OCTOBER 16, 2007.
I’ve been married for over a year. It wasn’t THE DREAM WEDDING, I must admit. Well, kailan ba naging dream wedding ang mass civil wedding?
1. Officiated by Honoroble Nene Aguilar na ginawang political platform ang kasal namin. Of all the not-so-inspiring things he said, I remember this statement quite well:
“Alam nyo ba ang ginawa ko sa CAA? Napakadumi nyan dati, pero nilinis ko!”
Wow, janitorial services ang drama ng lolo mo! Kung di ka lang nakakabilib dahil the whole time ay nakatabingi ang ulo mo.. yan lang ang inspiring sayo kuya!
2. 95% ng mga ikinasal ay may deposito na.. in short, jontis! at okay okay, hindi ako kasama sa remaining 5%.
3. Imbes na trahe ang suot mo ay bronze na damit mula sa SARI SARI ang outfit mo for the supposedly one of the most memorable day of your life. Dapat angat ang beauty mo sa iba. Ang ending, mukha ka lang aattend ng birthday party ng isang mayamang friend. In fact, suot mo din ito nung nakaraaang company Christmas party ninyo sa Tiendesitas.
So it wasnt the grandest wedding. Pero diba mas mahalaga naman yung pagkatapos ng kasal? The marriage itself? Maswerte ako sa asawa ko.. he’s the most sensitive guy I’ve ever met. Minsa nga feeling ko, siya pa ang mas “babae” sa aming dalawa. He never runs out of surprises! As in yung mga tipong sa pelikula ni Dingdong at Antoinette mo lang makikita! Yung parang ang buhok mo eh aabot hanggang sa HSBC! And now with our beautiful daughter around, life just keeps getting better.
I am MRS. PALANCA. Unang beses ko pa lang narinig ang name nya, CARLO RIVERA PALANCA, wow! I wanted to own it!
Pero that was not always the case. Katulad din ng iba, I had to kiss a few frogs to find my prince. First time that I am writing about the past loves of my life. Pero this time, I REMEMBER THE BOY, BUT I DONT REMEMBER THE FEELING ang drama ko..
Here’s a rundown of all the past source of my kiligs.. in chronological order! Haha!
1. MR. DIMPLES
He was my childhood sweetheart! Wala pa kameng malisya pinagpapartner na kame palagi. We grew up thinking na we have to end up together dahil destiny namin ang isa’t isa. Cute siya.. bedimpled cheeks..Naalala ko pa non kung panong naiisip ko cia tuwing mapapanood ko si Patrick Garcia.14 years old ako nung maging kame, officially! Oo nga friends, mejo maaga ako kumembot! Pero dahil long distance ang love affair na ito, kame lang pag nagkikita kame, which is approximately 4 times a year. Medyo lapitin cia ng mga babae, kaya ng mahuli ko cia for the Nth time na may kerida, being the ever martyr girlfriend, sinabi ko sa knya na ayos lang sakin na magshota muna cia ng iba, bsta kailangan na cia ang magsasabi sa akin. O db? Tangang tanga lang ang dating? So ayun nga, di ko na maalala kung ilang beses ciang tumawag sa akin para sabihin na “MAY JOWA AKO NGAYON”, at ako naman, “AH, OKAY!” lang ang tanging sagot. ESTUPIDA!
The relationship went on and off, and on and off, for about 4 years. Pero dahil nga bihira naman kame magkita, collectively ay mga 3 months lang ito.
But yeah, he was my first love. May mga crush crush-an na ako kinder pa lang, pero cia ang una kong pag-ibig. Or so I thought!
Years later,bago cia nagpunta sa Dubai para imeet ang online GF nya, kinausap pa niya ako.. asking kung pwede pa ba kame. Na sabihin ko lang na wag ciang umalis.. Pero the childhood fantasy was long over. Para sa akin, isa na lang ciang kaibigan. And I did the right thing.. I didnt ask him to stay. May asawa na cia ngayon..may anak na din.. halos kasing edad lang ng baby ko.
2. THE MAMA’S BOY
Lumaki ako sa isang konserbatibong pamilya. Gaano ka-conservative?
Malandi na para sa tatay ko kapag meron kang suot na anklet.
Kapag may kausap kang lalaki sa telepono, masisira na ang kinabukasan mo dahil mabubuntis ka kaagad.
Masamang kumuyakoy dahil para kang babaeng ma-L.
And the list could go on and on.
So nung 18th birthday ko, ang wish ko: GUSTO KO LANG NG KAUNTING FREEDOM! In front of all the guests na walang tigil sa kakakantyaw dahil kitang kita ko kung paanong naningkit ang mata ng mga magulang ko.Pero ayun, pumayag silang magpaligaw na ako sa bahay.. I am legally allowed to have a love life.
Siya ang unang nagpakita ng interest sa akin immediately after my birthday. Well, meron naman iba pero dahil mas matanda cia ng 1 year kesa sa akin, naisip kong masarap siguro ciang magalaga.
A few months after getting to know each other, naging kame.. sa bus ko pa yata cia sinagot.. dahil ihahatid nya ako sa bahay for the first time. Ako naman si excited, OO na kaagad. Later on I realized I made a mistake. Okay naman cia eh. But there was just no spark. We had nothing in common. Di ako nageenjoy kapag kausap ko cia sa telepono. Kapag pumupunta cia sa bahay, mas interesado cia sa PC namin kesa makipagclose sa pamilya ko. And worse, cia ang umuubos ng mga pasalubong nya sa akin.
4 months lang yata kame. Wala akong nagamit na reason para makipagbreak kaya ang sinabi ko na lang through a touching letter ay: MASYADO KANG MABAIT FOR ME! Kamusta naman yun? Nasaktan ko cia, alam ko. I saw him suffer in pain. Pero yun lang ang pwede kong gawin para makamove on na cia. Hurting him was inevitable. Hindi ko kayang magpanggap na pwede pa naming ayusin lahat dahil lalo lang ciang masasaktan..at aasa. That was the most humane thing I could do for him.
Sa ngayon, wala na akong balita sa kanya. I know he had a girl friend after me..pero di ko alam kung sila pa din hanggang ngayon. And honestly, I dont even have the interest to find out.
3. DIET, THE EMO
A few weeks after I broke up with MAMA’S BOY, I started noticing DIET, the EMO. Maraming nagsasabi na kamukha daw nya si Diether. Well, gwapo cia.. in the most common definition of gwapo way.. tall dark and handsome. Bulky pa.. mahilig sa sports, sa gym, sa rock bands..Maraming kinikilig sa kanya lalo na kapag may liga ng basketball sa school. In fairness, magaling cia.
Bago ko pa naging jowa si number 2, nanligaw sa akin si Diet.. Pero medyo na TO ako sa kanya ng makausap ko cia sa phone. Parang di kame magkalevel ng sense of humor.. walang chemistry. So ang ending, LET’S JUST BE FRIENDS ang sagot ko. Tapos, naging sila nung bridge namin.. they were together din for a few months, nang biglang magkasabay kame sa bus pauwe. Sinabi nya ng niligawan nya lang si bridge para pagselosin ako. At dahil nalaman nyang hiwalay na kame ni Mama’s Boy, aaminin na nyang ako pa din ang mahal nya. Syet! Ano ba naman ito?!! Bakit biglang may tibok sa puso ko? Diba ayoko nga sa knya? Namen!!!
Tao lang naman ako diba? Nagkakamali? So ayun, iniwan nya si bridge (at take note, si bridge ay medyo warfreak at ilang taon nya akong inaway away sa school) at naging kame. 5 months into the relationship, nakikita ko na ang pagiging possessive nya.
Marami ciang ayaw pagdating sa damit. At kapag ayaw nya ang damit ko, kukuhanin nya tlga ito! Buti sana kung cia ang bumili diba?
Kailangan every minute of the day kame magkasama. At pag nasa bahay, kailangan magkausap kame hanggang matulog.
Meron ciang standard spiel bago ibaba ang telepono.. something like, mahal ko asawa ko…chuchuchu! At ang mas bad trip, kailangan ko din itong sabihin pagkatapos nya. Ugh!
Naisip ko non, nakakahiya pag naghiwalay kame! Kaya tiniis ko, hanggang 8th month namen.. that was all I could take.. nang minsang magalit cia dahil inabutan nya sa bahay ang best friend kong BABAE, at gusto nyang paalisin ko to dahil almost one month kameng hindi nagkita (galing cia sa bakasyon sa Quezon– sa loob ng isang buwan na yon, araw araw ciang tumatawag at every other day ay nagpapadala ng mga 5-paged letters na minsan eh hindi ko na binabasa dahil nauumay ako sa paulit ulit na MISS NA MISS NA KITA!), at pinagsusuntok nya ang pader namin sa garahe hanggang sa dumgo ang kamay nya! Ora mismo, nakipagbreak ako. Wala akong balak maging punching bag.. at that was the worst thing he could do to push me away. Ilang buwan din nya akong hindi tinantanan. As in! He was going crazy! And the more he tried to pursue me, the more I felt the need to stay away.
I received a message from him mga 8 months ago, love pa daw nya ako until now. Then I posted my pictures with Carlo and Aien sa friendster. Finally, he stopped.
May nurse girlfriend na yata cia ngayon. Good for him.
4. THE POET
He’s another childhood sweetheart paglipat ng family ko sa Las Piñas. He was the cutest boy sa church namen non! Para ciang live version ni Trunks..Naging mag M.U kame when I was still 15.. nung medyo malabo kame ni MR. DIMPLES. Nung nalaman ng mommy ko, she talked to him at sinabing pag 18 na ako, saka ka na lang manligaw. When I turned 18, may GF na cia. Napasubo sa isang ultimatum na di na nya maurungan. So ayun.. 2 years later, nagkasama kame ulit and that started everything again. Like what happened to DIET, he broke up with his girlfriend of almost 3 years..at ciempre, ako na naman ang nang-agaw diba? ANG GANDA KO NAMAN!
Almost 9 months din kame nagtagal. Although surviving the last 3 or 4 months was a huge struggle for me. He became so insecure. And I got tired of having to reassure him each and everytime. Nakakapagod naman talaga! And I could only take so much. The last straw was during that New Year’s eve na hindi cia pumunta sa bahay dahil hindi ko daw cia ininvite! DUH?! Kung yung asungot na manliligaw ng ate ko nagawang sumulpot sa bahay namen na parang kabute, cia pa kaya? So ang ending… BREAK!
Now, he is engaged to one of best friends sa church and they are getting married April of this year.
5. THE GENERAL’S SON
I must admit na habang struggling ako sa relationship namen ni POET eh may konting attraction na ako para kay number 5 since he started giving me extra attention.. unfortunately,he had a girlfriend then. When we finally broke up, nakipagbreak din ang GF nya sa kanya… ang reason: nararamdaman daw nyang may gusto ang BF nya sa akin. So that was the start of a very colorful 3 years of being together. People thought we would end up together. Maraming nagsabi na nagbago cia because of me.. but there’s that funny feeling na I never saw myself spending the rest of my life with him. Not because I didnt want to.. but I felt there was something wrong. I felt like he wasnt into the relationship as I was. Marami ciang hangups sa buhay. He wanted to be this and that, do this, go there.. at marami pang iba. Sa sobrang dami ng plans nya, I always had to take the back seat..which I did, silently waiting for the day na marealize nyang being with me is enough. I loved him. And I was hurt a million times. But I held on.. only because he promised me that it’ll be us no matter what. Pero ayun, we had to break up dahil kailangan nyang tuparin ang pangarap nya. And having me in his life wouldnt make that possible. So I gave way.. trying to decide if I should wait and hold on, or just move on with my life and let it go. Tinanong ko cia kung babalik ba cia, at ang sagot nya sa akin: Dios lang ang nakakaalam!
That was not the answer I was hoping to hear. I loved him pero may respeto ako sa sarili ko. I wouldnt wait without any assurance of him coming back. Hindi ako ganon kabrutal sa sarili ko. Tama na yung tatlong taon na nagmahal ako.. I just knew I had to let go.
That’s when my hubby came along. Ibang entry na lang ang love story namen.. mahabang kwento din kase yun. Basta everything happened sooooo fast. At eto nga, may little angel na kame. Living together as husband and wife is also a struggle. Pero masaya. Masarap yung paggising mo, meron kang sasabihan ng “Good morning”. Yung merong magsasabi sayo na maganda ka, that you are loved. Masaya yung alam mong hindi ka tatanda mag-isa.
So yan ang story of my lovelives!
Masalimuot.. maraming adventure. There were a few people who got hurt along the way..pero sabi nga nila, love is not always a bed of roses. Pain is love’s glory. Kaya pag nasaktan ka, masarap magmahal ulit. Corny, pero totoo!

