the wonder years...

   pardon me! i know i just said i'm not into birthdays.. :) okay, i take it back! hehe.. nice naman pala to be extra special on your natal day! imagine! on that fateful day of feb.27,1977 a beautiful baby girl was born! the future of the universe! the one who will save the dying economy of the country! haha!

this is me: elva piandong calumpiano

6lbs. 20inches

- i was a heavy baby and kinda tall too! as compared to my 90lbs. 5"2 stats now..

- i was an instant hit to the grandparents since i was the first grandchild on my papa's side. story has it, they couldn't figure out if i was a boy or a girl. as you can see, i don't have much hair. and when my lolo saw me he instantly said- "kairo man tak apo..kasisirom." haha.. baluga baby! but i was their little bundle of joy!

if i were a boy..i would be a cute boy

ang opaw! no wonder i was always in a dress to avoid confusion! hehe

my parents were living in an apartment then. the neighbor's would often borrow me. so that explains my laagan self now.

         mama, said when i wake up in the morning, i would immediately knock on the neighbor's door and pee there. haha.. C.R.?

  naging cute nalang daw ako eventually coz i was such a bibo kid! i have a lot of crazy antics (up to now! haha). i was pretending to be a doll here. papa went gaga looking for that kind of doll beside me. when we were on a boat, i tried to get the other kid's doll and cried my lungs out- "akon! akon!" and that black and white tv was also a victim of my craziness. sesame street was my fave show then i'd get a walis tingting and poke the speakers, thinking if i do that id be able to poke big bird as well! loka!

   that's my brother! now! he was the cute one.. mestizo, long lashes with long curly hair. we have a 2yr. gap. when he was brought home- na-insecure daw ang beauty ko.. kept asking who he is. when they told me he's my baby brother, i said i don't want one. i started knocking on the neighbors' doors again asking them if they wanted to buy a baby. i was selling my brother! i even attempted to deal my lil brother to that Bombay nga nag-papautang in our village. haha.. i wonder if 5-6 na ba at that time!

  good thing i didn't succeed in my first try as an entrepreneur. he turned out to be a sweet little boy i bullied most of the time. mama instilled in me to always look after him. she said if she and papa and yaya are not around, i will be in-charge. so feeling ko i'm the boss. haha.. when he asked what his role is- i designated him to be the boss of Fighter our dog.. he cried out loud complaining- gindaog-daog ako ni ate! haha.. but i love this little monster to bits. this time i wouldn't trade him for anyone. not even to mr.bombay!

pretty

cute

charming

 now that i'm all grown- pretty and cute and charming.. (hwag nang pumalag..cge na..tagi na hin chance..) my mama still talks  of my childhood with fondess. she would go- sus! si ivy sa una.. like it was just 2 yrs ago. they say even as a child you already show your own character. how you mold them may make or break the kid as a person he is today. now, i realized, if the parental units didn't impose discipline, i would have been a bratty bitch coz i was a little spoiled on the lola being her favorite. or if they weren't strict in givng me curfews, i might have been some bugoy in the kanto or worse dalagang ina nga undergrad.- i was such an outgoing kid. i was a people person, i don't choose who i mingle with. looking at what i've become now, i'd like to congratulate my folks for raising me and brother well. they were my first teachers. and now as i go through adult life i can only pray that i'll be able to practice what they preached. and when i have kids on my own,be able to teach them the core values that made me who i am today. hoping i could even be half of how great they are as parents, i know i'll make them proud!

HBD

i just turned thirtiesh.. i'm not much of a birthday thing kind of girl. for me its just any ordinary day only it marks the day when you're mother let you out to see the world. i seldom make plans on that day.. but still it makes you feel special when you're close friends and acquaintances take time out to send a greeting or two.. so to everyone who remembered..thanks muchos!
but what made it more special when the hubby made a trip to Cebu just to be with me on this day.. haba ng hair! actually, he's suppose to come on a Saturday but he had an activity at work so he didnt make the last trip. so he somehow made it up by coming over on a Sunday. he arrived at 4pm then rode his return trip at 10. bongga! baga la hin kumadto ha dagami! hehe..nevertheless, he sure did put happy on my birthday.. its a very good feeling to know you are loved!



and for the first time, he bought this couple shirt and asked me to wear it! sweet!

to be or not to be

ever since i got hitched, i've been in to some serious thoughts- a housewife or a career woman. i always said that i don't picture myself as a housewife- since i'm not domesticated at all. it kinda changed a bit since i got married. since me and the hubby are based in diffrent cities, i take my very limited culinary skills to work- when i say limited, i mean its all fried or with the aid of the very reliable microwave oven. good thing, the hubby is not that hard to feed. he's used to tending himself anyway. nevertheless, i try my best to be the "wife" as a wife is suppose to be. i prepare his things to work, wake him up for work, clean the house and the likes. during the first months, i would complain to friends that i dislike staying at home and i always end up getting sick after i leave tacloban and go back to work to cebu.

i have friends who were career women themelves but chose to put that on hold when their babies came. honestly, i thought that was a crazy thing to do. i worked my ass off to get this degree and i wouldn't just throw it away in just one blow. i've made it clear to the hubby even before. it might change,who knows. now, i get to pat my back knowing that i served my husband and attended to his needs. i can say its a diffrent kind of satisfaction than making a good job attending to my patients and earning my own keeps. both roles are incomparable though.

they say that man's highest hierarchy of need is self-actualization. i know that being a full time mom or wife is as demanding as any career you have. having a career and being a wife and a mom, is crazy as it is. right now, i don't have to decide on it yet, since we're still on the works of getting our miracle. til then, i still have plenty of time to figure things out, and make use of this opportunity to handle the role i'm given with. and be the best i can be.. bottomline, whichever you choose, what matters most is the satisfaction you get. that is- self actualization.

a whole new world

2010, was wedding boom year! a lot of my friends and some people i know tied the knot. i love weddings! for me it's the happiest event of anyone's life. its a leap of faith kind of event. no turning back kind of thing. i also love being part of a wedding. it gives me an excuse to dress up and glam up for that day.

here a few weddings that ive been a part of.. they have different stories but one reason.. LOVE! aw... sobrang cheesy!!

Jaye and Elmer- i was one of the readers on their wedding some time May 2004. there was a typhoon that day but it didn't stop the two. rain or shine ituloy ang kasal! she was among the first close friends (the other was ging2) of mine who married early. 26 is considered early nowadays!

Nyan2 and Earl- i was one of nyan's bridesmaids! they are one of the few couples who survived a very long engagement and LDR. they were a couple for 11 yrs before tying the knot. theirs was a testament that true love waits.

april and atan- i was april's maid of honor. we are always together, we would often be mistaken as sisters. silent kind of girl meets loud guy.. mr. funny guy can tickle shy girl's fancy. and the two just jive together. opposites do attract.

joy and darrien- i was one of their witnesses during their civil wedding. it was a fun event. we were just goofing around like it was just some sort of a role play. when april got married and moved to the states, its joy who i was tied to the hip with. we're always together, they'd tease us to be lesbian lovers! haha.. darrien was our schoolmate in grade school then he transferred to cdo. just when me and joy (and tet) decided to be "apalites," darrien and joy reconnected thru friendster. the next thing i knew they were infront of a judge signing their marriage contract. gugma nga naman!

kay2 and oliver- it was also a civil wedding. i was one of the few people who knew of their love story. they had the same story with joy. oliver was also a schoolmate (darrien's batchmate). and this time they reconnected in facebook! kaye was single for a long time since her last relationship during her pre law years. after that facebook encounter she was all giddy again. it was also at this time that me and ronald were on our pa-cute stage. so after we hung up on our respective pikat-pikat, we'd call each other and get all kilig like some high school girls. only this time we were thirtiesh women! they got hitched that same year they got together. i was so happy for her!

razil and marlon- i was her candle sponsor. aside from kay2, it was razil who i had the pleasure of planning the wedding with. it was also that time when me and ronald planned to tie the knot the following year. so basically, we have the same suppliers. theirs was also a long engagement and LDR at that. truly love knows no boundaries! On October 2009, i had the previlege to witness two different love stories who tied the knot! hers and kay's!

hickol and warren- so sad i wasn't there on the day of the wedding. it was a week before mine so i was busy for the preparation. but i want to think i was part of it.. i helped hickol out with the preparation. despite the short prep but they were able to pull it through..harangin man ng sibat.. i couldn't be happier for her!


jehann and geohnel- its actually geohnel who's my classmate. jehann was just an acquaintance. but she's very nice to reach out to geohnel's side of friends. so we ended up, chika with each other. they also have an amazing story... they're batchmates but went to different school. so they know each other from way back. they reconnected thru friendster and even decided to be a couple even if they're far from each other. they finally got to be physically together last May. that was the first time they saw each other again. and got married last december 2010.

do you notice that brides have this certain glow on their wedding day? i always look forward to see the brides walk down the aisle.. and truly they're the most beautiful woman that day.. and the air is just filled with love.. i'm glad i got to be the most beautiful woman who walked down the aisle on May 29,2010!