This is more or less the song that Grace and I regard as our theme song. She was heavily considering Savage Garden's "I Knew I Loved You Before I Met You", though, aside from this. I just thought I'd let you guys know what our song happened to be... =)
by Dakota Moon
Girl, you're every breath I take
Oh baby,
Your love rules every move I make
Oh baby,
And I know that you can't read my mind
And baby, maybe I
Don't say it as often as I should
But I really want it to be heard
When I say I love you that's for good
You have my word
That day after day after all
I will always be true
That's a promise I make to you
You, you take this heart of mine
And make it better
I need you to
Come and walk with me through this life
Forever
And I know these words are long over due
And baby, maybe I
Don't say it as often as I should
But I really want it to be heard
When I say I love you that's for good
You have my word
That day after day after all
I will always be true
That's a promise I make to you
I may hold you
I may need you
I may want to
And baby, maybe I
Don't say it as often as I should
But I really want it to be heard
When I say I love you that's for good
You have my word
That day after day after all
I will always be true
That's a promise I make to you
A promise I make to you
A promise I make to you
.:The Baptism:.
Isn't she cute?
I'm particularly glad that it's finally done with. I was a godfather in Stephie's baptism, and the funny thing is that the baptism happened at Sto. Domingo Parish. Yes, that's where FPJ's wake happens to be. On our way to the baptistry, on the rightmost side of the church was the wake, in the center was a wedding, and the baptistry was to the leftmost of the church. It was quite interesting how all three momentous stages of one's life were represented in that particular instance.
I had a nice picture with Stephie where I was carrying her and she was smiling at me.
Afterwards, we had lunch at Kamayan, which got me really stuffed...
.:The Christmas Party:.
I attended the Philosophy Department's Christmas party, and I must say that it was very fun.
When I got to school after Stephie's baptism, I went online for a short while first, going on Skype and talking to Sacha. I wasn't sure where the Christmas party was going to be, but it wasn't long before I found it and walked into the middle of communion during Fr. Roque's mass.
In any case, afterwards, there was a small dinner, and then the "White Elephant" exchange gifts game happened. Essentially, first round, we draw numbers to get the presents. Afterwards, we open them, and then for two rounds, we roll dice to exchange the gifts. Odd numbers will result in exchanging gifts with someone beside you. Even numbers allow you to exchange with anyone. Rolling doubles will allow you to exchange with anyone and take an additional gift from the pool of extra presents.
I started off with brownies, which turned into a wallet. I got doubles the following round, ending up with a mug, and exchanging the wallet for DVD's. I ended up getting a blue Ateneo rosary when someone traded it with the DVD's. In the end, I got the wallet back, but sent the rosary to the giver of the present, Dr. Ibana, in exchange for the DVD's he got from me. I had 11 DVD's to take home...
– A miniature bust of St. Ignatius of Loyola (Yeah!)
– A water dispenser (Hot item!)
– A book of sonnets (Hot item!)
– The original VCD set of the Star Wars Trilogy (Hot item!)
– Primary Readings In Moral Philosophy (Everybody needs that...)
– Dr. Rosario's book, Ang Etika ni Sto. Tomas de Aquino. (White elephant nga!)
– A hammock in a rewinder case. (Mr. Mariano was joking that he could use the rewinder if only the Star Wars Trilogy were in VHS format.
– A war of attrition between Maan (The secretary.) and Ice (Dr. Rodriguez's teaching assistant.) over a bag. They were next to each other, so when Ice rolls and gets the bag, Maan rolls and gets back the bag.
– Collusion between husband and wife teams (Dr. Barbazza and his wife, for instance.) to keep good gifts between them by exchanging gifts with one another when the opportunity presents itself.
– The fact that nobody else knew that D6's always have opposite sides adding up to seven.
In any case, the Christmas party was loads of fun thanks to all of that stuff... I was really amused with all the things they've been up to, and it was exceedingly fun to have gone through the whole thing. It would be great to do that with other people, no question about it...
.:Afterwards:.
After the party, I just went online again and had voice chat with Sacha. I guess there are some things I had to come to terms with during our conversations. Oh, well. I really can't do anything about that, I suppose... I guess there are some things that though are not set in stone, are things I ought to respect, nonetheless.
.:Respun:.
Amazingly, Grace and I managed to accomplish quite a bit of Christmas shopping last Sunday. While it certainly was difficult to get around Greenhills on a Sunday, Grace and I still spent some quality time just to be together for a while and enjoy one another's company. It was enjoyable, to say the least, and Grace really made my Sunday extremely enjoyable.
To even make it further enjoyable, I went to Kathy's house after a month or three of not seeing her in hopes of helping out in making fire staves and the like. What was supposed to be a fire spinning agenda turned into a craving for films, mainly "Love, Actually". In any case, before all that, while waiting for Krisette, Kathy was busy teaching an old dog new tricks, to which Tita Harvey responded that "our pets simply fulfill the name we give them". Kathy tried calling Neko "Angel" for a couple of moments, but that didn't do much good...
I'll leave out the other details about Kathy's immense training program regarding Lucas, although Lucas tries to impress Kathy for the most part by picking on Ollie. Uhh... wrong cat. =)
In any case, afterwards, Peppy and I were in the internet room, trying to get some information on how to make fire heads for the poi. Pretty soon, we decided to order pizza, and Peppy pretty much transcribed how that turned out...
Note that I'll just use some of Peppy's quotes here and there when I find that he already said what I wanted to say...
From Peppy's entry:
…when the damnable thing finally relented, we ordered pizza for the group. Marcelle orders the pizza.
Marcelle: ah yes, I'd like to order a 14" #4 Cheese pizza. the address is... (to me) Peppy, what's the address of this place?
he hangs up first and asks Kathy. call #2.
Marcelle: ah yes, I'd like to order a 14" #4 Cheese pizza. the address is etcetcetc. barangay? um... (to me) ask Kathy what barangay this is in.
so I go up and ask Kathy.
Marcelle: Barangay (forgot the name). phone number is (forgot the number).
Yellow Cab: bakit ibang number yung nasa caller ID namin?
now we looked like prank callers. anyway, the order eventually got placed. not 10 seconds pass before we notice that one 14" pizza will not be enough for five people. Yellow Cab gets called again.
Now that I think about it, we called Yellow Cab in Makati Cinema Square. And to look for films we went to Makati Cinema Square and got the pizza at Kathy's home. Shouldn't we just have gotten the pizza from the Cinema Square? :P
.:Searching For Films:.
Kathy had a sudden hankering to look for "Love, Actually" (Great film!), and so we went off to Makati Cinema Square for it. I'll let these pictures speak for themselves...
The Guru! But wait! There's more!
If you can't read it, it says "Great dance sequences, but disappointing story." How honest can you get?
Hey Legolas! Got milk?
Afterwards, I was telling them that I was completely oblivious about tampons (Here we go again...), and that I thought they were as big as rolled-up towelettes and all...
Krisette: That won't fit!
Hrbz: Say, what're you talking about?
Marcelle: Oh. Tampons. It's just that we found it difficult to imagine how we could fit in something as big as a towelette... waitaminute... did I say "we"?
And the gay innuendo begins. Hrbz was very wary of me from that point on.
.:While Eating Pizza:.
Marcelle: I once misheard that Christmas as "O come, horny faithful...
Peppy: No wonder they're "joyful and triumphant".
Marcelle: Whaddya expect? They're coming!
Interestingly enough, this also happened. Kathy and Krisette earlier on were kicking each other around on those chairs they were on, trying to knock one another down. Now, later on, Hrbz and Krisette were in one chair and kept on falling down…
Kathy: You know, there's a motel not too far from here.
Marcelle: Peppy. Let's go!
Peppy: You go on ahead. you can start without me.
The gay innuendo started at this point, as I was practically freaking Hrbz out when I went...
Marcelle: Oh, look. Krisette's letting me sit beside you. She turned on you, and now, I turn you on.
.:While Watching The Film:.
Marcelle: Say, Hrbz, why don't you lay your head on my lap, and let's talk about the first thing that pops up?
Kathy: And why are you sitting so close to Hrbz, Marcelle?
Marcelle: Love, actually. It's not about revenge.
And this one...
Marcelle: Heck, Sandara's cute, but she's awfully flat-chested. I have a bigger chest than she does.
Krisette: Oww. Have mercy on the flat ones.
Marcelle: Oh, don't worry. Yours is bigger. ::pauses:: One of them.
And this...
Hrbz: Say, look! This is great wicking! It's huge! Four inches!
Marcelle: You're impressed with four inches? Hades, I can provide you with eight! But I'm not talking about wicking...
And this…
Hrbz: Man, imagine getting hit by the monkey fists…
Marcelle: Eek!
*Krisette looks in my direction*
Marcelle: ::manly voice:: I mean, uhh… ::really deep voice:: eek.
Oh, well...
.:One Hour Of Heartbreak Songs:.
In honor of all the people who have broken up in December, I dedicated a full hour of nothing but heartbreak songs to all of you. I am one with you and I feel your pain, regardless of my relationship status...
When I made an intro on the third hour to signal I was doing heartbreak songs, though, I didn't realize the song I was playing happened to have no intro. Thinkin' About My Ex was actually a cold start song, and Robi the Rascal, bless his soul, SMS'd me about it. He's still listening to his former station... heh.
.:Retro Night:.
The WAVE and JAM Christmas party had a theme of retro. The thing about the party is that I ended up walking in on sir Joe D Mango performing as Tom Jones D Mango. Yes, with retro clothes, retro hair, and the most disturbing dance steps I've seen in a while. Sort of makes you look aghast and ask yourself how the Hades he became your boss.
Nah, not really. I'm glad mostly because it proves he's such a great sport and is willing to connect with his employees on such a level.
The games were rather charged... there was this game where you had to slide a rope up a guy's pants, then pull it out. It was done in male-female pairs, and it was quite a sight... heh. There's a cute dj at JAM, but let's not go there. No, she's not Chinese, though.
At the same time, the hosts were a riot, really. They had amazing commentary for just about anything going on throughout the night.
There was the requisite suck and blow game, but the best one was the one about how huge a bite a girl can take out of a banana. Pam, of all people, won it.
Gary: Isipin mo na lang na si Jay-R iyan!
The married women were asking about licking the bananas before biting it... it was too much for my innocent ears... heh. Right.
When asked about the inspiration for her victory, Pam replied...
Pam: I was actually thinking about George.
George is a female dj. Hmm... that's interesting...
In any case, I was part of the contest for "Name That Tagline". What's interesting about it is that I'm not in sales. I'm a dj. Yet there I was, being the only dj in the contest. It turned out I helped team WAVE seal the win.
Why?
One of the slogans was: "Be Natural". That's Lipton. My mom works for the media planning company of Lipton... I think it's obvious I'd know that... heh.
Almost everyone there had to perform a couple of dance steps to claim their prizes, myself included... heh.
.:The Top Ten People I'm Most Grateful To This Year:.
And so we come to the end of the road. It's fairly obvious who this is going to be, though...
Who else?
1: GRACE APRON. The thing about my being with Grace is that it all hinged on sheer chance. If certain things didn't happen the way they did, I simply would never have met her, let alone fall in love with her.
Grace and I got to know each other on June 22, 1999. It was in RX, at around 4:45 in the morning. Bruce Romano, a former RX jock, was doing his "The Anything Goes Show", and he had this contest that required two contestants to go head to head and mention things about a topic alternately until they run out of things to mention.
In my case, I got in first. The choices were: rappers, or muppets. My opponent was Grace. Had one of us decided to wake up at six in the morning on that day, we would have never encountered one another. Had one of us not gotten through the RX phoneline that day, we would've never gotten to know each other.
And so we did the contest. I chose rappers, and promptly won, as she ran out of rappers to mention. From the get-go, we had sparks flying between us already, but not in a good way. I was rather arrogant (But now, I'm proud to say that I'm very humble. :P) back then, and I was still in that uber-long phase with a certain girl I liked at the time, which meant yes, she heard my sob story shortly into our acquaintance. Around the first day, in fact.
Yes, I was that pathetic. So sue me.
In any case, we continued a relationship over the phone. Grace found me arrogant, I found her nice to talk to, and very friendly (Ha! You should hear her version of this story...). If anything, she may have even been mildly annoyed at me for calling her relatively often ever since that contest.
We were supposed to meet at UP during the UPCAT, but being way apart in terms of examination rooms prevented that. Moreover, to prove how arrogant I was, this is what happened over the phone the next day...
Marcelle: So how was the UPCAT for you?
Grace: It was okay, I guess. How about you?
Marcelle: I have a complaint about their exam.
Grace: What?
Marcelle: Wala na bang ihihirap yun
Finally, we met on September 27 in the Don Bosco intramurals opening. It was fun, mainly because I found her cute when I met her for the first time, and we actually got along better after that face to face meeting. She then showed up on my birthday, celebration, at around October 2, and gave me this:
Very manly, Marcelle!
Yes, I still have it, sans the balloon that said "Happy Birthday!"
Yes, it's pink. But I'm proud to have it.
Yes, she saw one that had a better color, but it said "You're Special To Me", and we weren't really together at the time yet...
In any case, I found her to be the sweetest girl I've ever known, and I liked her a whole lot more from that point on. Our common friends were fishing for me that Grace did like me as well.
Fast forward to eighteen days later, and on October 20, 1999, Grace and I became a couple.
Things weren't really smooth for us for the most part. My parents got to know her in a not-so-great light, my grandparents weren't thrilled about my having a girlfriend, and that time we got together was high school, which was the worst time of my life. Still, we weathered through it, even going through a certain crazy summer in 2001 that simply changed a lot of things for us...
And then Grace and I, after a lot of grief on my part, broke up last August 22, for reasons I don't want to have to talk about again. It was Hades, to say the least. But it didn't last for long as sneaky little her asked for "one last date" fourteen days later. Guess what that date was for?
If you thought "a movie date", you're right. What film, if you can hazard a guess?
If you guessed "The Notebook", you'd be right again. How can I not melt over a film like that? I'm a sappy fool... :P
In any case, so here I am with Grace, still with her, and while the future is never clear, one thing is sure: I love Grace. Regardless what I may feel about other people, regardless if unicorns tickle my fancy all too often, I love Grace, and that love is strong enough to override a lot of urges that come over me. I can't speak with finality on anything, but at present, I can speak with certitude. I believe this certitude is just as important, truth be told.
Thank you so much Grace for this past year. Our relationship has gone through a lot, and yet we're still together. I thank you for your patience, for your thoughtfulness, for all you've done for me, even taking care of me whenever I get sick. There was a time that you accidentally wounded yourself when you broke a thermometer across your leg, and to this day, that scar on your leg reminds me how much you've loved me, and how much you've made me feel special.
I love you because you give me all the reasons to choose to love you. Even if you didn't, I love you because I simply do. I've said it a million times and I'll say it again: Sustaining love is all about choosing to. Don't love because of this or that, love in spite of this or that. I thank you because you've taught me how to love and to be loved back for once. You've made me feel loved. You've given me reason to believe that I can actually do something worthwhile with my life and stand behind me every step of the way, with each triumph or defeat that I face.
I love you. I thank you. And I hope that you'd still be the person I'd be most grateful to even next year, as you have been for the past five years of my life.
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