FB Such a lot of updates!

I was updating this blog earlier and I just realized, there are so many changes we've done in the past two weeks. There is the tagboard, the clocks and the ad. Not to mention all the people that will help make our wedding possible! I was thinking when we started setting up this blog that we would have a couple of entries a month and no changes to the layout would happen. Now we have done so many things that this makes me glad we started this blog in the first place. It's a work in progress by two loving people. Thanks Schatz!

I'm pretty sure the pace will quicken once fall comes around. So hopefully you readers will bear with us for now as we post sweet nothings to one another

Oh I saw this article once about cake toppers. There was this website that offered bride and groom figurines with different skin tones. Also I couldn't believe how much they would cost. I wonder if we could skip the cake topper altogether.

Just kidding Schatz!

FB My Eleven Things

See this is what happens when someone posts something like this! If this was in an email I probably would not fill this up. I feel though that since Malou has made this more of an open blog I might as well open myself up a bit too.

Eleven things on my wishlist
11. Malou finishes on time
10. Get everything in order so I can get Malou here
9. Get to buy an affordable house, at most an hour away from work, in a neighborhood that has great schools, good social center, friendly people and highly wired
8. My mom and dad can finally retire with want of nothing
7. My siblings get their dream jobs
6. We have time together before we start having kids
5. A good retirement fund to look forward to
4. Good health for all the people I know and love
3. Prosperity in the Philippines and finally getting rid of the shackles of crab-grabbing and finger pointing
2. Convince Malou that she can go camping, hang gliding, bungee jumping, forest canopy walking without worrying about imminent death waiting for us just around the corner
1. Peace in the world

Ten random things about me
10. I cook the "gourmet" food in the house and it's good too!
9. I read a lot of books covering a lot of topics
8. I like spending time just being at home
7. I haven't met a dish I haven't eaten
6. I am a chocoholic
5. I miss having a dog around
4. I am a proud techie!
3. I have two left feet when it comes to dancing
2. I can easily switch from being a follower to being a leader and vice-versa
1. I can be stubborn

Nine places I've visited
9. Philippines (Baguio, Boracay, Cebu, Davao, General Santos City, Tagaytay, Bulacan, Antipolo)
8. United States (California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Maine, Rhode Island, Delaware, New Hampshire, Virginia, Michigan, Colorado)
7. Germany (Hamburg, Berlin, Gernsbach, Köln, Bremen, Lübeck)
6. Canada (Ontario)
5. France (Paris)
4. Italy (Milan, Venice, Rome, Bologna, San Marino, Florence, Padua)
3. Japan (Osaka, Nagoya)
2. Switzerland
1. Netherlands and the U.K. (just short stop-overs)

Eight things I want to do before I die
8. Sky diving, bungee jumping, white water rafting, hang gliding, forest canopy walking
7. Teach
6. Start a business
5. See Africa and the Middle East as a tourist
4. Drive a hydrogen-fueled/earth friendly car
3. Own a house in a different country
2. Go on a cruise
1. Make Malou feel loved and needed every single day of our lives

Seven ways to win my heart
7. Have a healthy sense of humor
6. Be genuinely concerned for the people around her
5. Good cook (and I can be a food critic!!!)
4. Has good manners
3. Can talk about the most mundane and, at the same time, the most serious topics of our day
2. Respect for elders and family
1. Has very good friends from her high school days who still keep in touch up to this day

Six things I believe in
6. Good things come to people who act and strive for it
5. Family will always be there for you
4. Honesty is the best policy
3. To whom much is given, much is expected
2. That we should be living examples for everybody else
1. God is the center of my life and Jesus Christ is my Lord, my Master and my Savior

Five things I'm afraid of
5. Being late for appointments
4. Having not kept up in the industry
3. Forgetting my roots
2. Being angry and losing control
1. Be a bad husband, friend, father, lover, comforter, listener, advice giver

Four of my favorite things in my bedroom
4. Books
3. Laptop
2. Glasses
1. Pictures of Malou (in my laptop but it's still in my bedroom!)

Three things I do everyday
3. Check my e-mail
2. Read the gospel
1. Talk to Malou

Two things I'm trying not to do right now
2. Call Malou and talk to her for so long that she loses her pace
1. Get on a plane and talk to her for so long that she loses her pace

One person I want to see right now
1. Malou (I want to give her a hug, lots of kisses and a back rub)

FB Manila Cathedral #4

I located this photo on the web. From what I could understand on the web site I found this photo in, this was a painting of the cathedral during the 1580s. I wonder what it would be like to walk the streets of Manila during those days much the like the gentlemen in this picture.

FB Manila Cathedral #3

I could just imagine the artillery flying overhead as bombs kept hitting the Manila shoreline and people would try to seek shelter within the walls of the cathedral. During the second world war, the cathedral was destroyed as the Americans were trying to drive out the Japanese by basically blowing everything up in their path. At the very least, the basic form and features of the cathedral was kept intact as it was rebuilt.

FB Manila Cathedral #2

When I was visiting the major churches of Europe and here in America, there was always this presence of awe as my eyes would adjust to its majestic size. Every time I would enter one I knew there would something different about it. If not for the architecture, the different chapels housed in it. Or the murals or the stained glass.

FB Manila Cathedral #1

One of Manila's oldest and grandest cathedrals, the Manila Cathedral's full name is the Minor Basilica Of The Immaculate Conception Manila Metropolitan Cathedral. I was actually surprised by the full name as I've always known it just as the Manila Cathedral. I do remember attending mass at least once in this church.
It took us a very long time to decide which church to wed in. We were thinking about the Nuestra Senora de Gracia Church, Paco Church, and St. James the Great. We initially wanted a small church for the intimacy. We realized soon after that we may have a problem with the number of guests trying to fit in a small church. In the end, TNgal and I decided we should go with the Manila Cathedral.

FB Evolution or Eve?

I was reading this article today and I recalled my own days as a student. I remember then that in the curriculum we had, our science and religion classes would teach us how man got to where he is now. I don't know if it was just plain misunderstanding or I just couldn't grasp why there was two different ways that man came about. Right now I am of the belief that there is a place for both. My religious convictions does tell me that God created man while my human side does also believe that we did evolve from a single cell. Somebody must have started that chain reaction sometime long, long ago. Personally, I agree with the conclusion of the article that it's important for children today to understand that science does not have an answer to every question and that someone must be out there to try to find those answers.

FB Am I too concerned or what?

TN gal was a little miffed at me the other day. I was going somewhere late at night, after a long day at work, a couple of hours away. I never liked it when we didn't hash out our problems, especially if we won't be able to talk to one another til the following day. Anyway by the time I get to the place a couple of hours away, I give her a call to tell her I've arrived safely. She was a little sleepy so I quickly said "I love you, let's talk later on" so she could get back to sleep.

The following day I tried calling her a couple of times but she wouldn't answer her phone. I got worried. I'll never forgive myself if I lose her because of my foolishness. It was really hanging at the back of my mind the entire time I was away. I just said to myself the Lord will guide us and we will talk when He says we can. Then I just lifted up my concerns to Him. That made my day just a bit more manageable.

I finally got to talk to her about the time I was going back. She was at a seminar and had dinner out with friends. She did not bring her cell phone as plans changed during the day and she had to hurry. That was very nice to hear! I was finally able to breathe. I was dreading this phone call that I was thinking of not calling her. After apologizing to her and finally hearing her "love you" really made feel a whole lot better. Hmm, come to think of it that always happen anyway when I talk to her.

Am I too concerned? I don't know. I feel normal and I felt that what I did and what I thought at the time was normal. To be in love!

FB TROOH 1 -The Roof Over Our Heads...

TNgal knows my concerns about the housing market. I'm freaking out every time I think about how much a house and lot will cost when we start looking for one a couple of years from now. With this "housing bubble", we may be stuck renting for a while til we can afford one!
I've never liked renting. For me renting means you temporarily live in a square box (all right, a rectangular box with a couple of rooms in it) and can be displaced anytime your lease isn't renewed. I don't like condos because all my life I've grown up with a backyard.
For now I am resigned to renting for a while since TNgal won't be with me for the time being. Any chance I get to place a down payment on a new home I'm taking it!

FB Being Grown Up

I just came from a prayer meeting tonight. It was one of those meetings where you get more than you bargained for. I felt great being in the same room with all my fellow brothers and sisters, enjoying each other's company and praising the Lord.

I am glad to be such in wonderful community of believers, who unashamedly proclaims their faith. I am also glad that I am given the opportunity to grow with them, as I am growing with TNgal.

I am immensely blessed by the love you have for me Schatz. I hope and pray that as much as I praise the Lord through my words and my works, I may do the same to you.

Ich liebe dich meine Schatz.

FB By the Luxembourg Gardens

We are True North Guy and True North Gal. It was truly a blessing to be in Paris in springtime. I wish we didn't have to leave.

FB Reminiscing about Italy

I can still remember the great dinners my uncle would give us whenever he had the time. He also gave me a chance to feast upon slice upon slice of pizza! My only regret was that I did not get to hang around for another week or two to check out the other wonderful regions of Italy.
I just saw this article today and I was thinking of surprising TNgal with this. Not today of course but sometime in the future. What, you didn't think that I'll give everything away did you?

FB We have finally decided...

True North Gal and I have not felt the need to get a blog up and running. For one thing, we were wondering who was going to take care of it (most likely me), what were we going to share with the world wide web, and is it worth the time and effort?
One day, I just said let's do it.
And here it is.

Welcome to True North Guy and Gal's blog! We chose true north for one, the fact that we are currently residing in the northern hemisphere and two, we think of each other as our one true north. We hope you enjoy our blog and feel free to post!