Pinoy Quirks

A Singaporean friend of ours is currently in Manila for a quick trip before he goes to Cebu to finish his dive masters course (something or whatever). It's his first time here in Manila and since he and his friends are so good to us whenever we come to Singapore, we wanted to return the favor. I've only been to Singapore twice and both occasions remain hazy in my memory cuz most of the time they were shoving alcohol down our throats. Seriously, my first time in Singapore, the most I saw was Orchard Road since I was drunk half the time I was there. But I am not complaining. And now that he's here visiting us, I realized that this is as good a time as any to get some payback (insert evil laugh here).

Now this really isn't about him or how drunk he was (and will be) while in Manila. This is more about my epiphany about Filipino traditions. You see, this friend of ours isn't much of a drinker. It was very hard for me to convince him to drink any alcohol. But I soon found the perfect line to use. I told him that in Pinoy culture, it is very rude for guests to refuse drinks that are offered to them. Thus, the ceaseless flow of alcohol thereafter. I had found the secret! Use Pinoy culture and tradition and all excuses go out the door. Which got me thinking... this little ploy we used could be part of an ever growing list of quirks that are distinctly Filipino. I mean every Filipino loves to entertain right? It's in our blood. Now we can use this to force our guests to do what we want. Eat this, drink this, do this... why? Because it's rude not to! Genius I tell you.

Now, to get him to drink again till he actually passes out on the floor....

Veluz

To those of you who don't know, August was a big month for the soapbox team because A) R and F found out that they were having a baby, and B) N proposed to me and C) C finished working on a really huge movie! So from August until today, all of us have been busy planning our future steps.

Yesterday, I officially chose my designer. Not that I explored many options. At first I wanted to design my own dress, hire a really good and inexpensive seamstress, and march wearing my dream gown. What was I thinking?

I guess you can say I'm a gown person. I'm pretty simple when it comes to other things, but gowns are an exception. I grew up wearing them and wearing them often. In fact, I've never worn the same dress twice. Some parents would buy useless things like Christmas decors or big vases and still tell you that they are worth buying. For my dad, it was the gowns, the suits, and the religious figurines. He taught me how to be very picky when it comes to gowns. And yes, he taught me how to criticize the ugly ones, fashematics style.

I thought I was all set, but just like any bride, I wanted things to be perfect. I had this gut feeling that finding a really good seamstress would be harder than finding a really good designer. I had my sketch ready, I just needed someone who shared the same vision. Once upon a time I wanted Pitoy Moreno, then SLIM, but somehow after N proposed her name just appeared in my head. I wanted nobody else but Veluz.

Yes, I've read the reviews. Some would praise her to death, some would say she only sticks to her signature style, but no one has ever dared to say she was not good. After reading the reviews, her blog and viewing her portfolio a million times, trying to find flaws, I knew she was the one.

I immediately emailed her and sent her my sketch and budget. She replied instantly telling me that my budget would not do. Still very persistent, I told her that I was willing to tweak the design, until it fit my budget. She said okay and so we set a meeting. I must admit that I was a bit sad at the thought of ugly-fying my dream dress. Maybe she wasn't so worth it anymore?

And so the meeting came and I met her and loved her even more. So warm and friendly but very honest, telling what what suited me and what didn't. I told myself not to get too attached as there was big chance my gown may still be over budget. My sister, cousin and wedding coordinator had accompanied me. All of us were excited but none of us forgot our main goal: TO GET A HUGE DISCOUNT. My eyes were glued to the paper the whole time she was sketching. I was mentally computing how much each swirl and cruve would cost. Then I began to feel really nervous because it was turning out to be beautiful. Too beautiful. The type of nice that looks more expensive than my original sketch. But the good thing about it was that she gave me exactly what I wanted and MORE. She just tweaked the cut a bit to suit my body type and embellished it. Then it was done. She quickly handed it to me and excused herself while she computed for the cost. I looked at it and held back the tears! I was in love! My sister tried to hold back the tears but couldn't. My cousin sighed and and my wedding coordinator said aww. It was me... But with beads (apparently beads are needed to reflect the light or something). Even the beads looked so nice on paper I couldn't open my mouth to protest. Holy shit this dress is going to break the bank.

That's her. Sketching my dress while I anxiously wait.

She came back with the quotation and the four of us started begging, flattering her and pouting. She was very firm with the price though. Hehe. But it was my sister who said it was worth it. And in fairness to Veluz, the design was more elaborate and the price was much, much cheaper than the first quotation she gave me. She said she kept my budget in mind. We all just had to agree. I called N but N wasn't picking up. I started to panic and Veluz opened her window and told me I could smoke in her office while thinking about it first. "Yosi ka muna." How can you not love her??? Finally N called me back and I told him about it almost stuttering. What did he say? Well he said: "Not bad. Puwede na." I love my groom!!! N, I promise to always do the dishes and cook when you are lazy to cook since you are the better cook!

So I ended the call and announced: "He said OKAY!!!" and everyone started clapping and shouting yay! The rest was blurry after that. I was just floating in excitement. I am going to have my dream dress. The perfect dress to wear when one marries the perfect guy (major sipsip but true!).

It sucks that I can't post the sketch yet. That will have to wait. Measurements will start in June. Time to gym.

*Some photos taken from Veluz' blog.