F Girls In Italy

F: Friendship

Dewie and i have been friends, all because of my childhood friend Ted, who became Dew's husband. We've been friends virtually on friendster, now a dead social network, and, luckily, we continued over facebook. I may have long known her husband since childhood (obviously our house back home is adjacent to theirs), but Dew and i happened to talk much thru facebook. Getting the feel of "old time friends". We both love writing and blogging. We already shared a lot, personal and mom stuffs.

F: First Sight

When she told me, they will be touring Europe, i was ecstatic. At last i will be able to see her. I really love the way she dress. Swak na swak, with accessories and all. Oozing with confidence. Medyo kulang ako nun, magpapahawa ako =). Meeting her for the first time at the central station, my first word was "oooh..geez, hi"...tipong lost for words. It's her! The slim & smart girl with a million dollar smile, that i always see & have in mind.

I'm sure we're discussing what to wear next =)

F: Frisky
Virtually, i like her na. In person, i like her more. Hindi maarte, masarap ka-chika. No need for ice breaker. The only one we need is a brake. Ala na'ng preno sa chikas kasi. =) Energy talaga!

F GIRLS! --- If you click this word, you will know what it means for us.

The question is, what did the F Girls do in Italy? 16GB SD memory card of digital slr cameras won't be enough. I can't find exact words to describe how we both enjoyed each other's company and how we've been fab in our european styled-everyday attire. 9 days of hopping from cities to cities, savoring italian and filipino foods, the budget may be too high, but in the end, we can't tag a price how much satisfied we were.

Grand Canal (Canal Grande) in Venice won't ever be the same again without us =)

Joining the Vogue's Fashion's Night Out in Milan

Inside St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City

Salute to the heroes of the war @ Vittorio Emanuele II Monument (Rome)

Hot mama's at funicular railway in Como

It's called Standing-by with Style @ Galleria di Vittorio Emanuele in Milan

F: Future

I hope it's not the first and last time we'll be together. Maybe soon i will be gallivanting over the streets of Singapore where she resides. Who knows? Or in the future, we might see ourselves in other european countries. (ipon ng madugong budget!) Anyway, our friendship has been enriched by this tour.

Arco della Pace, Milan

More stories to tell and photos to share!
Stay tuned.
Same post was shared too here---> Meanderings

Memories Always Last...

somewhere, somehow, sometime in our lives we meet a lot of people and we always ought to be with them. but, we grew up, have our own lives. a lot of things just simply change, yet good memories will always be there.

significant people put a mark in our lives even they have been gone out of sight or been far away; and yet, one day, they will just unexpectedly come back and greet you "hi!".

(the girl end left wearing orange top): people simply call her Wheng. Closed friends & families call her Dhang. I used to call her Wenggay. We were both "irregular" students way back on college. I was a Pre-Dentistry student and shifted to BS Psychology. She was BS Education and shifted to Psychology too. We both have letter "M's" as surnames, so we used to be beside each other on seats if the professor liked us to be alphabetically seated. I thoughts she was "suplada". She doesn't smile a lot. So i broke the ice.

"irregular ka rin?" i asked
"Ah oo, nag shift kasi ako" she simply replied.

To cut the long story short, we became best of friends. We simply "lived" together in one apartment until we graduated, and until she had her job.

She's "mataray" talaga. "waray" kasi. but, she's so thoughtful and sweet.
When i went abroad, we communicate thru normal mails, then came the cell fone messages and facebook. When i got back home last 2001, we had our "college barkada" reunion and it was fun!

I returned home again by 2006 and 2011, but we only talked over the fone. I was busy as well as her, and we didn't had chance to really see each other. I just simply missed her.

She got a son now, named M.J. now on kindergartedn, if i'm not mistaken. I hope i will be able to hug her again when i go home.

(2nd girl from left wearing black top) OMG! i simply forgot her name. she's Wheng's cousin and i only met her once. so pardon me forgetting.

(3rd girl from left wearing green shirt) Was that me? What a hair? hahaha. skinny winny me!

(guy behind me) He's Joel. My "ex". He's a very sweet guy i met during college years. I would say, very, very thoughtful and protective. We had a lot of good times together. He just recently caught me at facebook. I'm still young those times, so being confused and insecure, i ended up the relationship. Hope he never hated me. After him, I sinked into another relationship. So deep that made me a first time-mother to my eldest son. it's nice to see/hear from Joel again.

(guy beside him), my brother Ron, beside her is Rrowena, his "ex" who was his classmate during college. their relationship didn't last that long either. my brother's happily married now. I don't know about Rowena.

(girl with 3rd from right, my brother Ron's classmate too. sorry didn't remember her name too)

(guy on red shirt is Mel) my brother Ron's best friend. He's a nurse now and reside in England. Mel's fun to be with and i won't forget our "crazy and dramatic" days during those times that i'm in love. He knows what i have been through with the father of my son. "Speedo" bag. Amen! Let's not talk about it, hahaha.

(last girl end right, Ron's classmate too, surely i don't remember their names because when this event happens, it's the first time i was with them.

This picture was taken during San Isidro Pahiyas Festival in our hometown: Lucban, Quezon, and they were all our guests.

So that was it...things kept on flashing back and i am just happy for these memorable moments. i can't turn back the time, but these memories will always be in my heart.

Thanks guys/gals!

Born to Be an Architect

I was in 2nd year college when Zaldy arrived in our boarding house at Palmera St. Sampaloc, Manila. He's a bit shy at first, but later on, i discover he's the friendliest creature ever, a very funny and super malambing guy. I was studying Pre-Dentistry at Centro Escolar University, Mendiola, Manila those times and he was a freshman in Architecture at National University. To shorten it up, we really had that good chemistry. I'm sort of his adviser, he's sort of my shock absorber. Madrama ang buhay namin those times eh. :D. But, most of all, we had a lot of real fun during our stay in our boarding house. I still remember during wee hours, we sneak and eat "goto" near Bustillos. Jollibee Legarda is our fave hang-out. The Glorietta in Makati is still a hit those periods. I won't forget when we "spy" on actress Carmina Villaruel shopping at bench store. She's really lovely. We also danced to Francis M's "Mga Kababayan Ko", and get addicted to 89.9FM station joining Revicon contests. Grabe, laging busy ang landline kakadial! Not to mention sacrificing a long line at ULTRA to see a Manilyn Reynes concert. shocks...ang baduy pala namin dati. hahaha.

Anyway, when we transferred into another apartment at Balic-Balic, we somehow kind of see less. Internet is not yet a fad and cell fones are not yet available. So, more or less, the landline/sending mails are the only ways for us to communicate and say "hello". But, of course, we were both busy too with our lovelife. Bihira na kaming magkita.

After i graduated college, i kind of not heard from him anymore. Even when i went abroad, i still don't know anything about him. But, thanks to Friendster, we were able to recover that friendship we had. Same old funny stories and memories. Sarap magkwentuhan kahit over YM with cam. asaran na rin. On top of that, i'm glad he was a successful architect now. He really made it. Even way back our college years, i'm always teasing him, "uy libre mo ako ng design ha, pag archi ka na..."

(seated from left: Bel, Zaldy, my brother Jun and me), 1992

He knew i will be home for a vacation, but we really didn't plan ahead when we'll be able to meet and have a long chat over some foods. "text-text na lang." At the last minute, we had the chance. He met us at Liliw, Laguna and tour us up to Nagcarlan and San Pablo City. Zaldy kidded me, "uy dati sintangkad tayo ah..." and then we laughed. He invited us over to one of his house project near SM San Pablo. Cool. The house is finished now. So modern and lovely.

Then we talked about our plan for our future investment/residence. I asked him to design for us. The estimate was 4M to 4.5Million pesos! I'm having a headache already, hahaha. We'll i won't talk about it so much here. Let's see in the future.

Zaldy and Me (with Zendra), 2011

"The Blue Project"

This is the FB site for Zaldy's architectural firm: Sketch 2 Plan

He tagged me up at FB of my "pasalubong" for him. (You're welcome Zaldz! Basta libre mo design ha...") -joke-

I have seen the fotos of his designs and finished projects. Love them all. I knew it. The first time i saw his designs during college days, i know he was really born to be an architect. And, i guess i was meant to be his good friend and a client. :D

I knew we had been to so much --> alam mo na 'yun.... : fun and drama included.

THANK YOU ZALDZ FOR THE FRIENDSHIP.

(o, tribute na 'to, discount na lang if not free...)

Rizaldy Formeloza Malabanan wow! pasalubong from a dear friend! i like! maraming salamat! =) --

Dear Len: Thanks for the 4!

Dear LEN,

It has been almost four years when i saw your page at Y360 with a mint green background. You are sitting on the rock and has that captivating smile. I read your blogs and gheeez…they are so inspiring. Without second thoughts i invited you to connect to me, and you immediately accepted me. YOU, became my friend.

I could still recall your very first quick comments on my page (dated January 18, 2007, 9:31pm, thursday)

You said: "What is the fastest thing on earth? Bullet? Naah..Sound? Not quite. Light! Almost. Answer: Prayer! Becoz it reaches Heaven even before You can say it. Have a Nice Day!"

…and from then on, we started throwing QC (quick comments). one time i blogged about pizza, and you joked, "how about an apple pie?" And so, i dedicated an apple pie blog for you. And i’m overwhelmed by your other comment:

(dated Februrary 16, 2007, 9:41am, friday)

You said: "Good news dear. I already perfected the apple pie. LOL. Thanks God it tastes good now. hahaha!"

And that was it…our friendship just blooms each day we peek at 360. We started laughing at Ym’s, and later on, calling/texting each other on celfone. GREAT! I just can’t simply describe how grateful am i for having you as a friend. You're the one who inspired me to do a major decision that i have been longing to fulfill. One of your blogs just deeply touched me, and changed my life. (Alam mo na ‘yun dear…LOL).

From Y360-to Mash-To Multiply-To MyLot-To Blogger-To Facebook...you are never far!

I know we’ve said & written a lot of words, about friendship, about being grateful…and i can still jot down million words here. So far, these WORDS are the only possible and wonderful things between us, ’cause we haven’t still saw each other personally. We’ll just continue to say, write, listen, blog, laugh, give, learn, love….etc.etc. about YOU and ME. I know one day, i can hold your hand and hug YOU dear. (like you and Dawn, and May and Long had.)

Continue spreading your sweetness, caring, love, laughters and understanding….

i always treasure everything...

the book that you gave me becomes my guide from time to time

"They say that into each life

some rain must fall.

and we all know it’s true.

But, there is reassurance to

be found in the rainbows that follow

and in the wonder of people like YOU."

(Colin McCarty)

a friend's birthday

Melissa is not just one of the Philippines' good actresses today, but also a nice person inside and out. we've been friends for almost three years now. she's my daughter's godmother too. i made a simple video clip for her birthday and i'm glad she liked it. here's some excerpts from her facebook account, thanking us...

and here's the video i made for Mele...

treasure

A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure."
- Sirach 6:14

godmother again

i got this picture/message this morning, and i proudly said "YES!". i would love to be a part of this significant event. my childhood friend's (Ted) daughter, Rania will be baptized and i'm one of the "ninangs" (godmother). ted's wife, dewie and i haven't physically met, but thru facebook we're developing a good friendship.

being a godmother is not just for the sake of being a "kumare". it's another responsibility one has to accept. honestly, i can't exactly count how many godchildren i have right now. i only attended 6 of them back in the philippines because of my availability. i can't fly from milan to phil. everytime there's a baptism going on. would had cost me millions of pesos for the airfare if i was present in all the events.

but being far away from home, i'm easy to reach. a simple email, text message, call or invitation will do. i'm always proud of myself being a second mother to a child that's not my own. i never say no.

anyway, my congratulations to ted and dewie for having a cute daughter. wishing rania good health and all the happiness that life could bring.

Small is Beautiful :)

a gift a challenge a book, for  people like me...