Give me a C-, give me a D-, Give me an O! :-)

Got an invite, and this "save the date" from my old batchmates from Post-Graduate internship. :-)

Looks like I'll finally get to go to Cagayan De Oro City soon (and see if its funny moniker is true too. :-))

I'm getting my ticket, and fixing my leave for the 12th of May.

:-) if there's time, I could go home (which is 6 hours away), or I could go to a totally different place and have a Camiguin experience, as well. :-) Yey!

I've been looking forward to going there... and now I'll finally get to do it.

See you, CDO!

~ Love,

S.

On Weddings (Part 2)

First dance. Photo by: Rian Michael Calugcugan

My cousin (Manang) Beryl/Bo recently got married to her boyfriend of 7 years, Ed, in Oahu, Hawaii. I saw the pictures, it was a beautiful wedding (judging from everyone's FB pictures! :-) Rian's picture came out great...I love the gentleness of this picture. You can just see how crazy they are about each other.

:-) People should get married for the right reasons, and this should be one of them...

Congratulations, and best wishes, you two... :-)

On weddings (Part 1)

A "rash" of weddings...

That's what I've been up to these past few weeks. First it was Ella's (family by affinity), then Connie's (a college barkada), and just a few days ago, Tonton's wedding.

All were very nice, all were lots of fun, and all were very big, with more than a hundred people in attendance. The first one felt like it had the whole town of Lazi, Siquijor attending. Their program host knew everyone and could point out who was who, and who did what at random...I was impressed.

The others were equally "family-oriented" and it seemed that in almost all cases, everyone knew both the bride and groom (and the two of them as a couple) for a long time. They known them as a "unit" and showed up to celebrate with the couple what was deemed "inevitable". Because the couple had been together for so long it would seem that their tying the known would only be a formality.

When I go to weddings, I usually look at the tiny details, the ones that involve what these two people are like with each other. I don't even notice the flowers. :-p

What I do notice are the things that everyone sees, and celebrates and cheers for...

      the way the bride beams with happiness,

             her radiance in her miles and miles of tulle and satin, silken finery

                 the way the groom lovingly dabs at his bride's little beads of perspiration during the long homily :-p

                       or the ease with which their lips meet, to seal their union as man and wife forever in a ceremony solemnized in front of people who cherish them.

:-)

Tonton and Nyd (or Doug, as we call him) kissed and then hugged each other tight, as if giving each other a congratulatory squeeze after the ceremonial smooch. After 8 years of being together, you're wont to think that people probably will get sick of each other eventually, but no, it looked as fresh, and as loving as the day they told each other that  cliche "i LOVE yOU."

"If it's really love, you'll know...." That's what they say. If you find that someone you feel you want to spend the rest of your life with, you'll know. And, most probably, as Billy Crystal said it so eloquently, "When you finally find someone who you want to spend the rest of your life with, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible..."

But that's just me... :-)

Right now, I enjoy the whole "pomp and circumstance" of weddings. I love dressing up and taking part in the festivities of a happy occasion. When they call out for the single ladies, I'm still one of those who go up to the front, and proud to be standing there, not feeling guilty to be single (and available), but rather, relishing the fact that at this time in my life, I feel young, and vibrant and have shed all (well, almost all) the insecurities of an awkward youth and am enjoying the current choices I have made for myself.

(whew. long-winded speech,eh?)

Now is the time I feel like I know myself, and learned to appreciate what I do and what I've been through, and what I'm good at.

:-) (And before I start rationalizing any more, I better get on with this piece.)

Some of my friends good-naturedly tell me, "Wow, another wedding? Good...maybe you'll meet Prince Charming this time." I just laugh, and defend myself with a joking, "But I don't go to weddings to meet people (or "get laid"?, haha), I go to weddings to have fun..!" (It doesn't keep them from teasing me, though.)

Come to think about it, it's not hard to get caught up in the romantic "spirit" of weddings, when you're there attending one. One time, in my cousin's wedding way back when I turned 20, there was this guy who stood out.

Well, actually, he walked beside me down the aisle the first time we met, how is that for romantic? :-p I was a bridesmaid, and he was one of the groomsmen (his cousin was the bride, and mine was the groom), and on the eve of our cousins'  wedding, at the rehearsals, we were somehow paired up together.

     Me: Hi, I'm S. What's your name?

     Him: I'm A.

"A." was a nice surprise. Tall and goodlooking, and confident (and wearing the then cool Nike Air Cortez on his feet), and I developed an instant crush. I think I could still remember how he looked like that night...lean and athletic (he was sitting on the steps of the church with his other cousins, they were from Manila), he had an air of quiet cat-like grace, an alluring mysterious quality that really made me stare, despite myself.

With fair "Manila" skin (I think he was part Chinese, i think.), he seemed to...glow? :-p

(NOTE TO SELF: Guys that "glow" in the moonlight/nighttime, you should try to avoid.)

So anyway, as you can pretty much guess, it was a memorable "walk down the aisle" for me, with the romantic church ambience, my long flowing bridesmaids dress, and my hand on this "glow boy's" arm, i was in a bit of bliss, I admit, nevermind that I was in 3 inch heels and that I was hurting later. The party afterwards was at the Dusit Hotel in Makati, and it was more fun, we danced a lot and talked until the party broke up.

:-) Well, to make the story short, things didn't go well. Sometimes, the wedding ambiance induces a fleeting "magical" quality to things that make any romantic little girl (myself especially) get ideas. Needless to say, it didn't go as fairy tales should, although he and I are Facebook friends...and at one time or two, I was able to get huge discounts off a lot of my medical textbooks, from the deal he sprung for me.

(All's well, that ends well, right? :p)

So maybe I'm still a little wary of these romantic overtones these days. They may be good fodder for "How I met Your Mother" stories for the kids I'll later have,  but they WERE terrible emotional rollercoaster rides while I was "in them".

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(to be continued. I've got work. Seeya tomorrow! :-))

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Oh, and here's a thought.... I can't seem to get this song out of my head, since the first time I gave it a listen (yesterday, when I asked someone) . There is something about the singer's voice, the drum beats, the guitar overtones, and the mood in the lyrics that makes it all come together very pleasantly.

Give it a listen. And tell me what you think. (Try not to mind the anime on the video.)

Tonton and Doug's wedding.

I was at Toni and Doug's wedding last Saturday. Toni's a high school classmate and friend...

and we live in the same town. Doug's her boyfriend of 8 years...

and after that time, they finally decided to tie the knot.

With almost 15 pairs of principal sponsors looking on while they filled up the marriage 

paperwork during the ceremony, I'd say they wouldn't be lacking for 

"marital advice and guidance". :-p This is a lot, but then again, her family is pretty 

prominent in our place, with her dad being a judge and all. :-) 

She picked a red motif for her entourage. It is a striking color in photographs, 

my auntie used to say a lot.

The "Countdown" kiss (10 seconds...piece of cake. :-p)

The reception was at the Bravo Golf Club, an outdoor party which
was initially mucked up by rain...which stopped in 10 minutes.

The train is really pretty. lol. It's a shame trains had to be dragged
on the ground like that. What are trains for anyway, right? :-)

Toni and Doug cutting the rose-laden, tiered cake (with crystals),
a "wedding tradition", according to the host.

Funnily enough (coincidentally? :-)), I was seated at this table with my friends.
In Greek mythology, while being sent on a job to shoot Psyche (to make her fall in
love with the first simpleton she sees, ouch) Eros/Cupid scratched
himself with one of his arrows...and the rest is history. :-p)
(He should've been more careful, arrow-scratch is
 avoidable...it just depends on how you deal with things. :-).)

The newlyweds perform a dance number with some of the entourage
 (I think the girls started this tradition at Daryl's wedding.)

This was their "modified" bouquet toss game for the single ladies. It involved a bit of athleticism,
as the mechanics of the game was that to be considered "Out"of the running
for the bouquet/next-in-line concept, the girls had to scramble for who gets to sit on the guy's lap first.
Well, the girls are supposed to go around the guy in a circle, and
when the music stops, try to beat the others into
sitting on the guy's lap first.
The last one who doesn't get to sit becomes the equivalent
of the "bouquet catcher", who has to sit while the dude in the
chair puts the garter up her leg.

I sat on the guy's lap after 4 tries. Piece of cake. So no, no bouquet for me that night. :-p

Needless to say, he was pummeled by all the other women who wanted to sit on his lap.

haha

I was into the flower thing that night.

These paper lanterns (but they had another name for it) were
distributed among the guests, and I got to have one to send up.
You were supposed to make a wish when you send these up,
for good luck for the married couple (and of course, for yourself too).
You were supposed to light the bottom where there's a coil of
long-burning paper underneath, which provided the hot air
that propelled these balloons upward...
They had assistants around who helped, I think this dude
was one of them, and everyone got to release their balloons
without a hitch, although, i personally thing that it would have
been nicer if it had all been done at the same time.

These are the lanterns...the whole lot of them aloft makes for a pretty sight. :-)

Myself with some of my classmates from highschool.... one of them
being Randy Tolin, who I haven't seen since college!
His girlfriend was Tonton's Maid of Honor...
talk about it being a small world.

Ooh, and one last pic. This was from the WACKY POSE  photobooth
that Tonton and Doug rented for the night. Always a fun thing. :-)

Good night.

~ S. :-)

"You're next..."

The Bridal Bouquet, which plopped into my hands (which I thought, came with prize money.lol) May 18, 2010. Photo by Me.

The tale of the garter. May 18, 2010. (Photo by: Sol Redula)

And so the saying goes, "The one who gets the bouquet is next to get married."

Kuya Reil, the groom, joked after the garter thing..."You're next."

And i just grinned and went, "Right. But it's going to be a loooong wait."

:-p

-----------------

I don't know if people take bouquet games seriously anymore. I usually am in these "single games" for the fun and sport of it. Whenever I'm at wedding parties, i never hesitate in joining when they call in "the single ladies". It's all in fun anyway. This was the first time I got the bouquet, though, and it was a pretty bunch of white roses. I'm a sucka-foo for roses, so it was a nice surprise.


I honestly thought that Connie (the bride, who was my college friend) was giving away ten thousand pesos for the one who caught the bouquet, so when it plopped into my hands i gave a little, "Yess!!! It's in the bag!" Turns out, it was a fluke. lol. no prize money. darn it.


The host was like "We have a beautiful bride-to-be here..." (etc etc, as hosts are wont to do :-p), as I went up there to take my place beside Connie (who we called Baby Con before). As games go, I was supposed to stick out my leg and have my "single male counterpart" put the bride's garter up my leg. Funnily enough, it wasn't being in the spotlight that made me nervous (i love being in the spotlight.haha), it was actually how...I was supposed to sit. I didn't know how.


When the dude got the garter up to my knee, he was like, "Is this ok?" I just laughed and went, "It's cool, dude, don't worry about it." and gave him a thumbs up (as you can see in this picture.) 


Anyway... it was a super fun wedding, and I got to see my old college friends, which was really nice. I rarely see them...maybe once in 7 years? 4 maybe? that rare. So it was good. And what was nice about it was that it was a wedding with just close friends and family, very intimate and cozy. :-)


---------------- 


What did I do with the flowers, you ask? well, after i took my pictures, ma stuck them in some water...to put on the altar. Like she did with some of my other flowers. They were pretty, after all. :-)

Wedding Fan

(Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo, wed April 28,2009)

(I'm a closet romantic, and am a big fan of dream weddings. I especially love it when I see the bride and groom enjoy themselves during the ceremony and reception. it's always a good sign. Although i admit i'm not a huge fan of showbiz weddings, this one sure was refreshing in that you see a bride and grooom who were obviously in love with each other, and that they had the good sense not to let other people's opinions matter on how their wedding should go about.

Like I said, i'm a closet romantic. Next thing you'll know, i'll be gushing about my own wedding plans...someday. haha. )