8 Things I Have Yet to Tell my Wife

Today is our 8^th wedding anniversary and it still amazes me how on Earth my wife was able to survive (and continue to live on) my craziness, antics, tantrums, laziness and unpredictable ways for eight long years.

8 years. That’s 96 months or 384 weeks or 2880 days.

As part of my anniversary gift, I will finally tell her things that I have kept in me for such a long time.

1. I am still not a fan of ampalaya. But thank you mahal for patiently serving me bitter melon in different ways that I can eat it. You’re the only person who was able to persuade me to try this gulay and actually shallow it. Before, the only vegetable dishes that I eat are French fries, coleslaw and tempura.

2. I steal a kiss from you while you were sleeping when I come back from the bathroom at night. Where? In depends what part of you is not covered with blanket.

3.  Whenever you see toys scattered on the floor every morning, it’s not only Charles who did it. More often I am the culprit. Sorry. Sometimes I would still play with a Matchbox or Hotwheels car imagining me, you and Charles traveling to every place we wanted to go without any worries that we have work next day.

4.  Sometimes when I said I am not feeling well and can’t come with you, it’s actually just a basketball game that I don't want to miss. I still dream that someday you’ll finally learn to like the game I so love to play and watch. Well, at least you did accompany me during an NBA event  even you can't identify who Michael Jordan is then. Dami mong ganda points nun and lalo ko na-in love sa'yo for joing me at the Big Dome.

5. I cheated every time we play rock-paper-scissors. The good news is I can assure you those were the only times I cheated on you. Well, I did adjust the scoring functions of the videoke machine one time when we had a one-on-one singing challenge and that’s it.     

6. I will not get you a Starbucks planner this year. Yes, you'll not have the 2015 version and sorry my love if the chain will be broken this year. I just feel that we’ve been spending a lot getting THE planner. I have better plans.

7. It hurts me so much inside whenever we had our petty fights. The more if I see you sad or sick. If only life is perfect that things will always go as we planned or things that make you lonely or disappointed are avoidable, I’ll trade a year of not watching basketball or The Walking Dead Game of Thrones just for you (or pwede one month lang?).

8. I married you not because I want someone who I can live with for the rest of my life but it’s because I can’t live without you in my life.

Happy anniversary, Mahal ko! I love you!  

Dumb Ways to be Loved

Have you heard of the video "Dumb Ways to Die" that went viral  a couple of years ago?

It was a public service announcement campaign by Metro Trains in Australia to promote rail safety. The campaign video went viral through sharing and social media since it was released in November 2012. The campaign received some criticism on its "morbidness" as the ad reinforces deadly trains as a possible suicide method.  To date, it has spawned at least 85 video parodies.

For the spirit of fun, which I think is one of the elements of the video that one will easily notice, I wrote a poem (that can one can sing along with the original video) dedicated to all guys out there who are still in the process of unlocking the art of being loved. I am no love expert but I have some tips that have worked for me that I want to share.

DUMB WAYS TO BE LOVED

(De) Composed by Richard Mamuyac

Take time to fix your hair
Buy a Schick and shave your beard
Ask someone out for a date
And don’t forget to brush your teeth

Chorus:
Dumb ways to be loved
So many dumb ways to be loved
Dumb ways to be loved
So many dumb ways to be loved

Check your crush but do not stalk
Where she study or go to work
Teach yourself how to say Hi
Without freezing in front of sweetie pie

(Repeat Chorus)

Invite an available girl in sight
Take her home for a ride
Take your helmet off but don’t shove on her face
Let her use it and say “I’ll take you to a safe place”

(Repeat Chorus)

Keep a Cocker Spaniel as a pet
Post a selfie photo on the Internet
Or on Youtube, sing a tune or two
Choose the songs with words like “I love you”

(Repeat Chorus)

Dress up and act cool even it’s summer season
Buy flowers ‘coz she deserve it and that’s the reason
Stand on the edge of table of your loved one
Try to smile and relax while your finger crossing
Recite the sweet nothings you’ve been practicing

Pop the question, “Would it be possible for you to love me?”

The dumbest ways to be loved
The dumbest ways to be loved
The dumbest ways to be loved
So many dumb
So many dumb ways to be loved
be loved be loved be loved

Be astig but not maangas. Be confident and stop being torpe. A message from Astig Machismis.

Let’s Move & Let’s Love

Image credit: www.coy-dreamer.deviantart.com

One thing that has kept my relationship with my wife Leah stronger than ever is our ability to make one another laugh--- from corny jokes to sweet surprises to silly things that we do.

We are a fun-loving couple who have lived, breath, got use to and grew with each other's sense of humor. I lost count of the jokes we have traded, senseless debates on just about anything, and moments that we feel like we are just kids playing ‘bahay-bahayan.”

Leah also tries to understand and like my interests even though she doesn’t have a clue of what she’ll be getting into. She had accompanied me to the two occasions WWE superstars wrestled at Araneta Coliseum and when NBA Madness came to Manila. She didn’t mind the rowdy crowd instead she screamed and cheered with me throughout the event.

For that, I want to express my love to her in as many and creative ways I can.  I have sent her a love letter before full of "I love you" written and translated in different languages. Tonight, I'll make her a love note (something I have not done in a while) full of love ala-United Colors of Benetton style--- a list of countries with sweet meanings behind their names, all lovingly dedicated to my wife!

What's the reason behind this sudden lovestruck me? A promise from my wife that my favorite chicken adobo will be waiting for me on our dining table tonight. Now that's one tummy love fest I'd love to celebrate again and again.

AUSTRALIA - Adoring & Understanding Someone's True Reasons About Loving Intimately Always.
BURMA - Between Us, Remember Me Always
CALGARY - Caress And Love Grow Always in Relationship Yearly
CANADA - Cute And Naughty Action that Developed into Attraction
CHINA - Come Here I Need Affection
EGYPT - Everything's Great, You Pretty Thing
FRANCE - Friendships Remain And Never Can End
GERMANY - Great Emotion Really Makes Any Nerd Yell
HOLLAND - Hope Our Love Lasts And Never Dies
HONGKONG - Hug Only Nice Guys, Kiss Only Naughty Girls.
INDIA - I Nearly Died In Adoration
ITALY - I Trust And Love You
JAPAN - Just Always Pray At Night
KENYA - Keep Everything Nice, Yet Adoring
KOREA - Keeping Optimistic Regardless of Every Adversity
LIBYA - Love Is Beautiful; You Also
MANILA - May All Nights Inspire Love Always
NEPAL - Never Ever Part As Lovers
PHILIPPINES - Pure Hugs I Love It Please Please I Need Some
POLAND - Planning Our Love, A New Dream.
RUSSIA - Romance Under the Sky & Stars Is Intimate Always
THAILAND - Totally Happy Always In Love And Never Dull
VIETNAM - Very Intimate Emotions Towards Non-Appreciative Males

Speaking of Benetton, I just found out that the company is present in 120 countries today. Its network of over 6,500 stores, offers high quality customer services and top of the line products that has been part of many love stories worldwide.

As love is being celebrated in many parts of the world, Benetton lunches two of their newest fragrances, Let’s Move for men and Let’s Love for women. Love will never smell this good with such pleasant news.

So what's your story? Share what makes you smile, capture your heart and completes your day. Tell the world of that one great love story you have kept within because the perfect time to do it is now. Let's Move & Let's Love!

I love you, is that okay?

American author Karen Sunde once wrote, “To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven.”

I would like to believe that even individuals who have a heart of stone will agree with that statement.  I’m sure at least once in our lifetime, each one of us has experienced this crazy thing called love.

Whenever the month of February comes, we can’t help but get bitten by the love bug or at least feel the need to be in love when this time of the year comes.  How can you escape the big billboards, mall displays and a shower of cheesy yet sweet pick-up lines that announces Valentine’s Day?

Here are some cool trivia that you might want to know about the celebration, love, relationship, men and women, the heart and other things worth embracing.

The V-Day

Valentine's Day is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between sweethearts.  According to history.com, the day is named after the Christian martyr named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD.  It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards. The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.  Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid.

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus

How can you tell a man from a woman? Well, one easy way is to check the buttons of their shirts.  Men’s shirts have the buttons on the right while women’s shirts have the buttons on the left.  And you can also tell by looking at their eyes.   Women blink nearly twice as much as men.  We can make a list on how to differentiate a guy from a gal and can go on hours discussing it but the bottom line is with the magic called love, people will still find the one for them. And check this out: every day 200 million couples make love and 400,000 babies are born. This will remind us of Wet Wet Wet’s hit Love is All Around.

What’s in a love song?

The oldest known love song was written 4,000 years ago and comes from an area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Western Asia.  In the Philippines, the tradition courtship of serenading women called harana became popular in the 1920s. It is mostly practiced in rural areas and small towns. The man, usually accompanied by his close friends, goes to the house of the woman he is courting and plays music and sings love songs to her. The harana shows strong Spanish influences, as the rhythm of the songs usually performed for the serenade are derived from the Spanish tango or habanera, albeit the tempo for the songs are much slower.

Can this be love?

Falling in love can induce a calming effect on the body and mind and raises levels of nerve growth factor for about a year, which helps to restore the nervous system and improves the lover’s memory.  Love can also exert the same stress on your body as deep fear. You see the same physiological responses—pupil dilation, sweaty palms, and increased heart rate.  People who are newly in love produce decreased levels of the hormone serotonin —as low as levels seen in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Perhaps that’s why it’s so easy to feel obsessed when you’re smitten.

Date Movie

Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet’s movie Titanic which was released worldwide in 1997 is the top-grossing romantic film of all-time with over $600 million of ticket sales.  The total production cost of the film was around $200 million compared to the $7 million actual cost of building the colossal ship Titanic in 1912.  Also, did you know that The Titanic was the first ship in the world to use the SOS signal?    

Matters of the Heart

Christiaan Neethling Barnard, a South African cardiac surgeon performed the world's first successful human-to-human heart transplant in 1967.  The more interesting story is while on a holiday vacation in Cyprus in 2001, Barnard died after reportedly suffering a heart attack. Here’s a dose of fun facts about the heart: The human heart creates enough pressure while pumping to squirt blood 30 feet. It takes about 20 seconds for a red blood cell to circle the whole body. Your left lung is smaller than your right lung to make room for your heart.

Kiss Me

Kissing is said to have originated when mothers orally passed chewed solid food to their infants during weaning. Another theory suggests kissing evolved from prospective mates sniffing each others’ pheromones for biological compatibility.  Here are some random trivia about this great mouth experience….Men who kiss their wives in the morning live five years longer than those who don't… French kissing involves all 34 muscles in the face…People are more likely to tilt their heads to the right when kissing instead of the left (65 percent of people go to the right!)…. The longest kiss lasted 46 hours 24 minutes and 9 seconds between Thai couple Akekachai and Raksana Tiranarat.  Now, if you want to beat the record, the perfect time to do it is on Heart’s Day.

 Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!