08/11/2008
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There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.
-Deepak Chopra
Despite being the hopeless romantic that everyone knows me to be, I’ve decided not to marry but instead, have a child someday. Yes, it is a bit early to make such a decision because there is a possibility that I might meet someone great someday. Still, I decided that’s what I planned to do. However, the wedding did it.
Weddings make me teary-eyed most of the time. When I see two people in love finally join together as one, I can’t help but be all-hopeful again, seeing how they’ve endured through the times and have now reached the beginning of a new journey: life together. As the entourage started walking down the aisle, with Pachelbel’s Canon playing in the background, I felt my heart melt. I could feel the love these two people have for each other all around the church. It was beautiful. I was moved deeply by this amazing union. I know, I know. I’m such a sucker for sweet love. O’i. Anyway, this is the same couple I was referring to in my previous entry. Just in case that story was a bit bleak, this little quiz included in their reception’s menu might give you a clearer idea of what happened between them, which ended in this wonderful celebration.
How Well Do You Know James & Paula?
1. Where and when did they go to school together?
a. UPIS – Grade 1 and Grade 2
b. UPIS – Kindergarten and Grade 1
c. UPIS – Kindergarten and Grade 2
2. Paula and James left for the US and Canada, respectively in 1989. When did their reunion take place?
a. 15 years later
b. 16 years later
c. 17 years later
d. 18 years later
3. Which social networking website helped make their reunion possible?
a. MySpace
b. Facebook
c. Friendster
d. FilipinoFriendFinder
6. Something happened in grade school which caused Paula to always remember James. What was it?
a. James saved Paula from drowning in a fish pond.
b. James accidentally caused Paula to trip and made her cry in the playground.
c. James rescued Paula from a bully.
d. James chased Paula down and stole her lunch money.
7. True or False: Paula’s dad and James’s dad were classmates in high school.
*I excluded some of the questions not pertaining to their love story, thus the missing numbers.*
The quotation from Chopra suits their love story perfectly. Quoting the groom’s father, “It shows they were destined for each other, despite the distance and time.”
It’s love stories like these that make me all soft and vulnerable again. 😦 Soft and vulnerable but inspired to wait for my own love story. Will I wait or go through with the plans I already made? We’ll see.
***
It’s not about saying I love you to Paula, ’cause we say that to each other everyday. It’s about saying I love Paula to everyone, to all of you.
-Uncle James Buenavides, during his wedding speech
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08/09/2008
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Nor Hell a Fury, like a Woman scorn’d.
According to the New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Ed. 2002, this means that “no one is angrier than a woman who has been rejected in love.” I don’t think the definition suits my situation but no poetic line can describe how I felt other than this line here. I’ve never felt this way in a while. I’m not quite sure if I’ve ever even felt this way at all. I can’t begin to describe what I went through. It was just so, unusual. Was I mad? Was I hurt? Was I jealous? I didn’t and I still don’t know.
I wanted to rant, not rant. I wanted to spill everything I’ve kept bottled up inside the past few weeks. But we just came from Uncle James and Aunt Paula’s wedding shower. Theirs is one of the greatest, non-fictional love stories I’ve ever heard and I, reminded of this, can’t help but share it with the world. My fury can wait. I guess love still overpowers all other emotions I feel inside.
Here goes.
Uncle James and Aunt Paula met when they were in elementary school. The second grade, if I’m not mistaken. One of their classmates came up to a very young Aunt Paula and gave her the dirty finger. Uncle James came to the rescue and kicked the other kid’s butt. Aunt Paula remembers making Uncle James her best friend from then on.
After the second grade, they parted ways. Uncle James and his family migrated to Canada, while Aunt Paula and her family soon migrated to the States. It was only until Aunt Paula saw Uncle James’ father’s contact information in one the e-mails her father sent her, that she was able to get in touch with Uncle James again. They started communicating again, through e-mails, Friendster (yes, Friendster). She found him in Friendster, believe it or not! After a while of getting in touch again, they talked about meeting. She was back in the Philippines and was wondering if he was still in Canada. Uncle James was actually closer than Aunt Paula thought. He was just in Korea. Finally, Uncle James decided to go back here for a vacation, and to meet up with his best friend. He brought her to our families’ welcome dinner for him and our grandparents. We were all wondering if she was his ___, because of the way they interacted during dinner. Everyone could see that they were both having fun chatting with each other. However, one of our aunts told us that they were actually just friends. Apparently, Aunt Paula had a boyfriend. We, the young ones, were a bit disappointed. We saw how much fun they were having together and how they look good together as well. We were even coming up with ways of making them realize they were good for each other, one of them being the removal of this big horse statue blocking their way as they chatted merrily about everything under the sun. We may wish Aunt Paula’s boyfriend to disappear but it’ll take more than just wishing for it to actually happen.
On the next family reunion, which was around Christmas time, we saw them together again. Uncle James was back in the Philippines and he brought Aunt Paula again to the New Year dinner. Then, the news broke out. They were planning to get married. We were happy for them but shocked. It was just a few months ago when they met again and now, they were planning on getting married!
They just celebrated their first wedding anniversary and are about to wed again in front of family and friends later this afternoon. Up to this day, we still can’t believe how they ended up in each other’s arms. After 17 years of separation, they found each other again and are now one happy couple.
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It’s not everyday that someone like you comes my way.
-How Did You Know, Joey Albert
08/08/2008
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It’s 12:26 am. I’m supposed to be asleep by now, with an unfinished accounting homework to do tomorrow morning. My head is beginning to hurt and feel heavy, my eyes starting to close, blinking slower and slower by the second, yet I find myself typing this entry despite the sleepiness. What I originally had in mind was to come up with this all-dramatic, all emotional, all reminiscent first blog entry — forcing memories of happy days in my mind, allowing them to sink deep, deep into that part of the brain responsible for making us feel pain and sorrow; the background music set; the lights dimmed. However, there was a slight change of plans. A friend sort of, took away what I will call my emo gene. Thus, this won’t be an all sad-I-want-to-die-now type of entry (though I intended it to be, just to release everything that has to be released.) Writing has been my personal fire exit in life. Whenever I need to retreat from life and bingeing just won’t do anymore, I find refuge in writing. I’m one of those people who write what they can’t say. This was supposed to be the beginning of a new chapter in my life, as I put an end to what I thought would be a never-ending story. But the circumstances have changed. I’ve become the consoler for the night, the optimist, the cheerful one. And trying to write an ending at this very moment would just be terribly wrong. As this friend said, “I’d rather not pass something if it’s not good enough.” In my case, I’d rather write off the ending of this part of my life at another time, than force myself to come up with something half-baked.
The thoughts, the feelings just left. And without them, I’d have nothing to write about. But they always come back. They always do. Until then, I’ll have one open book to deal with, until I get to its ending.
***
Let’s you and I escape, escape from time.
Come on let’s fall in love, come on let’s fall in love.
Again.
-Half-Life, Duncan Sheik
when pigs & penguins fly.. 