The Wedding Video

This is just a repost, just thought I should add it in here now that I know how to embed :)

To our loved ones - especially those unable to go to the wedding, here's what went down:

Our Modern Luuuurve from Dumonster on Vimeo.

This video was supposed to be screened for the first time at our wedding last year but I didn't have the chance to finish it; were so busy creating new memories that eventually made it to the final edit.

This is a private video, meant for close friends only. No copyright infringement was intended in the use of Bloc Party's "This Modern Love" - it's just that the song fits our story so perfectly.

And to my editor friends - I have primitive editing software (which required guesswork pa!), so please go easy on me! I used to edit better than this :D

2010 2ème Partie

This is the second part of this entry. Just so you can't say I don't finish what I start :)

June.
This was the month of running around like a headless chicken. In one day I would be zipping about from Pasig to QC, Mandaluyong to Cavite then Bulacan, QC to Marikina then Makati to Subic... and other seemingly impossible permutations. But I made it through alive (with a smile on my face). Hallelujah!

 

I went from my pre-wedding seminar to a friend's wedding shower, then from my gown fitting to a friend's wedding, I had shoots lined up while hunting for shoes (and then finally settling for having one custom made in Markina) and making headbands for Agay's wedding, I dealt with orders for my sideline business, requirements for my family's visa application, and hurrying off from meeting to meeting like the White Rabbit. There were also spur-of-the-moment reunions with The Dwarfs (what we called our gang in La Salle) after one of us got sick, and the JPREMS (my high school posse) for the funeral of Patti's Dadad.

An unexpected reunion with some of my oldest and dearest friends.
Sadly, it was a tragic event that reunited us.

But most unforgettably, my family and I went to Cavite to check the repairs on our first house. My dad was supposed to oversee it until we found out about his cancer and then we didn't have the money or the heart to finish it in 2009. By some miracle (and financial wizardry), my mother found the money to finish the house just before I left, on the anniversary of my father's passing.

Visited dad for the last time before getting married.

July.
After months of fretting, Mommy, Allan and Girly finally got their Schengen visas! It was the last, most important thing I needed to handle. After making sure that the bridesmaid and the family of the bride can follow in August, I got my signal to start packing. I cleaned my desk at the office and gave away what I could bear to part with.

Allan seems to be happy, but I'm not so sure :-\

Like a condemned woman I ate everything I could think of that I would miss, and said goodbye to the people I would miss even more than the food.

Jeyn and Patti of JPREMS (Pau and Jen still owe me pictures of our meet-up).

My fabulous lunch bitches.

The Legendary Yakkers. (Picture borrowed from Calvin)

The gorgeous dwarves and dwarfettes who cast their lot at my mini bridal bouquet toss.

Writers, poets, lovers of words! (Picture borrowed from Cathy)

Office friends throwing me a bridal shower! (Pic borrowed from Cathy.)

Probe farewell (pero reunion) party

And this is how I prefer to remember July: drink in hand and not crying! (Pic borrowed from Mark)

August.
There isn't enough space to write the highlights of August because every moment of every day there was something new and exciting that made me giddy like a fifth cup of coffee. 

H and I traveled a lot, and I saw and learned more about France. I swam in the Mediterranean, explored medieval cities, lived on a boat, saw the coast from an enthralling vantage point, woke up to gorgeous sunrises, had dinner under shooting stars, showed my family around Paris and the rest of France... 

 
Too many things. After a few weeks I began speaking a bit of French!

Trying on hats down the road from the coliseum in Arles. It's a Provence thing.

But best of all, in a matter of weeks H and I went - 

We clean up pretty well, if I do say so meself :)

From the official wedding photo album by Jenny (Soon to be uploaded!!!)

To be continued (soon, fingers crossed!)

Manila and the Bachelorette

Went to a friend's bridal shower last night. Friendship clause prevents me from divulging what went down, but we had a gay olde tyme.

It's funny to see everyone pairing off and settling down one after another. We all knew each other when we were dumb kids making stupid mistakes and having our hearts broken and trampled on on a regular basis. Doesn't mean we aren't the same dumb kids anymore, but I guess now we know better to stay away from people who break our hearts and stick with the person who truly loves us. It's hard and frustrating, but it all pans out in the end. Or we could at least hope.

I had an early shoot this morning, but trust me not to get up on time. While waiting for the camera crew to set up and for the hosts to get their makeup done, a walk around Binondo revealed that I still haven't discovered all of Manila's impressive sights. Like many Pinoys, I never get to see all of the city's hidden splendor... mostly because there are so few left and they are so well hidden under the guise of neglect.

I entered the empty post office in Liwasang Bonifacio that Sunday, too. The lady guard gave me a wary look but let me in, curious why anyone would want to go inside a closed, dirty old building anyway "just to see it." About two minutes later, she followed me inside to turn the lights on - which I said were unnecessary, you could see well enough even with the doors closed. It was designed to let in light. Besides, I only wanted to touch the iron grills and the banisters that stood there when my grandfather migrated to Manila, and see the ceilings and walls that defied the second world war, and touch the tables where my father maybe sent a few letters himself. Tacky drapings on the ceiling and bad paint job aside, the building does not cease to amaze.

It is bittersweet to see the decaying city's beauty again on my last year here. Manila, I hope that when I see you again you will have found a person who will really love and care for you. Or we could at least hope.