First Month

Today marks our first month in the US. I can't really say that I'm already 'in love' with our new life because if you look at it, it really hasn't started yet. We have yet to start work with our new employer as we're still waiting for our intern licenses to come out. Although, the California Board of Pharmacy has assured us that our licenses will be released in 2-3 weeks. But until then, I am just somebody on vacation. *grins*

Our first two weeks were spent on relaxing, getting over jet lag and spending time with family. We are currently staying with Jerome's parents who have been nothing but generous, supportive and welcoming of their new daughter-in-law. *blush* Dad and Mom has guided us in every application process that needs to be done in order for us to start work ASAP - from our social security numbers to our credit card applications. I am just one lucky girl to have such wonderful in-laws.

We also visited Lolo Boy and Tita Trina's family in San Francisco. It was nice catching up and seeing how my cousins have all grown so fast over the year! It was also extra special to meet the newest addition to their family - baby Hanna. :-)

We also got together with our closest cousins, Ate Kathleen and Karl, in L.A and spent more than a week at their new house. The three of us plus Kaye (Arvin came much later into our lives. Haha.) literally grew up together. From learning how to ride bikes to going on our first unsupervised gimik at Hard Rock (it was the IN thing then, hehe), we experienced them all together. And now as we have grown older, the comfort of being around them hasn't faded.

As expected, L.A. was F.U.N.! It was even more memorable because my best buddy, Rachel, came with us! Back in college, we made a pact to go on a foreign trip before either one of us got married. Since the plan didn't push through, this is the next best thing to it! So there, we all went tourist-y in Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Disneyland. Haha.

I also had the chance to spend some quality time with my highschool kabarkadas, Tylou and Clarice. Tylou is now based in L.A. while Clarice lives in San Francisco. It was a blast making chika again about each other's lives especially now that Tylou is a soon-to-be mom and Clarice's family just moved to a house that they can now proudly call their own. That plus me filling them in on with details about our wedding, it was just chika all the way! Ang saya!

For the more serious stuff, I am proud to say that we have accomplished quite a few milestones over the past month. First, with the help of Jerome's dad, we were able to buy our first car. A Mazda CX-9. :-)

Plus, we were able to receive our social security numbers in less than 2 weeks, got ourselves US numbers and iPhones (woohoo!), bank accounts with Bank of America and applied for credit cards.

And most of all, I've been learning how to cook! Thanks to Jerome's mom who has been patiently teaching me her delicious recipes.

Not bad for our first month, don't you think? :-)

On Leaving

If things go as planned, Jerome and I have only 12 days left in the Philippines before we start our new life in the US. Honestly, things haven't really sunk in yet. Sure there have already been despedida parties left and right with our dearest friends and more to come in the next week with our families but I still can't believe we only have two remaining weekends left! Two! Just two and then what?

This will be the first time that I will be away from my family. I remember how I admired those classmates for being strong as they went to Manila to study while their families lived in different parts of the archipelago. Some even as far as Mindanao. While I couldn't imagine myself being away from my Mom, Lola and brother. I even cried out of homesickess the first time I slept in a dorm in my first year of college. And now I have to endure thousands of miles away from home...*sigh*

My wonderful family

I will also definitely miss the familiarity of my life here. I will miss the routine of getting up at 6:30 in the morning and rushing to beat the long line in the terminal to catch a van to Makati. I will miss hiding my slipper-ladden feet from the guards as I enter our building as wearing of slippers to work is prohibited by building management. I will miss Manong Art as he greets me a "Good Morning Ma'am, very early!" as his way of teasing me when I am rushing to "time-in" just before 9 am. I will definitely miss morning chika with Miel, Noemi, Ann and Tricia over coffee and breakfast. I will miss walking to my workplace and knowing exactly what needs to be done and accomplished for the day. I will miss lunch at 1 pm at our 12th floor cafeteria and pondering whether to order at Lola's Kitchen, Japanese or Mongolian as you've been eating the same food over and over for the past 4 years. I'll even miss enduring the long line at the Standard Chartered terminal just to catch a van home.

A view of my building from Buendia

My Workplace

I will miss every little thing of my life here. And I do hope that my "new" life in the US will be as fun and fulfilling as my life in the Philippines have been.

A Story of our Wedding Preps (As Told by the Pictures from my Phone)

We've been married for 4 months now and I still haven't gotten around to posting and blogging about our wedding preps and the big day itself. Now that I am officially on 'bum-ville', I now have plenty of time to do all of these! Yey!

So let me walk you through the 7-month long preparation of our destination wedding. Here are some pictures taken from my phone during those fun and exciting, at times tiring and frustrating, months of looking for a venue, hair and make-up artist, gown fittings, meetings with suppliers, etc.

First off, we really wanted to get married OUTSIDE of Manila. We've been living in the fast-paced city all our lives and wanted this one special day to be relaxed, peaceful, intimate and AWAY from the frenzied city. But before finalizing our decision for a destination wedding, we looked around Manila for a Church that may possibly be the 'one'.

Paco Park Chapel

Of all the Churches that we visited in Manila, Paco Park Chapel won hands down. The chapel was just enough to accomodate our small wedding and we could even have a garden reception right inside the compound.

But since an out-of-town wedding was still our first priority, we decided to look for a venue in Tagaytay or nearby Batangas. We felt that it was the best destination for three reasons - 1) it was close enough to Manila but is still 'out-of-town'; 2) we had our first date there and 3) Jerome proposed in the same restaurant that we had our first date in. O di ba, perfect?!

And there we found the perfect chapel...

Chapel on the Hill at Don Bosco

The Chapel on the Hill is located inside the Don Bosco Retreat House in Batulao, Batangas just outside of Tagaytay. It's a very small chapel and can only accomodate about 250 persons. The Chapel is circular in structure and has a labyrinth inside. People are advised to meditate while traveling along the labyrinth and pray once you arrive at the center. Please try it if you get to visit this Chapel. It was a very calming experience and made me feel God's presence around me.

Simultaneously, we were also looking for reception venues. In Manila, we went around the recommended venues in Intramuros but were disappointed with them as they were either too stuffy and dungeon-like or poorly maintained.

Reception venues in Intramuros

In Tagaytay, we visited Sonia's Garden, Hacienda Isabella and Josephine's Restaurant. We decided on the latter as it served the best Filipino food, had a spacious Parasol Garden and a very affordable wedding package.

Josephine's Parasol Garden

And during the day itself, the garden was beautifully decorated with candles, lights and flowers by our florist, Jojo Calderon of Saint Jo's Flowers (will post pics soon!).

I had my gown made by the up and coming young designer, Joel Escober. His works have already been featured in some fashion magazines like Metro. Joel has always been our family's designer over the years. He made my lola's gown for her 70th birthday and some of my tita's everyday clothes and gowns. Over the years, Joel hasn't changed a bit. He is still the same humble and down-to-earth guy who made a Mexican outfit for a 7-year old Arvin during his elementary days. Haha.

This was taken during my first gown fitting. I still remember how excited I felt back then. Hehe.

The gowns of my entourage were also made by Joel. Our motiff was rust orange and chocolate brown. I wanted kasi our wedding to feel like romantic autumn. We made sure that these were apparent from the flowers to the invitations and the gowns of the entourage.

Noemi - our veil sponsor

Miel - our candle sponsor

Chiqui - our bridesmaid

Susan , our maid of honor, with hubby Hubert, our groomsman.

Posing with Joel during their gown fitting :-)

With the help of family, friends and good and reliable suppliers, our wedding went beautifully as planned. It was just how we wanted it to be.

Paalam, Tita Cory.

I was only 4 years old when the People Power Revolution happened. I do not remember much about it except yellow balloons, ribbons and throngs of people that I saw from the 3^rd floor of our Sta. Mesa condominium. I also remember owning a yellow t-shirt with the face of Ninoy on it given by my activist parents. As a young child, I did not understand their cause nor felt the significance of it all.

I remember that once we owned a coffee table book on the People Power Revolution. I was just probably 5 or 6 years old then and couldn’t do much with the book but to look at the pictures. I remember pondering over photos of rallies, Cory speaking among her supporters and a young Kris sweeping the streets of EDSA. But the one picture that struck me most, even at such a young age, was the wake of Ninoy. As I looked at the picture, I wondered why his death has caused so many people, young and old, to line up for hours to get a glimpse of him and cried at the loss of this man.

I didn’t know back then that the death of this man fueled the Filipinos desire to free themselves from tyranny…and his wife, Cory Aquino, leading the way for our country’s democracy.

Cory Aquino or Tita Cory, as we fondly call her, will always be an icon of democracy and a symbol of freedom. The lives that we are all so enjoying right now is really because of her.

I admire Tita Cory for the person that she is. I admire her for her courage in the face of the Marcoses and the numerous coup attempts to bring down her government. I marvel at her strength in facing the death of her husband and single-handedly raising her five children. I admire her for her simplicity, for how much love she can give and her strong and unwavering faith in God.

When Tita Cory died at the age of 76 last Saturday, after suffering from colon cancer, I knew I just had to pay my last respects to her. I felt that it was the least that I could do, the least that I could give, to the woman who had given so much to each one of us and to the country.

My family and I went to her wake at the La Salle Greenhills last Sunday. It was very heartwarming to see thousands of people lining up to pay homage to Tita Cory. And what’s amazing about it was how patient people were. Nobody showed irritation over having to endure 3 hours of standing and no one was cutting lines. Everyone just felt humbled and honored to have the chance of getting a glimpse of the former president and the woman who has given so much of herself to the country.

When her remains were transferred from La Salle Greenhills to the Manila Cathedral last Monday, I knew I just had to be in Ayala Avenue to send her off. Employees of Makati lined-up along Ayala Avenue and gathered around the Freedom Monument at the corner of Paseo de Roxas, under the scorching heat of the sun, armed with yellow confetti, ribbons and streamers. Some were shouting “Cory, Cory!” while others were silenced by the overwhelming feeling that she is indeed gone.

(photos grabbed from Cynthia's facebook)

I am writing this as I am following the live coverage of Tita Cory’s funeral. Her convoy has already arrived in Paranaque and is now nearing the Manila Memorial Park. In a few more hours, Tita Cory will be laid to rest alongside the love of her life, Ninoy, and with our creator in heaven.

Paalam, Tita Cory. You may not be here with us anymore but your legacy will always live on. And we will promise you that we will continue on with the causes that you have started. Itutuloy namin ang laban.

Welcome back Ruven!

We were so thrilled to hear from Ruven after his two-year hiatus from us! So, it was a trip down memory lane last week as we met up at the Mall of Asia for dinner and drinks - coffee for us and bottles of San Mig Light for Ruven. Sorry Ruven, tumanda na talaga kami during the last 2 years. Haha.

Thanks Ruven, Chi, Gail and of course to my hubby, for another night full of college anecdotes, revelations (!) and endless laughter. It was definitely one of the best nights that I had in the last couple of months. :-)

Quick Getaway

On one long weekend, Hubert, Susan, Jerome and I went to Batangas for a quick vacation to relax and unwind.

First stop, we went to the Sta. Rosa Market to buy some tilapia, liempo, bangus, manggang hilaw at bagoong.

Jerome happily haggling for the best price.

After that, we proceeded to Batangas for our much-awaited, first-ever, couples vacation. Hehe.

Preparing lunch of inihaw na bangus, liempo and manggang hilaw...yum!

After lunch, we played a mean round of competitive pusoy-dos.

(In the photo: Hubert getting his turn at shuffling the cards while Susan was not too happy with her score. Yes, we kept tabs of our scores. Ganun ka-competitive! Hehe.)

Finally, after a hundred or so rounds of pusoy dos, we decided to check out the beach. Unfortunately, the waves were too big then and we couldn't go island hopping to much nicer and cleaner waters.

Hence, we had to settle and make do with what we had. And that's just what we did!

Jerome posing for the camera while Hubert looked on.

After which Hubert said, "Ako naman!".

Riding the waves...we had so much fun splashing and getting thrown by the waves. Parang mga bata! Haha!

Hubert getting thrown by the waves.

The boys got tired of playing in the water and decided to threaten us to a sand-throwing game.

The next day, we decided to try out the slides at the resort's swimming pool.

Jerome happily sliding.

Si Hubert naman...bakit nga pala wala akong picture ng nagsa-slide?

On our way home, we stopped by at the Kainan sa Dalampasigan for some late lunch...

...and tried their famous tanigue steak! Sobrang sarap! It's a must-try!

We also tried their equally delicious binalot na adobo (i forgot the actual name of the dish), chopseuy and pork sisg.

Went around the compound of the restaurant and took some more pictures.

Thanks guys! Till the next out-of-town trip!