The postwoman rang twice

IT’S FINALLY here!  The invitation to my friend Marie’s wedding in August, that is.  Thanks to the kindness of a network of friends – from Marie herself, to Agnes, to “postwoman” Ems (she did “ring” me twice!) – this very lovely chocolate-brown-and-some-shade-of-blue invitation finally found its way to my hands.  If you sense that my excitement is quite palpable, it is simply because this is one of the very few event invitations that have managed to excite me so far.

Hues of chocolate brown and blue - the elegant invitation to the Subido-Aguilar nuptials!

 With all due respect to all the people who have given me the time of day – not to mention precious thoughts – through inviting me to their life’s milestones, I have to say that I’m going to do my best to make it to Marie and Ian’s wedding.  I’ve missed quite a number already, and I have to say that I remain to be very sad over them.

The last wedding I was in was my good friends Bom & Rizzie’s.  They afforded me the pleasure and honor to emcee their wedding reception and to date, it has remained to be one of the more memorable weddings I’ve been to.  There was also this one wedding reception at the Diamond Hotel Manila that Partner and I co-emceed to rousing appreciation by the couple (Partner’s friends) and the guests that included Senator Edgardo Angara, and then Solicitor General, now Secretary of Justice, Agnes Devanadera.  She liked me a lot that we had our picture taken. Hahaha! (The sherpa keeps on climbing that mountain!)

Marie also asked me to co-emcee their wedding.  I really thought she was just kidding at first.  But through a network of friends – yet again! – I eventually realized that she was serious to give me the job.

And as I had told her when I accepted, I’d do it in a heartbeat, WITHOUT any form of talent fee involved.  I don’t have serious talent anyways.  And I’d be glad to do things for people I really consider my friends.

 

A quick note on the invitation – It is really lovely!  And very stylishly so.  The fonts they used are very understatedly elegant and easy on the eyes.  Having their (Ian’s & Marie’s) names emblazoned in gold just seemed very auspicious to me.  Friendship was quick to point out that the invitation shares the same colors as Cupcakes by Sonja’s logo and sticker.  I didn’t figure that out at first! It just made it (the invitation) all the lovelier.

The body of a most lovely invitation

 

Subido-Aguilar Nuptials, 15 August 2009

Chillin’ with chocolate and the rain

BEAR WITH me while I forge ahead with my many many trips down memory lane (imagine me cringing at having to use that term!).  There are just some things that I’ve been missing lately.  And still, there are more “other” things that have been confined in my mind.  Sometimes I wonder if my head will just explode to get me out of my misery – fast.

One thing I’ve been missing terribly has been my Monday nights in the Makati area.  For sure, the very gracious, very warm and comfortably attentive staff of Cupcakes By Sonja in Serendra, Royce’ in Greenbelt 5, Krispy Kreme in Glorietta 4; the produce guys and gals in Rustan’s and SM; and the attendants at the deli section of Le Gourmet may have been wondering where the hell in the world I am.  Hahaha!  Pardon my sudden bursts of feeling important and – this is a stretch – unforgettable.  Hahaha!

But seriously, I’m in such an emotional rut so deep I couldn’t see myself escaping to see the sunshine anytime soon.  I’ve been missing… a lot of things and a few people who really matter.  And the only consolation I have is the fact that my memory gap hasn’t caught on just yet.  Hahaha!  I do relish all the memories.  It is true that at certain points in one’s life, the things left to hold on to are just the memories.  And I give myself a pat on the back for building and making memories with people I really care about.  But for the person that I am, the photographs and the memories can only do so much.  Nothing will come close to taking the place of seeing things right in front of you; and of hearing someone’s voice.  But then again, the sad flipside to that was the one time when I had never really realized just how very far away I was from my dream than when I was standing right next to it.

The last time I was in the Makati area – just a few weeks back – I sort of made my own “stations” of the “whatever” as I dropped by each gastronomic place that has come to mean something to me.  It was cathartic – not to mention expensive.  Hahaha!  I bought stuff like there was no tomorrow.  And I finished each one off with a good understanding that they meant more than just food.  They reminded me of people.  Of places.  Of the good times.  Of conversations that articulated emotions from both the farthest ends of the human spectrum – the highest of joys and the most hurtful of sorrows.  And now, sadly, they also do remind me what being a pudgy eNTeNG means.  Hahaha!

With a large Krispy Kreme Chocolate Chocolate Chiller in my right hand, and bags of doughnuts and Royce’ chocolates on the other, I stepped out of Greenbelt 5 and faced a starless sky, allowing the drizzle to kiss my face.  Yes, global warming and climate change do suck big time.  But that night, I was thankful for the light rain.  It may have messed up and washed away the “extreme style” reworkable putty that had kept my “Prada model” bangs in place.  But it did a great job to even out the tracks of tears that have been running down my face for nights.

Krispy Kreme Chocolate Chocolate Chiller!

 

Krispy Kreme canvas tote