The Sydrified Proposal (January 21, 2012)

Before you check out the clip, let me tell you the backstory.

Noong nagpunta kami ni Cindy sa Pansol to celebrate my birthday, sinabi ko sa kanya na from March 4 to December 31, 2011, may itatanong ako sa kanya and pagdating ng araw na yon, all she needs to do is say yes.

Last December 2011, I found out that I will be an uncle and my sister and her boyfriend need to get married ASAP. My parents were busy planning for the wedding and it wasn’t my moment to mess up. Nang nagiging okay na ang preparations, kinausap ko ang nanay ko kung meron siyang kakilalang alahera. Ang sabi ni ermats meron daw kakilala si Ate Angie. Nang pinasok ako ng parents ko sa Channel 4 almost a decade ago, nakakasama ko si Ate Angie sa mga kopihan at inuman. In fact, there was a time that I crashed at her place because I was too wasted to go home.

So nagpasama ako sa nanay ko papuntang Ongpin.

This was around December 28.

It was my way to include my mother sa aking mission to find Cindy an engagement ring. I remember when I was five, hinaluglog namin ang Quezon City and Manila just to find Mr. Yum. Kung natatandaan niyo yung Jolly Train (isa siyang Jollibee toy ng mga around late 80’s), si Mr. Yum na lang ang kulang and she was nice enough to waste time, money, and effort on my luho.

There’s another awesome thing about my mom. She has this extreme gift to sway people. Nang tatlong beses na bumagsak ako sa Medicard exam sa GMA because 140/90 ang blood pressure ko, I called her in and chinika niya yung doctor. All of a sudden, the doctor concluded that I am suffering from white goat syndrome – or yung sobrang neryos resulting to high blood pressure. When the doctor okayed me, nagpa-BP ulit ako. My BP was 120/80.

Astig...

Anyway sa isang jewelry store sa Ongpin, it was like playing good cop and bad cop.

Ma’am okay po yan.

Sus baka peke yan!

Ma!

Hindi po ma’am totoong may karat po yan.

Sus baka naman niloloko niyo kami!

MA!

Medyo nakakahiya at first but the end justifies the means and I won’t say the actual price but let’s just say I kinda had a forty percent discount.

Plus binulungan ako ng alahera na nakakatuwa daw nanay ko.

I agree.

Pagkatapos naming maghiwalay ni ermats kasi she has to go to her work, biglang nag-sink in ang lahat. Syet, I have a timebomb! Ang tawag ko sa engagement ring ko ay timebomb because when I show this to Cindy, I want her to explode with emotions... pero yung mga emosyon na pabor sa akin.

Ang unang tao kong sinabihan ay si Geist nang nagyayaya siyang makipag-inuman via text. He’s kinda like the pro wrestling manager I never had. And then of course alam na ni Ate Angie and nong nagkita kami I hugged the holy hell out of her. And there’s Ate Jinky, my sweet and caring yet evil mentor, who nang sinabi ko ang plano ko nang umalis na kami sa bahay niya was like a deer in front of the truck in shock, went teary-eyed but kept her emotions checked kasi I told her that it was a secret, and threatened me that if I make her my ninang, she will beat me senseless.

Ahihihi.

Then came December 30.

Gusto ng parents ni Cindy na sumama ako sa kanila na umatend ng fiesta sa Talisay, Batangas. I brought my timebomb with me just in case. Sinabi sa akin ni Cindy na a week before niya akong sagutin, nagpaalam muna siya sa parents niya.

I wanted to return the favor.

Throughout that day, naghahanap ako ng tiempo.

I scored that chance when Cindy, her brother, her sister, and her sister-in-law went to Talisay Lake to fish. This opened up an opportunity for me to state my case. Nilabas ko ang case ng “timebomb” pero hindi ko pinakita ang singsing. I believe the talk went well.

January 1, 2011.

Kausap ko si Cindy sa phone ng kinagabihan nang may sinabi siya. Hindi ito yung mga exact words pero more or less ganito ang nangyari sa conversation.

Na-boldyak ka.

Ha?

Bistado ka na.

Ha?

Kanina tinanong ako ni Daddy kung nagsabi ka na raw. Ang sabi ko “ano”? Ang sabi niya kung nag-propose ka na raw ba? Ang sabi ko “hindi pa”. Tapos biglang nagkwento na lang siya nang mga pinagusapan niyo sa Batangas...

Hoy Cindy! Hindi ko alam yan! Saan mo naman nakuha ang kwento na yan!?

So sinasabi mong sinungaling ang Daddy ko?

Ngeesh.

Sa kasal nina “those-beautiful-lawyers-that-cannot-be-named”, nanghingi ako ng advice sa mga kaibigan ko. Ang sabi ni Evilbrain sa akin ay to make the proposal formal. I then asked for Athan, Vlad, Marc, and Manuel for insights. I then lobbied to Cindy for an overnight trip to some place awesome where we can watch the stars as I slip the ring on her finger to no avail.

But then I remembered something.

I have a gift.

I like to feed on a bad situation and alter it to my advantage.

So while sinasabi sa akin ni Cindy na magpunta na lang kami sa Balai Indang sa Cavite kasama ang sister niya, I had other ideas.

Dadalhin ko siya sa La Mesa Dam Eco Park. And then take her to other hotspots sa buong Metro Manila in a way to clean out all the good destinations in Metro Manila so we can concentrate on planning trips away from the metro.

You know what? Sa mga pinalano ko, La Mesa Dam lang ang natuloy.

And that trip led to this.

Yes, I know La Mesa Dam is crap compared to a weekend getaway pero I think I have a lifetime to make amends. If you think this clip is cool (or not), wait ‘til you read the 17-page love letter I gave her na naka-print sa isang matigas na cardboard paper where I chronicled our ligawan stages.

Ito pala ang mga excerpts ng love letter:

Ito ay isang kwento na pwedeng mapamana sa iyong mga anak.

Correction.

Sa ATING mga anak.

Naks.

Ito ay kwento ng isang nilalang na nagkaroon ng kwenta ang buhay. Ito ay sa kadahilanan ng isang machong babaeng na sobra kung mag-exercise na siyang nagbago ng diwa niya.

Patay na patay din pala ito sa kanya.

Para sa mga nakikibasa, intindihin niyo na lang ako. Ang kausap ko talaga dito ay si Cindy hindi naman talaga ito para sa inyo kaya hinay-hinay na lang sa mga comments.

Kung kayo ang target audience ko, wala kayong ganito kasi hindi kayo ganun ka-importante sa akin.

Pero still... mahal ko pa rin kayo.

Mas mahal ko nga lang siya.

Yeba!

Summer 2013... for the ultimate "yeba" moment.