January 22, 2014

Loving since Y2k

verabear Mahal 22 Comments

Alfred and Vera – loving each other since year 2000.

14 years. Four.Teen.Years. It feels like a lifetime.

When we met I was a young, idealistic teenager, ready to save the world from its problems. His life evolved around his friends, his computer, and partly, his Magic cards. Today, we’re so different, yet still very much the same.

It seems so trivial now, but back then, being able to watch Part 2 of a movie we saw a year or two prior seemed like a big deal. Like Stuart Little 1 and 2. Know what I mean?

We went from celebrating monthsaries, to counting years. From frequently quarreling, to sometimes flaring up.

January the 19th will always be a special day, no matter how we choose to spend it. This year, we went on a picnic with the rest of the family at Himlayang Pilipino. It was a day to remember Papa. He passed on two years ago and we all still miss him.

After the picnic, it was book hunting time at the NBS Warehouse Sale. We had cake too.

It was nighttime when we arrived home. The rest of the evening was for resting (him), and working (me). Yes, I unfortunately had to work on our anniversary.

We continued our celebration the next day. Nuat Thai was richer by 1k for giving us massages. We both got the hour and a half Swedish massage, and both snoozed (and snored), haha! Before heading home, we ate all the salmon sashimi we could at Tok-Yu Sushi Bar along Panay Avenue. It was a quick and cheap alternative to Omakase (which won’t open until 530PM), and our usual sashimi digs – Saisaki, Yakimix, or Vikings. We blew another 1K on food – money so well spent.

Sadly, the boyfriend had to work that evening, while I was finally on leave. He usually has Monday nights off, except that day (of all days, right?). It was another day apt with this kind of conversation that we had during the Christmas holidays when I didn’t have work but he did:

Alfred: Nakakatamad pumasok. Sana wala na lang akong pasok mamaya.

Vera: Well… Absent ka?

A: Hindi pwede eh.

V: Hindi tayo ganun eh.

A: Kung bakit ba kasi tinuruan ako ng NCO maging mabuting empleyado!

V & A: LOL

No matter, we got to spend time together and that’s what’s important. After all, what’s one night compared to the rest of our lives?

We are so thankful for the years we’ve spent together and look forward to more. Surely, our family and friends who have been very supportive and enabling of our relationship deserves applause to. We couldn’t have stayed together by sheer will, it wasn’t all just US. So thank you, too.

*Some background on that snippet of convo above. Both of us worked for NCO as newbies, me, almost two years before him. But one thing we really learned there as agents was to live and work with integrity. No cheating, no lies. We didn’t avoid calls, we didn’t abuse customers, and we weren’t irresponsibly absent from work. We also didn’t cheat nor manipulate our stats. Something we carry with us until now.