Never Ending Love Story

Eversince I was a little girl, I was amazed at how two people would fall in love. I was fascinated by love stories of how couples met and how their love grew. I prayed to God that I would meet the guy destined for me someday. I wanted my love story to be different and memorable. A story that I could tell my granchildren in the future to leave them a lesson about love. I asked Him to give me signs and whisper to me when I have met him. He whispered to me alright. He whispered too soon. I asked for my own love story and He gave me a bittersweet history to tell. A story of friendship, mysterious and unrequited love.

There was a time when I lost my faith and stopped believing in destiny. That was when I was infatuated by foolishness and flattery of deceiving men. I thought I have gotten over the love that I left behind in the past. Only to realize that even for the time in between, I never got over these feelings that I have kept hidden for years. Now that I know better of mischievous men and rekindling a friendship, I still keep myself from saying what I really feel. We're both free now. People would say, "This is the chance to tell him how you really feel. The coast is clear! What are you waiting for?!" I looked at him, wondering...searching in his actions and his words. I thought of our current situation. I say to myself, "It's too soon. Not everything has fallen into place yet."

I turned to God about this again and said, "I'm not asking for You to make him fall in love with me so we can become a couple. I know I have no control over his feelings for it depends upon Your will. All I ask is to make our friendship grow, strengthen our bond, and give us guidance along the way."

A Dream of a Sunset Orange Corvette

So many things happened over the past week. There were things that I have discovered and brought me to some realizations. There were matters that confused me and I did a lot of thinking. I was left to my thoughts again. To those who know me too well, yes, napapatulala nanaman po ako. I find myself staring into space again. I analyzed everything carefully to try to understand the scenarios that are happening around me. I re-evaluated some things that happened. A friend's voice echoed at the back of my mind, "You think and worry too much...relax a bit..."

But, eventhough last week was full of events, the last two days were great. I think it's one of God's way of giving me a breather. Last Thursday, I went to Batangas Racing Circuit with my bosses for a small track day. My immediate boss and I were asked to come along to entertain our contact person from General Motors who brought the latest Corvette C6. Other amazing cars were also brought in by their owners; the Porsche 911 and the BMW M5 (the only one in the country). They were all great cars but only one has the strongest presence among the three, the sunset orange Corvette. The first time I saw that car last June 30 at the EVO Essentials Night, I was in awe. I thought, "How I wish I could a ride in that beautiful car!" A few weeks later, I found myself enjoying a speedy ride around the race track. Just the thrill of being in it as it speeds through gives me butterflies in my tummy. I had a big smile on my face as Sir Kookie dropped me off at the pit to pick up Ms. Mayette to give her a spin on the track. With all the amazement and excitement in that day, I felt exhausted. I came home late that night and only had a few hours of sleep. I had to get up early the next day because I have to attend an event early that morning.

Still a bit groggy from yesterday, I dragged myself out of the house to the waiting shed outside our village. I prayed silently that I could get a ride soon because I was a bit behind schedule. Just the thought of getting in line and waiting for the next shuttle to come along worries me. As if God answered my prayers, a white car stopped in front of me. As the window was winded down, a familiar face smiled up at me. It feels great to see an old friend. Ed, a dear friend of mine was really good enough to give me a lift all the way to the office eventhough his office is far away as Libis. (Thank you,lo!!!) It was also great because we haven't seen each other for a long time. Eversince we both started working, it's hard to find time to do our usual tennis or badminton games.

I went to the first event in Ortigas which was an inaugural of a building. It was a funny experience. Jose Mari and I don't even know who invited us and we didn't know anyone. We arrived just as the mass was about to end. We stood near the reception area because the lobby of the building was packed with people --- old people. After the blessing, the owners made their way outside the entrance. After a few minutes, they came back with pots and I didn't want to know what they're about to do. Next thing I know, they were throwing coins at us. Poor Jose Mari... Clueless of what was happening, looked at me with horror as he ducks everytime coins were being thrown at his direction like he was a school boy being bullied with stone throwing.

After that event, we went straight to another event at the NBC Tent at the Fort. By this time, we were already exhausted. I forced every ounce of energy I still have in me to chat with some people. By the time we sat down, I just fell silent. Didn't want to utter another word or else I'll faint. All I wanted that time was to have a nice break. I wasn't thinking about the stress I've been having, I was thinking how it would be nice to go out and just have fun. Nana kept asking me if I was ok, I think it was so obvious that I looked wasted. This is the first time that I felt exhausted going to events.

When we went back to the office, I tried my best to gather up energy to do some work. I successfully cleaned up my side of the office and did some calls. Afterwhich, I had to sit down and relax for a little while. There was an announcement that Monday's a non-working day because of GMA's scheduled State of the Nation Address. I sent an IM to some friends who were on-line on YM saying, "Yehey! Walang pasok sa Monday!" Which roughly translates to, "Yahoo! It's a non-working day on Monday!" Poor Ed replies to me and said he still has work on Monday. Since it's Friday and we both needed a break, we decided to go out that night to hang out and watch a movie. At last! A chance to go out to relax and enjoy Friday night! I happily escaped staying long at the last event that we went to.

After waiting for me to slowly finish eating dinner, we bought the movie tickets. I think it took me an hour to desperately finish my food. I was thinking that going to World Chicken was a bad idea. I should've suggested we eat at Kaya or Cucina. At least I can finish the amount of serving that they give. I barely finished the pasta on my plate! Since there were still a few minutes to kill, we went to Timezone. I was delighted at the sight of the arcade games because the last time I played there was back in college days. I no longer use my Timezone card (I think I lost it already). When we tried out Daytona, I felt like a beginner once again behind the wheel. I also felt old. It's been a long time since I last played arcade Daytona. When the race began, it reminded me about scenarios in the past at work. It brought me back to some things that has brought me to mind lately. Thus, I was distracted by my thoughts. I was falling behind the race. Ed looked over me and said, "You do know that you're falling behind, right?" I just mumbled, "Yeah.." Maybe he thought that I was doing it on purpose. No, lo' I was really losing embarrassingly. After that, I tried to shake off thoughts about work and just enjoyed the night. Besides, it's not often that Ed and I get to hang out together.

As we made our way home, I looked out to the road. I thought of how simple life was when we were just a couple of high school teenagers. We both had ideals of how life should be by the time we step into college and what we should be after college. We even made a promise to ourselves never drink alcohol, and never have the habit of smoking. Graduate. Get a good job. We never thought that life could get more and more complicated as the years go by. It was like yesterday when we were hanging out at the park with the rest of our tennis friends and laughing over games of UNO. We didn't mind the sweat and the heat of the sun. We were living for the moment.
As we moved on through our separate lives, we both went through rocky situations and encountered people with their own stories to tell. Stories that gave us insight of other realities in life that are painful and inspiring. I was beginning think if we were wrong about our ideals.

I broke one promise that we made. I became a social drinker. Except beer though. I didn't like the bitter taste. Come to think of it, I never got myself drunk. I didn't like how my friends looked like when they got wasted. I hated the feeling of getting dizzy. Getting motion sickness is the only dizzy spell I can handle. I wasn't a heavy drinker. I eventually cut down on social drinking because I went on a strict diet when I got overweight. So that makes a rare doze of booze in my bloodstream. Still, I broke the promise.

Summer days were carefree days at the park grounds. Now, we have to spend summer days in tall office buildings handling pressure and stress from work. We used to dress in casual summer clothes. Now, we're both wearing office attires. We used to talk about school and what our plans are after college. Now, we talk about our experiences in the dog-eat-dog world.

We kept talking and shared some laughs though we were both tired from work. This is one of the reasons why I feel lucky to keep ties with old friends. It's refreshing everytime you get to spend time with them. We went home pretty late already but we had a really great time. I was exhausted but happy that the day went well. : )

Evo photos!!!!

At last!!! The photos taken at the Evo Essentials Event were finally delivered to our office!!! This photo of the advertising team really looked like we were having a photo op for a new tv series. Hmmmm.... I wonder what would be the best title for this picture if it were for a tv series..? And I'm not talking about a drama series...more of a comedy show...hehehehe!!!

Rally Friday

Here's a jist of the events that happened today: I ran out of credits on my phone lines, there was a rally around the corner from our office building, I just closed a deal with one of my favorite clients to place ads on EVO for the rest of the year, only to find out as I came back to the office that there was an error made on his article page on the special supplement. What a day...

After talking to my boss about my good news and bad news, we were able to resolve a back up plan for the problem I have with my client. I went back to making calls to other clients. Unfortunately, it seems that almost everyone had gone home early because of the rally on Ayala Ave and Paseo de Roxas. Except for one of my clients whom I visited earlier. He told me that Former President Aquino has asked the President to step down from office. I was talking to Nana on the phone who was absent at the time. She asked me if we have any plans of leaving the office early. I told her that we can't go out yet because it's pretty messy outside. And I wouldn't wanna go ahead alone. Another client of mine was on-line. His office was on Ayala Ave and their building is near the rally site. He told me that he'll check from his window the situation of the streets. He came and said, "Magulo nga" It IS a riot. And I said, "Really?!" And then he added, "Nagkakagulo sila sa pila sa fishballs" It's a riot with the line for fishballs. ha.ha.ha.

I waited for my other officemates to finish with their stuff. I got to talk to my mom on the phone and she told me to come home already. I told her that I can't go without my officemates. While I was chatting with a friend on YM, I could hear a faint uprising of voices. I felt goosebumps on my skin because I can feel the height of unrest of the people rallying the streets.

I remembered a dream I had that morning. I was standing in the middle of the street with my younger brother. He appeared as when he was around 5 or 6 years old. On both sides of the distance, I can see groups of people shouting at each other. As they walked closer, the exchange of words became more and more aggressive. As they came in closer, I held my little brother tight. I can feel the anger and hate of both side of the groups. We braced ourselves as they began beating each other up. Fear came over me. Suddenly, the fear caused me to grow tired of the feeling. I screamed at the top of my lungs. All of a sudden, the people stopped and stared at each other. Their facial expression turned calm then smiled at each other as they made peace to one another. Weird, huh?

Finally, my officemates has finished doing their stuff and they were ready to go. Anna and Jocas went their separate way because they'll be getting a ride from a different place. Marie and I walked to the other side of Paseo De Roxas going to Makati Ave. to avoid the big rally that was going on on Ayala Ave. The sky was beginning to turn in a blue-violet hue giving the streets a gothic color. I feel like I was in my dream. As Marie and I walked, I looked back to where the rally was. You can either see a red banner or a white banner with red writings. Luckily, we were able to get a ride going to Landmark where we can take our separate rides going home.

It was a loong line to get a ride going to Paranaque. I ate a little snack while I was standing in line. You can hear the news being delivered on the tv screens that are propped up on the ceiling of the shuttle station. I just shook my head with the news I'm hearing. I never liked politics eventhough some members of my family have become a part of it. Thankfully, I never had that political streak in me.

Gray Skies

Lemme describe the weather we're having today. I woke up this morning at the sound of the rain falling on the roof of my window. I can feel the coldness set in eventhough my junky electric fan's weak. I felt lazy to get up. I just wanted to stay home and sleep off the sickness I'm getting into. I'm starting to get cough and slight fever but I wouldn't be able to stay still at home anyway. I went to work.

The rain never stopped. It was wet everywhere and I know that I'll surely get sick after this but I'm still praying that I won't. As the shuttle van carefully glided it's way over the Skyway, I looked over the horizon and looked at the heavy gray clouds. That visual horizon always left a gloomy emotion inside my heart. "These are the times when you wish you had someone to hold you close to keep you warm..." as a friend had told me before when we were on the road on a dark rainy night. Other mushy thoughts and memories start to creep in my head and I just hushed it down because I'm still uncertain about everything in my love life. YADA-YADA-YADA....Yeah, I know I can be really cheesy!

Eeeww...my feet's wet! This is what I don't like with my ballet shoes! Eventhough it's closed the water could still get it! Sigh... oh, well... Can't do anything about that anymore...

Anyway, I'm writing this entry while taking advantage of the availability of a computer with YM. Overlooking this small nook I'm in is the window of the office. Everything's gray outside. The skies were dark, drops of rain sliding down the misty window. I had on my multi-colored sarong wrapped around my shoulder, I pulled it tightly to keep me warm. The colors defy the mood of the weather outside. There's a tie-die mix of vibrant red, forest green, orange, and deep blue. Eventhough these colors envelope me for warmth, the gray skies mirror what emotions that are lingering inside me.

Cinderella

I was able to find a really nice top with butterfly sleeves to wear for the event last Thursday night. It's a good thing that the boutique shop of my old high school batch mate was still open that Wednesday night. I wasn't able to find anything that I liked at Glorietta mall and it was already pretty late when Nana and I went there. I was lucky enough because they were on sale. I was able to get the top at a 20% discount. :) Cool, huh? I was happy because I get to save money.

The next day, Nana and I went back to Glorietta mall for lunch along with our other officemates. We did some last minute shopping and checked out this salon at Red Lane. The name of this salon is Crispin Britanico. I've always thought it was a fancy salon and as expected they were a bit pricy. But according to their credentials, they did hair and make-up for the people at Mega Magazine. At first I was a bit skeptical because the previous salons that we went to were not worth it because I wasn't satisfied with how they fixed my hair and how they did my make up. My eyebrows are the no.1 victim of these previous salons. They murdered my eyebrows!

Anyway, Nana and I went along with this salon instead of going to Regine's (at Park Suqare 1). I keep on praying that it would be worth it. I said it simple and clear that I want my curls and waves organized and my make up to be simple but not too ordinary. The beautician just nodded with a knowing look. I felt secured when he gave instructions to his assistant because I know that he knows exactly what he was doing.

As soon as the curlers were set, Mel the beautician started my make-up. What I couldn't understand though is that he took sooooo loooong doing my eye make up! I think he spent around 60 minutes just coloring my eyes! My client (let's call him Jordan) called me and asked me where I was. He said that he can't stay long because he has to go somewhere else. I told him to stay put in Rustans and wait for me. I can't let him miss me at the event! Especially when I just spent a thousand just to look mega pretty for my clients! I told him that I'm almost done and that I'll be there in a few minutes.

As soon as we finished, we rushed to the other side of Glorietta to Rustans. I sent a text message to Jordan telling him that I'm on my way. Just when I sent the message he sent a message telling me where he is exactly. I went there as soon as I placed my things at the concierge at Rustans. He didn't recognize me when I came up to him. It was expected because it's only during our events that I look different. I can tell people where looking at me and I wanted to hide because I get shy whenever I would see eyes on me. I got all the more freaked out when the youngest and most controversial member of the board kept looking at me. It's as if he saw me for the first time. Little did he know that I'm one of his employees in the office. I felt like Cinderella in a way, only the "prince" wasn't exactly charming. Later that night, we passed by each other at the parking lot and he let out this huge smile on his face and said, "thank you!" I didn't exactly know what he meant by that because I didn't do anything but I just smiled politely just the same and answered, "your welcome." He's the same person who yelled at me last year over some banners then commented later that night that I'm one of the prettiest faces in the party. I think he couldn't tell the difference between how I look like on a regular basis and when I'm all made up. I just laugh thinking how silly that boy is!

The EVO Essentials event went well. Didn't rain too much which was great because our guests were able to look at the cars that were displayed in the parking lot. I was lucky to get a ride with one of my officemates who also lived in the south. I didn't think I could survive getting a ride on my own with heavy things on hand and a different look. I might attract danger. I was having a bad feeling about going home through the shuttle service, I didn't know why. I didn't mind walking a long way to where Chris parked his car, as long as I am safe in going home.