Engagement: The Manila Peninsula & Ateneo de Manila University
HE SAID:
on our third anniversary, i brought ratty foxy to celebrate at the old manila restaurant, at the manila peninsula in makati. but i kept it as a surprise.
i told ratty foxy that we would be going to a nice restaurant for dinner, and she should dress up in a nice dress. she asked me what i would wear, and i told her that i would be wearing slacks, a shirt and jacket. but i did not tell her where we would be having dinner. i didn't tell her either about the plans for our third anniversary.
before the day itself, i went to makati to look at a few restaurants that i had shortlisted online. when i entered the old manila, i liked it immediately. i liked the ambience. it was cosy, and i liked the old narra wood paneling, and the soothing colors. i chose a table in a nice cosy corner. i liked the menu also. i ordered the special white asparagus dinner menu, and it turned out to be fantastic. both ratty foxy and i liked it very much. delicious!
the evening began at up diliman sanggumay dormitory. i fetched ann from her dorm (i contracted a taxi driver to drive us the whole evening). she looked gorgeous in her yellow dress. from up diliman we drove to manila peninsula. it was a rather pleasant drive. not too much traffic and we made it to the manila peninsula in good time.
once at the manila pen, i took ratty foxy to the the old manila. at the entrance to the restaurant, the concierge gave ratty foxy a bouquet of red roses that i had ordered from the hotel florist.
the concierge escorted us to our table. ratty foxy liked it. :D then we had our drinks & appetizers of different kinds of bread sticks and dip. while we waited for dinner to be served. the dinner was excellent, but during the course of dinner. i had little surprises planned for ratty foxy. little surprises in the form of boxes being served with the different courses of dinner.
the photographs tell the story of the surprises at dinner...
i told ratty foxy that we would be going to a nice restaurant for dinner, and she should dress up in a nice dress. she asked me what i would wear, and i told her that i would be wearing slacks, a shirt and jacket. but i did not tell her where we would be having dinner. i didn't tell her either about the plans for our third anniversary.
before the day itself, i went to makati to look at a few restaurants that i had shortlisted online. when i entered the old manila, i liked it immediately. i liked the ambience. it was cosy, and i liked the old narra wood paneling, and the soothing colors. i chose a table in a nice cosy corner. i liked the menu also. i ordered the special white asparagus dinner menu, and it turned out to be fantastic. both ratty foxy and i liked it very much. delicious!
the evening began at up diliman sanggumay dormitory. i fetched ann from her dorm (i contracted a taxi driver to drive us the whole evening). she looked gorgeous in her yellow dress. from up diliman we drove to manila peninsula. it was a rather pleasant drive. not too much traffic and we made it to the manila peninsula in good time.
once at the manila pen, i took ratty foxy to the the old manila. at the entrance to the restaurant, the concierge gave ratty foxy a bouquet of red roses that i had ordered from the hotel florist.
the concierge escorted us to our table. ratty foxy liked it. :D then we had our drinks & appetizers of different kinds of bread sticks and dip. while we waited for dinner to be served. the dinner was excellent, but during the course of dinner. i had little surprises planned for ratty foxy. little surprises in the form of boxes being served with the different courses of dinner.
the photographs tell the story of the surprises at dinner...
which contained minty, our engagement ring :D she opened the box to reveal the ring. then i took the ring in my hand, knelt down in front of ratty foxy, took her hand in mine, looked her in the eyes, and asked ratty foxy to marry me... but not before blinking at 100 blinks a minute (i blink a lot when i'm nervous), and almost completely fumbling the speech that i had prepared to ask her to marry me. actually from what ratty foxy told me later (in between loads of laughter), i had really fumbled it and did not seem coherent at all except when i asked her, 'will you be my foxy forever?' (honestly, my heart was in my mouth, i was so terribly nervous i felt as though my heart would explode through my chest, my head was swirling, and my insides were churning...and yes i was blinking!) and my ratty foxy said, 'yes' :D yes! yes! yes! (this is me now) i put the ring on her finger, and i kissed her hand. that was truly one of the happiest moments of my life :D
...and that's how i proposed to the love of my life, my ratty foxy (with the help of our babies & pets, sharebear, rooy, whity, wiggly, moo and andy).
after dinner. and foxy had said "yes" to be my foxy forever :D we looked around the manila peninsula for a bit. the hotel was really nice. we both liked it. it is now "our manila pen" since we got engaged there. hehe... :D
when it was time for the next item in the itinerary for our third anniversary celebration, we were fetched by the taxi to the next surprise destination, but the surprise was spoiled by the taxi driver, mang rhic, when he asked me to confirm our destination, "we go to ateneo now, sir?" hahaha...so much for the surprise.
so, next we drove to ateneo de manila, to the place where three years earlier, my ratty foxy (before she became ratty foxy and i, doggie foxy) said "yes" to me to be my girlfriend. that was the night of june 8, 2006, when we were taking one of our walks around ateneo campus. i still remember the time. it was 10pm when i asked her. we were walking around the campus and i asked her while we were walking on the pedestrian pathway facing the college covered courts and the manila observatory. she said that i should wait, and that she would tell me later. we continued walking until we got to the front of the blue eagle gym. then we walked on the path that led from the side of the football field to de la costa hall. it was while we were on that path, in between the football field and pedestrian gate near gate 2.5 that my ratty foxy said, "yes."
so, on that night, after asking her to be my foxy forever at "our manila pen" and after having put minty on her finger, i wanted to bring her back to that place where we first became a couple. it was raining that night. i had an umbrella. mang rhic parked at the parking lot fronting the blue eagle gym. ratty foxy and i took a stroll along the path again, and we stopped at the spot where she said "yes."
we held each other, and i told her how much i loved her and how happy i was that she had said "yes" to "be my foxy forever." :D
and on that night, june 8, 2009, ratty foxy and doggie foxy were no longer girlfriend and boyfriend. we were, from that time, fiancee and fiance :D
i love you, my ratty foxy! forever and ever and ever!
after dinner. and foxy had said "yes" to be my foxy forever :D we looked around the manila peninsula for a bit. the hotel was really nice. we both liked it. it is now "our manila pen" since we got engaged there. hehe... :D
when it was time for the next item in the itinerary for our third anniversary celebration, we were fetched by the taxi to the next surprise destination, but the surprise was spoiled by the taxi driver, mang rhic, when he asked me to confirm our destination, "we go to ateneo now, sir?" hahaha...so much for the surprise.
so, next we drove to ateneo de manila, to the place where three years earlier, my ratty foxy (before she became ratty foxy and i, doggie foxy) said "yes" to me to be my girlfriend. that was the night of june 8, 2006, when we were taking one of our walks around ateneo campus. i still remember the time. it was 10pm when i asked her. we were walking around the campus and i asked her while we were walking on the pedestrian pathway facing the college covered courts and the manila observatory. she said that i should wait, and that she would tell me later. we continued walking until we got to the front of the blue eagle gym. then we walked on the path that led from the side of the football field to de la costa hall. it was while we were on that path, in between the football field and pedestrian gate near gate 2.5 that my ratty foxy said, "yes."
so, on that night, after asking her to be my foxy forever at "our manila pen" and after having put minty on her finger, i wanted to bring her back to that place where we first became a couple. it was raining that night. i had an umbrella. mang rhic parked at the parking lot fronting the blue eagle gym. ratty foxy and i took a stroll along the path again, and we stopped at the spot where she said "yes."
we held each other, and i told her how much i loved her and how happy i was that she had said "yes" to "be my foxy forever." :D
and on that night, june 8, 2009, ratty foxy and doggie foxy were no longer girlfriend and boyfriend. we were, from that time, fiancee and fiance :D
i love you, my ratty foxy! forever and ever and ever!
Official Engagement Photos:
SHE SAID:
(written a few days after the engagement)
I remember the day I got engaged. It was June 08, 2009. It was a Monday. It was Andrew and my 3rd anniversary as a couple. And, unfortunately for both of us, it was also the day I needed to finish my enrollment for dissertation at the University of the Philippines, Diliman.
I woke up early in the morning feeling terrible that I had to spend at least half a day running around to finish my enrollment. This coming semester was my first semester as a teaching assistant for two graduate school courses at the School of Economics and as a teaching assistant, my tuition was fully paid for by the school. So I had to wait for Dr. Tecson to sign a letter of recommendation for my appointment as a teaching assistant at the UP School of Economics for the first semester. The letter was addressed to Professor Lorna I. Paredes, the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. I was told I only needed to present the letter along with my Form-5, and pay some miscellaneous expenses to complete my enrollment. However, by some crazy twist of events, it turned out that the Office of the Registrar had changed its rules regarding tuition payments by teaching assistants. They refused to accept the letter that Dr. Tecson wrote for me. They wanted my appointment, not just a recommendation. But my letter of appointment would not be issued for another 3-4 months and surely, my tuition payment could not wait that long. Running back and forth between the School of Economics and the Office of the Registrar and informing a party the reasons of the other party was what I did from early morning to mid-afternoon. My terrible half-day turned out to be a more terrible three-fourths of a day.
With the help of Chito Abueg, a fellow teaching assistant, I was able to finish my enrollment before 4pm. All this time, Andrew was there beside me running from the School of Economics to the Office of the Registrar and back. When I finally finished my enrollment, Andrew asked how long it would take me to freshen up and prepare for diner. I was told I needed to wear a dress. So, I was under the impression that we were having dinner at some posh restaurant. But I never imagined it was as posh as the Manila Peninsula!
Andrew picked me up from Sanggumay Residence Hall. I was wearing a yellow dress with a thick black belt and a flesh-colored thong sandals with back straps. My hair was down. I fanned it to dry and ironed it a bit before finally surrendering and leaving it as it was. I wore the Bath and Body Works Sensual Amber Body Splash that Andrew gave me months ago so that I would have a scent to wear at night.
I felt slightly under-dressed when I saw Andrew waiting for me outside Sanggumay Residence Hall. Andrew was wearing his black leather shoes, black slacks and his red polo. Inside the cab, a black jacket was hanging beside one of the passenger windows. If I had known he’d be wearing a suit, I would have worn something to complement his attire.
Andrew contracted a taxi driver and his taxi for the entire night. It seemed we had a lot of destinations that night. The first stop was at the Manila Peninsula at Makati. Andrew brought me to this restaurant beside the hotel lobby and the moment I entered, the receptionist handed me a bouquet with three red roses. At first I thought the flowers were compliments of the house. When I looked closer, however, I saw a very familiar hand-writing on a card attached with the bouquet. The card said: My Dearest Anna. The handwriting was Andrew’s.
Andrew and I chose a seat at the corner of the room. I sat on a sofa while Andrew sat on the chair right across from my sofa seat. Dinner was an entire white asparagus course.
The soup was the first to be served and with the soup came my first gift for the night. Surprisingly, my first gift was given to me by the same person that served my soup. It was an orange circular container with a green cover. The container was sealed using an orange ribbon and there were two pieces of oval paper stickers stuck on the cover. One sticker said: 1 Soup. Another sticker said: Front. I didn’t mind the stickers. It didn’t register in my mind what they were there for. I was also too excited to find out what was inside the box. Before I could untie the orange ribbon and open my gift, however, Andrew turned the box so that the sticker that said Front was no longer inverted. It was only after doing that that he allowed me to open my gift.
Surprise! Surprise! Guess who was inside the box! Sharebear with a letter!!! Sharebear is a sharebear stuffed toy given by Aves to Andrew. We have adopted sharebear into our Foxy family and made it one our “babies” pets. The letter that accompanied sharebear read (on the envelope): "Surprise! Hi mommy, daddy asked me to give this to mommy!" Inside the envelope was a red piece of paper that read: "I Love You." That made me smile. I love you too, Foxy. And it was really sweet to include Sharebear in our anniversary since the stuffed toy is basically part of our “Foxy family.”
I was beginning to wonder, however, how many of our babies and pets were inside some other containers waiting to surprise me. I began to wonder if telling me that he took all our stuffed toys to the laundry shop the other day was a piece to this anniversary surprise.
I was right. Appetizer arrived and the waiter brought me another gift. This time, it was green circular container with a plain green cover and a thick white ribbon. There were no stickers and there seemed to be no marks that a sticker has been ripped off the box. When I opened it, I saw Rooy, Wiggly and Whity, our three stuffed toy babies. Accompanying them was yet another letter whose envelope read: "mommy daddy loves mommy so very much." Mommy loves daddy so very much also. Inside the envelope was another red piece of paper that read: "Forever." Aww... I couldn’t think of a better word. I could spend forever with Andrew and be very, very satisfied forever. :)
Another meal, another gift. It was a square box this time. It was orange with a green cover and an orange ribbon. This time, however, there were no more stickers. But there seemed to be a tear mark, like a sticker was ripped off from the box. Nevertheless, I was excited to open the box. And when I did, I saw Moo, another one of our stuffed toy pets. Moo was also accompanied by a letter that said: "Mommy Moo from Daddy Moo." Inside the envelope was another red piece of paper that read: "ratty foxy."
All this time, while gifts were being brought to me, Andrew and I were talking about how delicious the meal was. They were served in small quantities but after the 3rd or 4th course, we were already so full. The taste of the previous courses complimented the succeeding courses and if the next course was something that needed to be tasted with “unstained” taste buds, the waiters would serve small quantities of crushed iced mixed with something that offset the taste of the previous course and neutralized the taste buds. During the same enjoyable dinner, Andrew asked me to put the red pieces of paper beside each other so that they would read: "I love you forever Ratty Foxy." :) :) :) The dinner would have been more than enough. The gifts made it out of this world! :)
Headcount. I had 3 babies and 2 pets with me. I was lacking one more baby – the very first stuffed toy that Andrew and I bought. A brown grizzly bear from Watsons that we named Andy. I was wondering when the waiter would give me another container with Andy inside.
The course before dessert, the waiter did not bring me any gifts. He must have forgotten, I secretly told myself. But even after quite a few minutes of eating that course, a gift had not appeared. Dessert was finally served and an additional gift was nowhere to be found. Andy was also nowhere to be found. And I was starting to feel bad that everybody was present except for Andy.
Just as dessert was being served, Andrew excused himself because he had to go to the restroom. Unaware of what was happening outside my line of sight, I waited for Andrew to come back from the restroom and when he did, he brought with him a red paper bag that seemed to weigh less than a hardbound Harry Potter book. Wow, special delivery, I thought to myself. Andrew sat beside me, gave me the paper bag and asked me to open it. And true to expectation, I found Andy inside the bag holding a rectangular envelope with the words "My Dearest Ann." Inside was a card with one of the most beautiful messages I had ever read.
After I read the card, Andrew asked me to take Andy out of the paper bag and when I did I saw a flesh colored container that seemed to resemble that of a ring box. I took the container out of the red paper bag and Andrew took the container from my hands, knelt down, and uttered some kind of speech. He was pale, I noticed. He had been restless and agitated the entire night. He also kept on feeling his left chest like he was feeling something uncomfortable there. I didn’t mind those little hints too much because I thought he was just really uncomfortable in his suit. But now that he was on one knee with a diamond ring, everything seemed to fall into place. Andrew uttered some sort of speech. He had probably practiced saying it, but tonight the words seemed to get all jumbled up. I couldn't understand half of what he was saying. But I was pretty sure he was proposing. His was also blinking faster than 5 times per second. For a while there, I was scared he might suddenly have a heart attack.
I told him that he was blinking too much. He said, “Will you be my foxy forever?” I nodded my head. I said yes. Yes, I wanted to be his foxy forever.
The engraving on the ring that Andrew gave me complements the proposal that Andrew made. The engraving read: "be my foxy forever." And I’m wearing the ring now because there is nothing else that I’d rather be.
Dinner ended with a wonderful dessert and a picture-taking session. After dinner, Andrew and I took a little walk around Manila Peninsula and then Andrew had the cab driver drive us to Ateneo de Manila – to the place where Andrew asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes. That was three years ago, on the same day, June 08.
It was raining in Ateneo, but we braved the rain under an umbrella over our heads, of course. We went to OUR intersection, stood there for a few minutes and just fell silent. I was very happy and did not even know where and how to begin sharing my happiness. I was there, standing with the man who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Despite the rain and the mud on my sandals, the world seemed pretty perfect that night.
I remember the day I got engaged. It was June 08, 2009. It was a Monday. It was Andrew and my 3rd anniversary as a couple. And, unfortunately for both of us, it was also the day I needed to finish my enrollment for dissertation at the University of the Philippines, Diliman.
I woke up early in the morning feeling terrible that I had to spend at least half a day running around to finish my enrollment. This coming semester was my first semester as a teaching assistant for two graduate school courses at the School of Economics and as a teaching assistant, my tuition was fully paid for by the school. So I had to wait for Dr. Tecson to sign a letter of recommendation for my appointment as a teaching assistant at the UP School of Economics for the first semester. The letter was addressed to Professor Lorna I. Paredes, the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. I was told I only needed to present the letter along with my Form-5, and pay some miscellaneous expenses to complete my enrollment. However, by some crazy twist of events, it turned out that the Office of the Registrar had changed its rules regarding tuition payments by teaching assistants. They refused to accept the letter that Dr. Tecson wrote for me. They wanted my appointment, not just a recommendation. But my letter of appointment would not be issued for another 3-4 months and surely, my tuition payment could not wait that long. Running back and forth between the School of Economics and the Office of the Registrar and informing a party the reasons of the other party was what I did from early morning to mid-afternoon. My terrible half-day turned out to be a more terrible three-fourths of a day.
With the help of Chito Abueg, a fellow teaching assistant, I was able to finish my enrollment before 4pm. All this time, Andrew was there beside me running from the School of Economics to the Office of the Registrar and back. When I finally finished my enrollment, Andrew asked how long it would take me to freshen up and prepare for diner. I was told I needed to wear a dress. So, I was under the impression that we were having dinner at some posh restaurant. But I never imagined it was as posh as the Manila Peninsula!
Andrew picked me up from Sanggumay Residence Hall. I was wearing a yellow dress with a thick black belt and a flesh-colored thong sandals with back straps. My hair was down. I fanned it to dry and ironed it a bit before finally surrendering and leaving it as it was. I wore the Bath and Body Works Sensual Amber Body Splash that Andrew gave me months ago so that I would have a scent to wear at night.
I felt slightly under-dressed when I saw Andrew waiting for me outside Sanggumay Residence Hall. Andrew was wearing his black leather shoes, black slacks and his red polo. Inside the cab, a black jacket was hanging beside one of the passenger windows. If I had known he’d be wearing a suit, I would have worn something to complement his attire.
Andrew contracted a taxi driver and his taxi for the entire night. It seemed we had a lot of destinations that night. The first stop was at the Manila Peninsula at Makati. Andrew brought me to this restaurant beside the hotel lobby and the moment I entered, the receptionist handed me a bouquet with three red roses. At first I thought the flowers were compliments of the house. When I looked closer, however, I saw a very familiar hand-writing on a card attached with the bouquet. The card said: My Dearest Anna. The handwriting was Andrew’s.
Andrew and I chose a seat at the corner of the room. I sat on a sofa while Andrew sat on the chair right across from my sofa seat. Dinner was an entire white asparagus course.
The soup was the first to be served and with the soup came my first gift for the night. Surprisingly, my first gift was given to me by the same person that served my soup. It was an orange circular container with a green cover. The container was sealed using an orange ribbon and there were two pieces of oval paper stickers stuck on the cover. One sticker said: 1 Soup. Another sticker said: Front. I didn’t mind the stickers. It didn’t register in my mind what they were there for. I was also too excited to find out what was inside the box. Before I could untie the orange ribbon and open my gift, however, Andrew turned the box so that the sticker that said Front was no longer inverted. It was only after doing that that he allowed me to open my gift.
Surprise! Surprise! Guess who was inside the box! Sharebear with a letter!!! Sharebear is a sharebear stuffed toy given by Aves to Andrew. We have adopted sharebear into our Foxy family and made it one our “babies” pets. The letter that accompanied sharebear read (on the envelope): "Surprise! Hi mommy, daddy asked me to give this to mommy!" Inside the envelope was a red piece of paper that read: "I Love You." That made me smile. I love you too, Foxy. And it was really sweet to include Sharebear in our anniversary since the stuffed toy is basically part of our “Foxy family.”
I was beginning to wonder, however, how many of our babies and pets were inside some other containers waiting to surprise me. I began to wonder if telling me that he took all our stuffed toys to the laundry shop the other day was a piece to this anniversary surprise.
I was right. Appetizer arrived and the waiter brought me another gift. This time, it was green circular container with a plain green cover and a thick white ribbon. There were no stickers and there seemed to be no marks that a sticker has been ripped off the box. When I opened it, I saw Rooy, Wiggly and Whity, our three stuffed toy babies. Accompanying them was yet another letter whose envelope read: "mommy daddy loves mommy so very much." Mommy loves daddy so very much also. Inside the envelope was another red piece of paper that read: "Forever." Aww... I couldn’t think of a better word. I could spend forever with Andrew and be very, very satisfied forever. :)
Another meal, another gift. It was a square box this time. It was orange with a green cover and an orange ribbon. This time, however, there were no more stickers. But there seemed to be a tear mark, like a sticker was ripped off from the box. Nevertheless, I was excited to open the box. And when I did, I saw Moo, another one of our stuffed toy pets. Moo was also accompanied by a letter that said: "Mommy Moo from Daddy Moo." Inside the envelope was another red piece of paper that read: "ratty foxy."
All this time, while gifts were being brought to me, Andrew and I were talking about how delicious the meal was. They were served in small quantities but after the 3rd or 4th course, we were already so full. The taste of the previous courses complimented the succeeding courses and if the next course was something that needed to be tasted with “unstained” taste buds, the waiters would serve small quantities of crushed iced mixed with something that offset the taste of the previous course and neutralized the taste buds. During the same enjoyable dinner, Andrew asked me to put the red pieces of paper beside each other so that they would read: "I love you forever Ratty Foxy." :) :) :) The dinner would have been more than enough. The gifts made it out of this world! :)
Headcount. I had 3 babies and 2 pets with me. I was lacking one more baby – the very first stuffed toy that Andrew and I bought. A brown grizzly bear from Watsons that we named Andy. I was wondering when the waiter would give me another container with Andy inside.
The course before dessert, the waiter did not bring me any gifts. He must have forgotten, I secretly told myself. But even after quite a few minutes of eating that course, a gift had not appeared. Dessert was finally served and an additional gift was nowhere to be found. Andy was also nowhere to be found. And I was starting to feel bad that everybody was present except for Andy.
Just as dessert was being served, Andrew excused himself because he had to go to the restroom. Unaware of what was happening outside my line of sight, I waited for Andrew to come back from the restroom and when he did, he brought with him a red paper bag that seemed to weigh less than a hardbound Harry Potter book. Wow, special delivery, I thought to myself. Andrew sat beside me, gave me the paper bag and asked me to open it. And true to expectation, I found Andy inside the bag holding a rectangular envelope with the words "My Dearest Ann." Inside was a card with one of the most beautiful messages I had ever read.
After I read the card, Andrew asked me to take Andy out of the paper bag and when I did I saw a flesh colored container that seemed to resemble that of a ring box. I took the container out of the red paper bag and Andrew took the container from my hands, knelt down, and uttered some kind of speech. He was pale, I noticed. He had been restless and agitated the entire night. He also kept on feeling his left chest like he was feeling something uncomfortable there. I didn’t mind those little hints too much because I thought he was just really uncomfortable in his suit. But now that he was on one knee with a diamond ring, everything seemed to fall into place. Andrew uttered some sort of speech. He had probably practiced saying it, but tonight the words seemed to get all jumbled up. I couldn't understand half of what he was saying. But I was pretty sure he was proposing. His was also blinking faster than 5 times per second. For a while there, I was scared he might suddenly have a heart attack.
I told him that he was blinking too much. He said, “Will you be my foxy forever?” I nodded my head. I said yes. Yes, I wanted to be his foxy forever.
The engraving on the ring that Andrew gave me complements the proposal that Andrew made. The engraving read: "be my foxy forever." And I’m wearing the ring now because there is nothing else that I’d rather be.
Dinner ended with a wonderful dessert and a picture-taking session. After dinner, Andrew and I took a little walk around Manila Peninsula and then Andrew had the cab driver drive us to Ateneo de Manila – to the place where Andrew asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes. That was three years ago, on the same day, June 08.
It was raining in Ateneo, but we braved the rain under an umbrella over our heads, of course. We went to OUR intersection, stood there for a few minutes and just fell silent. I was very happy and did not even know where and how to begin sharing my happiness. I was there, standing with the man who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Despite the rain and the mud on my sandals, the world seemed pretty perfect that night.