Mabuhay ang Bagong Kasal!

My second cousin Marc and my friend Pau got married last Saturday, July 21, 2012. It was raining like there's no tomorrow, just like Ondoy few years back. So anyway, despite the bad weather, the wedding pushed through and they said their "I Dos" and had their first kiss.

 A week before the wedding, they announced that I like be giving a speech for the bride! Man, I freaked out-- really freaked out. But because I love my cousin and my friend so much, how could I turn them down? I decided to start doing the speech Monday last week, even though I have no slightest idea on what to write. Come Wednesday, with 3 exams to be taken that day, I still wrote nothing. And I promised that I will start writing after my exams that day. And because I enjoy (yeah right) really procrastinating, I still didn't start right away. It was only the night before the wedding when I really sat down and typed away. With suggestions from friends, I was able to produce a wedding speech that is really from the heart. I've asked permission from Pau if it's okay for me to post the speech on my blog, and she gave me a go signal.

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Good afternoon everyone.

For those who don’t know me, I am Bea, Kuya Marc’s second cousin, but right now, I’m closer to Pau.

I first heard about Pau a year ago, when Kuya Marc was here for a vacation from work in the US Army. And while we were having dinner with some of our cousins, my sister, Tita Malou, and a friend of Tita, Kuya Marc whipped out his cellphone and was busy texting. After that, he leaned towards my sister and said something like “There’s this girl who wanted to join us for dinner. But when I told her Mom’s with us, she suddenly changed her mind.” Little did I know, I was so close on meeting my future cousin-in-law.

And after a few weeks, I learned from my Mom that Kuya Marc’s getting married. “To whom?” I asked my Mom. “Paula raw yung name.” Then it dawned on me that maybe that’s the girl who was supposed to join us at the dinner. And from the beginning, this Paula girl wanted my sister and me to be part of their wedding entourage. And yes, we’re both here. And to cut the long story short, we became Facebook friends first before meeting in person. Sounds familiar? Just like Kuya Marc and Pau’s love story, diba? But in their case, it started with a picture nga lang.

Kuya Marc, Pau, just like your theme na “Love is Brewing”, I believe it’s not really about both of you loving coffee or that’s where you both got to know each other. It is, despite your cultural differences because of where you grew up, God has prepared the both of you for each other. Regardless of who’s speaking in English or in Filipino, you both meet halfway to be able to understand each other because you love each other. I remember one of their stories that Pau told me, after one of their “dates”, after Pau said goodbye and goodnight to Kuya, she just went into the FX that was waiting. She then noticed the driver was gently laughing and he told Pau, “Ma’am, magggoodnight kiss sa inyo si Sir, hindi niyo man lang binigyan ng pagkakataon.” Or another one was they were talking and in one instance, Pau told Kuya Marc that she misses him already, and Kuya deduced it as “I love you” already.

Kuya Marc, take care of Pau. And remember, whether Pau is right or wrong, always say “Yes, Dear” ha. Continue to put the glow in Pau’s face. Thank you for taking time to meet us whenever you’re here in the country. Thank you for your stories that leave us laughing our heads off. You’ll always be our Jay R the singer look alike, and Claire’s Speedy Gonzales.

Pau, finally, dumating na ang araw na ito. And all the hard work paid off! Rest na after this day. You’re the sister that I don’t have. Thank you for listening to my rants thru text, for replying to my out-of-nowhere texts. I appreciate our bonding moments that made us walk for hours while looking for the perfect paper for the invitations or perfect cloth for the envelope, and left us dead-tired in the end. Kapag nagshopping ka pala, wag mo papabuhat lahat ng bags kay Kuya Marc a, baka masama ka sa category ng ayaw natin na mga tao! Remember the couple we saw in the mall? The guy was carrying all the shopping bags of his partner.

Congratulations on your married life. Have a very wonderful future together. Continue loving each other effortlessly. There may be ups and downs, but in the end, you both know that you still love each other. Cheers to both of you! I love you both!

Nail Art 2

After my post few months ago on Nail Art, I have done few more, with inspiration from Youtube videos that I find enjoyable to do, and suggestions from friends.

First off, I tried doing "Easy Rainbow Stripes", which I found on Youtube.

On my first try, I half-failed/half-succeeded on doing it. The base colors were dark so it didn't stand out... So, I decided to make another one.

Tadaaaa! Isn't it better now? :D

Next, I tried doing Rainbow Design, which I also found on Youtube.

My friend wanted me to do the ombre nail polish she saw on the net (click me!). So since the time she told me that, my nail was still short, so I waited and waited and waited until it grew so I can make this ombre. It was challenging. But the result was amazing! This is one of the nail arts that I did with both hands.

I tried doing the sponging technique, but not really doing an ombre polish as I used only 2 colors. I did this for the wedding of my cousin yesterday.

I'm Special

I retyped this message from a paper I saw nailed on my cork board from the old house. I know it's given to us by a teacher of ours back in high school, I'm just not sure what year was that, but I'm suspecting it's 2nd year. Hehe. I don't know who the author of this piece is. But since it's undeniably a good piece, I decided to retype and share it. Happy reading!

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I'm special. In all the world there's nobody like me.

Since the beginning of time, there has never been another person like me. Nobody has my smile. Nobody has my eyes, my nose, my hair, my hands, my voice. I'm special. No one can be found who has my handwriting.

Nobody anywhere has my tastes- for food, for music or art. No one sees things just as I do.

In all of time there's been no one who laughs like me, no one who cries like me. And what makes me laugh and cry will never provoke identical laughter and tears from anybody else, ever.

No one reacts to any situation just as I would react. I'm special.

I'm the only one in all of creation who has my set of abilities. Oh, there will always be somebody who is better at one of the things I'm good at, but no one in the universe can reach the quality of my combination of talents, ideas, abilities, and feelings. Like a roomful of musical instruments, some may excel alone, but none can match the symphony sound when all are played together. I'm a symphony. Through all of eternity no one will ever look, talk, walk, think or do like me. I'm special. I'm rare.

And, in all rarity, there is great value.

Because of my great rare value, I need not attempt to imitate others. I will accept- yes, celebrate- my differences.

I'm special. And I'm beginning to realize it's no accident that I'm special. I'm beginning to see that God made me special for a very special purpose. He must have a job for me that no one else can do as well as I. Out of all the billions of applicants, only one is qualified. Only one has the right combination of what it takes.

That one is me. Because... I'm special.

Let Go.

Letting go of something, or someone, isn't as easy as it sounds. It's like picking up pieces of broken vase using bare hands; you don't pick them all up at once because: 1) you can't pick them all at once, and 2) you will hurt yourself by doing so, but instead, we pick them piece by piece.

When we let go of material things, we do it because we no longer need them or it ceased performing its purpose. If it doesn't have a sentimental value to you, you won't think twice giving it up, right?

Aside from material things, personal relationships are also candidate for letting go. May it be friendship, boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, marriage, and death. We let go of a friendship because one party decided to stop making the friendship continue or grow stronger. You let go of a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship and marriage because things are not working out. One of them might have fallen out of love, or priorities might have changed. Worse case is that there's someone else that would immediately take over your place in your other half's life. As for death, it's inevitable; nothing's permanent in this life, as life itself is temporary. Our loved ones may have gone, we may not want them to go but we have to.

We let go of these things because we want to lift the burden that makes our hearts twitch because of the pain it feels whenever we think of what supposedly we are holding on to. Memories, yes. These memories will forever stay in our minds, whether we want them or not, and we select those we want to always remember and overcome the memories we want to be erased. But these memories will not happen again. When we look back on those happy thoughts (or maybe depressing/sad for others), we tend to think, "What if things worked out differently?" or "Maybe I should have done this instead of that in order to save our relationship". Would they even still matter right now? Perhaps yes, if you are in reconciling terms/ civil with the other person. Otherwise maybe not.

Letting go is freeing yourself from the pain you acquire from the abrupt change in your friendship. Letting go is giving more time to your own needs than reminiscing the past. Letting go is giving up holding on to the memories and start making new brighter ones. Letting go is making yourself look forward to new challenges in life instead of pondering if somebody from the past would be disappointed for your actions. Letting go is making new acquaintances and friends rather than waiting for old friends to resurface in front of you. Letting go is giving yourself a total makeover in your outlook on life. Letting go is accepting the passing of your loved ones. Letting go is loving yourself more than you love others.

New Found Treasures

I admit that I used to not like buying books on second-hand bookstores. I just like going there, and enjoy the smell of the books. But a few years ago, I came to love second hand bookstores. It's a heaven of books from not so popular authors! Not only that, you can find books that cannot be seen from the regular bookstores, from the authors that you love. But I have yet to see a Nicholas Sparks or Cecelia Ahern or Sophie Kinsella on those bookstores, hehe.

Anyway, it's fun to discover "new" authors there, and prices are way cheaper than the original ones; there was one store where I recently went to and all the novels are priced on 50 pesos! And the good thing there is that the books are still in good condition. The authors I've found worth reading are Luanne Rice, Susan Wiggs, Kristin Hannah, Karen Crane, and Paula Reeds (all are fiction/romance writers). If you want a Nora Roberts or Danielle Steel or James Patterson novels, they also have their books there.

The down side of these second-hand bookstores? Books are not organized according to author or genre. Few years back, I asked if they have a certain title of one of the authors that I was addicted to at that time, they were somehow clueless; so I asked if they have a complete list of books they currently have on hand-- none. Sadness. So, I have to diligently browse all the books they have there to find what I was looking for.

And there's this different feeling when you get to see novels from the authors you've been watching out. Plus the smell of books. Plus the idea that you know you will have another enjoyed moment reading novels. All in all, it's pure bliss. ♥

Losing Friends

The art of losing isn't hard to master;

so many things seem filled with the intent

to be lost that their loss is no disaster,

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster

of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.

The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:

places, and names, and where it was you meant

to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or

next-to-last, of three beloved houses went.

The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,

some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.

I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

-- Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture

I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident

the art of losing's not too hard to master

though it may look like (Write it!) a disaster.

-One Art by Elizabeth Bishop

Have you ever come to a point in your life where a close friend of yours started drifting away from you and eventually it would seem like you don't know each other at all? Para bang wala kayong pinagsamahan.

I am the kind of person that does not consider a friend to be someone close to me, until he/she exceeded my expectations. And when I say close, I mean REALLY close. Like someone who would confide in me real personal stuff, and stuff like that. And when I gain close friends, I would really treasure them as they would take a major role in my life.

But when a close friend would say "friends forever", I sometimes wanted to doubt and ask, "Seryoso yan ha? Walang bawian yan kahit ano pa ang mangyari? Kahit after pa ng trials sa friendship natin e friends pa rin tayo tulad ngayon?" But sadly, that ain't the case.

Recently, 2 close friends of mine drifted away from me. One said we'll be friends forever yet this person just stopped talking to me, and the other one for some other petty reason. For the first friend, it's just weird that at one point we're constantly talking, and suddenly *poof*, I'm being ignored. It came to the point that I was really wondering if I should ask my friend already what's wrong. But I didn't; I don't know if it's the pride that hinders me or whatever else. Weeks, months passed by and still nothing from that person. So, if I like someone to share my frustrations or stories or whatever else with, I know I can't turn to this person anymore, no matter how much I want to. I wonder if that person still wants to talk to me like before.

As for my other friend, he "had to" drift away as his partner was getting jealous. So it's kinda like I was "accused" of "trying to steal the guy from her" or something like that. The girl is also my friend although I know the guy longer, and we talk in front of the girl naman but some physical gestures were misunderstood by her. At first I wanted to talk her out that there's nothing for her to be jealous of, walang malisya between me and the guy. But I thought that maybe she wouldn't want to hear any of it, so decided not to do it anymore. Hey, do I even look like a boyfriend snatcher?!?! Was I a threat to their relationship from the start? Do I even look like a threat?! So, yeah, we stopped talking after that, and I guess they're okay again in their relationship.

Nail Art

To those who've known me from the start, they know that I am not kikay. At all. Therefore, I am not into those bracelets, or necklaces, or earrings, or even nail polishes. But yes, I do put nail polish once in a while, but only of very light shades. I remember the very first one I painted on my nails were metallic light green, and you can barely see it unless you stare at my nails. And this was back in college already. And over the years, I have my nails painted, maybe at least every 3 months or less, but I get frustrated as they chip off after I have them done. So I stop having my nails painted. Until recently, when nail arts are getting more famous, I enjoy viewing them. Yet I never have nail arts as they were expensive in nail salons. I compliment my sister when she get nail arts (she's the kikay one), or my friend does one.

So after looking at all those fantastic nail arts (and kept bugging a friend to do this and that), I told myself that maybe I could try doing one. But I thought that it's a tedious job. My friend did one nail art on me when she slept over at our place.

Here's the one that was done on my nails. Sabog nga lang yan cause it was done at almost 1am already.

The first ever nail art that I personally did was a bamboo. It was a promise for a friend that I will show her a sample of a bamboo nail art. 

And since I also promised her a panda...

But my panda is not looking so much like a panda. :))

Since I totally enjoying how people do the water marble nail art. I did one as well!

Water marble is the only nail art the I did in all fingers of one hand. Because I find nail art making tedious (but very fun), I usually only do one on my thumb.

And just early this afternoon, I did my latest nail art, "color block nail art", with the help of this video from Youtube.

I found few other nail arts that I found interesting to do, I'll do them some other time. :)