Friday, July 25, 2008

Discovery Weekend on 2nd Anniversary

 
Al and I joined the Discovery Weekend (DW) last July 18-20, 2008 at OMI Retreat House in Quezon City. This is a retreat/weekend for engaged couples or for couples who are seriously considering marriage. Some parishes recognize this as the pre-cana seminar na rin. I had so much fun and we both learned a lot!  The program is designed specifically for couples since interaction with other couples is limited to meal times only and on certain activities. The DW even had the reputation before of being the cause of break-ups because the program may lead to three possible ends: a) the couple pushing through with the wedding, b) the couple postponing the wedding, or c) the couple parting ways. DW was created to minimize or at least prevent failed marriages, since the couple will have the opportunity to discuss issues/concerns on their relationship even before getting married.

Our chaplains were Rey and Marivic Magno (see picture). Separate ang rooms ng ladies sa guys. My roommate was Grace and her partner, Don, was Al's roommate. Sayang nga they had to leave early kasi Grace's father had difficulty breathing na nung Saturday morning. Her father had been battling with cancer for seven years and this was the only time na nahirapan syang huminga. So Al and I were alone in our rooms nung Saturday evening. I heard that Grace's father passed away Sunday afternoon, buti na lang nakahabol si Grace to be with her dad in Pampanga.

Ang sarap din ng pagkain! Sobrang busog kami palagi ni Al.. Bundat na naman ako. :) We also celebrated our second anniversary last July 20 and this was a very different kind of celebration because we celebrated it with the Lord. After the retreat, we just watched "The Dark Knight" at SM Fairview and had dinner at Shakey's. We also visited our Ninang Zita, whose house was near OMI, before we went to SM.

Ang sarap ng pakiramdam talaga after the DW. The experience affirmed our love for each other and our decision to push through with the wedding. 

Thursday, July 17, 2008

THE Canonical Interview

 
Ano nga ba ito?:)
This is the interview that soon-to-wed couples undergo before they get married. We had it last July 12. The parish priest (or any priest assigned to be the interviewer) will ask the groom and the bride (individually) a few questions from a book. Yes, a book. Hardbound and big like the one read by Gandalf in Moria. (haha! What a comparison!) It has pages labeled "Bridegroom" and "Bride". Then the questions are recorded na like a form. Some of the questions were:
- Do you remember your first communion? When? Where?
- What is the middle name of your mom? your dad?
- How did you decide to get married? Was it of your own free will?
- Do you know of any physical defect of your partner? Remember that impotence is a ground for annulment.
- Have you talked about family planning or when to have kids? You know the stand of the Church that contraceptives defeat the very purpose of marriage. We have natural family planning and this is what the Church promotes.
- Hindi naman kayo magkamag-anak ano? (The middle name of Al's dad is Martinez. Well, we're not related. hehe..)
etc... etc.. etc...

Then we sign at the bottom of the page. Ang tanging bilin lang sa akin ni Father Vernbob, to raise our kids in the teachings of the Church and to be good examples/parents to them, that we put God in the center of our family.

**I asked Father Vernbob, why they record in such a big book the questions and answers of couples in the canonical interview. Well, they use this as reference in annulment cases, aside from being a record book of wedded couples. If a wife for example declares that she was forced to marry her husband, the parish will just look at the big book and check her response during the canonical interview. If it's indicated there that it was of her own free will that she married her husband, then her declaration in court may be questioned. (ahhh.. ganun pala yun.. )
**pero naisip ko ngayon lang, 'di ba hindi ina-acknowledge ng Church ang annulment?
----shucks, I miss law school..

anyhow, it was a good experience for both of us. I even asked Ms. Earlie, person-in-charge, if Father Vernbob will still interview us both at the same time (some parishes do) but she said that maybe Father was already satisfied with our answers and there is no need to interview us both. Nice! :)

After the interview, we met with Kat, my good friend and maid of honor, at Ateneo then we went to Mini-Stop in UP Village so she can have her measurements taken by Ms. Adora, my designer. We had lunch at Rodic's (sarap pa rin talaga ng tapsilog pero grabe ang daming tao because it was lunchtime and there's class). We then went to Printed Matter in Aurora Blvd. to get our mock-up invite. Ang ganda! But there were some minor errors that was edited by our artist, Ms. Candy, right then and there. Good thing that Kat was also there 'coz she's familiar with graphic design, layouting, photoshop and all that stuff. :)

After which, we went to Gateway for our gift selection in Rustan's. Al and I settled for the generic stuff to give our guests more leeway in selecting their gifts. Masaya naman na kami sa kahit ano. :) We had dinner first at the foodcourt then we watched "Hancock". Ayos! I liked the concept of the movie and it's humor. Ganda ni Charlize Theron! :)

It was a tiring day but very fulfilling. I enjoyed it very much! :)

sweet!

I received my lomo goodies yesterday! yipee! so despite getting wet because of the heavy rains that morning (as in super basa ang aking uniform at lumusong ako sa baha just to get to the office), I was happy. it was like a race, sunod-sunod silang dumating. First was my Holga 135 series Fisheye Lens from Aya (delivered by JRS Express). Then sabay na, my Holga 135BC with free shutter cable release from Honey and my films from Lem (3 Lucky Color ASA 200, 1 Fuji Pro Plus II ASA 100, and 1 Fuji Superia Xtra ASA 400), which were delivered by Xend. I even thought that the delivery will be delayed because of the heavy rains. All my suppliers came from the Lomomanila Group. Super reliable sila! Here's the funny part, Al was even more excited than I am that he loaded my camera with film right then and there. Nauna pa sa may-ari, hahahaha! It was great, I can't explain the feeling. It really is a toy camera because it's made of plastic. I just hope my pictures will look fine (at sana may picture nga na nakunan! hahaha!) I'm about to shoot my 14th shot now..


It's like me being a child again.. that feeling of having my first dream dollhouse or teddy bear.. it's great. Then of course, I had to name my new Holga camera... Sweet. 'Coz I received it on the 16th of July, sweet sixteen! (haha! Labo ba?). Gusto ko pa nga Sweetalog eh pero pag jologs mode na lang ako.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

going loco over lomo

Okay, I know I should be busy with wedding preps considering that our special day is about two months away but I can't help but be excited on a newfound "hobby"! I read about lomography in a Coffee Bean magazine and I have been hooked since. :)

I am leaning towards getting a Holga 135BC mainly because it uses a 35mm film which is widely available in photo shops and I love vignettes! I am also interested in getting fisheye shots so I might get a lens for that (or a fisheye cam?). :) I'm sure this will be a bit challenging since I'm used to taking pictures using the digital cameras that we have now. We had a film camera before, the automatic type, but it has batteries so no worries in adjusting the film and you can't do multiple exposures. My mom had a Minolta cam before but I was still a baby then so no chance of operating it, haha!. :) yey! I'm so excited!

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

licensed to marry

We got our marriage license last June 25, 2008. :) Finally, we're through with the marriage documents. What we only need to do at this time is to file affidavits regarding our different names on the birth certificate and baptismal/confirmation certificate. It turns out that both my baptismal and cofirmation certificates had Maria shortened to Ma. Al's case on the other hand is that he was baptized "Anthony Lloyd" but his name on the birth certificate is Al. Weird no? hehehe... :)

I had a very stressful week last week because of our company's anniversary celebration. Our choir had a dinner concert last June 26 so most of our preparations happened a month before. We had rehearsals even if Typhoon Frank was devastating the country at that time (hehehe..). Because of this, Al and I went to the spa last Saturday to relax.. hay, sarap magpamasahe!

We will be having our canonical interview next week, July 12. After that, ok na kami, continue with preps na uli! Grabe lapit na!