The Other Side of Mae: February 2015

Saturday, February 28, 2015

To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Love month is about to end hours from now and it's time to go senti-senti again. As you might notice, I haven't written any Valentine feature for this month unlike the other years which I did. 'Coz I've been bitter. Hehe..... Anyway, that's all in the past. Past is past, let's not discuss. However, I won't let this love month end without a ceremonial write-up of the past's past to finally put an end to it all. And as what I've written last 2013 in this post when I divulged to you the boys I had crushed on, liked, loved even, here's another post dedicated to them. Letters to each boy as Jenny Han had it in her novel, To All the Boys I've Loved Before.

Dear Mr. M,

Long time no see! How are the cows there in NZ? Thanks to Facebook, we became friends. 'Coz we never did become friends when we were kids. But you were my first crush, y' know. I was always looking forward to go to my Tatay's place so I can see you. Every night I was so wishing that you would come out from your house and play. Yes, you would at times but I never had the chance to play with you. I was too shy to approach 'coz I was so afraid you might know what I was feeling. Anyway, I admire you for what you had become now. I can see that you are a loving husband and a caring father to your kids. You've got really cute kids in there, huh! God bless your family and if ever you'll come home, bring chocolates for the whole Circa '99. Hehehe.....

Dear Mr. C,

I'm happy I can still see you in church every Sunday! Though we barely say "hi", it's still good knowing that we are only chairs apart and it's nice watching you with your family. It's great to know that we have the same faith. We were playmates and friends when we were kids, right? How come we haven't managed to continue that friendship? Are we that affected with the teases of our then classmates? But being friends with you now seems awkward and unworkable so better forget it. I might just have befriend your wife nalang and that is somehow probable. Your kids are growing up so fast! Continue your walk with God and make Him always the center of your family.

Dear Mr. D,

Hey, there! It's nice of you to come back here in Ozamiz after years of being away. You've been from one woman to another, kept changing your Facebook profile pic. And every time I see your pp with different women, I ask myself "Why is it that, that is still not me?" Am I still looking after you to be my first boyfriend? You were my ultimate crush, y' know! But I cannot be. I will never be. You never took it in your heart what I told you during our retreat in high school. For if you only did, you should've not resorted into finding happiness your own way. You should've not struggled much in your quest to living your life. D, cross everything to God. He is the only one who can help you help yourself. Call onto Him. God works miracles and wonders that we cannot fathom. In Him you'll find answers and complete joy. And definitely, He will make your path straight back to your wife where you truly belong. Just pray. And as you do that, I'm with you in your prayers.

Dear Mr. B,

I always thought you were gay! But I still had a crush on you because there was no other one in our class for me to have a crush on. Days and nights spent with you in your house never granted me you. You were just so wholesome or maybe I was just so unattractive for you. Wait, have you discovered the note I wrote at the back of the framed picture of us I gave you? I think you just trashed it. But I also think, you can't do that. Because you are such a good person. Though you talked about me and our other group mate behind our backs, it was fine with us. For it was true that you did 99% of our thesis. I just wanna thank you for being such an understanding and kind classmate because I had finished chemical engineering with that. If it were not because of you, I may have not become a licensed chemical engineer today (which I don't make use of, anyway). Take care of your wife and kids! Now I don't think you're gay at all. Peace. Hehehe.....

Dear Mr. J,

You were not my crush! Why should I?! You were never my type! And it's unacceptable for me to have a crush on you! However, you were my love. My one great love. I'm sorry for loving you. I'm sorry for confusing you. I'm sorry for disturbing your mind. I'm sorry for making you feel bad. But it just happened! I didn't plan it. I didn't like it to happen but it did. It's almost two months since that day and I thought I'm already OK. But writing this now still pains me. When can I have my one last cry for you? I've been saying good bye for so many times yet, it's still coming back. I hope this is gonna be it. Because over is really over! I cannot do anything else to bring you back or to bring back the friendship that we had. I just want you to know that you will remain special to me though we've said it quits. I'd like to say, "no hard feelings" but I would just be fooling myself. I'd added too much insult to injury already and I don't want to make it worse. So, all the best! I hope and pray for you to find where you belong. Yes, I've always been praying for you. Praying for you to be well and for you to do well in everything that you do. Ever since that day when we first parted and when I realized that I was already falling for you, that was the time I started praying for you. (It's your bad for letting me fall and not catching me!) But seriously, I really do pray for you. I still do. How can I stop praying for you when you had already become a part of my life, of my system? Until the time will come that I'll find another, I'll still be praying for you.

Finally, I've said it all. I've said what I had to say. These are my letters to all the boys I've loved before! They were only boys because I believe that God has been busy molding the man for me. The man who would love and accept me for all that I am. The man who will be there for me until my last breath. And when the time comes that that man will finally be given to me, I'm also gonna say this just like Lara Jean:

To all the boys I've loved before,

With all my love,

Rosalie/Mae

And this is THE END of the past I have to leave behind for that one true love to come my way!

Got to Believe

That September Feeling

#DeVite2k15: The Wedding Day

And the official photos of Deo and Alvite's wedding are finally here!!! As mentioned in this post, here they are! Tantantaran.....

The Very Beautiful Bride

The Dashing Groom

To happy ever after,

Photography and Videography: FOTO Crime Lab

HMUA: Nej Firm Pequiro

Flowers and Set-Up: Shandy Party Works

Venue: Royal Garden Hotel

Coordination: Ms. Annalyn Jayme

Host: Ms. Christ Zanoria

Team Pictorial

Who's gonna be next to #TheSisterhoodOfTheTravelingVeil? Watch out here on The Other Side of Mae soon! :)

#DeVite2k15: The Bridal Shower

Friday, February 27, 2015

LSU Family Days 2015

Day 1: 9 x 2 = 18 Roses

A new me, a new life, a new day, a new year! Roses for this new silver lining for new living of brand new chances! :)

With My IT Students

Day 2: Katutubong Palaro

As always, the faculty and staff enjoyed an afternoon of Pinoy games for we are not masters of ball games. Hehehe.....

Itlog sa Umaga, Talong sa Gabi
Pawiin Mo ang Uhaw Ko
Kainin Mo ang Saging Ko
E-Shoot Mo, E-Shoot Mo, E-Shoot Mo Na Ang Ball

Lower Right: Post-It Notes for Loved Ones

With Team Purok Lomboy and Facilitators, Sir Jez and Sir Jomz

Our students had more activities than us. I wish I would be able to volunteer in students' activities next year so I would be more active during family days. Hehe..... Congratulations to the Supreme Student Council (SSC) of La Salle University Ozamis for giving a fun-filled family days celebration to their co-students! :)

Thank you also to Sir Jez, Sir Jomz, Sir Mickey, Sir Rigil, and HR Department for the fun games that we had! :)

For more information about La Salle University Ozamis, click here.

University Days the Lasallian Way

My #LSU85 Timeline

5th Inter-High School Academic Battle

Run for a Priest 2014

My Contribution for Halad 2014

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Isaiah 61:1-3 The Year of the Lord's Favor

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

because the Lord has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of joy

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the Lord

for the display of his splendor.

I have found favor in God's eyes. I am completely delivered! I have been set free! The chain of death has been broken. The stronghold have been put to death. By the precious blood of Jesus Christ, I have been cleansed. I am a new creation. I am a new being! By the love of God, I am reconciled back to Him!

Monday, February 23, 2015

#ammybla1r8: The Coolest Debut Ever!!!

Not just a baby to her parents but also a baby to me. As I've written her few years back, I always caught her attention in class and shouted, "Hershey! Hershey!" 'coz she was always going to the boys at the back (Michael, Raphael, Ken2x). She couldn't keep still and all I wanted was for her to go back to her seat and listen. I wanted her to listen so she could not miss out 'coz I know she has the potential to excel in class. She was just lax when she was still my baby first year.

But seeing her in college now, I'm amazed of how she'd grown up to be a very responsible young lady. Being in the college of engineering is no joke and I'm also surprised of her taking up the course. I always thought she'd be into fine arts for all the talents she's got. And I'm so proud of her to have balanced her academics, extra-curricular activities, and social life. I admit, I'm a supergirl wannabe but Hershey is the true-to-life supergirl!

The Multi-Talented Ammyblaire

As Hershey turned 18 last week, she celebrated her debut last Saturday with a hippie gypsy carnival theme. The entire party was so her! Free-spirited, fun, artsy, cool, and unique. It reflected her personality a lot with lots of love. The entire team of #ammybla1r8 must be commended for the success of the whole event. Hair and make-up by Rens Lagahid, photography and videography by FOTO Crime Lab, venue at Bethany Gardens, and event coordinators were Fian Tan and Kristine Tan.

High School Classmate, DJ Carlo on the Mic

Shandy Party Works for the Pretty Set-Up

Mom Amie and Besties for the Cute Trinkets

The night was so so fun with my ever kulit baby first years! Though they're all bigger than me now, they will always be my baby first years in my eyes and in my heart.

Considering "hitting two birds in one stone", I also got to bond with my current college students during the party. They're classmates with Hershey in LSU.

Everybody cooperated during the program which made the party rock! There was never a dull moment the entire night as Teacher Christ quipped.

Much more with the Kiss Me game! I really didn't get the title of the game so I just gave it its name. Somebodies got their first kiss, yeh!

I am deeply honored to have had celebrated with Hershey on her 18th birthday, #ammybla1r8! It's so nice to know that my students had still thought of me and consider me as part of their lives as they are always to me. These kids just don't know how much they mean to me. Owh...... So cheers to you, Hersh! May God guide you in all your undertakings! Happy happy birthday once again! Luvs yah mucho! :)

I would also like to thank my company for all my kikay2x vainship. Thanks, Kringy for keeping up with me in this vice! Hehe.....

Christ - Stylist / Beauty Consultant / Photographer / Handler / Road Manager / Friend

Sandals from June Ann and Accessories by Christ

Fave Spot and My Ever-Fave Talikod Pose

Thursday, February 19, 2015

#celebratingnotcelebrating the Year of the Sheep 2015

When he dumped me, I told myself to skip Chinese New Year (I'm not Chinese anyway!) this year. But out of the blue, MUHS let me experience Chinese New Year again as she always had by ordering loads of balloons for her motorcade which was also my first from her. So I got my Chinese New Year started!

Then I remembered when I was on mainland China's newspaper with Ms. Stefanie C. Chan, my brightest student ever!

And also had the opportunity to catch up with Teacher Aida and previous MUHS students especially my Math wizard, Star C. Lim by twilight because they made pahabol for their balloon order.

To add up to the call of fate, my aunt suddenly brought siomai to our house and said, "I thought you'd be celebrating tonight." This is supposed to be my first Chinese New Year without anything on the table but then there came the siomai na laging karamay kahit kailan so we had food on the table!

On Chinese New Year's day, I spent the whole morning reading and got another favorite page on moving on from To All The Boys I've Loved Before. One day, I'm gonna say this (soon)!

When I got bored, I went out by late afternoon. As a moving-on-to-the-highest-level move, I entered stores which was a no-no since once you enter stores when broken-hearted, you'll definitely end up broke! And there I was, purchasing clothes without any occasion to wear 'em all!

To cap the day, I was glad I still had company. Thanks to this girl who by any chance does her truest part as a friend to the whimsical me!

Craving for fries satisfied and that ends my supposedly-not-to-be-celebrated Chinese New Year ('coz I'm not Chinese anyway!)! I don't even know why I'm still having this blog post. Erp!

Chinese New Year

Get Fenged Up!

When I Spent Chinese New Years with You

Jumpstarting the Year of the Wood Horse!

I Heart MUHS

Thursday, February 12, 2015

My "Dear Alex....." Journey

It has been a week since I got my Dear Alex, Break Na Kami. Paano?! Love, Cathy book from Christ. I've been reading and interacting with this book and to tell you the truth, it changed me. It changed me big time! It made me turn to God and renew my relationship with Jesus Christ, my Savior. So here's how my 7-day journey with Alex Gonzaga went.

Day 1: Christ said that I should highlight and write on the book because it is mine. However, I didn't write on it because I know it will be borrowed. But of course, I answered and interacted with Alex! I just have them written on my journal, the keeper of everything! As I've started writing down my answers to Alex's questions, I had my clarity. It was like being in an interview wherein you have to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. So I somehow pinpointed the mistakes I had done.

Day 2: The making-it-clear-to-me moment! Though I already had my clarity, there's the follow-up of making things clearer for this day. Alex really knows that we, women are stubborn so she made an emphasis on listening to the "woman's instinct". If we already feel that it's not right since from the beginning, then we should stop right then and there before things become a total mess.

Day 3: The untog moment! And this has become my favorite page. Why? This was when I realized that over is really OVER! This is my reprimand page because I've been so hard-headed for the past month. Alcohol upon alcohol, bar after bar, fly here from there, curses upon curses! These were all I did because I couldn't accept reality. And with this page, I came to my senses again. It's a gentle slap on my face to wake up from my stupidity.

Day 4: The checking-where-you-are moment. I'm glad that I'm not the only one going through what I had gone through. It's nice to know that I have "labels". It's just like cancer that has stages but with this, stage 4 is not leading to death. Stage 4 is actually leading to things anew!

Day 5: The step-by-step-process moment. After releasing my anger to the world, after staying in my room for weeks, after dwelling within myself, I got tired. It's exhausting to be angry. It's exhausting to rant. It's exhausting to be sad. So I learned to accept. Accept that over was really over. Accept reality. Then I decided to go along with the journey in letting go and moving on.

Day 6: The moving-on moment. Yey! I've come to this stage already!!! As a person who doesn't have the ability to move on easily, it really IS not easy. Imagine that?! I only loved once but still failed and it took me five whole years to move on! So I'm really overdue. I always said that I should move on, move on, move on until finally, God gave me this opportunity to really MOVE ON!

Day 7: The building-up-myself moment. Now I'm letting the sunshine in!!! After all the pain that I had gone through, I should recover myself. I must get back to myself. After loving him that much, I have to be reminded that I should also love myself. So with this, I adopted a new mantra from Beth Moore. With this great work of God in my life, I've come to re-declare my identity in Him!

The Final Words: I am now excited for the coming One!!! I know that something great is happening in my life now. I know that The One is coming really really soon! God allowed me to experience being lost in total pain because He's preparing me for something big to happen. T'was a hard and tough process, indeed and I know that it's nothing compared with what He has in store for me. But then again, the waiting is not yet over. At least this time, I know the reason why He kept me waiting for so long.

Thank you so much, Alex for this book! Thank you for being with me in this journey! As I look back, I never thought that I could recover. I never thought that I could smile again especially when you let me write the craziest thing I've done in the name of love. Your book was such a therapy to me!

So to all girls and ladies out there, being in love is a happy thing to be and being hurt because of love is also a happy thing. With that, you'll become a stronger and better person. We all undergo processes because God wants us to be His best. Just like flowers, we must be pressed to extract the fragrant oil. Just like grapes, we must be crushed to taste the rich wine. And just like coal, we must be squeezed at high pressure and temperature to form the precious diamond.

Now I thank God for everything I had gone through. Hard to accept at first but in time, I got to understand and started laying down everything at His hands. :) Now I am smiling again! :)

Related Posts:

When Smiles Fade
My Prom Song

That September Feeling
A Lost Love
Dear John

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Feeling Vain

Nothing! I just wanna feel good! Just boosting some self-confidence in here. Hehe. Here's a collage of my 10 best shots of the petty pictorials I have since 2012!

Oh, I so love myself! Lol!

This is my blog, anyway! Haha!

Sunday, February 08, 2015

CASadya sa iCASesenta y uno!

CASadya: The Grand Festivities of the College of Arts and Sciences last night at the LSU Arts Center! It includes the 2nd CAS Alumni Homecoming, 4th exceLYNX Awards, CASSC Reunion, CAS Kumbira and the Fireworks Display!

All the faculty, staff, and students of the college enjoyed the night so much! We were painting the whole school red during our CAS Week and as a culmination, we also had red all over last night not just as our college color but also for this heart month celebration!

With CAS Faculty

Congratulations to Sir Jezreel Faith Montes for a very successful CAS Week celebration! 'Twas really a great job, Sir!

So, pa-good vibes nalang tayo teh! Love, love, love nalang ulit! Thank you, teachers and students for a fun-filled night! :)

Welcoming the Heart Month with a Bang!

5th Inter-High School Academic Battle

Prom CASiyahan

Saturday, February 07, 2015

Saturday Surprise: Emergency Outing at Lala's

Saturday Surprise is all about the good things in life ought to be celebrated!:)

Cuzzies Don2x and Vian arrived from Manila and Singapore respectively this week so they had an emergency plan for an outing yesterday. Fortunately, I caught up with them before they left as I got home from school for lunch. I have finished my report in the morning and got dismissed by our teacher in the afternoon so I had the chance to go with them! Then off to Lala's Eco Park we went!

I already featured Lala's last 2013 so better check my post here. After 2 years, the place is still a beaut with an additional bigger pool as shown in the photo above. Additionally, there is now a driveway from the main street directly to the resort compared before when there was still none. It is more convenient to access the place now especially to the elderly who can have a hard time climbing up the stairs in going back.

Thank goodness, my Lala's experience for this afternoon was beyond compare! We got to go deep down to the river and oh, la la! The river was so clean and so cold. I really regret for not swimming with Rio and Roxanne, for I wasn't dressed for swimming yet when we went down. But they really did enjoy the Jacuzzi feeling in the river!

I would definitely go back to Lala's again so I could swim in the river and have proper pictorial. All photos here are courtesy of Uncle Virgilio, Vian's father-in-law and Roxanne, cuzzy John Paul's wifey. Thank you for this afternoon, fambam! :)