...My Sweetest Valentine...

As a guy, I only aim to please. Making surprises should be my thing. But every once in a while, it's nice to feel wanted by being on the other side of a surprise.

Some years back, I was running for a position in the AB Student Council. As candidates, we were supposed to appear single even if we're in relationships, just so we can be more approachable to everyone. I've always thought of myself as a pretty approachable guy, but I had to give respect to the rules. But it was Valentine's Day and I had a girlfriend. It sucked that I had to be watching everyone else bring flowers and chocolates and be all mushy while I had to stand and smile and shake everyone's hands to urge them to vote for me. To cap off the frustration of not being able to do anything for my girlfriend, she texts me of some emergency that she had to go home immediately.

I had to endure the rest of the day without an escape from my normal routine. At around 5PM, there was a toy car making noise on the lobby where we stayed on. It was for me. I had a feeling that there was no emergency, but I went along with it. By 6PM the candidates were all asked to go back to home base to regroup. Sof asked me to pick something up from her car parked near the Dapitan exit of UST. It was weird because candidates weren't usually tasked to go on errands, but I did as asked, wishing I'd be getting more than just what she was asking for. With a fast-beating heart, I walked as fast as I can but tried to act not too excited about it. When I got to the car, it opened, with my girlfriend holding a football-designed pillow radio because she knew that I listened to the radio to get me to sleep, and my radio then was a pain to adjust the volume. 

It was 2005. 

It was the first Valentine's Day that Che and I celebrated.

Over the years, we've outdone each other with surprises to express our love for each other. No one's keeping score, but the priceless memories of special moments we shared are always fun to look back at. We didn't need an occasion, but Valentine's Day was a day we could be extra mushy and not get ridiculed about it. 

From then to now, we were never an overly cheesy couple, mainly because she's boyish and the relationship started out with us being friends. However, being the more mushy, and more vocal one, I do the cheesy stuff without her knowledge. Like this blog. 

After n-number of pounds, two break-ups, a sea of tears, friends that have come and gone, endless laughs, countless restaurants discovered, and first trips and experiences, our relationship has constantly evolved to keep us both in it. We've made sacrifices, we've had to adjust, but in the end, what matters is that we always find a way to make it work. 

Happy Valentine's, love <3

It sucks that Facebook wasn't as big then to remember that first Valentine's Day by. But here's the closest picture that I have to that day:

First Studio pic, taken at Robinson's Metro East, October 2004