I just got the time to log on to my computer and access the internet. Well, what can I say, as I write this, Ralph and I have been together for almost a week now! Everything seemed surreal, actually. I remember feeling reluctant to travel to Manila at first because I really do not like to be in a big city. I was looking forward to meeting Ralph but not being in Manila. Anyway, I left the Silay Airport last November 13th, Friday. Another reason I wasn’t very excited about the whole trip was because it was Friday the 13th!

There were only two reasons I knew the trip to Manila was worth it: First and most important reason is Ralph, second is, finally meeting my bestfriend over the internet, Chai Deuda! Can you believe we have been good friends online for almost five years yet we have not really met in real life. There were few attempts in the past of us meeting but they all failed. Ralph has made it possible for Chai and us to be more than just “online friends.”

November 13 – My cousin Betbet picked me up as early as 8:30 am together with her older brother, Motin to drop me off at the airport. At first, she didn’t know why I was leaving for Manila but I later filled her in on who’s coming and the big move that Ralph is doing for me. She was very glad about the whole thing, however, the part that I didn’t like was when she started digging up the past and made some comments about life not being too late for someone who’s been knocked up by other man in the past and that this new life I’m venturing into will somehow redeem me from the embarrassment that I have caused myself and my family. Wow, it was a good thing that she was giving me the ride to the airport. That kind of motivated me to just keep my mouth shut.

As soon as I arrived at the airport, I checked in right away. I met Manong Richie, the brother of my friend Christine Mombay-Urbanuzo. He’s flying to Manila for business. He looked a lot younger since I last saw him which was during Christine’s wedding in Bacolod.

When the plane took off and landed, it was the smoothest plane ride I have ever taken so far. I realized that I was used to taking Cebu Pacific Air on my flights when I was still studying in Manila during college. I guess PAL was worth it.

When I got to NAIA, I spotted Chai’s driver right away. Chai has had tons of absences recently that did not afford her to come and pick me up. It was ok though because Roel, the driver, seemed ok and very respectful. He dropped me off at Chai’s place where I met Chai’s husband, Neil, her kids, Sean and Josh and her pretty babysitter who also came from Negros Occidental, Ailyn.

I felt very home-sick as soon as I felt I was alone. Ailyn made me watch TV up in Chai’s room. I watched the entire afternoon until I went down for dinner and to wait for Chai’s arrival. When she did finally come home, I realized how pretty my friend is. She really is very beautiful! Too bad for Kit Maldini. Had he seen what he’s let go in the past, he would have eaten his heart out.

November 14 – Chai and husband took me to their son’s therapy session which was way too far from where they live. Gosh, the session took only two hours but the drive was too long it took almost the whole day for us to go back and forth. The good thing that kept me from getting bored was the fact that anytime soon then, Ralph was going to arrive!

When the kids were put to sleep that night, Chai, Neil and I left for NAIA terminal 1 to pick up Ralph. Gosh, I was a nervous wreck the entire ride from the house to the airport. There were so many people there waiting for their loved-ones and I was just there breathing irregularly. When I heard from the loudspeaker that Northwest Airlines 319 from Nagoya Japan (he had a stop-over at Japan) was arriving, I shrieked! And when it was announced that Northwest Airlines 319 has arrived and is yet to disembark, I think I almost fainted.

It took thirty minutes more for people on that plane to come down and line themselves in their designated last name letter. Chai and Neil kept teasing me from time to time whenever someone came down. When it was finally Ralph who appeared, I just said “God that’s him!”

For those who are not aware of my story, Ralph is a wonderful man I have met on Facebook, particularly in an application ‘Are you interested’. We have been exclusively a couple for 5 months until this meeting so imagine my excitement and nervousness when I was walking up to where he was and call him. When he looked at me, I realized that Ralph looked EXACTLY the same as he was on webcam. We have been using webcam since the day we started getting together online until the very last day we chatted before I went to Manila. Anyway, when he saw me, he brightened up and kissed me. Yes, we did kiss however I sucked at it because I closed my mouth thinking that we were in the presence of onlookers. I felt how disappointed he was but I later made up for it hehe.

As much as I would like to go more into the details of what transpired next, I think they should just be private 🙂 although I am sure you all know what happened soon after. Now he’s here in my room in Hinigaran working on his laptop while I’m seated right next to him writing this. I would also like to rectify the comment I have made a long long time ago about long distance relationship and how it is not ever going to work. Well, I’m dead wrong ‘coz look at where I am now. Happy and contented.