Photo by Toto Villaruel

Having a blog is great when you want to document major, major, major life milestones like a wedding…our wedding in fact  :-) Another thing about our wedding I want to share, to blog about (and hence, immortalize!) would be our vows to each other. Initially, Dodong just wanted the standard church vows because he found personal vows a tad too cheesy. But then again, I wanted us to really make our church ceremony extra special by expressing our feelings on our special day. So, obviously, I won and here are our vows

Dodong would definitely have to go first, because his vows were very short BUT extremely sweet and heartfelt.

I have always been vocal about the many uncertainties in this world, but one thing that I am sure of is you. You have been there for me through thick and think. You never gave up on me even when I already gave up on myself. I love you.

That's it! So now I go to my part of the vows…pls be ready to read up as it is a bit long I took quite some time writing it, being the planner that I was, I started writing it an entire month before the actual wedding day. Hahaha! But I was only able to finish it like two days before. Hehehe!

Photo by Toto Villaruel

I’m really a behind the scenes person, who is very uncomfortable in the spotlight. So public speaking / presenting is not my core competence. That is why I came prepared with a written vow. So here we go…

Looking back to the beginnings of our 9-year relationship, I remember three things:

FIRST: I’ve always wanted my very 1^st boyfriend to be my last boyfriend. So sabi ni God sa akin be specific daw, kaya (God told me to be specific) I prayed for other qualities I wanted my 1^st and last boyfriend to have:

• I prayed that my boyfriend to be a romantic. One who would sweep me off my feet with grand expressions of love. One who would remember all the little details like important dates and events. One who would treat me as the most beautiful girl in the world.
• I prayed that my boyfriend to be my personal number 1 cheerleader. One who would always say: “I believe in you.  Go for your dreams.” One who would cheer me on at my lowest point. One who would be proud of me in all the things that I do be it a failure or a success.
• I prayed that my boyfriend be more or less like me. Punctual. Works on a disciplined schedule. A planner. Parang girl scout na laging handa. (Like a girl scout, who prepared for anything)

Nung naging tayo na, I asked God: “Joke ba to?!? Seryoso ka ba na heto na ang 1st and last boyfriend ko?” (When we went steady, I asked God: "Is this a joke? Is he seriously my 1st and last boyfriend?) But si God talaga mautak din (God is really crafty), little did I know that He had his reasons:

• God gave me a cynic instead of a romantic. But you’ve taught me that there is still a genuinely sweet person hiding behind the cloak of cynicism. Baduy ka din pala tulad ko, kahit pa once in a blue moon lang (You're a romantic like me, even if it is only once in a blue moon). You’ve taught me that true love is not found in the grand expressions of love, but rather found and compounded in the everyday little things we do for each other.
• God gave me a kontrabida (an antagonist) instead of a cheerleader. But you’ve taught me how to come out of my shell, toughen up to face real life. You’ve taught me the real meaning of honesty. Brutal honesty. I may not always hear what I want to hear, but with you, I know you will always say what I need to hear.
• God gave me the exact opposite of me instead of a clone. But you’ve taught the controlling, serious me how to adapt to every situation, roll with the punches, be spontaneous. More importantly, you’ve taught me how to loosen up a bit, relax, get crazy and laugh.

SECOND: You’ve clearly stated 9 years ago, a few weeks into our relationship, that you NEVER wanted to get married. Mejo nadurog ata ang puso ko nung nadinig ko yun…PERO mukhang (My heart was crushed when I heard you say it…BUT looks like)  my prayers really worked, God was faithful and true Seryoso nga si God na ikaw na ang 1^st and last boyfriend ko (God was serious when He said you were my 1st and last boyfriend).

THIRD: On this same day, 9 years ago, you said that there will be no promises just you and me. But today will be an exception, wala na tayong takas, required na kasi mag promise (We cannot escape the fact that we are required to promise). This I promise, my dearest Dodong, I promise that until the end, it will still be just you and me.

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

Photo by Shayla Sanchez

So there you go! Inday and Dodong's personal wedding vows! I was so happy with the vows and so were our guests. It gave everyone (family and friends) a snapshot of our humble beginnings, the challenges of our 9-year relationship and our future together as husband and wife

Friends even with the distance and the dirty feet

I caught the sentimental bug after writing about one of my bestest friend's wedding. And made me think about one of my (oh, she is one of our) bestest friends, who is now based in New York City. LDRs are not limited to romantic ones. Good, solid friendships can also survive the distance just like ours.

Like the drama queen, I've known Maree since grade 6. We've been in the same clique in high school and we even went to the same college for a time. Hehehe! Then the three of us took a 9-day trip to Malaysia in 2007. We were close but not SUPER close. Little did we know that this was THE ultimate International ekskarsyon that would build the strong foundation of ultimate friendship. I got so sentimental that I almost went teary eyed looking through our album. The pictures in this post are from that trip

I love it that we can do crazy things even if we are more mature adults…

Bitch Queens of Malaysia...this was in the Museum!

I love it that we can share our deepest and darkest thoughts and secrets (even the seemingly mundane ones)…

Drowning in the Museum!

I love the fact that we've fought so many times, but we've still managed to get back together…Would you even believe that Maree and I weren't in speaking terms when she left for NYC??? We haven't seen each other for more than three years (?) now, but our friendship is stronger than ever…

We've turned our backs to the friendship at least ONCE.

I also love the fact that we get to influence each other for the good…(and bad? Nyahahahaha!)

We even influenced our Malaysian friends to take DAY OFF pictures like us

I am so blessed to have such good friends! I am also very thankful that we are in the Internet age and we still get to bond and update each other almost everyday!!! Girls, I love you girls! Maree, Crixz and I miss you very much. We wish we can take another International Ekskarsyon soon…

Hey wait a minute…So does having both a long distance romance and a long distance friendship really make me the long distance expert? Hahahahaha!

Photo by Em Somera

My head AND heart have been in the clouds for the past few days. The lingering feel of fingers intertwined with mine. The warmth of his tight bear hugs. That mischievous smile coupled with his playful snicker. These memories paste a smile on my face and send me shivers down my spine at least once every 30 minutes. At least once! Sometimes twice. Sometimes thrice. Or even more…

I AM THIS EXCITED. Our LDR dream is coming true in the next 9 days. 9 days to go!

He is finally coming home after more than 7-months of being away. The longest EVER in our 3-year long distance relationship. So I am really just EXCITED to see him again. Sigh.  I've been living in my daydreams and night dreams with Dodong, replaying memories with him. These really help me get up in the morning, even if the weather is just too good for staying in bed.

Each day, I wake up more ALIVE and with PURPOSE, comforted by the fact that in 9 days, Dodong and I will be together. Sigh.

Sinabi ko na ba na excited ako? SOOOOBRAAAAAA!!!!

Would really love to know what you think about it

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay

Would be soooooo happy to hear from you guys

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay

Guess which cover feature is about Loving the Distance...

It was a normal Sunday morning. I was doing my morning business which I enjoy with a nice book or the latest magazine I have on hand. This morning, I chose the "new" (the October 2009 issue that came free in my Writer's Block workshop kit) Chalk magazine I brought home.

I flipped through the pages, trying to see which articles would be worth my precious time. And I was sooooooooo surprised to find this…

Find a small screenshot of the blog on the upper right corner...

OMG! A whole page feature on Loving the Distance blog!!! WAAAAHHHH! OMFG! I wouldn't have imagined that somebody would actually take notice of my (since Penelope is no longer with Loving the Distance) blog. And to think that this magazine was LAST OCTOBER 2009 pa. Talk about lag! Damn.

Maybe Loving the Distance was also featured in other magazines without my knowledge? Hmmm…Baka naman meron pang iba? Would you know? Hehehe!

SUPER DUPER HAPPY! This just made my morning and set the tone for the rest of the Happy Sunday

Congratulations to Loving the Distance! I really do hope that more people take notice of our humble blog with our great little advocacy Would you consider this Loving the Distance Dream #4 perhaps? Getting Loving the Distance published on a glossy-magazine…OH YEAH!

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay

Is being too busy in the Future?

Hay. The iBlog6 is done and it has been crazy: with the iBlog preps plus the regular workload (but still fun I must say). And with busyness comes the budget time spent with Dodong (at least online). He has been very much busy with work as well so basically we have been busy with our own lives.

And today, I have experienced some withdrawal symptoms of him missing me. I miss Dodong's missing me. Gets? We've been so super duper busy that we've kind of "forgotten" about each other…sad!

Here are the 3 signs I miss him missing me…

I was texting him incessantly today

I started texting me since this morning and I told Dodong: "This is me craving your attention. This is me missing you." I may sound a bit desperate, which I am. But I also knew he'd be busy at work and would probably have a hard time logging onto Chikka (which sends text messages at no cost).

And I guessed right because that's what he told me when I got his text message later this evening. His name flashing on my mobile phone's screen just made me smile a giddy one for the books

I call him on his Dubai number in the middle of my sleep

Last night, we weren't able to chat since he was on call at work. And on the other side of the globe (I think), I was just too tired to stay up late from all the work I did for the iBlog6 and other work stuff and errands and events. So I ended up sleeping early.

Then I woke up in the middle of the night (well, morning as it was 3AM Manila time and 11PM Dubai time) to make a phone call to Dodong. I just wanted to hear his voice and tell him how much I missed him And I still do…

I reread his mushy messages on my mobile phone

We were stuck in traffic earlier and I just went through some of his messages to me. Tears welled up in the corners of my eyes and I just breathed in to stop them from falling down. Buti na lang kamo madilim sa sasakyan ano!

I'm kinda shy to let everybody else know that I am teary eyed because I miss Dodong so much. And that I want him to badly miss me too (which I know he does but work just keeps him busy and tired).

Oh brother. My wish now is that Dodong would let me know how much he misses me also. Like the mushy kind. Hehehe. Is that too much to ask?

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay

Lucky in Love in 2010

I know it's been quite some time since I last posted anything. What have I been busy with? Well, the doing the usual holiday rounds with friends and family plus I've been bitten by the holiday hangover so it's been lazy. Yes, there I said it. Lazy as a daisy.

But as I get back into the groove of regular programming, I do set my sights out for the goals for the year 2010. This includes my plans for our long distance relationship and, of course, the blog

Celebrate the love some more

Dodong did a great job on our 7th year anniversary this year and this June 16, 2010 will be our 8th year anniversary. So I want to celebrate this milestone with a BANG! The number 8 when turned by 180 degrees becomes the infinity symbol soooo I do hope this anniversary is the official start of "to infinity and beyond"

Another thing to celebrate is Dodong's 2nd year in the desert this March 9, 2010. It is truly an LDR milestone for us since WE, US survived 2-years of being apart (at least physically). We actually call it his desert anniversary. I guess this would be our 1st official day physically apart, so our LDR anniversary. When is your LDR anniversary?

I know there are more of the little things celebrating because in long distance relationships parang everyday is a celebration of love Cheezy! What other romantic nothings do you celebrate?

Nurture the Romance still

I'm still not sure when is Dodong's next homecoming. He is still trying to schedule it as there are stuff he needs to attend to as well…like attending weddings. Hahaha! A lot of our friends are getting hitched this year Looks like a romance year right?

I am still on the look out for cool Future Date ideas and, let's not forget the alone date ideas too. Love yourself syempre! Feel free to drop me a line at us@lovingthedistance.com for your date ideas. I'd like to know more romantic date getaways for the next homecoming

I'm also planning some more gift giving. So gift ideas would also be welcome. I guess in a span of 7.5years I think I've done so much. I need your help too

Defy the distance as usual!

Of course, we will defy the distance and become a stronger, more loving couple Still am looking for more couples who would love to share their LDR stories. I'm sure there are a lot out there.

I do plan on tackling the different kinds of long distance relationships. Mine is only one of those, being in a relationship with an OFW. So would you care to share your unique LDR story?

I'm thinking of doing a club perhaps to really help us support each other through the challenges of a LDR. Whatchathink?

I am really confident that all of us would be able to defy the distance with the kind of love and romance that us couples have and work for I guess then that really love is not enough in LDRs, you have to make it work.

Here's to more love and romance to defy the distance in 2010 Cheers!

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay

A flower for you on our 7.5years anniversary

Today is our 7.5 year anniversary and a few days left till the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010. This has left me feeling a bit senti about the year that has past.It really has been a whirlwind of a year but so many things have happened and are really worth sharing and celebrating.

As I was thinking of a title, the word "milestones" seemed so ordinary. But come to think of it, you could break it down into mile and stones. Miles because of the distance, and stones because of the strong foundations we've built in our relationship. Okay I may be analyzing too much here. Wag ng ipilit kasi walang konek!

I'd like to share with you what I consider as our Top 2009 LDR milestones…

The birth of this blog!

Of course, if not for the distance, this blog would not have been born We do love the distance because it did help us both grow as individuals and as a couple. Plus, I super want to help and support all other couples who are going through the same thing we are. It is not a bed of roses really. There are times that it is great, but it can get lonely. So we all need to really support, support, support!

The first time I received flowers!

7-dozens for 7-years <3

Last June 16, on our 7th anniversary, Dodong was such a sweetheart because he sent me 7-dozen of my favorite flowers to the office. Surprise! A super duper pleasant one at that

The first time we went on a VERY LONG roadtrip together

The perfect breathtaking view for his homecoming

The Pagudpud trip was fairly recent during Dodong's homecoming. I guess it was significant because we were driving his very new car, Sharkface the Mitsubishi Lancer EX (Tama nga ba?). It was quality time well spent because it was just the two of us, 24 hours a day (este 3 kasi 3 days lang pala yung trip). I guess we are getting used to the idea of being glued to the hip very soon? Hahaha!

2009 was overall a very kind year, lots of ups but a lot of downs (which sometimes really get to you!). But I (along with Dodong)…Ehem, let me rephrase that: WE thank the Good Lord for 2009. And in advance, thank Him for the year to come

What are your 2009 LDR milestones?

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay

One of the many things in line for Dodong's vacation here in Manila is the wedding of his high school buddy this coming Saturday. It is a formal affair and Dodong will be wearing a suit, which requires a tie. And I do want to be the sweet girlfriend who would tie his tie for him.

BUT I do not know how to tie a tie. Seriously! I am a bit panicky already because I need to learn how to in 2 days.

I SMSed my guy friends asking help for them to teach me. I'm more of a hands-on learning kind of person. But all they did was to direct me to sites which will show me how.

I had some time earlier and checked out one of the sites. There actually is a site dedicated to teaching people how to tie a tie! Oh wow! They even show the different tie knots. I never even thought there were knot varieties. Hehehe!

I am planning to follow the video (see above) and try it out myself tomorrow. Hehehe. Goodluck to me!

Any other simple techniques on how to tie a tie?

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay

P.S. Fun fact: Dodong doesn't know how to tie a tie too. Ain't he cute?