Denjing: Chapter Three

We celebrate anniversaries -- even in the simplest way possible. Sometimes, when time (and money) permits,we also celebrate monthsaries. It's just a nice way of reminiscing the good and bad times we have shared. December 17, 2005 was no exception at all. It was our Third Year as BF/GF and we won't let the day pass without some sort of "festivity".

For a taste of something new, we went to Gateway Mall. It wasn't as we expected it to be but it was quite fun because they had set up this miniature community where a train runs around. We were to try the watching a movie at the Globe Platinum Cinema and experience the cinema's comfy lazy boy seats but it turned out that they had only a few viewing time so we needed to re-schedule it. We settled to watching a movie in their regular cinema instead.

A celebrations will not be complete without food. And for our third anniversary, we chose to have a sumptuous meal at Burgoo. The best part of being at Burgoo is the coloring of your table's paper cover while waiting for your food.

Three years of blessing. Three years of a relationship that had us enjoying every moment that life offers. Cant' wait for the real thing.

We were there!!!

Unofficially, I think this is the new summer capital of the country.No offense to nice, old Baguio of course. It's just that as of the moment, peopleare simply dying to be on the white sands of this island. Let alone, this isnow the one place to be come summer time. Where else? Bora! Bora! BORACAY!


During the time (that was way back then) that I have heard of Boracay, I was intrigued. But not to the point of actuallywanting to be there. As the years passed by, my imagination of how it is to be in Boracay caught up with me. I began to feel that a trip to Bora is one of my life long dream.

So April of 2005, my family and I planned out a trip to the island of Boracay. We got the Starlite Ferries promo for our transpo which was via land and RORO (roll-on/roll-off ship). We left Batangas Pier at around 7PM of May 4, 2005 and 9 AM the next day, we were already walking along the shores of Boracay.

So what was it like? Spectacular. I mean who could forget the super fine sand and the clearinviting water. During the time we got there, the Nestea Beach Volleyball finals was on-going simultaneous with the dragonboat rowing Finals. The island was full of festivities that sometimes you tend to forget that you were there to enjoy the summer waves of the island.

We allocated only one day for swimming. The rest of our time was spent strolling from station to station, watchingthe activities, getting henna tatoo, star gazing, and taking pictures just about anywhere. Of course, we did not forget to catch the sunset to have it as our background in one of our snapshots.

Boracay, in a nutshell, is not just a great beach location. It's an experience.

What we do defines who we are

If I was asked what's my purpose in life, this would be one of many.Last May 2005, Dingdong, Kuya Jon and I pushed through with one of our biggest projects ever:S.Y.S.T.E.M - Serving Youth of S.T.E.M.

We conceptualized the group because of the need to take care of the growing number of young peoplein church. We were not dreaming for something big. We just wanted the teens and young adults of the church to find comfort and love within the church and to guide them in finding the ministry in whichthey would want to be a part of.

We kicked off with a team building activity at Serene Resort in Antipolo. Nothing fancy. We just preparedactivities to officially tie the bond of this group. There were no formal talk or seminar, just a reiteration of the fact that we have been called to serve in our own little way.

Thank God because we are growing -- slowly but surely. We will be celebrating our second year anniversarythis May. To God be the glory!

Weddings before our own

The greatest fairytale story in every woman's life is her wedding. No matter how practical a girl is, dreaming of a romantic wedding is never far from one’s mind.
The years of being boyfriend and girlfriend has allowed us to attend weddings of people who are dear to us. Be it as an entourage, as a wedding singer or simply as a guest, each wedding has it's own story to share.

Jojo and Ivy's wedding: The farthest wedding we've attended to date. It's because their wedding was held in Batangas.

Clarence and Pat's Wedding: A wedding that had tons of stories from day 1 of it's preparations until the day itself. Jing was one of the bridesmaids and was also the host during the reception. Sonny and Em's wedding: Oh this was unforgettable to us as we became the "favorites" of the officiant in some weird way. Dingdong sang two songs for the bride and groom during reception. What we love most about weddings is witnessing the start of a couple's journey towards forever.Yeah, I know. Mushy right? But that is what's happening during weddings. It officially sets the beginning of a marriage -- till death do you part.

Our own wedding story will be posted soon. **Wink**

The Heat is on

I believe if not next to Christmas Season, Summer is one of the most anticipated time of the year. Most especially here in the Philippines where Summer is almost synonymous to the words beach, vacation and fun.

We have our share of summer activities. Every summer is an excuse to go someplace you've never been (or at least to go back to that place you truly love) and spend money on fancy swimwear and sunglasses.

Here we have listed some of the places we went one summer ago. Well, these are actually the summer side trips we had. The major summer vacations will be posted separately.

1. The Bataan Challenge

This one goes to the record. It was an invitation from a churchmate that led us here. And since everyone was pretty much in the mood to go swimming, we said yes. We went to a nearby resort (swimming pools only) and stayed there until after dinner time. While eating dinner, we were asked if we wanted to go to a hidden falls the next day. Of course the very idea of a falls came to our minds thinking that we will actually have fun swimming our hearts there. There was a catch though: it would take us about two hours, on foot, before getting there. We got even more excited! If we were gonna hike before getting to the falls, this place must be something else. So we all said yes. We will wake up early the next day to have a head start and get to the falls by 8 AM. So that means we would have to start at around 6 AM. No problem.

As psyched as we may have been the night before, it wasn't easy to wake up as early as 6 AM especially since almost everyone stayed up late laughing and telling stories. The original 6 AM schedule started 7 AM with us not bringing much except towels, drinking water and bananas.

The hike wasn't too bad. The road we took wasn't as steep. Or so we thought. One hour after walking, everyone lost their fast pace moves. It was getting hot. And still an hour to go before we get to the falls. That's not even half of it. The last 45 minutes of the hike consist of having to hop in between stones and climbing over big rocks. Man!!!! The idea of the falls is fading away and all I can dream of is going back to bed to get some sleep. When we got to the falls area, the water was so icy cold that it was hard to swim. So much for fun! The worst part isn't over because we had to go back and still go to the same route we took when we went there. WhaaaT???This is the ultimate Bataan Death March!!!!!Still, an experience worth remembering. (Remember not to do it over again!!!!)

2. Not so blue, Blue Coral

Laiya is that beach place that has been there ages ago but was just not talked about too much. I guess it has been a secret hideaway of some sort and talking about it would mean exposing it to the whole world. Well, that's how I see it anyway. We went there last 2003 and you we had to pay for was the cottage. The water was clear and the beach was not crowded at all.

2005 when I got back to Laiya for my husband's (then still a boyfriend) company outing. The best part of being there was the snorkling experience.

3. Finally, Bato

My husband and his family's favorite place to be when the sun's heat is too hot to bear: Bato Springs. They rave about it all the time while I on the other hand have never been there. To my delight, they invited me one time and we spent the whole afternoon there. It was nice...really nice. Affordable and nice. The setting of the place is so cute, like almost being in a forest. The water is quite cold though, so better hit the showers first before dipping in.

Yup. Only three. What? No boracay adventure? I told you these where just minor stops :)

Villa Escudero Escapade

Our very first out-of-town as a couple. This was July 2004. Dingdong still with long hair.

The picture by the falls? That's the escudero trademark!

Power of Two

Dingdong and Jing over the years...



still talking about past memories from 2002 up to 2005

Gimmicks and then some: 2003 to 2005

Okay, okay, it may not really be fair that this blog is posted 2007 while the title describes the year these things happened. Sorry. Our bad. We wanted a photo album/blog/journal but we just can' t seem to find the perfect layout (or the perfect site that give us what we really wanted) So eventhough this blog account was created years ago, we decided to stick with it anyway. We revised it for the hundredth time (overly exaggerated) and we are finally happy with how it looks like (no comments here please! *kidding*)

Below are pictures with friends and the adventures we had with them -- birthday celebrations, MTV Summit, Enchanted Kingdom, Bowling -- the list doesn't stop here.

The people you see in the picture are the now defunct COE Makati Faculty members who once made teaching (and learning) an experience worth remembering. They were my first colleagues, the first group people I had the privelge of working with. Never in my wildest imagination did I dream of becoming an instructor. I always believed that writing was my passion -- not until I started teaching. For almost four years, I became that person who molded minds, encouraged and challenged college students to be the best they can be. Yes. That's what I have become. It wasn't about the failing grades, nor the great projects -- it was simply about learning who you are, what you really want in life, and striving hard always no matter what the condition is.

The greatest part of my teaching years was my friendship with these people. They made things bearable. I look forward to going to work because it was like going to a friend's house to just hang out there. It was like getting paid to have fun. We translated work pressure into something humorous. Each day was an adventure. Each day was also a learning experience for each of us.

After some time when we all had to move on to different dreams, we are all still very good friends. And wherever I go, for sure, these people I will always remember.

Remnants of the past: 2002 - 2003

Memories from birthdays we've attended during our first year as a couple.

Double celebration for Daduds and Eloi at Buffet King

(and to Nyoy's surprise, he had no choice but to sing with a videoke!)
Mama Fe's 50th Bday at Kenny Rogers

(an all-adult fun party I should say!)

where mom's guests participated well in the fun games

prepared by the very hyper host.

Mye's bday (a picture ages ago... harhar..i mean look at that short hair!)

And Eloi's really Mcdo party (dribble the ball, dribble the ball).

It's nice to reminisce.