Wed, Bless & Feast

Two weekends were merrily spent with college friends in celebration of three special occasions – a wedding, a christening and a fiesta. Interestingly, none of these events could’ve happened if not for one person, Joyann.J

Let’s talk about the Sancebuche - Canario Nuptial first.

She has that glow. :)

Tapang (as we used to call Joyann because of her naturally angry tone when speaking haha!) and MJ sealed their love as they exchanged vows in front of the altar last July 28. This was also special to us because she’s the first in our batch to get married. We were all happy to have witnessed this life-changing moment.J

Congratulations, Joyann and MJ! 

When we saw the romantic set-up of the church, that was when it hit us. It was really happening. And then when MJ and Tapang arrived separately, we couldn’t help the chills and tears anymore. It all suddenly felt real to everyone.

And because all of us are hopeless romantics inside, we couldn’t help wondering how our wedding in the future would look like.

The motif has been decided, the gown designed, the venue selected, and the entourage lined up. Everything’s set except for the groom. Oh well, we can worry about him later. Hahaha! Silliness!

That day left us dreaming and imagining our own ideal weddings.

But that Sunday did not end with the nuptial alone. It was immediately followed by the baptism of their baby, Ian.

Isn't he an angel?

Baby Ian is the fruit of the newlyweds’ love. He’s the new center of attention of the family. How could he not be? He has a very sweet and charming face like that of an angel. Everybody wants a piece of Baby Ian. What a beautiful blessing. May he grow a healthy, lovely and God-fearing kid.J

Wow, everybody is getting married and having kids already. I still can’t believe it. It’s all happening too soon. I can’t keep up, and I don’t think I’m ready for any of it yet. Haha!

And then, there was the fiesta last Aug. 11.

Every year we look forward to this awesome day. Friends, videoke, cordon bleu – what’s not to love? For three straight years, we have been going to the Sancebuches’ home to join in the feast of Sta. Clara and indulge ourselves in the scrumptious buffet they have prepared.

This fiesta has become a tradition for us. While looking like a normal gathering for people on the outside, it is also one of the things we can look back at to trace the changes we’ve had over the years. Year after year we do this, and year after year there’s something different. The Sancebuche home have witnessed the changes, and Sta. Clara’s feast can attest to that.

Thank you to Joyann and the rest of the Sancebuche family for opening their home to us. xoxo

*Thanks to Monica and Jerome for the photos!

FIESTA: THE REPEAT

081212. sunday.

food will always find a way to unite us all. :)

yesterday, 081112, our class was once again reunited. we were invited by Tapang for Brgy. Sta. Clara's feast.  fiestas can only mean one thing - FOOD. HAHA.

is this occasion somewhat familiar to you? de javu. well, if you read this blogpost(maghapon sa pyestahan.), you'd know that we were also here last year. yes, this has been an annual gathering for all of us. HAHA.

thank you for this special event as we got to see many of our classmates again! most are now busy with their own lives that we barely hangout together anymore. too bad. HAHA. and this is where our love for food comes in. it's automatic. when we talk about food, if not everybody, most  will show up. that is very true in this case. more than half of the class came over. yvonne, jusz, jerome, sarah, kreng, moning, jonas, vyna, paul, hanawoods and boyfriend, pammy, dervs, bistek, tapang (the host), and me.

 

as always, their buffet was uh-mah-zing. cordon bleu, my all time favorite, is the bomb! there were also the other fiesta staples like lumpiang shanghai, menudo, embutido, and fish fillet among others. happy tummies. HAHA.

our dessert was kind of special. instead of the usual sweet treats, we had a chitchat of the latest gossips in town. HAHA. and as always, there were so many shocking, tantrum-causing news made by shocking people. HAHAHA. well, seems like a lot has already happened since we left school. oh, how much i miss school. we did some catching up. a lot has changed with us. some got better, some got worse. well, it’s their choice, so…

let the story begin. once upon a time...   HAHA.

very intense while listening to the stories/chismis. HAHA.

thanks to my good friends (jonas, bistek, kreng, and dervs) for teaching me how to play the card game “in between.” woof-woof! it’s such a fun game, plus it’s very easy to learn. we didn’t just play, we gambled. HAHA. dervs was the winner, he got away with the most money. i wish it was me. next time, imma beat you all! wait for my sweet revenge! HAHA.

my teachers. haha.

playmates/enemies. HAHA.

thumbs up for a crazy game. :)

that’s onehelluvaday! :) this wouldn’t be the last. surely, we’ll have more of this. i am looking forward to the next. where will it be? we’ll soon find out. HAHA. thanks to Matapang and her family for inviting us over. they never fail to satisfy our bellies. HAHA. 

*thanks to jerome, kreng and jonas for most of the photos.

the ace in between

081112. saturday.

# the ace in between

one of the most refreshing things i did today! it's been a long, long time since i last played cards. :) only now did i learn the card game "in between." thanks to my BI friends (jonas, derbs and bistek) for teaching me and kreng. kidding! HAHA. they are all so nice! i lost money but i had fun! :)

maghapon sa pyestahan.

081111.

we didn't have classes but we still went to school just to meet. we're all headed to one classmate's place, tapang's. what for? FIESTA! we' re always into fiestas! whenever there is fiesta in a classmate's place, we shouldn't miss it! haha. more than that, we go in a big group. i don't know. may be our stomachs are all jiving at the thought of fiestas. haha! may be we weren't only feeding ourselves. may be we also have alagas in our tummies. MGA DRAGON as we call them. haha.

i woke up late then i received a message from mame saying that they are about to go the fiesta already. damn. i didn't know they'd go that early. i took a very quick bath, fixed myself, and hurried to school. they were already hungry 'coz they've been in school since nine. poor them. haha. when i arrived, we were all ready to go but we couldn't because we were still waiting for yvonne. while waiting, a jeepney was all set for us so we went to up inside. wrong decision! it was soo damn hot then! we were all complaining! hahaha! we were all like, "what the hell is taking yvonne so long?!" haha! she said she was already in carmelray, then minutes passed, still no signs of yvonne! we were all thinking that when she said she was already in carmelray, she was still in st. james! haha! that's something we all do just so those waiting for us won't get mad! i confess. i do that. my classmates do it too. hahahaha!

we reached tapang's place by 3 pm. then, i realized that our class attendance was almost complete except for may be five who didn't come. sad for them. they missed out on a lot. haha. the food was crazy!!!!!!!!! oh god! we all attacked on the table when it was our turn! everyone was so excited for everything. haha! i let my classmates go first on the food. when it was my turn, the one i was so excited about, the cordon bleu, wasn't there! the bowl was empty! oh no! did i just miss it? luckily, no. haha. the bowl was once again filled with cordon bleu! happy me! i didn't have much rice. i just filled my plate with menudo, cordon bleu, embotido. haha. i had macaroni salad, my favorite, for dessert. then, we were all so full! stomachs were bloated. it was natural 'coz the food was great. haha. ago, kreng and i went for a walk at the cedera to let loose of all that we had. there were good and cheap items. haha.

*big thanks to kreng for all the photos. haha.

some of our classmates had a drink. haha. i didn't go with them 'coz i didn't like what they had. hehe. i just watched tv, chatted, and laughed with my other classmates. great time. every now and then, my classamtes and i would go to the table and grab some food. haha. we were that comfortable with the place and the family that we were already that thick-skinned to do such. big thanks to tapang's family! haha! may be, it is also because we'd only just want to make the most out of the very little time left for us to bond and share togetha'. juwie was so soo emotional. i understand her. hehe. by six or seven, some already left but we stayed. haha. before we left, we had dinner there! hahaha! we really had a lot. very unforgettable fiesta experience. we were there from three to may be nine. we saw guests arrive and leave but we stood strong and didn't leave early. haha! that's how we do it.

since it was fiesta, it wasn't easy getting a ride. haha. so we waited for a while then a tricycle came. we needed two 'coz we couldn't fit in only one. we decided that ago, je, marfi, yvonne, jusz and i would go first and we'd just wait for the others (dervs, juwie, paminta jot, and sarah) at san agustin. off we go. on our way, i noticed that we weren't on the right direction. i told them to ask manong if he knew where we were going. he answered us "to san juan." we rode on the wrong tricycle. haha. we asked him to get us back to where we were. juwie, jotie, sarah, and dervs weren't there anymore. they were already in transit. haha! poor us, we had to wait for quite a long time since every tricycle that passed was already had passengers. finally, we spotted an empty one. on our way, those who were on the backride shouted. we found out that it was because the camera case of justine fell. haha. they shouted so loud that we thought someone got hurt. haha. yvonne was talking to the driver about spooky stories of tiyanaks in the place. she'd shout every now and then. ironic how she was so scared but still kept asking. haha! another funny instance on our way home was when i found out that i didn't pay the tricycle driver! i didn't intentionally do it! haha! there was a misunderstanding. i asked jusz to pay for me, then i'd just pay her later. i thought she heard me right. when we reached san agustin, i heard her say, "eto po manong, dalawa (can't remember the exact words)."

then while in the bus, 

me:   ako na magababayad sa'yo.

jusz:  bakit?

me:   binayad mo ko kanina a?

jusz: kailan? wala akong matandaan?

me:  sa tricycle kanina.

jusz: wala akong matandaan.

me:  basta. eto na bayad natin.

we were in the jeepney when she said she already knew what happened. she didn't really pay for my fare. she paid for ago's fare only. i thought when she said "eto po manong, dalawa" it was for me and her. damn funny! hahaha! we all went home happy with our stomachs filled with food and our hearts filled with love. haha!