Countdown: 8 days to go

I'm on a holiday today (one of the rare times that The Bank is on official holiday and the outside worlds still have to work hehehe). My brother and I did some errands for the wedding. We first picked up my purse from Dream Bride. I actually have my wedding gown already together with the pillows, veils and cord, we picked them up last Saturday. But Tria was not satisfied on the purse so she had it re-done. I'm really really happy with Tria. She didn't scrimp on the materials used in my gown and the paraphernalias even though I really haggled with her on the price. It doesn't matter if you paid a little or you paid so much, she really gives you her 100% attention and makes sure your gown is really beautiful. As I kept on mentioning, I'm really happy with how my wedding dress turned out. It was more beautiful, if I can say so myself, now that I've seen it complete, than when we had our last fitting. It's simple and elegant.

Our next stop was meeting with Marj. This is actually the fifth time I've met up with her. The first time, I was with Penny, and we were still scouting for wedding coordinators then. I actually didn't meet up with any other coordinators as I was satisfied with my meeting with Marj. The second time, I was with Joema, and we discussed the details of our wedding. I was actually surprised because Marj contacted me more than a month before the wedding to have the meeting set up. I was expecting to receive word from a month before but was happy she was pro-active that I didn't have to be the one to initiate the meeting. The second time, we were supposed to have the final menu tasting with Eloquente but Ms. Tina begged off at the last minute. Marj decided we could still meet up and jsut make chika hehe. But we still managed to talk about so may things about the wedding details. She has a lot of stories about her other brides. She also makes suggestions on how we should do things. By the way, she's also our emcee for the reception so I'm pretty sure our program will flow smoothly. I didn't actually have to think about the program proper because she just gave it to me and we just have to make some inputs. She and her husband, Carlo, were also with us for our final food tasting (4th meeting). I was with Joema and my parents then, so Marj got the chance of meeting the 'rents already hehe. She and Ms. Tina talked about the details for our wedding reception. In the end, we had Carlo be in charge of our sound system (my quartet specifically requested for a direct box and monitor speaker, which are not included in the basic sound system of Eloquente). And of course, we all had a taste of the good food provided by Eloquente. Today (5th meeting), I turned over some of the wedding stuff to Marj. She really wanted to make sure that her bride are worry-free come wedding day. That's why she requests most of the stuff to be turned over to her a week before the wedding. We (me and my helpers - Jay, Mama and Papa) were still finishing the misalettes last night but everything turned out okay. Just a few more things and everything will be in Marj's hands. I can sleep well (if I can) the night before the wedding.

After the meeting with Marj, we went to My's house. We picked up the Hershey's Kisses we'll be using as fillers for our place cardholders. My knows where the local distributor of Hershey's is so I requested her to buy a box for me.

Last stop was SM Megamall for some last-minute buying. Although I'm pretty sure I will still be back there next week to buy more stuff for the wedding hehehe.

I Just Noticed

..that our ticker says 10 days! 10 days before our wedding! 10 days na lang!

May Nagpapapansin!

Kailangan talaga blue ang buhok?!?!?! LOL Kaw talaga ZZ bigla kang nagpaparamdam porke less than two weeks na lang magpapakasal na ko! (Bahala kang intindihan yang Tagalog ko at wala na kong panahon mag-aral ng Mandarin ngayon hahaha)

*Images sent via email by zashi

When We're Not Busy Going to Hospitals

We managed to buy Joema's shoes. Where else but at Cubao X.

Joema choosing among the myriad of shoes

Mirror shot

And we also got his suit.

Mang Oman of KNIK altering the length of the pants

Waiting...waiting...

Two more weeks, baby!

This blog invests and believes, the proximity*

Thanks to Cheryl for giving this to me. Sorry it took some time to post this. Hope you're feeling better.

*I had to google the translation of the award. Got the translation from here.

Your Fingerprint, My Fingerprint

We have our wedding rings already, but I would love to have this kind of wedding ring..


Wouldn't it be nice to carry something unique to your spouse wherever you go?

Source

Another Trip to the ER

Oh yes! You read that right. After my allergy attack last week, I was back at the ER (Medical City) this past weekend. *sigh* Yung kasabihan ng matatanda na “Lapitin sa disgrasya pag malapit ng ikasal” - so true for me! Joema and I were in SM Megamall last Saturday night. We were walking down a flight of steps when *bham* natapilok ako and sprained my righ ankle! I felt my mind went blank and when I opened up my eyes, I was holding on to Joema for dear life. I was squirming in pain. I had to ask him not to let go of me and to let me sit down for a few minutes.

Joema and I went to the MegaClinic at the 5th floor but their orthopedic wasn’t in. They instead gave me the schedule of their doctor, which I didn’t need at that time, because it was then that I was feeling the pain. I needed the doctor right at that moment. So again, I called up Ge and she advised me to go to the ER of Medical City instead. But since it was a weekend sale at Megamall, we figured we might have a hard time getting a cab. So I called up Pam, only to ask if it’s wise not to go to the ER hehe. But she advised me to go as I am getting married in a few weeks, and it’s better to be safe than sorry hehe. There was a long queue for a cab outside Megamall so we started walking towards Podium along Julia Vargas. Yes, even if it was killing me, we walked. And it was all worth it because we got a cab at the intersection of Julia Vargas and ADB Ave.

Triage Area

When we got to the ER, I filled up some forms and then they “wheeled” me to their “trauma” area. The doctor took a look at my ankle and then we had to wait for a few minutes. Then they wheeled me to have my ankle x-rayed and then we waited again. After a few minutes, the doctor said the x-rays were clear, that they had to bandage my ankle and to keep it there for 24 hours, and to rest my foot for 48 hours. So during the weekend, I was carried around the house ehehehe. Thank God for my medical card, we didn’t have to pay for anything. I had to call Jay to ask him to pick us up. But it was okay, as he was the one who told our parents what happened. I really didn’t want to tell them but I can’t hide my bandage. Jay was just in time to pick us up as we were cleared from the cashier and Joema has bought my medicines.

Patient Tag

My mother was still awake when we got home. So we told her what happened and that there’s nothing to worry about. Joema and I ate dinner (we still haven’t eaten, that was 10pm already!) and he had to carry me to my bedroom after. Hahaha nauna ang pagbuhat kesa sa kasal!

Now, I’m back to work but my foot is still swollen. *boohoo* Please, no more accidents. No more trips to the ER.

My bandaged foot

Canonical Interview

I've blogged a few times that the first thing we actually "booked" was our priest. Fr. Caloy usually officiates the first Friday masses here at our office. I've been inspired to go to mass during first Fridays because of him. His sense of humor is right at the bat but he strikes you as someone who is sincere and honest in what he says.

Joema has not met him until our canonical interview last week. And like me, he loved Fr. Caloy's humor as well. Joema wanted someone who will make us laugh on our wedding so I made the right choice based on his criteria hehe. Some of the things we talked about during the interview:

• Fr. Caloy asking us if we're both Catholics. Then I told him that Joema isn't, he's a Methodist.

Fr. Caloy: Ah talaga Methodist? Yung girlfriend ko din non Methodist e.

Me: Yan po ba yung classmate nyo sa Social Dance*?

Fr. Caloy: Ay hindi bago pa yun.

++++++

Fr. Caloy: Naalala ko pa non pumupunta kami dun sa piangttraining-an ng mga pastor nyo (Methodists) sa may Tagaytay di ba? Pastor kasi tatay non e kaya sinasama pa nya ko dun non.

• When asked about the impediments to marriage. He had to explain the "Others" part.

Fr. Caloy: Sa "others" kasama jan yung impotence. Kasi kung impotent na di na ikakasal yan. Dati nga may lumapit sa kin na sissenta-anyos na lolo gusto magpakasal. Tinanong ko kung tinatayuan pa sya sabi nya hindi na. Sabi ko "'Lo, subukan nyo kaya bumili nung viagra. Kung tatalaban pa kayo non ikakasal ko kayo." Sabi ni lolo, "Nagbibiro ho ba kayo?" sabi ko "ay hindi ho seryoso ho ako" LOL

• When asked where we lived

Fr. Caloy: San ka ba lumaki? Ah sa Valenzuela, sa may Marulas? May bahay kami dati jan e.

++++++

Fr. Caloy: San ba kayo don? Sa may {insert name of village}? May bahay pinsan ko don.

++++++

Fr. Caloy: Sa Bulacan ka ba? May bahay din kami dun sa may Marilao. Ang sarap ng talaba don!

(Gusto ko humirit na...Father, ang dami nyo pong bahay ah!)

• With the question, are you giving your consent to marriage with your entire freedom

Joema: Opo

Fr. Caloy: Sigurado ka? Gusto mo palabasin muna natin sya tapos sumagot ka ulit? Sigurado ka ha?

• Talking about the ghosts in the seminary

Fr. Caloy: Ako hindi naman ako nakakita e. Pero meron kaming naging bisita nakakita daw sya. Ewan ko ba don ikinwento pa sa kin. Kumuha tuloy ako ng aso para may kasa-kasama ako dito.

• Telling a story about the Italian priests who can't speak English. The priest ordered hamburger while in New York

Fr. Caloy: Sabi nung pari "Amburger!" di marunong mag-English e yun lang alam nya sabihin. Sabi nung crew: toasted or not. Sagot yung pari "Amburger". Tanong ulit yung crew: toasted or not. "Amburger!" E nainis na yung crew hinawakan sa kwelyo yung pari na parang sasaktan na. Natakot yung pari "Pizza!" ...true story yan ha! LOL

• Still talking about Italian priests. Three of them were going to visit the seminary

Fr. Caloy: Ayan o bumili nga ako ng kape P300 ang mahal-mahal. Buti na lang isang linggo lang sila dito. Kasi kung mas matagal baka kailangan ko pa bumili ulit.

* In one of his Friday mass sermons, he talked about his calling to priesthood. He wanted to be a priest as early as when he was in Grade 2. He would practice with his cousins and have them "eat the bread". But when he was in Grade 4, an older cousin of his told him he was stupid to go into priesthood because he wouldn't have any girlfriends. And he was convinced! haha During high school he had crushes on his beautiful classmates. Druing this times, he knew he had a calling but brushed it aside. And then during college, when he had to take Social Dance as his PE he had a major crush with one of his classmates. He would ask her to practice even after classes hehe. It was during this time that he was asked to come to Vatican by a priest. He went and he saw Pope John Paul II and was lucky enough to kiss the hand of the Pope. When he came back, he heeded the call to priesthood.

Rey and Pam's Wedding

On the last day of September, one of my secondary sponsors got married (inunahan pa ko! haha). It was a perfect time to have my trial hair and makeup with Ella hehehe. I’ve had my trial makeup with her on our prenup but I wanted to see how my hair will look. I gave her a photo of the updo that I wanted and Maricel, her hairstylist, did it perfectly. I met up with them at 1030am at Ever Commonwealth. Just a side story, when I rode the the taxi going to QC:

Me: Ever Commonwealth po
Manong taxi driver (MTD): Ma’am padagdag na lang po ha
Me: *flared up already* Ano!?!?!? Humihingi na nga kayo nung dagdag na sampung piso tapos dagdag pa ulit? Wag na ho…ibaba nyo na lang po ako (kahit na umaandar na yung taxi by this time)
MTD: Ah sige po hindi na..
ME: Ang hirap sa inyo manong humihingi pa kayo ng dagdag. Sa totoo lang po nagbibigay naman ako ng tip e pero pag ganyang nanghihingi kayo lalo akong hindi nagbibigay. Pare-pareho lang naman po tayong nagttrabaho
MTD: e ma’am kasi po yung iba hindi nagbibigay..nakikiusap lang naman po kung guto magbigay e di okay po..kung hindi, hindi naman pipilitin
ME: e mabuti naman ho!
MTD: blah blah blah blah (di ko na inintindi sinabi nya…take note hininaan pa nya yung radio ng taxi nya para marinig ko sinasabi nya)

Later on when I told Joema and our friends about it, he joked that if it was a bad driver he would've told me: "Ah ganon po ba ma'am sige po hold-up na lang" hahaha

I arrived earlier than our scheduled meetup so I went inside the mall and bought two books from Expressions hehe. Will soon post my review on the first book, I’m still reading the second one.

After they picked up me at Ever, we then went to Ella’s house. Maricel did my hair first and then Ella did my makeup. She said she will be using the same colors for my wedding. At first I was a little bit apprehensive. Bagay ba sa kin? But later on looking at the whole picture, it was good on me haha! We had time to eat lunch, Ella ordered Mcdo delivery (8-6236 – plugging pa!), in between applying my makeup. We finished early and had to wait for Joema, Heili and Tric to pick me up. Actually, Ella brought us back to Ever and then from there I meet up with the trio. They suggested we should drive-thru Mcdo to order lunch (super good idea – never got to a wedding with an empty stomach!). They ordered while I just drank Coke, I was sot thirsty but wasn’t hungry because I just had lunch then.

Before 2:30pm we were at the church. It was an old church right smack in San Mateo, Rizal. We waited for a bit before the ceremony started. When the doors were closed and we’re waiting for Pam to enter, my heart was beating so fast. Ewan ko ba! Nagffeeling lang ako na ako yung bride hahahaha! Now, what the heck will I ever do on my own wedding! Buti na lang maikli lang aisle ng Archbishop’s Palace.



Anyway, the rains started to pour during the ceremony but it ended during the pictorials. No more rains when we went out the church!




By 6pm we were at Timberland Heights. It’s a new members-only club. Kind of like Tagaytay Highlands, on top of the mountain with a great view of the city. It was newly built and Rey and Pam's wedding reception was the first ever event that they hosted.

When we entered the property, we were joking with Joema that he might have to present his invitation because of security. Tric and Heil's invite says Mr. and Mrs. while mine only has my name on it. We were telling him that he might be asked to not enter the compound haha. Of course, before we went into the reception hall there's the registration table for the guests. After asking which table I'm assigned to, I had to ask Joema's name too. Aha he wasn't on the guestlist hahaha! Sabi nya if they deny him entry, he would have pulled Pam aside and tell her to include him in the guestlist hahahaha! Anyways, everything's cool coz he has an assigned seat as my guest.

The reception program was short and sweet. Dinner followed by speeches, songs, dance and the traditional garter and bouquet toss.

Congratulations and best wishes, Rey and Pam!

Invites Out

I know I’ve mentioned that we started giving out our invitations. I’m very happy with how our invites turned out. We had A Perfect Creation print the main invite as I blogged before. We went back there, I think after a week, and got our sample invite. We were expecting to get the invitations by the end of September but I think they had some problems with the printing. It was okay because we asked them to make additional 20 pieces (we originally ordered just 80). Iona informed me that there were some delays and that the invites will be ready by 6 Oct. But the 6th was a Monday and they don't open shop on Mondays. Iona suggested that they can deliver it the following day instead. So on the 7th the invites (all 100 pcs of them) were delivered right on our doorstep.

The invites came in these cute brown boxes

But there were some pieces that were damaged - either there were stains or the embossing was not correct so I asked Iona again if they can do anything about it. She said they will replace all those pieces and again had them delivered to our house. The replacements were delivered today. Now that is customer service!

Anyway, on the night of the 7th I started assembling our invitations...

The rest of the invite was DIY. I made the RSVP card..

and the map..

and the sticker (just like our save-the-dates, i just corrected the order of the name, guy's name first yada yada and changed the font)...

and the envelopes too..

(which my family helped me fold, our little assembly line)

So when you open the envelope you will see this...

and it will open up to this..

Allergy Scare

Friday morning I woke up with tingling sensations on my feet. Parang namumulikat at pasulpot-sulpot yung feeling. I felt this almost the entire day. I was uneasy the whole day. The only thing that kept me going was our dinner date with the flyfish gang.

We arranged to meet up for dinner so that I can give their wedding invites. We ate at Claw Daddy at Bonifacio High Street. We ordered pasta, baby back ribs and crabs. We found the food a bit pricey but over all we enjoyed eating there. I enjoyed eating the crab so much - what with pounding it with a stone (or rock?) to crack open the shell hehe. When I got home my feet were swelling. I wasn’t alarmed by this because I thought it was just an effect of what I was feeling the whole day, that I was just probably tired that the swelling was an after-effect of the tingling sensation.

But when I woke up the next day, my hands were swelling too. I can’t even make a fist. My hands up to my elbows were swelling. And my feet were itching! My legs were swollen as well, you can’t even see my ankle. Parang yung itsura ng paa ng mga buntis na minamanas. Ganon! I was a bit scared although I knew (after Grace’s own allergy scare) it’s really nothing to worry about but I still asked my brother and father to bring me to the ER. We went to a small hospital near our house. And since it’s a small hospital they didn’t accept my medical card. I had to call my officemates to ask what I need from the hospital so that I can reimburse my expenses. But I left my phone with Joema the night before. So I had to call him first to ask him for the numbers. And since it’s a Saturday he was still sleeping when I called and was a bit irritated while I was talking to him. I didn’t want to tell him I was at the hospital coz I didn’t want him to worry. But he was just so slow and he couldn’t figure out how to send a business card using my phone that I just blurted out to him that I was in the hospital and he needed to hurry (because I started to feel sleepy). I had to call him a few times and just ask him to dictate to me the numbers of my officemates. Rhoda wasn’t answering (probably because my other number wasn’t listed on her phone) so I had to ask for Ge’s number. O ayun panic tuloy si Joema bigla when he knew I was at the hospital. Anyways, when I got Ge’s number I was feeling really whoozy from the meds they injected so I asked my father to call her instead and told him the things he needed to ask. After a few minutes Ge was there visiting me with her daughter. So sweet! Isn’t it nice when your officemates have become your friends? Sometimes you know them more or they know you more than some of your relatives. But I digress. Ge came by to visit to tell us to just call her in case I will be confined. She will call our medical provider to ask for assistance if that was the case. But thankfully, it wasn’t. I just slept – or "kept my eyes close" is more accurate since I can hear everything that was happening around me, I wasn’t sleeping but my eyes just felt heavy. I was released after maybe an hour, the swelling subsided but my feet were still itching a bit. The doctor told me not to eat so many things (seafood, chicken, dairy, egg, legumes, processed food like hotdogs, etc. etc. in short “lahat ng masarap” – his words). I was given a prescription and we had to buy the meds before heading home. Before leaving the hospital, Joema called and asked if he should go straight to our house or to the hospital. I told him I was being released and that I’ll see him when we get home. After a few minutes that we’re in the house, he arrived. We ate lunch together but after eating I was asleep. As in tulog na parang wala ng bukas. I don't know if it was the meds kicking in. I was lying in the sofa while he was at my feet haha. When I woke up, I found him asleep too. I felt weak to go out of the house and do some of our errands – get banns from church and give out invitation to our ninong. But we had arranged for a dinner with his friends so we went out early in the evening.

My Kumpil

The day before my scheduled confirmation, I emailed Penny and confirmed with her our meeting time. I had a fitting in the morning so I had asked her to meet up around 12nn (when I called San Miguel Church they told me the confirmation is scheduled at 2:30pm but we should be there by 1:30pm and there's a seminar at 2pm). She replied saying that she needs to bring their car to the talyer to have it fixed. Dinaan kasi nya sa baha kaya ayaw na umandar. But after a few hours, she emailed me again saying the car has “miraculously healed” haha!

The next day, my confirmation day (naks!), while I was waiting for her to pick me up, she sent me a message saying the car won’t start. Nakupo! But all’s well as we figured we can just commute going to Malacanang. I called my Tita who’s familiar with the area and asked whether we can go there via LRT-Purple Line. I met up with Penny (and her family) and her dad gave us a ride to the Santolan LRT station. I think it was already 1pm by this time. I don’t know what was into me that day but I wasn’t really worried we won’t be on time. And that’s big for me because I’m a stickler for time. I hate being late (this is the reason Joema and I always have our petty quarrels). But that day I was calm, I wasn’t worried. So anyway, when we got to the station there was a long line for the LRT card, which is unusual because they have a lot of card-dispensing machines there. But on that particular day, only 3 or 4 were working. We lined up and after a few minutes got our cards. When we got off the Legarda station we didn’t know where to go. We figured we can ride the taxi from there going to San Miguel Church. My Tita told me we can also ride a jeep going to Quiapo, get off Mendiola and from there ride another jeep going to San Miguel Church. But according to Penny’s dad jeepneys weren’t allowed in that area and that me wight have to walk going to the church. So when we were out of the station, we started waiting for a taxi or jeep to Quiapo. But most of the jeep signs were Stop and Shop or Divisoria. Okay now we’re lost. We had to ask one of the trike drivers there. Buti na lang alam ni Manong. He told us to cross the street and ride a jeep going to Quiapo. Then get off Petron which is along Arlegui Street and there we can ride a jeep going to San Miguel. We followed his instructions and got off Arlegui and rode the San Miguel jeep. I had to ask the driver if he’s going to pass San Miguel Church and he said yes, thankfully. But there’s this creepy passenger (there were only 6 of us inside the jeep – me, Penny, a lady with a child, the creepy passenger and then another kid seating in front), who immediately asked if we’re going there for the confirmation. I said yes. Then he asked kung sino magpapakumpil, so I answered na ako. But I wasn’t looking at him when I answer him at baka matandaan nya mukha ko. I can’t not answer him din naman dahil baka kung ano gawin nya noh. And I was seated inside inside the jeep and he’s seated right beside the door, the only way I can get off the jeep is passing by him or thru the window haha! And then he started telling us that we should go there during fiesta because the confirmation is free during fiesta. And then he started saying that date of the fiesta, and that they changed the date in the recent years. Was praying so hard we reach the church immediately, not only because we’re running late but also because of that creepy passenger. He was helpful but nevertheless still creepy.

We reached the church siguro quarter to two. There were a few more people coming in after us. I accomplished the form and then had to pay the P600 fee (plus P25 pa for the small medallion). Then we proceeded inside the church. The person in charge, a bald guy, let’s call him Manong Kalbo, started giving us instructions. He was a bit OA in teaching us what to do. We’re not a bunch of idiots you know. It seemed like he was talking to a group of second graders. And I felt like a second grader, I was terrified of him. It seemed we can’t make any mistakes and if we do, we’re a bunch of morons. He discussed part by part the things that will be done during the confirmation. And then the last part he warned us that we shouldn’t seat when the Bishop says “Magsiyuko kayo” or else we wouldn’t be getting our confirmation certificate. But what do you know, when we got to that part, it did sound as “Magsiupo kayo” ahahaha.

Altar of the National Shrine of St. Michael and The Archangels

The Bishop was a small old man. He was old but you can see that he’s also very strict (we were warned actually, I don’t know if we’re brainwashed into thinking it or if he really is that strict). Anyways, since it was obvious most of us were there because we’re getting married (Catholics should have their confirmation as early as age 12), he gave some words of wisdom regarding getting married. What really stuck to my head was his song. He was lecturing us not to engage in pre-marital sex. He told us that brides who wore white and are not virgins are hypocrites. That the song should not be “Here comes the bride, all dress in white”. The bride should instead were polka dots and the song should go “Here comes the bride, three months inside, six months to go and … “ I forgot the last few words. But we were all laughing. He was laughing himself. Like a kid, I might add. Imagine a kid who’s laughing at something naughty he has done but is trying to suppress his laughter or his parents might catch him. That’s what he was like at that time. So funny! Penny and I were still talking about it on the ride home.

St. Michael

When I got my certificate pala I checked it and Penny’s name was misspelled. We had to have it corrected but it was fast naman so no sweat.

With my Ninang Penny. Thanks Ninang! :)

One Month To Go!

Yay!

* Done with my confirmation
* Done with first meeting with Marj
* Got Joema's suit and shoes
* Had bridal shower
* Started giving out our invites
* Finished misalette
* Will have canonical interview tomorrow
* Will get banns and permission from the parish this weekend
* Set meeting with quartet
* Final food tasting next week
* Fax changes for the reception venue
* Buy wedding paraphernalias

I know I'm missing so many things there but that's it for now. We have one more month to go, only 30 days! Gosh! Then I will be Mrs. A. Whooopeee!

The Stolen Lake

Found this old book in one of our cabinets at home. I haven't bought any new books when I finished the last book I read so I had to look for the next book at my old stash. Was surprised to see a "dedication" at the book cover:

Pls. keep this as my remembrance. Thanx for being my friend. Don't dare change. I love you. Take care of your darling .

Forget me not
Forget us not
Forget the letter
But not the writer

Hehehehe the friend who gave it to me was a schoolmate when I was in grade six. I never knew what happened to her when we transferred to different schools for high school.

Anyways, this book forms part of a series written by Joan Aiken, although the foreword of the author says that no need to have read any of the others she has written to understand the contents of this book. The story is about the adventure of Dido Twite, which happened during the time of King James II of England (supposing he was the leader of England instead of Queen Victoria). Dido Twite is aboard HMS Thrush which was asked by monarchy to pass by the land of New Cumbria, to help the queen, Queen Ginevra because her lake was stolen. The book starts to get interesting ones the crew of HMS Thrush gets to New Cumbria to meet the queen. Apparently, Queen Ginevra thinks that she is the wife of King Arthur (yes the one with the sword and king of the round table) and that the king was asleep for already thirteen hundred years. He's asleep because he is healing from his wounds he suffered when he fought in the Battle of Dyrham. He was kept in the island of Avalon and she needs the lake because this where he will travel back to her. The lake was stolen by the king of a neighboring country because he is accusing Queen Ginevra of kidnapping his daughter. He is keeping the lake as ransom. Interesting enough?

Brought this book to Bangkok and finished it while waiting for our flight back to Manila. It's a welcome break from Jaws and certainly a lighter read compared to the next book I've finished. Wait for my next book review.

Prelude to Bangkok

Look where we’ve been...

So many things to write about Bangkok. Let me start on the night we left for Bangkok. As some might have known by now, all Cebu Pacific flights are in NAIA Terminal 3. Thank God, we weren’t one of the thousands of passengers who were stranded on their first few days operating on said terminal. When we got there, we were a bit confused as there were no assigned counters per destination…basta lang all domestic flights will check-in on the counters to our left and all international flights will check-in on the counters to our right. I’m not sure if it’s the most systematic way, as there was an incident where they had to ask all the people lined up if they were passengers bound for Hong Kong. Apparently it was boarding time for their Hong Kong flight and they had to make sure everyone has checked in. Truly enough there was lady who was still lining up behind us. They asked us if it’s okay to let her go ahead of us. Anyways, we didn’t have a problem with that I think I’m just used to assigned counters per flight.

waiting in line for check-in

There weren’t that many food stalls/stores inside the terminal. We had to contend ourselves with eating the rice meals from San Miguel Food Shop. I wasn’t satisfied with the taste but we had to make do with it. After eating our rice toppings, my father had to buy another sandwich from Seatlle’s Best and shared it with my brother. Sana nag-Seattle’s Best na lang nga kami, mas masarap pa.

where we bought our "sad" dinner

The waiting area at Terminal 3 are spacious and the seats are comfortable. Hindi ako nainip while waiting for our flight as I brought a book with me. But don’t you find yourselves eagerly/excitedly waiting for a flight out of the country (or even out of twon) than when waiting for a flight back – super nakakainip na parang ang tagal-tagal dumating ng eroplano. That’s how I felt on this trip.

The travel to Bangkok is around 3 hours and 20 minutes but there’s a time difference of one hour, Thailand being behind. So it felt like the flight was faster than anticipated. We were there around 1130pm and were welcomed by Tita Badette and Tito Tito. They’re friends of my folks. Tita Badette works for the DFA in Bangkok and had passes to go inside the airport. They welcomed us right from the gate when we got off the plane. Hanep! Tita Badette had lots of stories about Bangkok. It’s nice that we had a “local” with us when we traveled from the airport to the hotel. I’ve read some stories about Bangkok taxi drivers na naghohold-up ng tourists which Tita Badette confirmed that there were incidents like that. Of course, she told us other stories about their life in Bangkok – bits and pieces of Thai culture. My first thought of the country was how progressive Thailand is. Their airport is humongous and very modern looking! It is about 30minutes away from the city proper.

ganda ng airport

Their highways were huge as well! Sabi nga ni Tito Tito mura daw ang semento don kaya panay ang pagpapagawa ng infrastructure hehe.

Checking in to Baiyoke Boutique Hotel was easy. Even if we arrived there way past midnight, the front desk personnel were friendly. I had a hard time understanding their English but we got our keys and the necessary information like breakfast and free shuttle van before we proceeded to our rooms. We booked two separate rooms and Jay and I were roomed together. Buti na rin kasi when we got there our “welcoming committee” stayed and chatted with our parents pa. It was a long day before we finally had time to sleep, eager to explore Bangkok.

Final Fitting

I’m finally done with fittings for my wedding dress. We’ve had our 2nd, 3rd and 4th fitting already. Hopefully I will not gain weight until our wedding. Each fitting is about two weeks after the other. For my 2nd fitting both Tria and her mom was there. Both of them plus Ms. Linda were making a big fuss on my dress. I felt like a princess haha! We’re all very happy with the outcome of my dress. This will probably not sound convincing because I won’t be able to describe it. Basta all I can say is it’s simple yet elegant. For all my fittings, we didn’t really stay that long. There were always minor alterations - meaning, hindi ako pumapayat! Although they always tell me that I’m really slim and petite, I still don’t believe them haha! The last time we went there, they’ve put my dress in a body form and it was displayed on their shop’s window. Haaay…that’s my wedding dress!! Now, I just have to maintain my weight (although I wish my arms were smaller ) and hopefully the fit will not change. I can’t wait for Joema to see me wearing the dress!