They say the rest of your life begins when you get married. Whoever coined that was a genius. I've never been happier in my life, plus the few extra pounds are a welcome sign.

I just love waking up beside Hazel and watching her struggle to get out of bed. I love it when she's getting her hands dirty in the kitchen, cause for sure it'll end up in my stomach. Even when I look annoyed, I love when she takes extra effort to make me wait on her while dressing up - I don't mind waiting since she'll look really pretty, which makes me look good.

I truly believe that getting married is the best thing I've ever done. And if this is the beginning of the rest of my life, each new moment will surely be a pleasant surprise.

The past few weeks have been so hectic and so stressful!  We feel so relieved now that our invitations are finally ready! :)  We've started to send out our wedding invites today, hopefully we get to finish sending all of them before the week ends. 

Just a few more wedding details to iron out  then we're all set... 3 more weeks to go before the big day! 

Hazel comes back to Manila tomorrow. It's been only 2 weeks but it seemed longer than that. I guess when you're always with someone, it gets kinda lonely when they're gone, even for a few days. The fact that we were in opposite time zones, really didn't help. But, at least the 2 weeks are done. I'm actually a bit excited picking her up in the airport. Maybe my anxiety can also be because we're going to Boracay on Friday. Actually, haven't been there in awhile.

I guess that's 2 reasons why it's finally ...

It's been awhile since I last wrote in this blog. Work's been very hectic for both of us. However, Hazel's doing much better on her time management, considering she works twice a week now.

Anyway, last night, we found ourselves fixing up our invite. We're planning to have an invite that's a little different from the usual paper invites you get. I don't want to spill out the details but for sure, it'll be something interesting. I hope you guys will like it.

Also, I've been checking out readings and gospels that she's pre-selected for the misalette. Didn't realize there's so much verses in the Bible on love and marriage.

October hasn't been good to me, in terms of my personal time. I've had 2 separate week long trips to Singapore because of work in a span of 3 weeks. I'm back in Manila now but will fly to Vietnam this weekend, to work there for a week. I did have a brief vacation in Bacolod over the past weekend to de-stress. It was fun, since it was Masskara festival there but, when I think about it, these trips I've been having in October aren't with Hazel. Not really my preference, but I did realize something about myself.

The funny thing about my trips is that I find myself unconsciously looking at things, things that are meant for married couples, or those about to get married. i never imagined myself inside a store, looking at stuff for the wedding or the house we'll live in. Of course there's the occassional wandering into the sports section, however, I've even gone 1 step further by taking photographs of these things.

Just goes to show that I know I'm getting married because I've begun thinking of us and not just me anymore ... =)

Manila isn't really pleasant these days. Right now, I'm in our Makati office and its raining like there's no tomorrow. Actually, it's the 3rd typhoon to hit the country in a week and a half. Why am I ranting about it, well, maybe it's because it's August, and about the same time next year, it's going to be THE day.

Earlier, Hazel and my sister were chatting about the possibility of moving the date. Hazel told me about it and I thought about it for a second, but immediately shunned the idea. I know I already moved the date once, and so why couldn't I move it a second time. Truth be told, I don't want to move it, not because of anything. Thing is, I know that there will always be something you can't have. In my sister's immortal words to her husband's rant on why she doesn't cook, you really can't have it all. What's important, even if it will make me sound like the cheesiest person alive, is that I got the girl, 'nuff said.

Yes, it's final!  We have officially moved the date of our wedding from August 9, 2008 to August 2, 2008. 

We had a difficult time booking the suppliers that we really wanted. Our wedding is about a year away so we totally did not expect people to be booking this early!!  It seems that the couples who did not get the 8/8/8 wedding date all moved theirs to 8/9/8. Imagine how hectic that would have been for us!   

So it's all settled now,  and we're very happy to have booked the videographer and photographer that we wanted.   We want only the best for our wedding since it's only gonna happen once in a lifetime :)

Last week, I was on a business trip in Vietnam. Every two months, I travel to Vietnam to meet up with my customers at the P&G manufacturing plant there. This has been a requirement for me since January and so you can assume I've been to Ho Chi Minh a couple of times already. Though I've been there before, I really never had a chance to go around Vietnam except during my first visit, which was with my family.

For this particular trip, I wanted to treat myself to a trip down to the Mekong Delta over the weekend. I missed the Mekong Delta tour that my family did during our previous trip because I arrived the day after they did it. Also, tt would be my birthday the Monday after I arrive and so you could say this was my little birthday treat to myself.

Because of my little sightseeing, I eventually flew home to Manila on Sunday evening. I arrived a little ahead of schedule, which is suprising for PAL. They actually announced on the PA that, "we are arriving AHEAD of the scheduled arrival time," stressing on the word ahead a couple of times.

Hazel had mentioned that we would have a late dinner in honor of her friend based in HK, whose here with a new boyfriend. Anyway, we agreed that she would pick me up at home since I still had all my stuff. But, since the flight arrived early, I had just told her that I'd have myself dropped off in ATC so that she can just pick me up from there.

As I got picked up, we proceeded to Wesgate and had assumed that we would be dining at Cafe Adriatico, our usual hangout on relaxed Sunday night outs. But, I was told that we would be going to Congo Grille since the "boyfriend" was foreign and that he would be treated to Filipino delicacies. As we parked, I noticed my mom's sister's (Tata Ruby as we fondly call her) car was right upfront. While walking with Hazel going in, I was trying to call my aunt to find out where they were. I climbed the stairs and then ... surprise, all my friends and family were all there to greet me a happy birthday.

I've never been treated to a surprise birthday party in my life. I really did not have any idea what was coming. I was actually arguing with Hazel on the way there. What was even more funny was when I was talking to my friends, they were reminding me of my habit of building the disappointment before surprising someone. I guess I got a dose of my own medicine.

It's not so bad turning 28 after all. Especially when my wonderful wife to be organized a never before accomplished surprise party. Thanks Haze for making my birthday one for the ages.