a year later...

[2005]

on august 16th, arvi and i saw each other in a different light; we became a couple. one personal observation from experience: for two people to "officially" become a couple, an actual verbal expression of one's feelings toward the other must take place. mere gestures, which convey one's affection for the other, aren't enough a validation to say that both of them have reached that point of being 'in a relationship', right? anyway, from that moment on, our relationship soon took shape. days have turned into weeks, and weeks into months. during our 1st 'monthaversary', we had a lunch date, if my memory isn't mistaken. it had been a rainy afternoon, but every second was time well-spent.


[2006]

after twelve whole months, we're still together. honestly, our relationship had its share of both the happiest 'highs' and most laden 'lows'. sometimes, too much is going on and it becomes so difficult to deal with the entire setup. fortunately, we've managed to make things work, because of our utmost regard for commitment to each other.

on a lighter note, our 1st anniversary, such a momentous milestone, deserves a fitting celebration. at first, i thought the chances of us going out on the day itself were very slim. well, for one, august 16th would fall on a wednesday. it's a fact that arvi has already been working and his weekday work schedule would not permit him to have ample personal time. personally, i always assume that my mom would cringe at the thought of me being out quite late in the evening; she's really a force to be reckoned with! another hindrance would be the frequent rainshowers that lately make each day seem somber. it's such a hassle to be out on the streets when the weather would make traffic an absolute nightmare. certainly, my fingers were crossed for what's going to happen.

as it turns out, prayers do work! arvi had managed to leave the office just in time to push through with this event. and so, i prepared myself so that i would be psyched. the weather had been very clear all day, no rain in sight. even my mom was sort of "thrilled" that it was our anniversary (just seems unreal!). though, i thought we'd be able to go out earlier. finally, he arrived around 8pm in front of my house. i have to say that he looked ravishing (perhaps, this is an overstatement...haha, just kidding!) in a green jacket over his business attire. we then went on our way to the restaurant.

less than a kilometer away from my house, he suddenly remarked that he was hearing a shrill noise from the car's engine, to which i responded "huh? wala naman ako naririnig na sound!". he stopped the car and proceeded to open the car's hood; he then popped the car's trunk and asked me to reach for the tools. then, i opened the trunk. lo and behold, a huge bouquet of flowers was situated smack-dab in the middle of the trunk! gosh, how could i be so naive?! i, actually, got the toolbag and even fumbled to close the trunk, so that i might be able to hand him the tools. however, before i could walk closer towards him, he asked me "nakita mo ba yung flowers?". my mind could not function any slower to process the whole thing, (*sigh). it suddenly hit me: that moment was a mere ruse. i told myself, "abi, ang slow mo!". to save face, i told him "nakita ko naman yung flowers e; akala ko, para later pa yun!". much to my slight embarrassment over the matter, i just laughed it off. yeah, arvi laughed, as well. honestly, it turned out to be a nice surprise.

finally, we had managed to reach Gulliver's, which was located along Quezon Avenue; the restaurant was on the 8th floor of the hotel. our table was near the window, so we could see the so-called skyline of Quezon Avenue, hehe. the entire room was dimly-lit and each table had been illuminated by a single candlelight to create a romantic mood. personally, i must say that from the time i entered the room, walked towards our table, and sat down, time suddenly slowed down. soaking up the ambience had been quite an enthralling experience. sitting across arvi had been more amazing.

crispy almond duck was our chosen appetizer. for dinner, i had the grilled halibut with mashed potato and an array of vegetables; arvi asked for the steak (i forgot the exact name, yikes!), which almost spanned across the whole plate and about an inch thick, with toasted potato, vegetables and a piece of quiche. as per habit, we see to it that we share our food. towards finishing supper, we realized that we should've photographed our food, oh well. (next time, perhaps...). we just indulged ourselves with taking pictures of each other, haha. out of the blue, arvi brings out something shiny. damnit! i'm caught off guard by such a simple gesture. i could not help but smile and giggle at what he had done. actually, it was the thought of him giving me something that made me gush. then again, the gift was beautiful. we decided to skip dessert and eventually left the place. on the way home, we stopped by a cafe. we both had hot peppermint tea to soothe our tastebuds and 'aid us in our digestion', hehe. arvi also bought a slice of chocolate fudge cake for takeout, something to bring home to my sister (...so sweet of him). later, he safely drove me back home. it was bittersweet that our night was about to end. nevertheless, we both relished spending our anniversary together, especially on the day itself.

i'm looking forward to next year. :D


this entry is a tad bit long, i know, hehe. anyway, anniversaries only happen once a year.
(pictures will follow in a subsequent entry.)