Precious Little Gifts from Unforgettable People

Boredom made me write this blog but it made me recall of some unforgettable people in my life. Most of them were genuine friends of mine whom I really treasured in my heart. A few made some hurtful marks in my heart but no matter what happened, they are still a part of my journey in life here on earth that somehow gave meaning to its purpose. 

I always treasure my gifts no matter how simple or splendid they are. I even have some of them kept for more than 10 years but can't remember where I have placed them. If we haven't moved from places to places (because we didn't have our own house yet before, so we kept moving from one apartment or house to another), I wouldn't lose some of my well-treasured gifts when I was still at a very young age.  By recalling each one of these precious little things, I remember some good moments we've had as well.

Following are some of the precious little gifts I got from some unforgettable people in my life:

This cute shoulder bag was given by Mr. Yukawa, my sister's big boss when she was still connected with one of the companies in MEZ 1. He gave me this as a pasalubong when they arrived from Japan. Way back in 2003, when I was working in Manila, my sister together with her big boss arrived from Japan after a business trip and stopped over to Manila before heading to Cebu. We had a sumptuous dinner at a Japanese restaurant which I never really enjoyed because I don't like Japanese foods. Good thing there were "lechon" (hmmm I don't think it's a Japanese specialty) and lots of desserts that I managed to fill my empty stomach.

The cute candles with a candle holder was given by one of my closest friends, Claudette, as a going-away gift when I resigned from my job in Manila and went back to Cebu last June of 2003. (You can't be believe it, Bru, but I still have them well-packed, and still have your message at the back). The Silver basket was her pasalubong when she came to Cebu and celebrated Christmas with her family on that same year. (Do you still remember this, Bru?) And she also gave me pasalubong from Macau last year, a shining key holder and pouch bag with a Jade stone. Thanks Bru! Hope you will never change even when you get to the top of the ladder, and here we are still at the bottom trying hard to reach to the top as well. :-) 

I should say this is a durable pouch and coin purse. The coin purse made me think of posting this blog because when I took some coins to pay the Jeepney driver, I recalled when was these given by Anthony Lumagbas (he was my manito), one of my team mates in WW (BPO research company in MEZ 2) way back in 2004, and the first from our team who got promoted as Team Leader. It made me realize how long ago I got these Christmas presents and can’t believe these gifts lasted for more than 6 yrs. I've had several coin purses that didn't even last for a year.

Hmmm. My first Nine West shoulder bag given by Lotlot. She bought it from LA last Christmas 2005 (if i'm not wrong of the year) when she and her ex-husband celebrated Christmas and Sinulog here in Cebu. She used to share her room with me when I was in college, when I had a big fight with my sister. LOL. Her mom is like my second mother and knows what i've been through in life.

He is one of my gay friends but he doesn't behave like other flirtatious gay. Hehehe! I've only known Archie for quite a few months of working together at WW, but his charisma brightened our friendship. He gave me this cute Lion Stuff toy as a Christmas gift last 2006 in exchange of a red Bench underwear as his special request. :-)

A Christmas gift from someone who used to be my closed confidante, my partner in gimik and some religious activities. Hmmm. I would not reveal her name because it would be a shocking news to some of our friends out there who didn't know the real story. We've been through a lot of issues, I was really, really hurt, but sometimes things happened for a reason that would give us substantial lessons in life. Wherever she is, I still hope and pray that one day, our path would cross together and we would manage to smile and leave the past behind.

This is one of my favorite pieces of jewelries. Rozelle gave this on her wedding as an accessory for all of us, the bride's maids. She bought this from Canada. She got married to our elementary classmate, Erwin.

  Jan Grace was one of my circle of friends at WW after several changes of grouping of departments. I remember when she just had her hair rebonded and we went on a night swimming at Bahia so she needed to cover her hair to protect the medicine from the salty water. This was her Christmas gift last 2007, my last Christmas with WW.  I really miss my colleagues in WW. I wish to pursue our plan of having a get-together with our previous Team Leader, Merck. Reunion, reunion!!!

Em-em was one of my circle of friends at WW as well. She has a golden voice and a perfect body. Hmmm. Sexy girl! Sometimes we ate lunch at our house (finally we have a house we call our home!) after work, and I was happy to cook delicious desserts for them. Hmmm! Leche flan! New York Sandwich! Salad!...She gave me this throw pillow as her Christmas gift last 2006 (if i'm not mistaken).

I met Manet way back in 2003, when I was working in Manila. She was my high school classmate's ex-girlfriend (they both have their own significant others now). She gave me this Rubic’s cube last New Year of 2009 while dropping by Cebu from Tacloban, on her way back to Manila for work. She bought this in Singapore while spending a vacation with her boyfriend. She was probably hesitant of giving this away, but I love her, she really gave it! Hehehe!

Deanne was such a nice and very soft-spoken woman i've ever met. Again one of my circle of friends at WW, my suki for eLoad (she had a booming business with electronic loading in the office). We used to aim of losing weights and were crazy about belly dancing (in just a short span of time coz eventually we got tired of it. LOL). We exchanged DVD copies of different versions of belly dancing last March of 2008, when I resigned from WW.

Mommy Shirley was like a second mother to me at WW. She knows all what i've been through in my past relationships. I really miss her so much. She gave me this as a Christmas gift last 2006 because I gave her a gift on her birthday I think sometime in July of 2006 if I’m not mistaken, so she thought she owed me something in return. Nahhh! I take pride of saying that I was a part of achieving Mommy Shirley's dream house at Liloan. Hope to visit her one of these days.

Kit Milan – my favorite TL when I was an Agent at Accenture. He was everybody's crush. A very cool TL and loves to hang out with his group. The funny thing about him is he can imitate how Indian call center agents talk. LOL. He gave this as a Christmas souvenir last 2008 to all of his team members. Go Team Mojo Go!

From the Barkada Maria Youth - souvenir from Schoenstatt after inviting me to their youth Summer camp last 2009. I met Sister Emmylou and I got the chance to have a heart to heart talk with her about my past series of failed relationships. She made me realize that life is worth living for no matter how many times we stumbled. The next time we met, I told her, "Sister, this is my fiance."

Gang-gang is one of my very closest friends. She is one of the strongest persons I've ever known. Hehehe. Our attitudes blend together that made us compatible with each other. We both know our deepest secrets in life, that's how we trust each other. I'm proud to say that it was my idea to name her first son, Genesis Aaron. She gave me this beautiful paper weight as a souvenir when she had a short vacation at Singapore last 2009.

Lenore or Glen was my partner in crime way back in college days until our review sessions before we took the board exam. LOL. I've  known her during our last year in college. She is a very strong woman. The life she have right now is her second life after a major accident occurred in her short vacation in Bacolod before her last semester in college. She was in bed for almost a year I guess before she went back to college and finish our degree. This Maybelline make-up was brought by her mother from UK and gave it to me as pasalubong last 2009. When I am with Glen, I would never have any dull moments because we always laugh at any things.

My sister gave me a lot of piece of jewelries but this one is my favorite because I love silver and whitegold. She gave it last summer of 2010 when she and her family had a very short vacation to Cebu.

Ate Melissa (Gang-gang's older sister) gave me lots of precious gifts, that include signature bags. But I chose this because I love this perfume, its fragrance, and its package. And dude! I can not afford to buy this one. LOL. Ate Mely is such a very generous friend, who always think of others before herself, and loves her family more than anything else in this world.

Rey was such a darling in our department at TYF. LOL. Everybody mocked at his English, but I admired his desire to learn the language seriously. He was like a younger brother to me and was fond of me despite of other colleagues' comments. (Hmmm. Those people can't seem to accept that they were not behaving professionally, and eventually they were fired out! I pity them. After moving to another company, still they were fired out.) Rey is very friendly and loves to eat all the time (you gotta watch out if you bring food to the office! Kidding!) So sweet of him when he gave me this as a souvenir when I resigned from my job at TYF. Don't worry Rey, he is happy standing on top of my TV. 

Auntie Thelma gave me lots of presents every time she spend her vacation to Cebu while Auntie Vilma made a big impact in my education finances way back in college. But last year both of them (they are sisters) gave me this cute make-up kit from Austria as pasalubong. I don't wear make-up everyday, only on special occasions, but when I got this, I was tempted to wear make-up almost everyday. LOL. But naaahhh! Eventually, I was tired of doing it.

Dandansoy, as I fondly call him  (his real name is Dan), is a very charming, gentle guy who was my partner at the company we used to work together last year. He was like a younger brother to me. He is smart, but always asks whenever he needs an answer, and shares a lot of things that he had learned from anything under the sun. This Borloloy (Necklace) was his gift last Christmas of 2010 to all of us his circle of friends at that company we dislike a lot.


Well, I can't post what my husband gave me. He would surely scold me. Besides, my husband gave me more than what this material world can offer, his unconditional LOVE. Have a Happy Valentine's day everyone!