church - SOJ (inclusions: carpet, soloist, pianist, priest)
Venue - Villa Imaculada
Caterer - Tamayo's (inclusions: centerpiece, cake, car, signature frame)
Photo - Ritchie Pingol
Video - Threelogy (includes AVP)
Arrhae - Unity Coins
Rings - Matus
Coord - You're Invited
HMUA - Eddie Bruan
Ento Flowers - Mang Boy Mahusay

and im looking for a couturier.

i had a hard time picturing my wedding.. but slowly, things are becoming clearer. i know what i don't want.. i look hard to find what i want.

now, i know, i want pink roses everywhere. i'd love to have a violinist or string quartet or instrumentalist in my reception, playing the theme from the An Affair to Remember for our first dance.. i imagine pledging my life, my love to him.

when i read the wedding kwentos, i somewhat feel what they feel. i feel happy for them. and excited for me.

now i can imagine myself, walking towards the man i love.

i can't wait until its my turn.

Holy Week entry

it was abstinence from blogging, checking w@wie mails that i did this in this year's Holy Week.

thursday was spent at home. resting. olie was at our house. we had our own visita iglesia that night with mama.. just around the nearby villages.

fri we went to pampanga - mama, olie and me. i drove. we went to san matias, san fernando, mabalacat, angeles, bacolor.. etc.

highlight: olie met my relatives. i was able to inform them, informally of our wedding plans.

here are some pics from my 2005 Holy Week

some gowns i like

i can't help but post the gowns i like here.. bka when i see them next to each other i'd know which one ba talaga.



description: 2-piece organza, a-line, features multicolored emboridery on bodice and train



description: Deluxe satin gown w/Strapless, ‘V’ notched neckline. Dress is overlaid with bead encrusted lace. Satin is pleated to criss-cross at the waist front and back. Box-pleated, detachable, satin train is split at hem w/matching lace appliqués.



material: Ivory silk satin



material: Silk organza


i wonder which will fit me and my budget....

on my gown

i've been deliberating on this most days... on what is a reasonable budget for my wedding gown.

• once in a lifetime event - dapat buhos lahat ng kagandahan sa mundo
• once lang isusuot - dapat di kamahalan
• beads, embroidery, swarovski, rhinestones, lace, or really nice cut, cloth and no embellishment (less is more???)

the possible gown makers/ couturiers i've met are as follows:

• Mrs. Leony Bautista, H14 cluster Divisoria
• Cecilio Abad, Vito Cruz
• Merlene Marcelo, Kamagong St.

i'll be meeting with a couple more before deciding:

• Veluz Reyes, Las Pinas
• April and Karen Yu

i've been searching the web for the perfect look i want, more diligently, paying more attention to the details, ever since i received the design from Merlene last monday. using the yahoo search engine, i was able to go through the following sites:

• www.theknot.com
• www.davidsbridal.com
• www.weddingchannel.com
• www.edenbridals.com
• www.olegcassini.com
• www.jasminebridal.com
• www.alfredangelo.com
• www.bridaloriginals.com
• www.everafterformal.com
• www.maggiesottero.com
• www.moniquelhuillier.com
• www.moonlightbridal.com
• www.moonlightcoutureline.com
• www.morilee.com
• www.sinceritybridal.com
• www.sweetiepieflowergirldresses.com
• www.verawang.com
• www.watters.com
• www.allurebridals.com

as you can see, a really thorough search was made. at night, also browsed through my magazines hoping to find the one true gown...

right now, i found 2 gowns i really like. but i have to show them first to the potential designers before posting here... baka kasi hindi bagay. :P

lani's wedding

last sunday was lani's wedding. olie and i headed to Baliwag Bulacan.. here is one of the pic that olie got from the wedding..



i received Merlene's proposal and designs this morning.. i liked her designs.. we'll try to go over them this holy week.. maybe we'll get enlightened..

Cecil, Merlene & Data

hindi po sila same category ha...

COUTURIERS: Cecilio Abad & Merlene Marcelo

last night, we went to check out these two couturiers. we didn't have a hard time looking for Cecil's shop thanks to Toni's help. i texted Cecil that we were coming but he wasn't there yet. while waiting, we browsed through pics of the gowns he made, and some almost finished entourage gowns on the rack. magaganda sila.. the ones on the rack are in fuschia pink and have beads. they are really pretty and were neatly done.

so we talked to him, he gave us the range of rates, asked me to stand and then he recommended a tube neckline for me, with about a foot for a train (since im just a little over 5 feet, so that i won't be lost in yards and yards of cloth). he then sketched the dress. the dress would be of duchess satin, with beads crawling from the left waist spreading upwards & downwards. i was not that impressed with the gown. but i guess that was because i didn't give him any idea of the type i want. oh well. but he really seemed to know what he is talking about. and pulido nga ang gawa nya..

after Cecil, we decided to drop by Merlene's shop na din since it is on our way to Makati. she was entertaining other clients when we got there so we had to wait pa din. when we were able to talk to her, she seemed nice although she seemed puyat (had eyebugs, no makeup - am not sure if this is her normal look). ok naman. i liked the fact that she offers not just beadwork but also embroidery. her sample artworks were really nice as well. i emailed some scanned pics of gowns i liked and she will be coming up with a proposed design and package for me.

am not sure who to pick. i like Merlene's better due to the embroidery. but well. there are costs to consider. we'll see.

a fellow w@wie.. a fellow 18 feb 2006 bride... another lover of Chapel on the Hill

i met data this morning. finally. hehehe. (took a half-fy day off from work) we were at McDo gbelt just to browse through mags, share ideas, etc. she has it all figured out - what she wants.. katuwa.. it really revolved around her concept/theme. saw some pics of her reception venue and ii got some ideas from her magazines and will try to look for a copy at the booksale shop at MCS later or maybe next week.

B2, D2, C2

B& B : talk about sports! Basketball and Billiards... last Friday was the opening of the GPL basketball tournament for 2005..



after the game last friday (wherein we lost, but with pending protests), we played pool. lately that's what we've been doing. a sport that doesn't require changing of clothes, short nails and no sweat.

D & D : divisoria and dangwa.. saturday morning was spent at divisoria, looking for the popular Mrs. Bautista. Divisoria is not so bad. it was just like Greenhills. no street vendors. not so much crowd. but really cheap finds. we were able to see other bridal stores like mr. cesar orosco's and MVK before finally finding stall H-14 of Mrs. Bautista. she gave me an estimate of prices for some of the wedding gowns i liked in the magazines. i even met a fellow w@wie at her shop, rowena. i got to fit one of her ready-made gowns (the bust was too large, although it was in size Small). she was really nice and very accomodating. oh well, its still too early to finalize stuff with her..

in dangwa, we went to find mang boy mahusay. he gave us a good price for our entourage flowers. we were worried about parking along the main road but he sent someone to watch over the car while we talked to him. another item off our list. :-)

Going Overboard! as we were headed towards Festival Mall in Alabang (near home, but with aircon), i started teasing olie about his ex.. blah blah blah.. to make the long story short, i manage to irritate him enough for him to: (1) change the topic; (2) pretend to sleep; and finally (3) raise his voice in telling me to stop it. actually i had fun teasing him. (really, a no no.) im a bad girl. hehe.. so now we have a new acronym: SB. i know i really shouldn't.



C & C: Enlightenment on Sunday. we went to Tagaytay with the Actuarial people - Nancy, Melo, Erwin and Nelson. we went to Chapel on the Hill and Caleruega church, took lots of picture, heard mass, prayed. we met Lyndon, their former boss in the division at Caleruega.

we had lunch at Josephine's. after which we were very sleepy and tired from the heat so we decided to take up Lyndon's offer to play pool at the clubhouse of Tagaytay Royal Estates.

we had fun singing to sentimental songs.. "We've got tonight.. who needs tomorrow.. we've got tonight, baby.. why don't you stay"

quiz results

am too tired to blog. no thoughts.. just plain sleepy. brain dead. i was reading Leslie's blog and i came across a site of quizzes.. so here are the results of my work for today :-P

What soul am I?

You Are a Visionary Soul

You are a curious person, always in a state of awareness.Connected to all things spiritual, you are very connect to your soul.You are wise and bright: able to reason and be reasonable.Occasionally, you get quite depressed and have dark feelings. You have great vision and can be very insightful.In fact, you are often profound in a way that surprises yourself.Visionary souls like you can be the best type of friend.You are intuitive, understanding, sympathetic, and a good healer. Souls you are most compatible with: Old Soul and Peacemaker Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

Am I left or right-brained?

You Are 60% Left Brained, 40% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

just thoughts on migration, etc

i feel like im stuck in a dead end job, while everyone is leaving. ken for UK, elisa for the land down under - Australia. and while there are other people who are still here in the country, most of them have plans of migrating as well. somehow, i get pressured to also make my move.

just because i'm getting married doesn't mean that i'm putting my career and personal travel plans on hold. no no no. i wish they wouldn't think of it that way. maybe that's how they see marriage is.

my friends keep asking me if i'm really getting married.. if i'm getting married to him.. if i'm sure i want to get married to him.. if i love him. hahaha.. i always end up laughing in reply. do i look like i'm not sure? are they seeing things i'm not?

finally, a sis!

i have the privilege of being a part of olie's family. last sunday, hinatid namin si ineh (olie's sister, eldest) sa airport. her papers are approved. she is moving to canada. Finally, she can be with her husband. but she will be badly missed (a definite UNDERSTATEMENT)



i cannot describe the feeling of seeing their family cry as she bade them each goodbye. i cannot describe what i felt when we told her to come home on january as she originally scheduled, for our wedding. i cannot erase the surprised look on her face when we told her our wedding date, that we have already booked the church. i will not forget how she welcomed me in her arms, in their family, and how she asked me to take care of her younger brother olie, make him happy and not make him cry.. she called me "sis". i've never had one.

Bookings during the Expo

march 5, the Wed Expo

im kinda excited to begin the expo. we volunteered for the opening ceremony of the expo. that is somethin new to look forward to.

we got to have our pictures taken along with fellow w@wie inch & brian, dona & david and mr. & mrs (buddy) vs&f (since they own it!). dodjie was very nice to us, giving us tokens, and a brief tour of the tent.

btw, dada was also at the fair, with her brother and sis-in-law.

actually, i wasn't really into the whole fair-thingy anymore. i had my share of it. it was such a familiar place. so i planted myself at the w@w booth with john and benz helping by giving out the wedding primers. i was able to meet abie co, clarisse, toni and angie there.

Accomplishments:

Rings: we picked out a ring at Matus c/o Alain and paid our reservation. good thing we are w@wies - bigger discounts!

Coordinators: we met and signed contract with our coordinators - van, johana and nina - You're Invited over lunch at the old Dencio's place. ++ for my coords : we can use Nina's place at Ayala Alabang for prenup, she volunteered their Benz for our wedding car for free with a driver in uniform (just tip the driver!), they personally know Rhoda from Ysabelle (gown maker) which can mean great discounts!

Photography: and we finalized our package with Ritchie Pingol for photography.

Gown: i found the cloth i want to use for my wedding gown at one of the displays at the RTW booth. it was silk and organza in pearl color (i think!).

Raffle: we won a prenuptial portrait at Decisive moments (yahoo!)

yipee! all in all, it was really a productive day.

Olie's photography: we did try to get pics of the sunset and our church by heading towards the bay area but it was so cloudy. olie was able to take some really nice pics of a newlywed couple.

Movie: we watched Hitch at Festival cinemas in Alabang. it was a really light movie that made us laugh. (andami naming nagawa di ba!)

on photography

olie's new toy.. olie was sooo lookin forward to this week. its the week he gets the digital camera that he bought in the US through a friend.

and so yesterday, he was really excited to get off from work, But he got called to a meeting.. i had to leave the office alone coz i have a board meeting to attend to as well. i'll be really late if i wait for him.

the camera was great. it was fuji finepix s5100.

i enjoyed watching olie as he carefully opened the bag that has his camera, how delicate the camera seemed. he was so gentle as he went about studying its features, and trying it out. he was so child-like.

as we were walking towards home, he asked if it would be ok to leave some of his stuff at our place - his basketball shoes, uniform and ASP stuff.. i remember teasing him about leaving his camera and asking me how come he is not leaving that as well. i said, "Someone might snatch it on your way home..". hahaha.

of course, he didn't leave his camera with me.. and i was talking to him this morning, the excitement hasn't left his voice.. he even texted me if i was ready for our photoshoot tonight. haha.. naku, he was trying to hide his "giddyness" over his new "toy" by deflecting it to me.. that i was the one happy coz i get to have loads of pictures.. (who does he think he is fooling??! di ba?)

on our wedding photographer... well, olie's been talking to some photographers. we've pencil-booked na but we still have to meet and really see their works.

treasured moments

i love going home with olie.. whether we commute or bring a car.. it doesn't matter.

when we are in the car, it feels like it doesn't matter where we go. we can go anywhere, yes. but we'd still be right beside each other.. that's how i'd always want it to be.

commuting last night, i felt hunee was really tired.. i was really sorry for dragging him through the shoe stores of ayala (i needed new work shoes!). olie fell asleep as soon as we got on the shuttle. his body felt sore and he said he needed a massage. (note to self: learn how to massage. cut my nails) i couldn't help him out coz we were cramped in the shuttle.. so i just held his hand and watched him sleep (the shuttle had tv so i was also able to watch Save the Last Dance and Full House..hehehe). i thought to myself, God has really blessed me with so much. i am so thankful for having Olie in my life. in such moments, i feel at peace. i can be in tune with my real thoughts and feelings away from the busy life we lead and the distractions and confusion around us. what i have right there and then was what matters - olie.