~the chocolate syrup in my Sarsi float~

So came April 23, 2006 (or rather April 22) - you wouldn't even believe all the planning that went to this day, we even had an hour-to-hour detailed plan. Makes me laugh looking back at it. Would anyone believe me when I say this is our first real non-Las Pinas or Alabang date in the 6 years that we've been together? So please forgive the cheese in the next paragraphs.. =)

Dong went here so I don't have to swing by his house on the way to Makati. It still amazes me how giddy and excited I am up to this day when I know he's coming over. So anyway, once inside the car, he suddenly had this naughty grin and asked if we could go to his house for a while 'coz he forgot something. Smelling someting fishy, I reluctantly agreed. Surprise surprise, we didn't go to his house but to a flower shop near his house where a huge bouquet was already waiting for me. Okay okay, I had a hunch already what he was up to 'coz he's really not that great with secrets or surprises =) (when he has one planned for me, he cannot not tell me that he HAS something planned then he ends up telling me all about it then smacks himself afterwards for giving in so easily to my pangungulit). But I was really really touched with the gesture - mostly because I know he really didn't like giving flowers (he thinks they're not practical) and because this is the first ever flower/s I received from him. It was extra special, because he was actually worried that I wouldn't like it (!!) and he had this whole worried-puppy look in his face until I looked him squarely in the eye and told him that I loved it.

This is great, one whole paragraph entirely dedicated to a bouquet of flowers. Just great.

On to Makati we went. This is not supposed to be our first stop, but we had to drop by to get movie tickets because.... I was advised that love seats at Rockwell sell fast, so we had to get advance tickets. We couldn't help but grab a couple of burgers afterwards from our cheap but ever-reliable pitstop, Jollibee =)

We then had to rush to Getaway Spa (G-Spa) at Sgt. Esguerra Ave in QC for our massage appointment. We had a couples room reserved for us, and we were really both excited to see the place because I've been reading lots of good reviews about it. I have to tell you that we got lost trying to find Sgt. Esguerra, being the Las Pinas kids that we are, but after a while, we finally we found the place.

Okay, I really have to say this - the attendants there suck. Nothing compared to the attendants in The Spa. After a quick shower, I found out that their massage clothes consist of a short robe (not the full-robe that The Spa has) + garterized shorts. To say that the shorts was big for me would be an extreme understatement. No matter how hard I tugged on the garters, it would still fall off. So I decided not to wear it 'coz the short robe fell decently on me naman and I thought this was a spa so even if the robe was a bit short, the people there were already accustomed to all sorts of undress. So I went out of the shower and sat down on the bench and waited patiently for the attendants to call my attention to say that our room was already ready or I could go wait with Dong in the waiting room or whatever (this is the practice in The Spa, so sue me.). A full 20mins went by and they were just gossiping among themselves and looking at me from time to time. Finally, they decided to ask me if I would like to go to the waiting room - naturally, I said yes. The attendant then told me that I should go put on my shorts, which is when I realized that maybe they weren't talking to me because I didn't have the shorts on! So I asked if they had a smaller size and lo and behold, they had! I just can't get it why they gave me the largest size when it's pretty obvious that I'm hair-thin. After putting on the shorts (which was still a bit big for me), they led me to the waiting room where Dong was sipping iced tea and watching TV for the longest time!

Going now to the actual massage.. It was great! It removed the kinks in my shoulders and even after a week, it still hasn't returned, which is a miracle for me (I've always had problems with my shoulders). The couples room was so nice too! It even had a bathtub and the dim lights was perfect.

After the massage, we returned to Rockwell to catch our movie, Eight Below. To everyone who haven't seen it - go watch it. Even for someone like me who's scared to death of dogs, I was moved.

We then had dinner at Burgoo, just across the cinemas. I know, I know, this isn't the most romantic restaurant for an Anniversary Dinner, but Dong wanted to try it and it was, as I said, right across the cinemas. We had a sumptuous meal of Baked Cheesy Macaroni, Baby Back Ribs and Shrimps, and Calamari (which, if I may say, sucks compared to that of Tony Roma's).

Our official date ends here, because, as corny as this may sound, my parents told me not to be out so late. And since it was already around 9pm that time and we had atleast an hour of travel time, we headed home. Once home, he stuck around for a while, but no, not until 12mn (which would mean it was April 23 already, our official anniversary), which would really really be the king of all cheeziness. We just hung out at our favorite place - the sofa - and basically talked about the day that has been and the past 6 years that has managed to fly by so fast. This, to me, is the highlight of our day.

It may sound weird to some of you why we don't go on dates that often. Let me explain. When we were still studying, my parents really didn't like us going out that much (the reason behind this - I have to tell you in another entry). Of course we sneaked around a bit, but more often than not, we were content with playing by their rules and staying at home where we can talk more and he can spend time with my family, get to know them, be on their good side. When we finally started working, we would still see each other only once a week because of the very different natures of our jobs, and we still wanted to take advantage of the little time that we saw each other by really talking and not walking around the mall. Yeah, we watch movies a lot, but if we were to choose, we would still choose to hang out at home. That's where our relationship has grown and will continue to grow even more so in the coming years.