a plug

met carmel in a wedding fair in rockwell over a month ago that mike
& i went to. good thing she sent me an email for a trial make up
sked coz if not, with all the other things in my to do list, i would’ve
already forgotten about this. so after a sked was firmed up, i went to
her place / studio in corinthian gardens (thanks for accompanying me,
LP jill! panalo ang pagiging bridesmaid mo!)

these are shots
(c/o LP jill. mala-paparazzi. hehe. grabbed them from her multiply
account) from the trial make up. i’m most probably getting carmel’s
services for my wedding…

would you believe i’m getting married in a little more than 3 weeks time? 

btw, for those wondering why i’m getting married all of a sudden, here’s a chronology:

MARCH 25 (or was it 26?) - mike proposed
MARCH - JULY - away kami kasi di pa rin nya sinasabi sa folks nya yung engagement!
JULY - sinabi but di nag-sink in
JULY-OCTOBER - lull

OCTOBER
- mike followed through his initial announcement with his folks. sa
wakas! kinausap nya rin mom ko. we decided na dec 17, civil wedding
(bakit december 17? kasi that was the day we met 2 yrs ago, plus it’s
my dad’s bday). august 8, 2008 ang church wedding. we went to a wedding
fair to check out possible suppliers.
NOVEMBER - namanhikan na
through a dinner with mike’s parents & my mom in a QC restaurant.
pre-marital counselling sessions ongoing (last one finished as of last
night). sa counselling, nagbago utak namin…all the more we wanted to
really get married na! initial supplier reservations. pagpapatahi ng
mga damit (fortunately, mabilis lang ‘to since mike’s family owns the
dress shop)

DECEMBER - follow through ng preps (yes, we have a
checklist. we do not have a wedding planner. mike and i are planning
our own wedding). countdown till the 17th!

so hindi ‘to all of
a sudden…well thought of naman. medyo quiet nga lang ako for a time
coz i was mad at him…and yeah, well, admittedly, for a time was
actually contemplating on WON to push through with it. but now, after
much thought and prayer, all systems go! super game na!

it’ll be
a very small, intimate wedding. so sorry talaga, inasmuch as i want to
invite a lot, i can’t. huhu. aside from gusto naming maliit lang yung
crowd (para madali mag-entertain) budget constraints. hope you
guys understand. ayaw namin masyadong mag-spend sa wedding eh. (gastos na
lang for a nice honeymoon & a car that we want to save up for)

clarification
lang din for those who may be asking (even one of my own titas asked
haha) i’m not pregnant ha. spread the word pls. haha. (baka gawan na
naman ng tsismis to sa peyups.com or something.  haha.  paranoid.)

mike’s family’s pet, bruce, the toy poodle in this picture, (see exhibit A) is so sick…

Exhibit A:

he’s
reed-thin and is so matamlay because he hasn’t eaten in 2 days na pala
(see exhibit B). i accompanied kuya ernie & his gf, ate may, to the
vet kanina…bruce was recommended for confinement. (he’s now confined
and is being IV’d in a private vet clinic). let’s pray that he gets
through this.

Exhibit B:

we’ll be really sad if something bad happens to him…mike and i play with him a lot pa man din (bruce is our stress reliever & we love him)

whether you had a third party break-up, one wherein your partner sadly fell out of love before you did, or one wherein you just weren’t meant to be (e.g. you didn’t fit in each other’s future plans, other irreconcileable differences)…

to all those who had to undergo the ordeal of breaking up with people who didn’t deserve them, my previous post is actually a tribute to you.  being one with you, i understand the pain & agony of making yourself unnaturally vulnerable to the wrong person.  unfortunately, we’re just human - we make mistakes (including falling in love w/ the wrong ones).  unless we actually undergo those experiences, we’ll never really learn or understand the caveats given by those who have come before us.

the important thing is to rise from the pits and have wholistic healing at that.  in order to do that, one has:

1.  to be authentic - to acknowledge how hurt he/she is…

2.  …yet decisive - to make that choice to snap out of misery and be happy.  yes, happiness is a choice.  moving on is likewise a choice. 

3.  hold on to & even improve your self-esteem - love yourself, pamper yourself with make-overs - physically, emotionally, spiritually.  make yourself better off without that ex of yours! 
in line with holding on to one’s self-esteem, i discourage rebound relationships.  sure, been there done that.  but always, because you were never really ready to enter such in the first place, it almost always never works out, and you end up more hurt, feeling more lost than before.  as for flings, if you’re the type who can’t put breaks in a relationship, i also discourage this.  flings tend to develop into relationships - they’re the most needful ones for those who just got out of bad break ups.

4.  lastly, no matter how miserable one may be feeling, it is important not to lose sight of hope.  there is a happy future in store for everyone (well, almost…and yes, even your ex deserves to have a happy future - no matter how horrible he may have been to you)

i don’t know if i could call myself an authority when it comes to break-up’s. i’ve had three break-ups in the past - the first one of which made me feel as if it were the end of my world and the latter two of which could be classified as bad ones simply because they were attributable to "bad" causes. looking back, i know i really had to undergo each and every relationship, because they made me ready to be with the man that i’m with today (and will be with for the rest of my life). before i met this man, however, i was already happy and healed - even though i was alone (after all, alone isn’t synonymous with lonely)

so if you’re still struggling with such heartbreak, i hope this post somehow helps you.  cheers to you as well, for in time, you too will leave the phase called recovery and join the ranks of the recovered. 
for those who have already recovered, congratulations!    
to all of us, break-up survivors, here’s a big, loud cheers!  :) 

hmmm…i-post ko nga ito sa friendster blogs ko so it could reach more people who probably just might need to read such a thing. 

(reposted from my livejournal blog)

a former blockmate of mine posed this in our egroup: Hi guys and girls. I’m writing this article about getting over a bad breakup. Patulong please by sharing your own experiences or your friends’ experiences with regard to bad breakups and getting over them. Brief statements will do.

i replied with:

• phase 1: made sure we parted in good terms (no matter how bad the reason for the break up so he won’t remember me in a bad light).  gave goodbye tokens to his family & closest friends who befriended me.  (para they’ll always tell him, how could you have let go of her?! joke. that’s to appreciate how good they’ve been to me.  i didn’t cut my ties with them, i just cut ties with my ex) –> idea is for us to achieve closure para sure na di ko na sya gugustuhing balikan ever, yet for him to remember na he let go of a good woman (and for his friends & family to remind him of it. hahaha!)

• phase 2: deleted my ex’s contact info, his friendster, email & text messages.  (pero friendster friends pa rin kami para nakikita nya ang mga updates about me, lalo na pag may magandang nangyayari sa life ko which he isn’t a part of anymore - the best revenge is a good life). transferred then deleted all pictures w/ him from my phone & PC to a CD (which i have conveniently misplaced).  removed gifts he gave me from plain view. 

• phase 3: gave myself time to grieve then stopped grieving cold turkey.  bonded with friends more. made sure i met new, more exciting, genuinely nice & decent guys.  stayed closer to God - nothing beats wholistic healing, and He replaced my trashy relationship with a wonderful one (with another guy of course).  tapos, i never really got in touch with my ex again (unless super kelangan - lest isipin nya or ng mga tao around him that i still have a thing for him)

Last December 15, 2005, a group of UP students with strong anti-tuition fee increase sentiments, barged through the doors of Malcolm Hall, in search of members of the University of the Philippines Board of Regents. The group was headed by the Student Regent, and the University Student Council. Such students verbally assaulted members of the UP Law Student Government and the UP Law community who were at that time peacefully preparing for “Malcolm Madness”, the College’s Christmas program. In the attempt to find the regents, these students harassed practically everyone who was foreign to them including the UP Law Center staff, the UP Law Personnel and fellow UP students. They were hurling accusations such as, “Tinatago n’yo sila!” “Niloko n’yo kami!” “Bakit n’yo kami pinagtatagksilan?!” at the members UP Law community who were in sight. During the height of turmoil, a student of the College was pushed to the door of the Malcolm Theater in her attempt to ward off the rallyists from entering the Theater, wherein there were students preparing for the College program; a handful of other students were likewise emotionally traumatized. It was only after a five-minute, initially adversarial dialogue between the Student Regent and the Law Student Government President that the angry crowd was asked by their leaders to turn around and leave. Unfortunately, however, the injury had already been inflicted. Aside from emotional and physical injuries, the mob ultimately left the college with property damaged, specifically the door of Malcolm Hall and the Malcolm driveway was splashed with red paint. Furthermore, the “Malcolm Madness” was cancelled for the first time since its inception, causing losses for equipment rentals and decoration costs on the part of the UP Law students and the UP Law Student Government.

It is understandable that these students may have had strong sentiments against the Tuition Fee Increase issue. After all, they are entitled to express their vehement objections to the Board of Regents in accordance with their constitutional right to free speech and expression. However such forms of expression are never justifications to trample on others’ rights to safety of their persons and property.

Thus, it is with a heavy heart that we, the Law Student Government, condemn this chaotic incident initiated by our fellow UP students. We believe that their acts have crossed the borderline of freedom of expression as it tramples on propriety, ethics and any notion of reason. We have no choice but to respond accordingly – as of all institutions, the UP College of Law and the UP Law student Government will not tolerate exploits of such kind. In verbally and physically hurting other people and destroying property, these acts are no less than criminal.

We hold the Student Regent responsible for inciting this mob and leading it into our college with no sense of direction or restraint according to the purpose by which it was gathered. We implead him primarily for being the proximate cause of the incident, without regard for those who do not share his agenda.

We hold the members of the University Student Council responsible, most especially the USC Chair, according to the principle of command responsibility. The Chair was not present during the incident; the members of the USC who were in attendance did nothing to pacify the crowd during the height of chaos. We deem that they should have reasonably anticipated such consequences when a group of extremely emotionally charged individuals rally: chaos will definitely result from the mob rule - despite lack of premeditated ill intentions to inflict harm on others.

As veterans of mass action protests, the Student Regent and the University Student Council should have foreseen harmful results and consequently formulated and implemented proactive safeguards to avoid or minimize them. The damages caused by these acts of omission were not rectified by belated measures to make the crowd turn back. Such conduct of the USC betrays the very office that they occupy. Beyond advocacies, the primary accountability of the USC belongs to the UP populace, whose safety, welfare and well-being they ought to have upheld - whichever side of the fence the constituent-students sit in an issue.

We, too, in the UP Law Student Government, are scholars of the people. Like every UP Student, we are being educated to become productive members of society who are reflective of the ideals of the nation. We believe that the UP student has brilliant ideas and opinions, which have to be voiced out in a reasonable manner. Thus do we champion the spirit of activism, one of the forces for which our University is distinctly renowned. It is in this spirit that we, ourselves, participate in various rallies, fora and social action in the midst of various issues of public interest. Yet, we condemn riotous and anarchical modes of activism. No matter how noble the purpose or ends of a rally, mutinous styles of mass action will NEVER be justified, especially when they infringe on others’ safety of their persons and property. Though we, ourselves, are activists in our own right, we will never allow activism to cast a dark shadow on the conduct and character of the UP students.

We, in the UP College of Law, denounce the December 15, 2005 incident in Malcolm Hall. We deem that it is only just and equitable that those at its helm be held responsible for its outcome. We condemn all types and kinds of abuses of the spirit of activism, which has been enshrined in the history of our university. Relentlessly, we will cling to our bias for order, propriety and the rule of law.

Christina Faye M. Condez

President

Lorybeth R. Baldrias

Vice-President

Faustina Victoria E. Ochoa

Secretary

Hardy B. Aquende

Treasurer

Elgene Lawrence C. Feliciano

Public Relations Officer

Leandro Angelo Y. Aguirre

College Representative

<style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jityanga/254475732/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/63/254475732_9442a3c31b.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="" /></a><br /> <span class="flickr-caption"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jityanga/254475732/">U.P.! U.P.! U.P.!</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/jityanga/">Lord Jit</a>.</span></div>    <p class="flickr-yourcomment">

(oooh, bad trip, the links don’t appear right! so just click on em)

U-nibersidad ng pilipinas! matatapang, matatalino, di uuruong kahit kanino, hinding-hindi magpapahuli, ganyan kaming mga taga-UP!

on photo is angel manalaysay showing some school pride in the 2006 UP Bar Ops Salubong.   just like her, hundreds of other law students and alumni, including professor teddy te (gosh, what an honor, he came to our salubong!), chanted UP cheers and cheered on our barristers as they exited from the DLSU bar testing center.  moreover, when UP naming mahal (the school hymn) was played by the PA system, all raised their fists.  some (especially those who helped out & experienced "tremendous" difficulty in the bar ops - me included!) were even teary eyed, as we recalled the challeneges…and truly felt that at that moment, every little hardship was truly worth it - for the good of the school. 

at that point in time, i was teary-eyed because i felt that for a couple of poignant moments, i was actually giving back some pride to my alma mater.  having studied in this school since the tender age of 3 & lived in its diliman & los banos campuses for most of my life in addition to being the daughter of a UP professor, being an iskolar ng bayan has been second nature to me ever since!  (heck, i even kid around that i was most probably conceived here in UP!  haha)  i truly love and am proud of my school…being part of UP is already part of my identity.  i’m just so glad that being UP bar ops head actually gave me the opportunity to at least give back some of that pride to my beloved university.  (thanks to our salubong head and my sis, val, too!). 

(sorry, no offense to those who don’t hail from UP, it’s just that i love my own…hahaha, who wouldn’t?)

just got this comment from my other blog:

Hi, I hope you remember me. I am amiel. I was this robust guy in the 2005 Bar Exams who probably was one of the first few who bought 2005 Bar Blues!

You know what, I just saw you on the TV tonight. Ikaw pala ang head ng UP Bar Ops ngayon. Yung nakita kita para bang na mi miss ko yung bar ko. Unfortunately I didnt make it last year pero ok lang. Wala na akong magawa.

But hey I was really happy to see you on tv. Sabi ko kilala ko yan ah and then I remember everything. So you’ll be taking next year’s bar I guess.

And I agree that you are helpful and friendly and a very diplomatic person. Thnks for your kindness. The last time that I saw you was when you asked me about the exams after the 2nd sunday last year. It was inspiring (not to mention flattering) to be asked by someone from you know, UP. Anyway Im happy to see you again even on the tv.

God Bless and take a rest after that Bar Exam.

wala lang, naaliw lang ako.  mike, my cousin micah, sisses tere & val, and blockmates zang (3A) & mark (3E) texted me last night that they saw my 3 seconds of fame in saksi.  hahahahaha.  last sunday morning kasi, i was interviewed by john consulta of GMA 7 by the century park sheraton vito cruz entrance…walang tulog, walang paligo, walang hilamos…hahaha.  who cares, i was on tv.  natupad na rin ang mababaw kong pangarap.  hahahahaha. joke.  ahhhh…the psychic perks of being UP Bar Ops head…

i’m so glad it’s all over now.   never again!  bwahahahaha!  sabi ko nga sa beer ops, "when i ran for VP last year i never thought na ganito kalaking bato pala itong ipupukol ko sa ulo ko".  imagine, a new "fiasco" every week!  what an experience talaga. 

to my family & friends, yes, i’ll have time for you guys again. (soon, after sembreak…finals na eh).  mike & i will have normal weekends again (in fairness ha, he was so matiyaga, making me hatid to and fro sheraton, to think he had no business going there naman talaga).  i’m so thankful for the wisdom & favor God was giving to me…for the composure in the midst of stress…haaay, i could go on and on.  basta, i’m so glad it’s all over.  back to my normal life. 

being the introspective person that i am, i wrote about the philosophical Qs about life that i was asking myself today…but before i wrack my brain with those questions about life, i think i wanna live for the moment and enjoy today. after all, my birthday only comes once in a year and i’ll only be 27 once. so before i move on to the next goal or ask the next philosophical question, i will celebrate this day first. and to start the celebration, below is a rundown of 27 things that i thank the Lord for:

1. LIFE! - that i’m still breathing. i was born a couple of weeks short of the age of a full-term baby (premature). i was very sickly and had primary complex till i was 4. i was almost run over along commonwealth avenue when i was around 4 or 5? these are just some of my more dramatic brushes with death. there must have been a couple of others in the past 27 yrs. but i’m still awake and kicking, am i not? ergo, i truly believe, God has a wonderful plan for continuing to keep me alive. i love my life and i always try to make the most out of it.
2. ETERNAL LIFE! - aside from this temporal existence, i’m truly thankful that i don’t need to worry or concern myself with anxious thoughts as to whether or not i’ll go to heaven before i die. thanks to what how Jesus rose from the grave more than 2000 yrs ago on easter morning, i am assured of my salvation.
3. MY UPBRINGING - i had a weird one but i’m thankful for how my parents trained me to be wired the way that i am. i’m thankful for the values they have instilled…that they have ingrained love and fear of the Lord and a sense of purpose & vision in me. i wouldn’t be who i am if not for this.

4. MY EDUCATION - since the age of 3, i’ve been schooled with taxpayers’ money…iskolar ng bayan, ika nga. save for CCCC (in CRL) and MSI, which are practically inside UP coz both schools are within the UP Diliman & UPLB campuses respectively, i’ve been studying in UP all my life. i’m thankful for cheap, quality, and even prestigious education. .

5. MY FAMILY - my dad was too strict, my mom could tend to be too fanatical, my sister too grouchy…we have our occassional crazy tiffs and differences but i’m thankful because my family has always been one of the rocks i could depend on, especially during times when i seem to want to give up. they have always urged me to go on and to do my best in whatever i get myself into.

6. MY BOYFRIEND - so blessed that God brought mike and me together. the past 3 months have been an enjoyable learning and adjustment process for both of us. with God’s grace, the trials brought us closer to each other and to Him, instead of bringing us down. i really thank God for mike’s love. i really thank God for him. and i’m thankful for how we seem to complement each other in a lot of ways.
7. MY FRIENDS - those from my childhood (pre-LB days), elem yrs in LB, years in RHS, college days, gawad, unilever business week, P&G, IILS, law school (especially LCF friends & some blockmates), M2Cash, church (CAP, VCF, CRL), friends i met through my ex…ang dami nila! through them, i feel that i’m loved. especially yung best friends ko (you guys know who you are), para ko na silang kapatid. i really love ‘em and i’m thankful coz i know they love me back (assuming! haha)

8. MY GRANDPARENTS - there were times that i was at odds with them. syempre, just as nobody’s perfect, no grandparents are perfect. but i thank my grandparents for always helping provide for my needs. they have been instrumental to helping me achieve a lot of goals i have previously set.

9. MY AUNTS - they’re like my 2nd & 3rd moms (in no particular order). actually, i’m quite thankful that my auntie rory and auntie beth didn’t marry (selfish! haha!) kasi parang kami ni lee-ann yung anak nila

10. MY RELATIVES - save for my cousins, i’ve always been the baby of my relatives. i’m thankful for my favorite (grand) aunts and uncles (they’re too many to mention!), some of who are just a couple of years older than i am, who took care of me, helped feed me (literally) and acted as my baby sitters.

11. MY FAMILY FRIENDS - thanks to the friendships of my parents, meron akong extended family. para ko na rin silang relatives, sometimes they’re closer than relatives. i especially thank God for my tito raul & tita marie. they’re my dad’s bestfriends and they’re my surrogate parents. i also thank God for my tita amy. without her, i would have had a difficult time every reg season.

12. MY CHURCH(es) - i thank God for these people with whom i share the same faith. my spiritual family in CAP & CRL and my celgroup mates dati in VCF are my prayer warriors and i thank God for them.

13. LAW SCHOOL - i know i often complain about law school but the truth is, i am thankful for the privilege of being in the UP College of Law (naku, baka magalit sa kin si disini for referring to malcolm as “the UP College of Law”)

14. MY PART-TIME JOB - my cash cow! i thank God for this. kung wala ‘to, di ako makakabili ng techy toys ko.

15. MY STINT IN P&G - the training, the prestige, the monetary compensation, the burn-out..haha. it was one helluva experience to have spent the first 2.5 years of my professional life in perhaps the best multinational in the Philippines.

16. MY GADGETS - i am a tech-y person and i’ve always saved up for the gadgets that i want. they make my tasks easier to carry out. they’re a joy to play with. and they’re wonderful conversation starters. hehehe.

17. MY PEERS IN THE LSG - they seem to be proactive, hardworking people. and i am looking forward to a fulfilling year of service with them.

18. U.P. PORTIA SORORITY - my highschool and college friends have a hard time believing that i joined a sorority. hahaha. but there are a lot of reasons why i chose to be a portian…reasons too long to type in here. actually, i can’t see myself in any other sorority for that matter.

19. BAR OPS HEADS & VOLUNTEERS - mukha namang masisipag sila. and so far, so good. (except for a few hitches…sana ma-achieve namin ang ultimate goal namin: quality efficient service to the barristers)

20. UP JPIA - even though grad na ako, i still love this org. my life would’ve been different without my involvement in JPIA. the trying times toughened me. friendships were strengthened and tested in JPIA. and the EB experiences trained me for professional life and instilled a work ethic that i could be proud of.

21. MY DENTIST - kanina, when i visited my dentist for the first time in 3.5 years, i realized na more than 10 years na pala niya akong client and somehow, may relationship na rin na na-form. i used to see dr. mercado once a month for around 6 years. ang tagal ko rin kasing nag-braces eh!

22. MY PAST - no matter how painful some lessons were, no matter how scarred or traumatized i may have been by some events in my past, i’m thankful because time has healed the wounds. i may have not been able to get out of those situations unscathed, but those experiences have helped mold me into the hopefully tougher person i am today.

23. MY MAGIC SING! - ang galing-galing! sabi ko nga sa mom ko the other day, sayang, kung may magic sing na dati eh di ilang libong piso rin ang natipid ko sa mga minus one tapes na sinimulan kong i-collect since i was 10 and the VCDs i kept on buying before the magic sing fad came along. being the avid singer that i am, sulit ang magic sing sa akin (effective stress release!)

24. MUSIC - …has always been a part of my life. singing helps lighten up my mood whenever i’m down. i’m also thankful that i’m able to serve in church through singing in the choir. tsaka syempre, career. hahaha.

25. ALWAYS HAVING ENOUGH RESOURCES FOR THE THINGS THAT I NEED - it always amazes me how i always have enough for my food, for books, for food, for leisure, for shelter, for clothes. actually, i have more than enough at times that i could afford to treat a friend or two to an occassional merienda, lunch or dinner. kapag may kailangan gawin, there would be a friend/contact who’d help palagi. amazing…my needs are always provided for. i really thank God for this!

26. HOPE & FORGIVENESS - there is never a hopeless situation no matter how seemingly confusing or difficult an issue may seem. i have hope because God is always bigger than any problem i could ever have. knowing this, i could afford to come up with solutions. knowing that no sin is too big for Him to not forgive, i am filled with hope as well. hope that with His grace, i could be better…that i do not need to remain in the ruts i get myself into.

27. THE YEAR AHEAD! - it’s a new year for me and i’m thankful for 365 days of being 27 yrs old…365 days for new experiences, new goals and to be several steps closer to the ultimate objective (whatever that is)

ayan, 27 na. hindi pilit ‘tong list na ‘to ha! anyways, happy birthday to me!