I decided to take a birthday leave on my actual birthday. Although the purpose of a birthday leave is for the celebrant to relax and enjoy her day, mine was spent running around, doing errands.

My first major appointment of the day was my interview at the US Embassy to get my US VISA renewed. When I had applied for renewal last January, I had to choose my interview schedule. And what do you know, the earliest available slot was on March 15: right on my birthday. So I figured, I might as well take it, since I had planned to take a birthday leave, anyway.

This was my first time to get interviewed for a US VISA, as all my past US VISA renewals were obtained through drop box. So I was pretty nervous since I wasn't sure if I was a "credible" enough person to get granted a VISA renewal. It didn't help that the three people standing in line before me were grilled and blatantly denied their US VISAs by the American interviewer, for a variety of reasons. By the time I reached the interviewer's window, I was shaking like a leaf.

But God must've heard my prayers and decided to give me a special blessing on my birthday...because the interviewer gave me my VISA, no questions asked, no interrogations. I was at that window for what must've been only 30 seconds. I could see the ones lining up behind me staring at me incredulously and whispering to each other, "That's it??? Just like that?" Well, Happy birthday to me!!

The afternoon was spent at my Tita Patis', having my first fitting for my wedding gown. Even though, it was just the "katsa," (did I get the spelling right?) I'm already excited as to what the outcome of the gown will be. :)

Raphy came over around 6PM. We went to mass together, went back to my place to have dinner, then headed to our SFC meeting at nearby Divine Mercy. Of course, my ever so creative fiance wouldn't let my special day go by without pulling off one of his touching surprises.

After the activity, he announced to all our co-SFC members that he had planned a birthday surprise for me, sat me down on a chair and motioned for everyone to start singing "happy birthday." Then one by one, my close SFC friends walked into the room, carrying a rose and giving it to me, until I had 28 roses in my hands. I felt like a debutante. :p As usual, I was really touched by the simple surprise from Raphy. He never fails to keep me on my toes. :)

So that's how I spent my birthday--my last as a single girl! I wonder what Raphy has in store for my next birthdays as his wife. :)

Thanks so much to everyone who greeted me and made my birthday special!!! :)

I went to the doctor this morning to get my kidney ultrasound results (which turned out negative, by the way. Yipee!). I stepped on the weighing scale and got a bit startled when the nurse declared what my weight was. Apparently, I lost 4 pounds since the last time I weighed myself 2 weeks ago. Hmmm...4 pounds in 2 weeks...that can't be good.

I'm not dieting or anything. The most significant changes I've made to my health lifestyle are switching from full-cream milk and white rice to non-fat milk and brown rice respectively; exchanging drinking ice cold water for lukewarm or hot water; and increasing my intake of fish and vegetables . But I still eat tons and tons of sweets, steak, pasta, and all the other high-carb, high-protein food I love. The reason I made those minor switches in my eating habits was because I wanted to maintain my weight, not lose it! I can't already be stressed about the wedding plans, can I??!!

So I'm now 4 pounds underweight. Oh well, I guess it's better than being overweight. And what's important is I'm healthy.

Ever since we got engaged last November, I've become so unbelievably busy...but ironically, it's not with our wedding planning stuff. It's as if God's saying, "your wedding is practically a year away, focus on more pressing matters first." So focusing on other stuff, I have been, although not by my own choice.

I was informed a couple weeks back that I'm being promoted to Manager, so that'll mean I might be handling my own unit soon. But although a promotion means a bigger increase, it also means I'll have a shitload of work dumped on me for the rest of 2007. The year of the wedding. Nice timing. But hey, I'm welcoming the salary increase.

Since this will be mine and Raphy's last year at SFC, we've decided to end our last year with a bang, by volunteering to be team heads for the next couple of activities, which will take up a lot of our time from now until around May or June. Although it will eat up most of our free time outside work (and inevitably time for planning the wedding), we don't mind doing it, since we're both very passionate about our service.

And of course, I've been helping plan my 2 friends' weddings. Tinka's is next week (SO SOOOOOON!) and Karen's is in March. Of course, I gotta prioritize their weddings over mine, since their weddings are way sooner. And it's my duty as a bridesmaid to help. :p

But thanks to good time management and OC-ness in prioritizing schedules, Raphy and I have managed to make a little time for the plans of our own wedding. We had the pamanhikan last Jan. 7 (which went really well!). 

Then we recently decided to change reception venues. Originally, we booked at Clamshell in Intramuros, but when we brought our moms there last Saturday, neither of them liked the vibe. My mom found it too big and not well-maintained, Tita KT said she got a heavy feeling when she set foot in it. And I had my concerns about the small paint chips on the floor. So we decided to just cancel that booking and are looking now at a Makati reception venue. We're deciding on Forbes Pavilion or Manansala at Rockwell, thanks to the helpful suggestions of Tita Budi and Tinka. Thanks, guys, for the help!

We're in the process of finalizing our invite designs, the gown/barong designer, and of course, the entourage. We already know most of the ones we'd like to make part of the entourage, but there are still some roles that have yet to be filled. Hopefully, we get to decide by next month. 

So that's the latest on our wedding updates. 10 months to go til the big day!

[

mood

|

lethargic

]

The Five Love Languages

Complete set of results

Information

I'm sure most of you already know the story of how Raphy proposed, but as promised, here are some of the details. :)

After 4 days of baking in the sun in the beaches of Camiguin, we took the 5:30PM flight back to Manila on November 2. On the plane, I distinctly remember the girls and I browsing through the airline's in-flight magazine and coming across an article about a guy who proposed to his girlfriend on-board the plane. Our general comment was, "Sweet, but sooo embarrassing!" Little did I know, I'd eat my words a few minutes later.

The plane landed a bit earlier than scheduled. We waited for the passengers to jostle their way out before we went down ourselves, as we didn't want to fight through the crowds.

When we finally deplaned and walked into the terminal, the first thing I saw was this signage that read, "I Love You, Lorena Alto" being held up by an airport officer and...Karl???

I was a bit disoriented at first...until I saw Raphy standing in between them, holding out a bouquet of flowers, with a big smile on his face.
 

I froze for a few seconds and inadvertently started backing away and hiding behind Tycel. She gently pried me away and moved me forward so I could stand face-to-face with Raphy, very conscious about the curious stares of passengers and airport personnel passing by. I was told that at this point, my face was as red as a sunburned tomato.

Raphy proceeded with giving a flowery speech, which, for the life of me, I can barely remember right now. All I remember was him saying "I love you," then getting down on one knee, holding out a jewel box, and asking me to marry him.

Of course, I said YES!

Before he could slip the ring onto my finger, I threw my arms around him in a bear hug and buried my face in his chest, laughing and tearing up. At this point, I was shaking like a leaf as well! He pulled away far enough to hold my hand and slip the ring onto my finger.

In the background, I could hear my friends squealing and giggling. Then on cue, a couple of people in the airport staff started applauding. Talk about straight out of the movies!

 

So yes, I'm now wearing a ring, something I'm not used to at all because I don't wear rings! I once told Raphy not to get me an engagement ring anymore and just use that money on the wedding, since I'm really not much into jewelry. But I'm so glad that his romantic, persuasive side prevailed. And I now have a small, simple diamond, just the way I would've wanted it. :)

Apparently, this proposal caused a bit of a stir. We were greeted on 89.9 by CJ the DJ (thanks, Karl!), asked permission if our story could be posted on some personal blogs, and informed that the proposal will be featured in the airline's in-flight magazine, with pictures and all. Too bad I didn't think to primp and smoothen my rumpled clothes before stepping off the plane. :p

So even though I don't like public attention, this is definitely an exception to the rule. It was worth the initial embarrassment and self-consciousness. Thanks to my very creative, very romantic, very wonderful fiance. FIANCE. Wow, it'll take a while to get used to that. I'm still waiting for everything to sink in. :)

[

mood

|

excited

]

Yup, it's that time when I take my yearly mandatory leave! Woohoo!

I will officially be free from the shackles of my professional life from October 24 to November 8. I'm excited already to bum, even for two weeks.

So here's what I have lined up for my vacation:

Oct. 27-28: Raphy and I are going to Tagaytay to check out some nice churches and reception venues. Then we head to Calamba, Laguna for the YFC-SIGA Metrocon, where we'll be service team to the SIGA kids. And to spend some time with his younger sister and brother, who'll be there, as well.

Oct. 30-Nov. 2: CAMIGUIN, baby!!! Woohoo! My last beach trip was Tali two months ago and I'm soooo raring to hit the waves again. And I heard Camiguin is breathtaking. Pure, untouched, virgin beaches. Lovely. :)

It'll be our barkada annual all-girl trip. We try to do that as much as we can, ever since a bunch of us went to Europe a good decade ago (has it been that long??). Besides, this will be our last out-of-town trip as an all-single group, since Tinka will be Mrs. Yunus come February. So this will be our last hurrah before we (or at least Tinka and soon after, me) officially graduate from singlehood.


So those are the out-of-town activities I have lined up for my 2-week leave. In between those days, I'll be going to the gym, going to the mall, tagging along with Tinka for her wedding planning errands, going to the mall, running errands, going to the mall, going to the mall, going to the mall...oh, and hanging out with my other non-working gals! (Calling Nikki and yapipie!) Finally, I've got more time with you guys. :)

Oh, and the most important task that I really, really should go about accomplishing already: LEARNING HOW TO COOK!

Remember the fiasco last year when I burned the brownies I was supposed to bake Raphy for his birthday? I haven't attempted to cook/bake again since then. And it's high time that I get over it and try again!

I've got 1 year to learn how to cook so I can feed my future husband a decent meal! I actually listed it as one of my New Year's resolutions at the beginning of the year and I haven't gotten around to doing it. I've got 2 more months left this year to at least attempt to make something decent. :p


*************************************


Even though I won't be around on the weekend before Halloween or Halloween itself, I'll still get to commemorate it and dress in costume! Tin is throwing a birthday bash/costume party on November 3, the day after we fly back from Camiguin. It's a "no costume, no entry" party, so Raphy and I are still trying to decide on what to go as.

Any suggestions would be welcome. :p

[

mood

|

disappointed

]

....for another angsty entry.


Just found out that one of my closest friends has a very low opinion of my boyfriend.

And it hurts like hell. 

Verbatim? "Is she really serious about him? Raphy? Raphy?? My brother said he was such a LOSER back in grade school and high school."

Uhhh, didn't we all go through awkward, loser, weirdo moments back when we were younger? Oh, and wasn't high school, like, TEN YEARS ago?

What hurts is she's basing her opinion of him on something her brother said. And her brother  was part of the gago crowd, so of course he'd say something like that.

Raphy has been nothing but absolutely nice to her. He's given her rides when she needed it, helped her find a very valuable item of hers that she misplaced, and he comforted her when she couldn't find it. It's very disheartening to get that kind of gratitude or lack thereof.

And what's worse is, I had to find out from another friend because apparently, she was yapping about it in front of them, but when I wasn't around. Couldn't she have said this to my face, rather than saying it behind my back?

Funny thing is, Raphy couldn't care less. I'm the one who's affected. Probably because it's my friend who made those comments, it's my friend who betrayed my trust.

It's sad, really, that a close friend of 10 years could do this.

I'm not the type to let this slide by, that's just not me. So I sent her a text this morning, expressing my disappointment in what I heard. Yes, I'm willing to talk things over with her for the sake of our friendship, just to set the record straight.

It actually hurts me more than my loved ones when people say ugly things about them. 

And you can be sure I'll fight tooth and nail to defend them.

I can't stand saying goodbye. 

I don't just mean bidding farewell to someone who's leaving the country indefinitely or even as grave as a loved one passing away, although I hate that, too--even something as simple as leaving a party and saying goodbye to the host makes me extremely uncomfortable. 

When we have family parties and I have to leave early, I just quietly sneak out, instead of saying bye to everyone, which is common courtesy. Even when I'm chatting with someone online and I have to go offline already, I'd have to muster all effort to end our chat session properly instead of just suddenly disappearing from the chat window and logging off.  
 
Because of this trait, I probably give people the impression that I'm rude and lacking in manners.

I've been trying to figure out why, for the longest time, I haven't been able to shake off this quirk. 

Maybe I don't like calling attention to myself when a party is in full-swing then I all of a sudden get up to leave for fear of being called a kill-joy?
Maybe it's because saying goodbye makes me sad, as it's rooted in my fear of losing loved ones to uncontrollable circumstances?

Whatever the reason is and whatever it's rooted in, it makes me uneasy.

It's my boss' last day today. And I'm already dreading the thought of going up to him and saying goodbye. And apparently, he gave specific instructions NOT to hug him when he walks out the door. He might cry. I might cry. 

So there will be no formal goodbyes to the best boss I've ever had. 


*********************************


I'm nervous for the weekend. 

Raphy and I are going on an "immersion trip" in a slum area. Well, a former slum area. It's now a Gawad Kalinga site for the less fortunate and it's where Raphy serves for SIGA.  

From Friday to Sunday, we're going to live with a family and live like them on a regular day. We have to be prepared to eat with our hands, sleep on hardwood floors, do menial chores, and *gasp* not take a bath for two days. Main objective really, is to open our eyes to the so-called real world. And to realize how blessed and lucky we are to be living such comfortable lives.

So there. It'll be a first for me, so I'm quite nervous. Wish me luck!