December

December is the happiest month for me as it is the time of Christmas, the day our Lord Jesus Christ was born. But before we get into the holiday spirit, I want to share with you what happened last week. It was my birthday and my wife threw a party for me together with our friends. It was the best birthday party I have ever had so far. Not because I can't remember when I last had a birthday party but because every year just keeps getting better. I guess the main secret to a really happy birthday is what my wife's real intention was, to share our blessings. And boy I shared my greatest blessing to our friends by sharing my wife's home cooked dishes. All are just superb in taste and presentation. Now I'm getting hungry. 30 minutes more before lunch time and I'm already starving. Got to hold on to the Carbonara we had for breakfast which was from my birthday party. It still tasted good. Anyway, there's a lot of stuff going on lately with my wife with regards to her work, friends and family. I just want her to know that when everyone seems to be angry at you, there's always someone you can go to, God. Not me. I also get mad at you. Hehe. But only when there's a valid reason. And I know we wouldn't carry it to sleep. So I'll see you later.

SL=MC

My wife and I have this funny attitude. We apply for sick leave when we're not sick so we can go out, and when we're really sick we go to work. We always apply together because we felt our sick leave was wasted if we're not together. My co-workers find it weird because they don't do that.

Another funny thing about MCs (Medical Certificate), that's their term for sick leaves (e.g. I'm on MC), we always consume it at the start or at the end of the week. I think I can generalize on this but we Filipinos really love long weekends.

I talk about MCs today because my wife is sick and she went to work. My poor wife, she always get sick with all the stress at work. But she doesn't have to worry as I'm sure God will make her well soon and I will always be there to take care of her.

Oops. What am I still doing here in the office? Got to go now to take care of my wife. I shall return.

iPhone Addiction

Although I'm in the IT industry, I was never a techy guy. I'm not into gadgets as I'm supposed to be. But the 3GS iPhone from Apple is changing all that. Not because it is very cool and fast, but because of the role it played between my wife and I.

Getting the 3GS iPhone here in SG the first day it is available is so challenging. We have to reserve online to make sure that we get one. But that's the easy part. The harder part is the collection. We went to collect the phone on the first night it was available but to our surprise, a very long queue was waiting for us. We went to the end of the line only to find out that it will take us 6 hours before we can get the phone. We've decided to go home and come back early the next day and we did. The line seemed shorter now but it's still very long. It took us three hours before my wife is actually holding her new phone.

Now, although I'm having less sleep because of the iPhone, downloading and playing free applications, it's okay as long as I'm doing it with my wife.

Stronger Than Yesterday

The last two days have been very stressful for me. I was stressed with work. I had lunch at 1p. My mommy-in-law scolded me. I accidentally cut my finger. My stomach was aching all day. I unintentionally hurt my wife. The next day, my boss scolded me for two hours. And then he gave me more work which means more stress.

And then my wife started doing things that made me feel better. She started forwarding me inspirational emails that really inspired me at that moment. Phrases like, "Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Stuff like that. And then she calls my mom. A gesture of showing that she's giving effort to be closer to my family. And finally, we made up. I said my apologies and so did she.

Now I feel a lot better. I feel stronger. More inspired. Our relationship became stronger as well I believe. And I thank God for that. For giving us the opportunity to be stronger. For making our relationship stronger.

Lending Money

My wife is like my dad when it comes to lending money. They would go out of their way to cater to the person in need. They would borrow from a bank or from someone so that they can lend it and bury themselves to debt.

Last year, a friend of ours lost her job due to the recession. She lost her sole source of income and that ate all her savings. It came to a point that she has to borrow money just to survive every day. My wife, being generous as she is lent our friend. It may be a small amount for others but at that point in time, it was all our friend needed.

Today, a couple of months before our garden wedding, my wife and I are experiencing how expensive getting married is. We've been living by the coins that have accumulated from change everyday. Then all of a sudden, the friend of ours sent my wife a message that she's going to pay her back the money she owed her from long ago.

I guess God has planned this all along. Generosity have its rewards. Help when you can so when it's the other way around, God has someone to use to deliver the package.

Fight!

While I want to make this blog all about happy moments, that's not the reality of marriage. My wife and I had a lot of petty fights before, and we are having one again right now.

It started last night when I went home late from playing basketball. I knew something was wrong the moment our lips touched. It's not the usual warm feeling that you get when you kiss your love one. Instead, I felt coldness. I ate dinner alone. Took a shower. And when I'm finally settled, she was already tucked in bed. We were both silent the whole night. So unlikely of our personalities. You will know something is not right. Having a bigger ego than she has which I am not proud of, she started a conversation which I thought would clear things up. Unfortunately, it did not. It went on till this morning before she finally told me what she's upset about. Apparently it was all a misunderstanding. It was never about me being late from basketball. It was about her being emotionally and physically tired and not being there for her just added to that. I was so focused on myself but it's actually not about me. Now that everything is clear, I'm looking forward to making-up with her as I missed her so much. Moral of the story, communication is really important.

Thank you God for continuously making our relationship stronger.

One Page So Far

I've made a lot of scrapbooks in my life, but the one my wife and I started yesterday is going to be the most memorable simply because I am doing it with her. Yes. I am a straight man who does scrapbooks. It's not the act of doing it that I love, it's doing it to make your partner happy. That's what I love.

Our photos were printed a long time ago when we got free printing during the IT Show. It's been stored in the cabinet ever since last year. Due to our busy schedule, we were not able to start with creating the scrapbook till yesterday. Although it was long overdue, we're still not prepared. We had to borrow materials such as a pair of scissors and a glue from our kind housemates. With tools on our hands and scraps scattered around our orange bed, we started cutting and pasting away while our air-condition is being cleaned 5 in the afternoon.

After two hours of work, yes we were only able to work for two hours as I got hungry and my wife needs to cook dinner, we managed to finish a page of our scrapbook.

Surprise!

Both my wife and I love surprises. That is why we try to surprise each other every once in a while. But it's hard to surprise her these days. It's because we're always together. We'll meet everyday after work, somewhere in the mall, so we can go home together on bus 69 or 291. On weekends, we're still together, at home or outside. Even when spending our Sick Leaves, it should be on the same day so we can be together and the SL is not wasted. Which is why I have to find ways on how to ditch her.

Last night I made it happen. I went to the gym and since she's having her monthly period, she couldn't join me. After working out, I did the deed. I bought her a black jewelry box that would be perfect for her jewelries. You see her jewelries are scattered to different little boxes in a cabinet that's full of other stuff. While we are in a tight budget preparing for our two more weddings, I thought it was necessary. And I haven't surprised her in a long time. I think the last time was when I bought her a huge blue Hello Kitty dress that she wears when we sleep. I haven't given it to her yet as I still have plans for it. Hope she likes it when the time comes.

Ball Passion

They said your job should be your passion. But we can't all be professional basketball players right? Generalizing, most Pinoys.

Last night was only the second time I was able to play whole court as Singaporeans usually plays half court. I think it's because more players can play with two 4 on 4 than one 5 on 5. It was a nice game. It was like RP versus SG because all of us in our team are Pinoys while all of them in their team are locals. Although our team (1 win 2 losses) loses when I'm playing, it was still a fun and challenging game.

I must say I really appreciate it that my wife lets me play ball. Not only that, dinner is prepared when I get home very tired and she waited for me so that we can eat together. This is why I gave up Friday basketball which is why Wednesday Ball was born. You see I promised her before that she will never be alone on Friday nights like she used to when we're still far away from each other. I hope I'm living up to my promise.

Working Out

I've been working out for eight years now and ever since then, my college days, I've already had a lot of gym buddies. First was my sister who instantly gained popularity with the boys since she is already slim and pretty. Then came her husband, my brother-in-law who made me lift weights more than my muscles can. And then my three office mates who later became my close friends. We were tagged as the Bakal Boys by our favorite gym instructor not because we are so muscular but because most of the time, we worked out as a pack. I've been to a lot of gyms from the dirtiest gyms in the streets of my home town, to the classiest gyms of 5 star hotels. And as they say, the best is yet to come but for me, I'm experiencing my best so far.

I recently enrolled in a gym here in the smallest nation of south east Asia. This is the most expensive gym fee I've ever paid for in my life. But it's all worth it because of my newest gym buddy, my wife. Although we're usually not together during workout sessions because I lift weights and she attends classes like kickboxing and Pilates, it feels good knowing your special someone is next room sweating it all out for her health and for you.

Prenup That's Technically Postnup

I'm an Adam Sandler fan and his role in the movie Anger Management was the first thing that popped into my head when I'm thinking of our (my wife and I) prenup two days ago. I found myself in Adam's character not mostly because I always keep my anger to myself, but because I am kind of uncomfortable kissing my special someone in public. I must say I have graduated from that uneasiness as i smack my wife all around the city and in the middle of Clark Quay. We started at the Botanical Gardens at about 4 in the afternoon as it also took time for my wife getting dressed and putting on her make-up. We had dinner at the Food Palace at about 7 in the evening as we were exhausted from endless snapshots. We finished at around 10p in the middle of the bars in CQ. I guess what I realized is that, it's not because I was anti-PDA because I was not, it's more of who you're with and there's nothing more comfortable than being beside your partner. I'm at work now and so is she and now that we're not office mates anymore like we used to be, I'll just have to wait for three more hours to see her again at home. I hope she was able to get a copy of our photos from her photographer friends as I can't wait to see how it all went out.

Home

My home is where my wife is.

Watchman

Watching has been my passion eversince I can remember. Whether it be movies, series or plays, I'd always prefer them over other stuff like reading. Nothing can top it but to do it with your love one.

My wife and I if we have time, usually watch a movie or an episode of a TV series before we go to bed. It has become our habit to always watch together. Sometimes, I won't watch a particular movie even if I want to because I know it would be better if I watch it with her. So I will wait for the time that we're both available to see the movie. And when the time comes, I could tell myself that I did the right thing.

In life, there are a lot of things that we want and we can get right away. But there's a big difference if you think about others before yourself. It may not seem the right decision at the moment, but it will be when the right time comes. There's no shame in waiting. Patience is a virtue. Put others first and God will get back at you a thousand folds more.

545

545 may just be an ordinary number for a lot of people, but for me, it represents the most significant time in my life.

On the 5th hour after noon of the 4th day of the 5th month, my wife and I became one. I slipped on her finger, our white gold wedding ring, and she did the same for me afterwards. Exactly a year before, May 4 at 5p, i gave her a green ring for no apparent reason. I just felt I wanted to give her a ring that time so I did. It was the first time I gave anyone a ring, and we were just friends. Coincidence? I don't think so. Although I didn't plan anything about it, I believe someone has planned it for me, for us.

I am amazed everytime I think about it. You may not understand what happens to you today but someday, at the right time, God will enlighten you. He will show you how grand His plan is for you. And then you'll realize that everything happens for a reason and the reason is for your own good.