Konti Na Lang, Bale 39 Days To Go, Bagong Yugto Na

May konting sakit nitong nagdaang buwan—konting sprain, konting ubo’t sipon na may konting lagnat. Pero ayos naman, dahil maraming pag-aaruga.

May konting bonding din sa pamilya kasama ng paghahanda sa kasal at nagdaang araw ng mga ama, pati na rin ang 60^th birthday ng biyenan ni Ate ko. May konti ring kilig sa paggunita ng anniversary nina Tito Nonong at Tita Chato.

May konti na lang na natitirang kailangang ayusin dahil nakapaglakad ng mga papeles sa Simbahan unang araw pa lang ng Hunyo at may ilang ulit na balik sa City Hall para sa lisensya.

May konti ring byahe—kumpara sa dating halos wala. Pa-north lahat pero hanggang Clark lang para sa kasal ng kaopisina at dalawa sa Calumpit para sa roadshow ng supplier at prospective project.

May konting deadline at nabubuhay at gusto nang matapos na mga project.

May konting pag-iisip kung paano aayusin ang kwarto para sa bagong yugto ng buhay.

Bakit puro May? June ngayon, ah. Pero Mhae, yun ang ngayon at magpakailanman. Malapit na.

May konting pag-aalinlangan na tapusin na ang talaang ito. Kung anuman, ang mahalaga’y gumawa ng mga bagong alaalang karapat-dapat itala. Salamat sa Diyos sa lahat—noon, ngayon, at sa hinaharap.

69 Days to Infinity

Just realized how even cooler 8/8 is. Still contemplating on keeping a monthy log active now that I’ve apparently given up on keeping my daily log updated, this is gonna be quick (hopefully really quick) as I even took most of the afternoon off for quality time with mhae, this, and some MM duties later. Sadly, I chose to miss tonight’s Mass.

So, 1^st week of May, pretty good starting off with a mall date and confession at greenbelt. It was also neat that we did go on another date that weekend and got good buys—probably the best being mhae’s dress that. She also got to fit the one worn by the manequin. A few days back, Papa’s birthday trip to antipolo (sans mhae who had a test in school) was a simple one and I’m ever so thankful for every year that we get to celebrate.

Mothers’ day was another simple treat at Gilligan’s Greenbelt and it was actually more chill this time. Oh, yes, because we had halohalo at Razon’s after and Ate went to Conti’s. We did our annual Espiritu Santo Mass (with Tita Chato, with mhae in asleep at the apartment) during the novena this time and not on Pentecost Sunday since papa had a scheduled trip (that didn’t push through).

Second half went south with a lot of laziness and procrastination. Highlight though was Kuya Jonathan and Ate Kristhine’s wedding. It was tiring (especially for Mhae and Marly and Daisy) but pretty sureal realizing Kuya Jo’s now married. And it was kinda cool how mama and papa were part of it too. Mhae and I had a kinda cute walk around Makati a couple of days after. Got to sing on a couple of Novena Masses for Mary Help of Christians (one substitution) and kinda making sure all Masses had choirs/singers. (START OF EDIT) Can’t believe I forgot about Ate’s birthday. So Kuya Jo who played in my Ate’s wedding 1 year before I met Mhae, my wife-to-be, got married on my Ate’s birthday. (END OF EDIT)

Mhae’s review at CPAR has started and I’m really even more impressed by everything about her, and also especially since we had a hospital hopping day on her last free weekend. I’m not really sure how much we’ve accomplished on our wedding preps, but we’ve got the wedding car booked, and got to visit Tita Tess and Rori and learned that Dogi and Ced are getting a second child! Looking back on work stuff, it was pretty busy with MegaWorld projects (the ongoing one and the terminated one) having to go to BGC 5 times this month, and that Saudi proposal.

Despite the heat, I think this was a good month. I guess it’s better to focus on the light.

100 Days to Infinity

Dahil nawala na nga talaga sa routine ang pag-log sa excel, at kahit sa notepad, talagang sa picture na ako umaasa nang malaki sa pagbabalik-tanaw sa nagdaang buwan.

Panahon na ng Pasko ng Pagkabuhay at saktong unang araw ng bagong buwan ang simula. May dagdag na pagkanta kaming core at ni mhae at iba pang willing dahil sa pagdiriwang ng octave. Bale kami ni mhae, nakantahan namin ang karamihan sa mga Misa nang gabi, at nag-sub din kami sa Misa nang Sabado nang gabi. Nakapag-belated anniversary date kami at ang sarap kasi pagka-dinner namin sa Conti’s nakaasiste kami kahit noong Communion rite na noon. Hindi nga lang pinakamaganda ang 1^st Friday experience namin pero napawi naman ng pagiging masayahin at mapagpasalamat ang mga kagat ng lamok. Dito sa bahay, may softdrinks a uli at haay…hirap talaga akong umiwas. Kasal ni Tristan noong ika-7, at habang nasa kasalan ako, si mhae naman ay kasama nina daisy sa divisoria para sa mga susuotin ng mga abay na babae. Nagsara ang linggo sa pakikipagkita namin kay kuya Jo para sa paunang “meeting” para sa coverage niya at medyo paghahanda rin sa kasal niya. Nakapagpa-reserve din kami sa 77 bar ni Cara para sa pre-nup shoot. Kinagabihan, kumanta muli kami ni mhae kasama ng SMC at si Kuya Jo at may kapayapaan. Ang saya lang kahit may konting lungkot ng pag-miss. Oo nga pala, simula pa lang ng buwan noon marating ang isang milestone sa mga naka-record na pera sa bangko. Mas maaga siguro itong narating kung naka-record din ang mga hindi.

Sa pagpasok ng ikalawang linggo ng buwan, may uwing pastel si papa. Nasuportahan naman nito ang mga joke ko tungkol sa motif. Ang wedding preparation update ngayong linggo, bale nakuha ko na contact sa printing. Sa trabaho, napa-site visit ako pagkatapos ng matagal na panahon. Nakapag-uwi rin ako ng pasalubong at masaya naman ako na nagustuhan nina mama at papa nang mahinog. Bukod sa on-going na mckinley, halos ang pagsara ng mga proyekto ang inasikaso ko—una ang kingsplaza, pangalawa, ang huling progress billing para sa Masinloc power plant. Matapos rin ang ilang taon ng pagbabalak, nagpalit ako ng strings ng classical ko para baka mas bumuti ang pagtugtog sa Misa. Medyo naman, pero mas dala ata ng paggamit ng pick. Hehe. Nitong ikalawang linggo ng buwan din lumuwas nang ilang araw si kakay pero umuwi rin agad sa bikol kasabay ng pag-uwi ni bonbon para makapagbakasyon na rin sa wakas.

Nagkasunod-sunod ang mga meeting sa parokya. Sinimulan nang lunes sa ka-meeting ang core, at noon kami ay na-stuck sa loob ng gate nang halos dalawang oras. Nasimulan ko rin dahil noon and bagong kaadikan ko sa vitamilk. Katuwa, tulad ng mga nakaraang kaadikan—mogumogu, kopiko 78, atbp.—sinusuportahan ako ni mama ko sa pagsama sa mga binibili niya sa grocery.medyo bonding time din namin ni mama ang pag-attend ng PPC. Dahil din sa mga meeting, na-set ko na sina mike para tumugtog at kumanta sa kasal. Nakakatuwa rin na kahit busy sa mga tungkulin sa parokya, nabibigyan ko pa rin ng oras ang boyfriend duties—mga sandaling pagdalaw kina mhae. Pagdating ng weekend, wedding updates uli. Noong nakaraang weekend sana ang sched pero parehas na-reschedule. Nakapamanhik na kami kay future Ninang Baby nanay ni melai at future Ninong Bong tatay ni yaluts. Nasabihan na rin bago yun sina Ninong Raul at si Tita Chato. Pati nga pala si Sir Francis, nasabihan ko na.

Movie date namin ngayong buwan, nataon sa monthsary, day 2, ang opening ng Infinity War. Pagkatapos ng Infinity War, na akala ko’y makakapagpa-relax, naging mas busy sa opisina. Napa-OT pa nga ako matapos ang ilang buwan, at tila busy talaga dahil nag-uwi ako ng trabaho (at ASEP Application—oo, napilit na rin ako sa wakas na gawin ang application ko) pero napalinis ako nang konti sa kwarto ko (kasama ang pagtambak ng computer parts sa kwarto nina ate). Sa marami-raming deadline sa opisina, halos lahat naman ay natapos. Kahit hindi napasa yung iba, ipapasa na lang sa makalawa—tatanggapin pa rin naman. At nagsasara ang buwan na 100 na araw na lang bago ang 8/8/18. Eto, marami-rami nang nagawang paghahanda, may mangilan-ngilan pang kailangang gawin. Ganun talaga para sa malaking pagbabago sa buhay.

6 Years After, 4 Months and a Week to Go

I can’t really summarize the month in a single line, but thinking of the things that have been happening in the moments I recall for this month, the past 6 years have made a sort of routine and it would be changed for the better in a bit more than a month from now. This is quite a quick post as I’m multitasking ang cramming my last day of the month blogging, preparing for tomorrow’s Mass, and hoping to be ready for tonight’s Easter Vigil.

March, Mhae was on vacation for the whole month and we had a lot of things planned. First up, we went to CPAR to pay for her review and PWU for her final term. We got to do the FX (though it’s UV now) commute to UST (that’s not that far from Besavilla, where I took my review). By the weekend, I finally got to use Yonni’s gift—a guitar tuner. We had a street Mass the first Saturday night of March and I’ve been playing the guitar during Sunday morning Mass since the next day. Part of the plans for the term break was jogging. We got to jog once but were cut short due to getting pushed too hard. No worries since cream-o chocolate is a good recovery snack.

We got to go to MOA on a non-payday Friday when Mhae met with friends, and it was amazing. On our wedding preps, we got to book our honymoon flight and accomodation. Our dates seem to be monthly and this time it was a red shirt date. At home, on the 14^th, we celebrated the anniversary of getting saved from the fire with pizza and mojos. Mhae and I also discovered how good the squidballs were at Evangelista cor. Tinio. On Choir stuff, we started practices for Easter Triduum before mid-month, with less than 3 weeks to go. There were LitCom and Formation Team meetings and they went quite OK. I didn’t get to attend the PPC meeting.

By this time, I lost it with logging. I’m guessing I’m dropping it by July. Don’t know. Anyways… Friday, we had a Parish Recollection and it was a good experience. During the weekend, Ate got me an avocado cake and it was much better than I expected. Another weeding preparation update, we got to book mhae’s hair and makeup artist. I think the remaining items are my responsibility. Kingsplaza project officially closed and we’re to gather up data to submit for equivalent progress billing. We also got to celebrate quite simply our 6^th anniversary. First and last days had us trying and succeeding in getting the laptop brought in for warranty covered repairs. I guess the most special part of our celebration was getting to go to confession.

Before the Holy Week’s halfway mark and the Holy holidays, we finally got 100% completion on the Masinloc project. We still have a lot more to do for the McKinley project but that would be for this coming month. Last leg of the Easter Triduum Mass practices went well and so far, the actual singing is OK. Last part tonight and more importantly, we’ll be celebrating the Easter.

Kulang Kasi ng 2 Hanggang 3 Araw

Dahil sa pagmamadali sa mabilisang buwan, hindi ko nagamit ang systematic na excel log file. At medyo mas mamadaliin ko na naman ito.

At ayun, unang linggo ng buwan, nakipagkita kami ni Mhaelord kina King, Anton, at baby Ellise. Ang cute! Nkuha na rin namin ang niresize na singsing at nakakuha na sina Mhae ng mananahi para sa gown niya, ni mama niya, ay ni mama ko. Astig sa contacts si mama ko. Panalo din sa linggong iyon ang mga kwento nina mama at papa noong bago pa lang silang mag-asawa. Nagkaroon nga pala kami ni Mhae ng away noon (selos related) na medyo mabigat pero mabilisan lang. Ang gaan sa pakiramdam na kahit nagkakaroon ng pagkakataong nag-aaway, kaya naming magkaayos agad. Bago matapos ang unang 1/4 ng buwan, nakapagpadentista ako. Malapit nang matapos (sana talaga) ang chapter na ito ng ngipin ko. Sa opisina, nagsisimulang maging hectic ang McKinley pero wala sa amin ang pressure. Tila kinakaya rin namin.

Nag-MM meeting nang maaga ngayong buwan dahil sa darating na panahon ng Kwaresma. Kinabukasan, masaya ako’t nakiisa kami ni Michael Ruga sa pag-aalay ng mga Hail Mary bilang pagpupugay sa tulong ng imahen ni Mary Help of Christians of Marawi. Pagdating naman ng Sabado, nakapag-date kami ni Mhae, bale unang pelikula namin ngayong taon dahil hindi kami nakapag-sine noong Enero. Nadiskubre din namin ang Quiznos sa greenbelt kahit malungkot kami na wala na ang Mexicalli sa glorietta. kinaLingguhan, bininyagan si tonet at nakapunta na rin kami ni Mhae sa wakas sa inuupahan nina KR at Anthony. Ok naman dun, at nakapag-red horse din kaunti kasama nina Aboy bago kami magtungo ni Mhae sa MOA. Kasama si ate, natingnan namin ang Vikings Venue dinelay muna namin ang reservation hanggang sa wedding fair para may freebies. Noong linggong iyon din pala, nakuha ko ang planner ni Mhae sa Mercury (na surpresa kong nabigay sa kanya), at nakuha ko rin yata ang isang project, bigay ni Syquiats—na hindi pa nag-followup ngayon, delayed na kung tutuusin. Bago rin mag-Ash Wednesday, nakakain kami sa wakas sa Korean restaurant sa evangelista. (may failed attempt kami noon weekend.) pagdating ng Ash Wednesday, nakapagsimba kami ni Mhae nang umaga pero hindi kami nagkatagpo hanggang sa matapos ang Misa. Bahagi na rin siguro ng alay na sakripisyo.

Dahil Ash Wednesday Valentine’s day na mas-Anniversary nina mama at papa, kinabukasan kami nag-celebrate. Nag-takeout na lang sina ate at Buds sa pancake house at sa bahay na lang kami kumaing anim. Chinese New Year, wedding fair sa Megamall at na-book namin ni Mhae ang reception. Nakapag-coffee bonding kasama sina Marly at Daisy pagkatapos. Bale ok na ang venue, medyo ang coordinator. Naranasan ko rin noong Sabadong iyon matapos ang matagal na panahon ang todo tulog time. Hehe. Wala rin masyadong gawain noong weekend dahil nag-aral si Mhae para sa mga exam. Lunes, nagawa na rin namin sa wakas ang movie date na naka-uniform si Mhae. Ang saya, paotsin pa kinain naming dinner. Nakuha ko naman kinabukasan yung mga pinapalitang mga sodexo premium pass nina mama at papa. Nag-halfday ako noon at pina-laundry ni Mhae si chuchu at tony(?). Balik sa wedding related stuff, nabanggit ni papa ang complimentary stay niya sa Hotel 101 at sa Microtel. Nakakatuwa ang suporta talaga ng mga magulang ko. At oo nga pala, panalo rin yung lechon na uwi ni papa galing Cebu.

Medyo biglaan pero nakakanta naman kami ni Mike Ruga para sa kapistahan ng Seat of St. Peter. Nakakatuwa na napupunan naman naming Core nina Froiland at PJ, kahit papaano, ang pagkanta sa mga kapistahan nang weeknight. Nagpasukat si Mhae ng gown at si mama niya, taong andito si mama niya sa Manila para samahan si Mikmik para sa entrance exam. Nakakatuwa rin na nakapagpabili kami sa kanila ng iuuwi nina Tita Dollie sa Canada na mga garapo ng pili at pili cake. At nakakatuwa rin na natuwa mama ni Mhae sa henlin siomai na niluto ni mama ko. Patapos na ang term na ito ni Mhae. Isang term na lang at gagraduate na siya. Ang papa ko naman, nagpunta sa Colombo, Sri Lanka. Naturuan kong mag-FB messenger sa phone kaya yun ang main communication nila ni mama. Medyo na-stress lang ako kasi matagal siyang naka-connect sa net nung andun na siya, pero nakatawag naman siya noon stopover sa Malaysia. Ang sarap din ng pakiramdam nung nagmessage si mama ko na tumawag na si papa—ang sweet lang. Tsaka panalo talaga pag nagtitiwala sa Taas. Sa opisina, ayoko munang isipin yung drama. Yung mga deadline ko sa megaworld (proposal sa footbridge at for permit at for review sa mckinley), ok lang isipin kasi nahahabol. Kanina, sa huling araw ng Pebrero, minabuti kong puntahan ang post office para magbakasakaling andun na yung inorder kong Springer. Ayun, tapos na ang Team Ultra Magnus collection ko. Sa pagsundo ko naman kay Mhae, kakain sana kami sa greenwich, continuation ng bacon crispy thin takeout namin nung isang araw bilang pag-alala sa unang “date” namin. Matao, kaya napa-KFC na lang kami.

Hindi rin pala maigsi maisusulat ko. Pero parang nagmamadali nga talaga pag Pebrero. At parang kailangan ko ngang magmadali sa mga kailangang gawin, halimbawa na lang ang pag-aayos ng kwarto ko at pagpapagupit. Pero kahit nagmamadali, kung alam naman ang gagawin, at syempre, may paggabay mula sa Nasa Itaas, kayang-kaya.

Month 1 Going to Month 8 in Year 18

The first week of the year is also the start of the preparations for August’s big event. And after Christmas week vacation, Mhae is back in Makati from Bicol a couple of days after New Year’s Day. She missed he Ang/Chua reunion but at least she got to spend time with her family in their new home. For the wedding preparations, I got requirements list from the parish office. We also started looking again at our guest lists and started listing ninongs and ninangs, and the entourage. Misadventures of the week are some jeepney mishaps like forgetting to pay and alighting 1 block early. I had a stomach ache since Monday, but it eventually went away. At work, Eldrich’s spent his last day as an employee to help in their family business.

Second week got a bit stressful with the scanning of papers for the Balut sale, although I hope it’s be done soon. Another quite stressful, much sadder things that happened was Venjo’s mother’s passing. Thanks to Cez, despite all that’s happened, the barkada got to visit Tita Linda’s wake. On the lighter side, I finally gave in to gathering the rest of Transformers Generations “Team Ultra Magnus”. Started with Arcee and later ordered Springer. And again at work, Chammy had her last day before her study leave. Also, Masinloc project percent progress has been small. It’s a sign that it’s almost done. The boss is getting optimistic (although I think we’re really going to start soon) with the Palanca project.

Third week was Birthday week. Church stuff, mhae and I got to sing in one of the nights during the Novena for the Feast of San Ildefonso. Didn’t get to attend the Feast Day Mass, though, because of abovementioned Palanca project and promotion problem rants by my boss. Back a few days again, I got to go to Confession before my birthday. On the day of my birthday, I heard Mass with mama and papa and mhae, and had my annual medical checkup (on-schedule for once) before going to the office with noone realizing it was my birthday. After work, I met up with mhae at waltermart and she gave me her gift (a good dark green poloshirt) on our way to her apartment before we went back to waltermart for dinner with mama&papa, ate&buds, and adette and judith. Oh, and in this week, I got Blurr (before birthday) and Kup (Saturday after). Harddrive upgrades arrived at work and I started the installation and backup trials. As for wedding preparations, with the help of mama and after some negations, mhae and I got our wedding date set—August 8, 2018. More guest list updating, then we went on with the coverage canvass (Kuya Jo vs Thad). With ate, we checked one reception option, and after that, mhae and I experienced going to a bridal fare. Room fix progress is almost negligible so that’s as much as I can say for now. In the outside world, Mayon volcano activity (and social media prominence) was the thing.

Fourth week got busy (or maybe I’m just remembering more), and was 70^th monthsary week but we didn’t really do monthsary stuff. We did, however, along with mama, the Razons, and the Conti couple, have dinner with Tita Dolly and husband. That weekend, we went to Robinson’s Place Manila to meet with renz for the ring resize. After our transaction at UCC (mhae and I finally had UCC together) and while mhae was in her class, I did some going around—to the office, nostalgia jeepney riding back to Manila, upgraded my Smart sim to LTE. The following Monday was a continuation of fulfilling things to do—finally getting a PTR (and paying a whole lot of interest and surcharge), surrendering old sodexo gift certificates for replacement, and Sun LTE sim upgrade. With my two sims upgraded, I’m finally using the 3310 3G mhae and I got a bit more than a month ago. Back one day, I got to make the best of a Grab promo wih Citibank with a total of 400 “saved” on trips including the previous weekend’s trips to and from H2O hotel to meetup with King. MOA lunch for Bon’s bday that Sunday was fun with Fortich siblings and of course, cute times with Baby Tonet. Formation Team Meeting happened (after my solo Feast Day weeknight service) and was fruitful in my point of view later in the week. And a couple of days ago, apparently, MM Core celebrated out first year anniversary with a followup meeting from previous week’s monthly meeting. Back on the things accomplished, I did deposits of 2016 and 2017 angpao Christmas cash gifts from family. Month closes today with GP asking about ring, McKinley meeting and me going straight home after, hearing Mass on St. John Bosco’s feast day, Gen’s despedida Amber dinner, and mhae and me watching the super blue blood moon. Oh, when I got home, I quite assisted Judith in getting a picture of La Luna Sangre / Ruby Moon (depending on which pop culture reference). Wow, the month turned out busy and quite productive. I do think I did get some things fixed in my life. Life’s changing in a few months. Exciting.