MFEO

Wow. So here we are, after more than a year of preparations, it’s now June 2006.

It’s -ing JUNE 2006!

WOW!

9 days…

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SAL Generations

Tuesday, 23 May

On my last day at the office (before I went on leave), Ara, Dulce and I went to the newly opened (at that time) mall for dessert. I ended up with a bagful of bread from BreadTalk.

Mall of Asia is huge! I’m definitely coming back (with sneakers and a rested body… and Joven of course). =D

Wednesday, 24 May

The day was devoted to house cleaning. The construction’s finally over! Woohoo! Here are the before and after pics. It’s not much but we’re glad it looks a lot better. =D

It was a long wait, but it was worth it. =)

Thursday, 25 May

I took a looong leave not only because of the wedding preps, wedding, after the wedding but because of this…

My dad is here! Yipee! I can’t get a better picture because of the excitement. Hehe!

Friday, 26 May

My dad, mom, sisters and nephew went to Namel’s for Daddy and Jef’s measurements. While Joven and I went to UST to proofread our marriage contract and distribute invites. We also went to the cleaners to pick-up Joven’s suit. We then met with Andrew to get him a shirt for the wedding. We accompanied him to Gardini’s for the coat rental.

During all the fuss, Andrew told me “Grabe, you’re getting married na!” I told him I couldn’t believe it as well. He knows every heartache I had… being one of my bestfriends. He gave me a quick hug. We both know nothing would change between us and that wherever life would lead us, we’ll still be bestfriends. We still have a lot of Christmas eves to spend together. =D

Saturday, 27 May

Joven and I headed to Monasterio de Sta. Clara. After giving our offering and our petition, we went to the chapel and said a short prayer. Hoping for good weather on our wedding day. =)

After lunch, we went to the caterer to finalize the details and to make our final payment. Whew!

Sunday, 28 May

We headed to Tet’s shop for the final fitting and to pick up the gowns. Unfortunately, out of the 11 female entourage, we only got 3 gowns. It’s either they lost weight or they gained weight (mostly the latter). =D I’m also guilty of this, I gained weight… that’s why my gown didn’t fit me well. Hihi! I’m back to my no-rice-and-sugar-diet. =P

Incidentally, it’s my parents 40th wedding anniversary! (Happy Anniversary Mommie & Daddy!)

We had a simple celebration with the Larin family at Bayview. (Remember the downpayment we gave for our supposed reception there? Hehe!) It took my feisty sister, Daphne, to help me arrange this.

Since Mommie & Daddy’s reluctant to do the cake cutting and wine toasting thingy, we had some sort of a practice. It was hilarious!

But, it wasn’t only us who had a taste of cake & wine. =D

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Before I forget, My uber creative friend, Ara, was kind enough to DIY our offertory and unity candles. Yey! (Notice the J & D initials in the unity candle, Galing!) Thanks Ara! Mwah!

Last Friday, my sister and maid of honor, Daphne, with the help of my sister Desire threw me a fun fun bridal shower.

It was supposed to be a secret but a “secret” email to Joven, a “bridal shower” email to Irish and Bon’s slip-of-the-tongue gave everything away. Eventually, I knew the location and date as well. I’m nosy eh. Hehe!

Thanks to my officemates, french friends, Cri-C & Manuel, Annie, Kat & John for making it uber fun! Sa mga hindi pumunta, except for Beej & Yax who had valid reasons, bahala kayo sa buhay nyo. Gaganda nyo! Hmp!

Earlier that afternoon, Joven and I met at Ortigas MRT. We went to Megamall and shopped for ring and arrhae boxes at Regalong Pambahay. Yey! Enfin! Meron na din kami! Whew! We ate churros from Dulcinea (yum!) and looked around for Joven’s shoes. Sayang, wala talaga. Someday brad, someday… =P

Joven said we need to go to SanMig Cafe to meet someone. Syempre yun na yun. =D

The night started and ended with videoke-belting sessions. =D When we entered the cafe, people were singing already. I was swamped with kisses. Aba! Parang birthday ko!

We headed to the buffet and we were greeted with these. Sarap!

After eating, we had games!

Four pairs daw. Sali agad ako. We were asked to put a roll of bathroom tissue in between our knees. Grabe, Hilarious!

Our partner has a stick in between their knees, their goal was to insert the stick to the roll of tissue. They were blindfolded. Laugh trip! I couldn’t help but laugh whenever my partner (Ara) would try to insert the stick at kung saan saan napupunta! Bawal daw magsalita eh. Hehehe!

We lost! I was laughing all the time eh. =P

Next game was Dress-Up-The-Bride. Two rolls of tissue paper, a bride and two couturiers. =D I was asked to judge this one. Nakakaaliw ang amount of creativity a ten-minute game can produce. =D

The futuristic bride won. Must be the boots. =D

Next game was What’s-in-the-Bag. Kakagulat ang mga laman ng bag ng mga lola! Sayang walang umamin na may condom sa bag. Hehe! Annie won by 1 point. =)

Last game involved us. We were asked to answer questions simultaneously. Dami ko mali. =( Every wrong answer would mean lipstick on our faces. The consequence was changed in the middle of the game. Wala yatang gustong kumiss kay Joven eh. Hehehe!

After the games, I was asked to open my gifts! Hilarous moment na naman! Hehehe!

I got Lactacyd from Dulce, lingerie (na natatanggal ang pundilyo! hehe!) from Lu, lingerie (lacy-transparent which I heard Christophe helped choose! yaiks!) from Michelle, edible belgian chocolate thongs (for him to wear! ayos!) from Jera, Hot Sex book (mabasa nga… hmmm…) from Ara, x-rated DVDs from Cri-c (from her collection perhaps? =D), lingerie (wholesome) and boxes of condoms from malou (sanay bumili eh… haha!), massage gel, glow-in-the-dark lotion and kama sutra checkbook (cooool! pang blackmail someday! hihi!) from Bon.

Thanks thanks for making the shower super FUN! Love you guys! =)

More pictures here.

Paging Benj… pa-stag ka naman. Hehe!

… aka “So Dark the Con(s) of Wade”.

Dionne and I watched The DaVinci Code at Greenbelt 3 last Saturday. Good thing I was able to buy our tickets a few days before that, as the ticket booths were overflowing with people. Before we went into the cinema, we saw this booth by Coffee Bean. They have this service that they’ll deliver the drinks right inside the cinema. Lucky us, since we were quite sleepy from a tiring day. There was also this promo that if we buy 1 large Ultimate Ice Blended drink, we get a regular drink for free. We ordered mocha and vanilla, which was delivered just as the movie was about to start. I was too engrossed in the film to remember how they tasted…

Ah, the film. One of the most anticipated titles to hit the screen. Dionne got bored on some parts of the movie because some scenes seem to just drag on… Whereas I was fully awake throughout the movie. I wanted to see how it was executed, having read the book (but couldn’t remember what really happened, and sometimes mixing it up with Angels and Demons, hehe). At the very least, Tom Hanks was much better this time than the last time I remember watching him.

After the movie, we felt like grail questers rushing from Landmark to Glorietta, looking for a pair of Wade’s. They were supposed to be part of Dionne’s gift…

But luck was not on our side. Most shoes in stock were just too small for me (size 9’s, 10’s). Even before that day, we already tried to find a pair at Megamall and Robinson’s Place.

I originally wanted a pair of I-Robot Chuck Taylor’s. I thought that the whole upper part was black but, apparently, the ones in the stores have white rubber for the toe part. (I just found out now that they have rare black versions. Now where can I find those? Hmm.) Until I finally decided that I’d be using the new pair as workout shoes as the And1’s I’m using are already worn out. Heck, I would’ve even settled for the Limited Edition All-Star Wade that comes with a Dr. J pair, for twice the price. If only they had a size 11! Oh well..

As backup, I would’ve settled for a pair of Nike Free’s. But no, size 10.5 is still not the right fit. Haay. I guess I’d have to wait for another time. I do remember a guy at SM mentioning that the bigger sizes will be arriving in 2 or 3 weeks time. Yey, just in time for the wedding!

I could use them as dancing shoes… =P

Speaking of dancing, last Sunday, Dionne and I got a 2-hour instructional class (mostly for me) from Mang Tony on the basics of swing and foxtrot. He advised us to practice everyday, after office, to really get a feel of the dances. Yesterday, we had another round of practice, but something in me was out-of-sync. I was “bouncy”, as Dionne would describe it.

I say, it must be the shoes (Nike ACG’s). Hehe!

It’s Friday again. And I’m wearing the same shirt I wore to the “Stag Party in the Sly” last week (details of which are to remain confidential, hehe). It’s the same shirt I wore to our Christmas party.

I wanted to take my picture now but I’m at the office and it’s a bit embarassing when my officemates hear me clicking away, trying to get the perfect angle. Hehe.

I guess this has to be my favorite shirt. Dionne gave this to me last year and at that time, I was still hesitant to wear such bright colors. These days, I try to wear this shirt as often as I can.

Let’s see if this streak continues next week…

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Yesterday was my 28th birthday. My friend, Ryan, even kidded that it was my last as a bachelor. Sorry guys, no stag party for me. At least, that’s what I’m publicly declaring. =P

Dionne, once again, treated me to a wonderful dinner. She cooked, with her mother’s help a lot. My mom, brother (Jeff) and sister (Mae) were also there to join us.

Thank you, my beloved Dionne! I love you too!