Why I Wanna Marry Marion

Warning: Too cheesy. Don't read unless you are prepared to puke. Lol. Haha! This my 9th Speech for Toastmasters. :)

Good morning Fellow Toastmasters and guest. Before I deliver my speech, I want you to promise me that what you see and what you hear, when you go, I’m begging you please leave it here. If you can’t keep a promise, you are free to leave the room. Joke!

Today I’ll be delivering my 9^th Speech Project for Competent Communication Manual. Obejctive: To Persuade with Power. I believe I have no power. I only have the charms and definitely I am going to persuade you. And no, you don’t have to look at me while I do this (get necklace and do the hypnotizing moves haha). All you have to do is listen.

Yesterday I had a talk with Third about my speech. I asked him if it’s okay if my topic will be a mushy one. Third, being the ever supportive one, evaluated my speech right then and there without even hearing my speech! I can imagine him saying this “It’s okay if you’re topic is mushy. But if it’s about falling in love, I won’t be persuaded. Why in the hell would you talk about an overused topic? That’s being so insensitive! Fine. You’re in love but do you have to brag about it?” I was hurt. How in the hell did he know I’m going to talk about falling in love?! My gosh. We think the same! So I decided to revise my speech. In order to please him, I won’t talk about falling in love. He’s right. Love is an overused topic. So I won’t talk about falling in love. I will just talk about...MY love.

Lucky for me, my boyfriend is away so I would like to take this opportunity to talk about him. Remember your promise to me that nothing will come out of this room? Please keep it or else you’ll bloat my boyfriend’s head and I’m sure you would agree it won’t be nice to look at. As some of you know, I met my boyfriend through Toastmasters. I’ll always be grateful for joining this club because I found my true love here…oops that’s the love for public speaking just to clarify. It’s just a bonus that Toastmasters paved the way for me and Marion to meet.

They say there are a lot of fishes in the sea. You only have to catch the best one for you. And ehem ehem among my handful of suitors, Marion stood out. Why? Let me tell you my reasons why I think Marion is the best boyfriend for me.

First of all, he is my bestfriend. Before we got together, we were just clubmates. We hung out a lot and eventually, we became close friends and with time…we became closer  friends. As closer friends, we’d talk about anything – as in anything under the sun. From the geekiest topic like Pnoy’s SONA, to the square root of three hundred sixty five thousand four hundred thirty nine to how rainbows are formed. We’d talk about the sun, the moon, the stars… anything we can talk about. We’d talk about you Third (points to Third). We’re Toastmasters right? So we just love to talk. We’d debate about the silliest things like why the country Ecuador is called such when there are still other countries located near the equator. And our favorite topic? We’d talk about US. Having your best friend as your boyfriend made things easier. Before we even got together, he already knows my flaws and weaknesses and same goes for me. We knew each other well and it helped us manage our expectations when we entered into a relationship. He’d complain how moody I am and I’d complain how sleepy head he is. He always sleeps on me while we’re texting and I won’t mind because I know even before as friends, he’d manage to find my text lulling him to sleep. We may have clashing opinions at times but then we’ll know how to compromise. After all, friends do know how to give and take right? And it’s an important ingredient in sustaining a relationship.

Second, he is the best boyfriend for me because I know he’ll be a good family provider someday. I firsthand experienced how great he is when it comes to money matters. He is frugal. I repeat, he’s VERY frugal. When he was still courting me, he’ll bring me to Contis. When we got together, the Contis turned to Red Ribbon! There was a time when he surprised me by going to my office just to tell me personally that he already got the job at Toyota. He was extremely happy and he said he’ll treat me to lunch. But lo and behold! He instantly remembered that he’ll have to withdraw money first. He doesn’t keep extra money in his wallet in order to avoid unnecessary expenses. So I ended up paying for our lunch. Nevertheless, he made up for that by treating me out the next day at an expensive resto. Every peso for him counts. Last week when we’re already finished eating dinner, he suddenly said, “Baby I’m still hungry. Would you like me to order additional food?” I said sure. He said, “ Would you like to have some fries?” I said, “Uhmm…Baby can we order cheesesticks instead?” He got the menu and pondered for a veryyyy long time. After thinking hard, he said with finality “Okay baby. Let’s order fries.” I teased him “Ok. I know what you’re thinking. Sa presyo nagkatalo no? Give me the menu.” He didn’t give me the menu so I begged him to tell me the price difference of fries and cheesesticks. Guess what? Cheesesticks cost 135 pesos and fries? 105. I complained to him that it’s only 30 pesos. He explained to me that is still 30 pesos, saying that 30 pesos is the cost of our parking fee. I waved white flag. He had his way and I wouldn’t really care because the happy conversations we had made up for my cheesesticks craving.

Last but not the least, he’s the best boyfriend for me because he is my personal coach here in Toastmasters. I wouldn’t be here if not for him pushing me to do my speech. I talked to him last night and I told him, “Baby, I’m nervous. How can I deliver my speech tomorrow? Imagine, Third is pressuring me to deliver it without using notes. Que horror!” He calmly told me “Oh no babe, don’t be nervous. It’s just Third. He won’t eat you alive if you forgot a line in your speech or if you went mental block on stage.” He then proceeded to give me pieces of advice on how I can convey my speech effectively.

As you see, Marion is my bestfriend, my financial advisor and my Toastmasters coach all rolled into one. Now you know why MARION is the BEST boyfriend for me. I have no regrets in taking the risk of having a relationship with him and if I have to choose among other fishes in the sea (I’m not saying he’s a fish okay), I’d gladly choose him over and over again. :)

Sabaw Moments

While having dinner at Kenny Rogers. Waitress serves the food.:
Marion: Uhmm... Miss pwedeng papalitan ng ibang part tong chicken?
Waitress: Yes po Sir. Anong part po gusto niyo?
Marion: (serious tone) Thigh part or leg... Basta kahit ano wag lang wings. Kahit ulo ng manok Miss. O kaya adidas.
Me: What?!?!?!
Marion: Eh ayoko ng wings eh...
Me: So kahit ulo ng manok okay sayo basta wag lang wings?!
The waitress and I died with laughter. Mygulay! My boyfriend's a natural comedian! hahaha

Kuripot moment:
I was in charge of dinner last Saturday. So I ordered two viands, two cups of  rice and iced tea for Marion and me. After finishing our food...
Marion: Gutom pa ko. Baby, order ako fries ha para may papapakin tayo. Ako na magbabayad nun.
Me: Uh... fries? Ayaw mo ng cheese sticks? (Cheese sticks is more expensive than french fries)
Marion: Uhmm. Ikaw? Okay lang sayo? More than 200 pesos yun.
Me: What?!? Bat okay lang sakin? Kala ko ba ikaw na magbabayad? Haha
Marion: Ay onga pala. Ako na nga pala.
Me: Ikaw ha. Sumisimple. hahaha! Sakin pa ipapabayad! Cheese sticks naaaa.

Marion gets the menu, opens it, and thinks really really hard.

Marion: Sige final. fries na.
Me: Ayaw mo ba ng cheese sticks baby?
Marion: Deh, mas marami yung fries eh. Ilang sticks din yun. Eh kung cheese sticks ilang piraso lang yun, mabibitin tayo.
Me: Okay. Akin na nga yang menu. Matignan nga ang price. Ikaw talaga may pasabi sabi pa na lugi tayo if I know presyo talaga tinignan mo. Hahaha!
Marion: Hahaha! Wag mo na tignan. Lugi tayo sa cheese sticks. Promise. (Sabay abot sa waiter ng menu. Hahaha!)

Praying for the safety of DILG Secretary Robredo and his companions.

He Says the Sweetest Things :)

We were doing our usual imbento videoke-slash-biritan-slash-tulaan session inside his car on our way home (sabi na kami talaga ang dahilan ng ulan wahaha) when I let him listen to Kelly Clarkson's song "Dark Side". I told him I remembered him when I heard that song.

After listening to the song, these were some lines he told me that really really really made my heart (and my lungs, liver, stomach, basta lahat na ata ng body organs ko haha!) melt:

"Alam mo... Based on your stories, feeling ko you're the kind of person who would do everything for love. Pero alam mo sakin, you don't have to do anything naman. Siguro this time naisip ni God kelangan mo naman maexperience yung hindi mo kelangan gawin lahat or magpakahirap pa for someone to love you. Simple lang diba?"

"You don't have to explain to me everything about your past. Wala naman sakin yun. Kung yung Diyos nga nagpapatawad eh... ako pa kaya?"

...and he said a lot more things that I can't anymore recall just because it's sooooo genuinely sweet and I'm so overwhelmed plus my eyes are already welling up with tears...and this time, it's tears of joy.

I'm so lucky and blessed to have him. Really. I couldn't be more thankful.

I know he seldom goes online and he doesn't really read my blog (unless I told him to do so haha!) but I wanted to post this to tell the world: I love you so much Marion Evangelista :D

I'm Glad the Storm is Over :)

:(

When will the bad news end? It's soooo heartbreaking...

For the past days, heavy rains keep on pouring all over the Metro and nearby provinces. At first, it looked like just an ordinary rain. But as days passed without seeing the sun, I already felt stressed out. First, I had to commute all the way from Valenzuela to Taguig for freaking four hours!!! It was tiring and it's draining my energy. Second, I just don't like the rain. It feels so gloomy when it rains. My workstation is located beside a large window, overlooking Global City. And I just hate it when raindrops fall against my window especially when it starts raining at 5pm. Parang nanadya. Kung kelan malapit na mag-uwian, uulan?! I don't usually bring umbrella but this time, I really have no choice but to bring one.

Last Monday, after leaving the office on time (5:30pm-on-the-dot) and getting home at 10:30pm, finally my body gave in. Super pagod na talaga ko magcommute!!! I was so stressed out and so pissed and so tired that on Monday night, I've already decided that I won't go to work on Tuesday. Add the fact that I got stucked into an ankle-deep flood, it made me decide right then and there that I deserve a one day rest. Thankfully, work is suspended on Tuesday so I didn't have to file a leave. And so the rain keeps on pouring, flood levels keep on rising, classes and work being suspended and friends getting stranded. It was so heartbreaking for me to see and hear those. It dawned to me that the little hassle that happened to me last Monday was just tiny compared to other people's experiences. How dare I complain about something so little when there others out there who are experiencing far worse than what I have experienced? Watching the news is so disheartening and it makes me feel helpless knowing that a lot of people out there needs help and I'm only limited to do only so much. Sobrang sakit sa puso. Hands down to volunteers, cameraman, reporters, doctors, nurses, etc. who are out there in the field to help. It's true: When the rain is pouring, help is overflowing. I feel so lucky and blessed that I'm home safe and sound. All I can do now is pray for everyone out there and pray for the rain to stop.

Last night I had a conversation with my boyfriend over the phone. I was telling him that we have no electricity and I feel so bored not being able to do anything. He told me that I was still lucky compared to other people out there in the rain. Yes, we are very lucky not being able to experience those and so before putting down the phone, I told him that we should say a little prayer together for the people who are affected by the heavy rains. And so we prayed together over the phone. It feels so good after praying. That's the only thing we can do for now. 

I do hope the rain will stop soon. I really feel so bad and sad for those who are affected. I have a lot of friends who live in Marikina and Rizal. I'm praying for their safety. I'm praying for the safety of everyone...