The newly-engaged

Good morning Thursdayyyy! :) Woke up to such wonderful news that Bianca Gonzalez and JC Intal are engaged! Waah, yung level ng saya ko, akala mo close friend ko yung na-engage. Hahaha. I’m not sure why, probably because I’ve been reading Bianca’s blog since 2003 (hindi pa siya masyadong sikat non!), and it was crush-at-first-sight for JC when I saw him in that first and only time I watched an Ateneo game. May history talaga, hahaha. Also maybe because nasundan ko yung lovelife ni Bianca and in one of her ‘People Of My Year’ posts (I think it was in 2011) where she mentioned how in awe she is of JC’s good heartedness, I thought to myself I hope she ends up marrying this guy. And now she is one step closer to doing just THAT!!! Eeeeeeehhh!! <3

MY.HEART.IS.MELTINGGGG over this collage posted by JR Intal. Absolutely sweet and romantic! Although it would have been a million times better if JC went with Bianca to London. I could just imagine Bianca’s bottled up emotions, parang sasabog ang puso sa sobrang saya at kilig while she’s on the plane. What I loved about this proposal is how Bianca was in such a simple get-up, makeup-less even! I just think that there’s something about the simplicity (i.e. unglammed) that makes it more meaningful. Okay, yes, it also did remind me of when Erick proposed to me. At least si Bianca nakaligo, ako hindi! Hahaha :P

This year is truly proving to be the YEAR OF LOVE! In February alone, four of my friends got engaged. I know, right? How awesome is that? What makes me even happier is someone very close to my heart, my Ate Cha, also got engaged just a few days ago. FINALLY! I know she has been waiting for this, and I guess it came in a perfect time. I’m so happy!!!! God’s grand plans are slowly but surely being unfolded for her.

And my personal wedding preps worksheet is making its rounds to my newly-engaged friends, hahaha! Ang dami ko din namana na wedding worksheet files from my friends who got married earlier than I did, but I tried to personalize mine and made it as simple and user-friendly as possible. Hindi yung tipong malulula ka sa dami ng info when you open the file, so I hope they’d find it useful too! These days my Skype and Whatsapp conversations are mostly about wedding preps. So much fun sharing pegs and ideas! It’s like going back to my own wedding preps days, except that this time hindi ako gagastos. Hahaha!

I’m so excited for these people close to my heart who are about to enter a new chapter in their lives. It may be a huge transition for some of them, but it really is a privilege to be in this beautiful, life-changing phase. Wedding planning can get very stressful, exhausting, and time-consuming (I know this for a fact all too well! Haha), so my prayer for my newly-engaged loves is to have the time and resources to prepare for their married life ahead as well. After all, wedding is just a one-day event, while marriage goes on forever. It is what really counts.

Thoughts on ‘Starting Over Again’

Ever since the trailer came out last January, I’ve been excitedly waiting for the movie to come out. Having Piolo Pascual and Toni Gonzaga as the lead actors, plus the tagline in the form of a very thought-provoking question “How do I unlove you?” are more than enough to pique my interest. Also, I’m such a sucker for Tagalog romance movies. Hehehe.

Before I get into the rest of this post, I would like to say, ANG GUAPO NI PIOLO. His close-up shots made me swoon like a lovestruck teenager.

Yes, Sir Marco? <3

Hahaha sorry, I just had to. :D

Okay, I don’t know how to write a proper movie review, so I’ll just write in bullets what I liked and what I didn’t like. Warning: Spoilers galore ahead!

• The opening scene where Ginny was shouting “I love you, Sir Marco!” was kind of tacky. I know it is a reference to Toni’s “I love you, Piolo!” Sprite commercial years ago. Still tacky.

• I am not exactly a fan of Toni G, but I will say that she is truly a great actress. She does both comedy and drama so well. Her facial expressions and the way she delivers her lines are always spot on. As for Piolo, well, Piolo is Piolo.

• “My love is bigger than your failures.” —  I really loved this line from Patty. This is what TRUE LOVE is all about. Love does make up for a lot of things. And this is why I was happy with the ending she got. Good things deserve to happen to people who love faithfully and unconditionally.

• Winner din yung lines ng friends ni Ginny! “Yang hope na yan. Lason yan. Parang drugs na nakaka-adik.” | “Adik ka na naman sa pag-asa eh. Try mo na kaya lumaklak ng realidad?” I loved Ginny and Wella’s drinking scene. It was filled with truth and tears. And I cried with them.

• The confrontation scene between Ginny and Patty was unexpected, and I actually liked it despite the cringe-worthiness of it all. I get that people sometimes tend to do desperate things just to win the heart of the one they love. But to deliberately attempt to ruin someone else’s relationship will never be acceptable in my book. I hated Ginny when she indirectly told Patty that she slept with Marco while she was away. That was wayyyy out of line. Obviously, I am #TeamPatty! #sorrynotsorry Haha! She is the present un-bitchy girlfriend who did nothing wrong. She was actually a little bit too nice to a fault! Na-balance out ng pagiging calm and collected ni Patty yung inis ko kay Ginny. Hahaha. I loved that she only broke down when she walked out of the kitchen. That was some understated acting at its finest. Galing ni Iza! Ang galing din ni Toni, she very effectively portrayed the role of a desperate woman who would to ANYTHING to get the love of her life back.

• I guess the reason why this movie captured the hearts of millions of viewers because the story is highly relatable. All of us may have fallen in love, went through the pain of a break up, regretted something we have done, faced rejection, and moved on from a heartbreak — all of which we saw in the movie. It showed us love in its rawest form, eliciting raw human emotions.

• I was happy with how the movie ended. Everyone got their happy ending. Yay, Marco and Patty! (Btw, kinilig ako sa term of endearment nila na ‘ga’, as in short for ‘palangga’). I’m glad that Ginny was able to start over again and met Martin in what she believes is a perfect timing. Direk Paul’s appearance was such a nice surprise! It was an effective pampalubag-loob for those who were rooting for Marco and Ginny to get back together. Haha.

photo credit: Star Cinema

It’s a film worth watching again, and would make for a good conversation/debate topic with your friends. I swear, this movie has been discussed in most of my Whatsapp groups. At nakakatuwa kasi ang daming opposing opinions. Talaga naman, basta tungkol sa love! Hahaha. So kids, remember: Don’t just walk away. You’ll never know what a good explanation and an acceptable reason can do in a relationship :)

Do Not Worry

I am admittedly a worrier. I would love to say that I USED TO BE one, but even if I have improved over the past couple of years, I still have my worrier moments. Although this time less intense and less frequent. Honestly, it’s hard to not worry especially when it concerns the people I love most. I guess it’s all part of being human. I tend to worry about all sorts of things — health and safety of myself and my loved ones, future plans, finances, job security, etc. Yesterday’s gospel was such a beautiful reminder of why we SHOULD NOT worry.

"And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? "

– Matthew 6:30

 A friend once said that worrying is a form of insult to God. Since then, I became more conscious on worrying, because I definitely do not want to do anything that could insult my God who has been always been so faithful, loving and generous to me. What I started doing differently is to make prayer an immediate action. No more having my mind go on overdrive and thinking of worst-case scenarios before actually praying.

I have resolved that prayer should come first, and it does make a lot of difference. Doing so not only calms my heart, it also brings me in a peaceful state and gives me a clearer perspective on the matter, allowing me to focus and come up with a sensible action plan. This is just one of the many, many ways how utterly beautiful the gift of prayer is. In contrast, worrying is… completely useless. It makes you unproductive and leads you into the wrong direction.

Also, God is loving, powerful, and He is in control. Filling my mind with these thoughts is enough to make me put my full trust in Him. It calms my heart like no other.

"So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today." 

– Matthew 6:34